Donald Trump entered his second term with ambitions to redefine presidential achievement in the first 100 days, seeking to rival or even exceed the transformative pace set by Franklin Roosevelt nearly a century earlier, when Roosevelt’s swift and decisive actions established the first 100 days as a benchmark for executive effectiveness.
Despite the significant and often overwhelming impact felt by many Americans, Trump’s early months in office fall considerably short of Roosevelt’s accomplishments. While Trump has disrupted federal institutions and strained international relationships, his overarching goal—to fully subordinate American democracy to his personal will—remains unmet and appears increasingly out of reach amid self-inflicted political setbacks, widespread resistance from civil society, and declining public approval.
Evaluating Trump’s first 100 days as a political project reveals a failure when measured against his intended outcomes. To understand this, one must both examine the specifics of Trump’s initial initiatives and compare them to Roosevelt’s precedent. This comparison highlights that the significance of a political agenda cannot be divorced from the methods employed to realize it.
From the outset, Trump launched a barrage of executive actions, with his team crafting over one hundred orders aimed at dismantling much of the 20th century’s legacy—from the New Deal onward—and fundamentally reshaping the relationship between the federal government and American citizens.
His vision seeks to transform the United States from a constitutional republic grounded in limited government and the rule of law into a personal autocracy centered on his singular authority. In this regard, Trump’s approach resembles that of authoritarian regimes more than America’s longstanding tradition of republican governance.
Accordingly, many of his executive orders function like royal proclamations, demanding conformity to his will. For example, one order aims to eliminate what it calls 'radical indoctrination' from public schools, promoting instead a program of 'patriotic education.' Another asserts presidential authority to define 'biological' sex and 'gender identity,' effectively seeking to revoke official recognition of transgender and gender nonconforming individuals.
