Trump’s First Hundred Days Have Been a Triumph

COMMENTARY Conservatism

Trump’s First Hundred Days Have Been a Triumph

May 9, 2025 2 min read
COMMENTARY BY
Nile Gardiner, PhD

Director, Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom and Bernard and Barbara Lomas Fellow

Nile Gardiner is Director of The Heritage Foundation’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom and Bernard and Barbara Lomas Fellow.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the White House on May 07, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images

America’s liberal-dominated media has waged a massive campaign against President Trump since he took office for the second time on January 20. They have painted a distorted picture of a presidency in disarray, characterized by chaos and incoherence. Their hugely biased depiction of the Trump White House has echoed across the Atlantic, as anti-American sentiment surges in many capitals across Europe.

The reality on the ground here in Washington DC is very different. The sinking behemoths of the “progressive” US establishment, such as the Washington Post or the New York Times, are still reeling from the emphatic defeat of Kamala Harris in the 2024 Presidential election. They simply refuse to accept that there is a new sheriff in town who is fundamentally changing business as usual in the world’s superpower for the better, so they’re doing all they can to undermine him.

Far from being a disaster, the first 100 days of Trump’s second term have been remarkably successful. He has dramatically reduced illegal migration to its lowest levels in several decades, showing defeatist Western countries that with the right will, this problem can be addressed.

>>> Trump’s 100 Days and the Legal War in Washington

America’s southern border has finally been secured through the end of Joe Biden’s destructive “catch and release” policy and the reinstatement of the Remain in Mexico program. The Trump administration has designated vicious transnational Latin American gangs and cartels such as MS-13 as foreign terrorist organizations and has embarked on what will be the biggest deportation of illegal aliens in American history. 

Trump’s war on woke and DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) policies has been extremely successful, with protection for women’s sports now in place, and the banning of DEI mandated in the federal government, with a return to fully merit-based hiring. Trump is also cracking down on antisemitism, and has thrown down the gauntlet to America’s Ivy League universities, including Harvard, threatening to withdraw billions of dollars in federal funding unless they make a commitment to protect Jewish students from intimidation and act against menacing pro-Hamas mobs.

The newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) headed by Elon Musk has already saved the American taxpayer an estimated $160 billion ($993 per household) and that’s just the start, as it takes a flamethrower to red tape and big-government overreach.

The President has ditched the insanity of vastly expensive Net Zero policies, slashed the bloated foreign aid budget, shut down the ineffective US Agency for International Development (USAID), and demanded full accountability and transparency from government agencies. In a shocking blow to left-wing sensibilities, Trump has forced US federal workers to actually return to the office full-time or face being fired.

>>> Liberal Judge Tries To Block Trump Over Bogus Biden-Era Parole for Countless Illegals

On the transatlantic stage, President Trump’s call for NATO allies to increase defense spending has already had a dramatic effect, with Germany and other key nations in Europe significantly increasing their pledges ahead of the NATO Summit in The Hague next month. And Trump’s landmark minerals deal with Ukraine signed this week, which unambiguously decried Putin’s full-scale invasion, greatly strengthens Ukraine’s long term security and places the Russians on the back foot as the United States presses for an end to the war. In addition, Vice President JD Vance has signaled optimism over a “great” trade deal with the United Kingdom, as the President prepares for a likely state visit to the UK in September.

Less than four months into his second term, Donald Trump has already shown why he will be remembered as one of America’s most consequential presidents. He has smashed the illusion that politicians in the West are merely buffeted by events instead of shaping them.

In many respects this is a revolutionary presidency that is upending the status quo in the United States, and rapidly draining the vast Washington swamp. Trump is a president who is commendably delivering on his election promises, while acting upon pledges he has made to the American people.

This piece originally appeared in The Telegraph

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