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Yesterday marked day 100 of the second Trump administration. And what a time it has been. For many presidents, the first 100 days of their administration set the tone for the rest of their time in office.

If that trend holds, Trump is in trouble. And so are we.

So let’s start with the easy stuff—what Candidate Donald Trump promise would happen when he got into office, and has President Donald Trump fulfilled those promises?

If you’re lazy, I’ll save you some time: no, he hasn’t.

Promises Made, Promises Broken

Here’s a list of the big hitters. To be clear, this isn’t an analysis of the policies themselves. He promised these policy achievements. He promised many of them in his first hundred days, if not on day one.

The war in Ukraine rages. The war in the Levant rages. The inflation rate is the same as it was in September. Tips and Overtime are still taxed, and Congress is unwilling to incorporate either proposal into their budgets. Energy prices have increased. Gasoline is still sky high. Credit card interest rates remain capped. And Trump is deporting illegal immigrants slower than Biden did.

The only two campaign promises I can think of that Trump has unequivocally delivered on? Tariffs and pardoning rioters.

And I would argue (although that’s not the point of this article) that these are perhaps two of the worst promises he could have fulfilled. Some of the analysis below might shed light on why that is.

Trump has not delivered on his campaign promises. So what has happened in the last 100 days?

Unprecedented Executive Overreach

The Republican Party was rightfully in an uproar when Barack Obama said he didn’t need Congress because he had “a phone and a pen.” This astonishing rejection of Congress in favor of Constitutionally dubious executive orders was one of the very reasons I became such an active Republican.

So what does it make of the modern Republican Party when Trump uses his “phone and pen” at a rate that makes Obama look like an anarchist?

One might argue that the ends justify the means, because Trump’s executive orders allow him to just get the job done that needs to be done. But that’s not the case either—his overuse of executive powers in murkier and murkier circumstances has caused Trump to be sued in federal court more than twice as much as any president this century.

These lawsuits mean injunctions, discovery, proceedings, and more that delay the implementation of his policies by years, while costing taxpayers millions.

Even if you agreed with Trump on every single issue, you must accept that his reliance on executive power is at best ineffective, and at worst autocratic.

At the same time Trump has taken his cudgel to Congressional authority, he’s also taken it to the kneecaps of your financial health.

Kneecapping American Markets

Since his inauguration, Trump has threatened every friend and foe of the United States with tariffs and trade disruptions. The market has not responded kindly.

On April Second, after Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement of tariffs on everyone from Canada to the penguins of McDonald Island, American markets plummeted further. Only two times have a president’s first hundred days been worse for the American economy: the dot-com bubble popping in 2001 and the constitutional crisis of Nixon’s resignation in 1974.

And while those

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Killing America’s Soft Power

Trump’s tariffs and thuggish behavior have not only harmed US markets; they have irreparably harmed our relations with other countries.

Canada

Newly re-elected Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney has said that “The old relationship we had with the United States… is over.”

Singapore

Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said that “The recent ‘Liberation Day’ tariff announcements by the US confirms this stark reality: the era of rules-based globalisation and free trade is over.”

Japan

Japan has consistently been one of the most pro-America countries over the last few decades. Japan regularly supports America and cooperates with us to limit China’s strength in the Pacific. But now Japanese leaders see the United States as “a delinquent kid extorting someone,” and call on others to “never give in to the American extortionists.”

South Korea

Another historic ally of the United States in the Pacific, South Korea is responding to US tariffs by turning toward China. China has gone from continually antagonizing the South Korean people and opposing South Korea’s ability to defend itself from North Korean missiles to a place of shelter from America’s unwarranted attacks.

China

One could argue that these relational hits are worth projecting strength to China and limiting their power. But in addition to alienating key allies in curtailing China like Japan and South Korea, Trump has only projected weakness. After seeing the response to his tariffs from markets and allies, Trump has begun to backpedal. But now Chinese people and media are laughing at Trump “chickening out” or “caving in.” He—and by proxy the United States— is a laughingstock in the PRC.

But even if Trump does fully backpedal, the damage is done. He looks weak in China, and it will take decades to regain the trust of our allies. He could completely walk back every piece of foreign policy and trade policy implemented in the last 100 days and it would not matter. Trump has flipped the game board over in rage.

In Crashing the Car of Pax Americana, Ben Hunt writes:

World-renowned investor, author, and Trump-neutral Ray Dalio has also warned of the same, writing that “whatever happens with tariffs, these problems won't go away.“

Former Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has confirmed these fears:

In just 100 days, Donald Trump has undone the post-WWII international consensus that made America thrive. And foreign leaders, investors, and academics alike are warning that it is not coming back.

What else has happened in the last 100 days?

Constitutional Crisis after Constitutional Crisis

While all of this has been happening, Trump has been trampling over the Constitution.

I’ve already written about his unconstitutional actions in deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia and Mohsen Mahdawi. I’ve written about his defiance of the courts who have demanded they be given their constitutionally protected due process. A I have warned about his desire to punish United States citizens with deportation and exile.

The Trump administration has now deported a US Citizen—a child with cancer nonetheless.

To be clear, this is incontestably unconstitutional.

The Trump administration has also been using plainclothes federal officers—with zero identification—to round up and disappear immigrants with zero due process. And when judges prevent them from doing so demanding they follow the letter of the law, they are arrested.

Trump continues to defy the courts. These smaller constitutional crises are building up to something much greater and more horrifying.

Hear the Alarm

My previous article warned that we have crossed the Rubicon. I was not exaggerating. I was sounding an alarm that continues to ring out warnings for our country.

Our markets are teetering on the edge. Our foundational principles of due process and equal protection under the law are at risk. The Bill of Rights is being actively trampled at every turn. And the party whose members so frequently fly the Gadsden Flag have decided to welcome the boot.

You will not fully feel the effects of Trump’s tariffs for another few months—ports have only just begun to go quiet. You will not fully understand the danger of enabling a would-be autocrat to trample upon our civil liberties maybe for years—tyranny slithers quietly toward total control until it is ready to strike. And you will not fully feel the pain of surrendering America’s position as global leader perhaps for decades—until China’s flag flies high the world over and we bemoan the American century that could have been.

All because of 100 days.