The first 100 days of any presidency are an extremely critical moment. This period tends to foreshadow the entire presidency, as it marks a euphoric phase when many of the promises made during the campaign are expected to begin the process of legal implementation.
As of January 20th, 2017, Donald J. Trump officially became the 45th president of the United States. With only forty days in office under his belt, Trump’s presidency has already broken multiple records as he is the oldest incoming president, the wealthiest, and the first person to be inaugurated as president without any preceding military or administrative experience.
One day after the inauguration, a Women’s March was held, in which millions of protestors hit the streets to march against much of Trump’s divisive campaign rhetoric and in favour of “ending gender-based violence, reproductive rights and women’s health, LGBTQIA rights, worker’s rights, civil rights, immigrant rights, religious freedom, environmental justice”. Political scientists from the University of Denver and the University of Connecticut suggest the Women’s march may have been the largest day in American history, with a count of more than 3.3 million people turning out in over 500 U.S. cities.
Researchers estimate 3.2 million Americans turned out, although marches were also held in London, Toronto, Tokyo, Nairobi, and many other cities. Women’s March was held in favour of racial and gender equality, immigrants, people of colour, and the LGBT community. After an unprecedented political campaign which was rampant with controversy, debate, anger and protests.
Soon after Trump’s inauguration, the White House’s pages on civil rights, health care, climate change and LGBT rights were removed. The page on civil rights was supplanted with a page titled, “Standing Up For Our Law Enforcement Community”. Likewise, the previous climate change was substituted with a page about Trump’s energy plan, which discusses his plans to remove the Climate Action Plan and the Waters of the U.S. rule, both of which are directed at combating climate change and protecting the aquatic ecosystems.
Whether you find yourself abhorring or agreeing with Trump’s principles, it is important to remain aware of his plans for presidency, many of which will impact neighbouring countries such Canada and countries like China, who are heavily involved in trade relations with the US. Here is a list of what Trump has promised to do within the first 100 days of his presidency.
Reintroduce an executive immigration order (a revised ‘Muslim ban’)
Reduce federal restrictions on the production of energy
Dismantle the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)
Eradicate gun free zones in American schools
Erect a wall on the southern US border to limit immigration and “give unemployed Americans an opportunity to fill good-paying jobs”
Revise trade settlements with other nations and prevent American companies from moving jobs overseas
Push for a change to the United States Constitution’s placing term limits on Congress
Formulate a rule on regulations “that for every one new regulation, two old regulations must be eliminated”
He also plans to “protect America’s vital infrastructure from cyberattacks”