Trump faces awkward reckoning 100 days into the job – notwithstanding his dreams of being King of America

Published

2 months ago

April 28, 2025

admin

David Axelrod, Barack Obama’s chief strategist, tried to downplay interest in the president’s first “100 days”.

He said it is just a “hallmark holiday”, meaning that the date is of little interest to those who make a point of remembering milestones such as greeting card manufacturers.

That did not prevent a reluctant Obama from having to join the media in assessing what he had achieved in his first few months in the White House.

He used early 2009 to reboot the American economy after the credit crunch and to promote social issues such as equal pay, healthcare for children and gender rights. He also ordered the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.

But “Gitmo” never shut. On returning to office this year, Donald Trump ordered its expansion to accommodate migrants arrested in the US.

Many of this president’s executive orders aim to reverse the spirit of what Obama and his Democratic successor, Joe Biden, tried to do.

Rather than a greeting card, the assessment at one hundred days has become an important report card for US presidents.

That’s why Sky News is carrying on with the TRUMP100 podcast by its US correspondents and why I was sent in 2008/9 to cover the first hundred days of Barack Obama, America’s first black president.

👉 Follow Trump 100 on your podcast app 👈

Donald Trump is keen to celebrate his first 14 and a half weeks back in office.

He is planning to hold his first MAGA rally since the election in one of the key swing states which helped him to victory.

“President Trump is excited to return to the great state of Michigan next Tuesday, where he will rally in Macomb County to celebrate the FIRST 100 DAYS!” his press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced in capital letters on social media.

There is something magic about 100, 10 x 10, the first number in three figures. In politics, “100 days” has assumed a talismanic status, defining both good and bad fortune for those it encompasses.

The phrase was coined in French in 1815 by the Comte de Chabrol de Volvic as a polite euphemism when he welcomed the restoration of Louis VIII following Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte’s attempt to take back power.

Les Cents Jours – Hundred Days – covered the period from Napoleon’s arrival in Paris after his escape from exile on the island of Elba, through the military campaign which culminated in his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June, to the King’s return to the capital on 8 July.

Since then, many books have been written entitled The Hundred Days, which has come to symbolise sometimes deluded heroism.

The novelist Patrick O’Brien used it as the title for one of his “Master and Commander” books covering the activities of his British Navy Captain Jack Aubrey during Napoleon’s final campaign.

Admiral Sir Sandy Woodward, the commander of the Falkland Islands’ Task Force in 1982, called his memoirs of that UK triumph One Hundred Days.

In American politics, the one hundred days report card began with the election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1933. The Democrat FDR hit the ground running, like Obama, to turn round economic catastrophe.

In one of the first “fireside chats” on the radio, which he innovated, he reported back on “the crowding events of the hundred days which had been devoted to the starting of the wheels of the New Deal”.

Ninety years later, the British cabinet minister James Purnell began Leading A Government Department – the First 100 Days, a report he co-wrote for the Institute for Government, by quoting the presidential historian Godfrey Hodgson on FDR’s start.

“These were the famous ‘hundred days’, in the course of which Roosevelt saved American capitalism and – some would say – saved American democracy as well,” he wrote.

“The period set a standard by which the wisdom and effectiveness of future presidents was to be judged.”

By the yardsticks on democracy and the economy, the 47th President of the United States faces an awkward reckoning 100 days into the job.

The S&P 500 stock index is down more than 15% under Trump, and the IMF has revised down global growth forecasts due to his tariff policy.

His critics accuse Trump of undermining America’s democratic norms.

He has exploited his position for personal profit, directed the federal justice system to persecute his opponents, pardoned the January 6th US Capitol insurrectionists, unleashed the unelected Elon Musk to slash the federal government through his unofficial Department of Government Efficiency, and launched the “Trump 2028” campaign to stand for a third term as president, in defiance of the US Constitution.

Trump resumed the presidency determined not to be held back as he was in his first term.

He started signing executive orders within hours of being sworn in. So far, he has issued 124, more than half the 220 he got through in the full four years between 2017 and 2021.

Some of these orders may be rejected in the courts. But Trump has also been helped by a supine US Congress, where his Republican Party has control of both Houses. This is in marked contrast to the resistance from lawmakers that Obama faced from his first day.

Doug Sosnik, who was President Clinton’s White House policy director, wrote in the New York Times last week: “It is safe to say that the first 100 days of Donald Trump’s second presidency will be considered the most consequential of any in modern history.

“Since taking office, Mr Trump has consolidated extraordinary power in the executive branch, dismantled large portions of the federal government, undone the military and economic alliances that were formed following World War Two and torn up the policy consensus that has governed global trade for just as long.”

Trump’s notable failures have been in foreign policy. He did not bring peace to Ukraine on “day one”. Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza continues.

Threats to make Canada “the 51st State” have transformed the anti-Trump Liberal Mark Carney into the favourite to win this weekend’s election. His aim to “get Greenland one way or another” has alienated Greenland, Denmark and their allies and made no progress.

Trump will doubtless outline his achievements and his further ambitions at his 100-day rally in Michigan. His envoys are desperately trying to strong-arm Ukraine into a peace “deal” before then.

Obama waited several months before commenting that “the first hundred days is going to be important, but it’s probably going to be the first thousand days that makes the difference”.

Next Tuesday, Trump will still have 1,360 days left to serve legally, notwithstanding his dreams of crowning himself King of America for life.

World

‘Nobody likes Trump’: Sky News finds defiance on the streets of Tehran

Published

9 hours ago

July 5, 2025

admin

'Nobody likes Trump': Sky News finds defiance on the streets of Tehran

To the sound of mournful chants and the slow beat of drums, they march, whipping their backs with metal flails.

It is an ancient ceremony going back almost 14 centuries – the Shia commemoration of Ashura.

But this year in particular has poignant significance for Iranians.

The devout remember the betrayal and death of the Imam Hussein as if it happened yesterday.

We filmed men and women weep as they worshipped at the Imamzadeh Saleh Shrine in northern Tehran.

The grandson of the Prophet Muhammad was killed by the armies of the Caliph Yazid in the seventh century Battle of Karbala.

Shia Muslims mark the anniversary every year and reflect on the virtue it celebrates – of resistance against oppression and injustice. But more so than ever this year, in the wake of Israel and America’s attacks on their country.

The story is one of prevailing over adversity and deception. A sense of betrayal is keenly felt here by people and officials.

Many Iranians believe they were lured into pursuing diplomacy as part of a ruse by the US.

Iran believed it was making diplomatic progress in talks with America, which it hoped could lead to a deal. Then Israel launched its attacks and, instead of condemning them, the US joined in.

“Death to Israel” chants resounded outside the mosque in skies that for 12 days were filled with the sounds of Israeli jets.

There is a renewed sense of defiance here.

One man told us: “The lesson to be learned from Hussein is not to give in to oppression, even if it is the most powerful force in the world.”

A woman was dismissive about the US president.

“I don’t think about Trump. Nobody likes him. He always wants to attack too many countries.”

Pictures on billboards nearby link Imam Hussein’s story and current events. They show the seventh century imam on horseback alongside images of modern missiles and drones from the present day.

Other huge signs remember the dead. Iran says almost 1,000 people were killed in the strikes, many of them women and children.

Officially Iran is projecting defiance, but not closing the door to diplomacy.

Government spokeswoman Dr Fatemeh Mohajerani told Sky News that Israel should not even think about attacking again.

“We are very strong in defence, and as state officials have announced, this time Israel will receive an even stronger response compared to previous times. We hope that Israel will not make such a mistake.”

But there is also a hint of conciliation. Senior Iranian officials have told Sky News back-channel efforts are under way to explore new talks with the US.

Israel had hoped its attacks could topple the Iranian leadership. Those hopes proved unfounded. The government is in control here.

For many Iranians it seems quite the opposite happened – the 12-day war has brought them closer together.

World

Two security workers injured after grenades thrown at aid site, Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says

Published

12 hours ago

July 5, 2025

admin

Two security workers injured after grenades thrown at aid site, Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says

Two American security workers in Gaza were injured after grenades were thrown during food distribution in Khan Younis, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has said.

In a statement, the US and Israeli-backed aid group said a targeted terrorist attack was carried out at one of its sites in southern Gaza on Saturday morning.

The two Americans injured “are receiving medical treatment and are in stable condition,” it said, adding that the delivery of aid was “otherwise successful” and that “no local aid workers or civilians were harmed”.

GHF didn’t say exactly when the incident happened but claimed Hamas was behind the attack, adding: “GHF has repeatedly warned of credible threats from Hamas, including explicit plans to target American personnel, Palestinian aid workers, and the civilians who rely on our sites for food.

“Today’s attack tragically affirms those warnings.”

Later, the aid group posted a picture on social media, which it said showed “fragments of a grenade packed with ball bearings” that was used in the attack.

Asked by Sky’s US partner network, NBC News, whether the two injured individuals were responsible for handing out aid or were responsible for providing security, GHF said they were “American security workers” and “two American veterans.”

The aid group did not provide specific evidence that Hamas was behind the attack.

The US and Israeli-backed group has been primarily responsible for aid distribution since Israel lifted its 11-week blockade of the Gaza Strip in May.

It comes after Sky News analysis showed GHF aid distributions are associated with a significant increase in deaths in Gaza.

According to Gaza’s health ministry, 600 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid from GHF sites as of 3 July, which charities and the UN have branded “death traps”.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press has reported that Israeli-backed American contractors guarding GHF aid centres in Gaza are using live ammunition and stun grenades.

GHF has vehemently denied the accusations, adding that it investigated AP’s allegations and found them to be “categorically false”.

Israel’s military added that it fires only warning shots and is investigating reports of civilian harm.

It denies deliberately shooting at any innocent civilians and says it’s examining how to reduce “friction with the population” in the areas surrounding the distribution centres.

World

Hamas gives ‘positive’ response to ceasefire proposal but asks for amendments

Published

18 hours ago

July 5, 2025

admin

Hamas gives 'positive' response to ceasefire proposal but asks for amendments

Hamas has said it has “submitted its positive response” to the latest proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza to mediators.

The proposal for a 60-day ceasefire was presented by US President Donald Trump, who has been pushing hard for a deal to end the fighting in Gaza, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set to visit the White House next week to discuss a deal.

Mr Trump said Israel had agreed to his proposed ceasefire terms, and he urged Hamas to accept the deal as well.

Hamas’ “positive” response to the proposal had slightly different wording on three issues around humanitarian aid, the status of the Israeli Defence Forces inside Gaza and the language around guarantees beyond the 60-day ceasefire, a source with knowledge of the negotiations revealed.

But the source told Sky News: “Things are looking good.”

Hamas said it is “fully prepared to immediately enter into a round of negotiations regarding the mechanism for implementing this framework” without elaborating on what needed to be worked out in the proposal’s implementation.

The US said during the ceasefire it would “work with all parties to end the war”.

A Hamas official said on condition of anonymity that the truce could start as early as next week.

But he added that talks were needed first to establish how many Palestinian prisoners would be released in return for each freed Israeli hostage and to specify the amount of humanitarian aid that will be allowed to enter Gaza during the ceasefire.

He said negotiations on a permanent ceasefire and the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza in return for the release of the remaining hostages would start on the first day of the truce.

Hamas has been seeking guarantees that the 60-day ceasefire would lead to a total end to the nearly 21-month-old war, which caused previous rounds of negotiations to fail as Mr Netanyahu has insisted that Israel would continue fighting in Gaza to ensure the destruction of Hamas.

The Hamas official said that Mr Trump has guaranteed that the ceasefire will extend beyond 60 days if necessary to reach a peace deal, but there is no confirmation from the US of such a guarantee.

Speaking to journalists on Air Force One, Mr Trump welcomed Hamas’s “positive spirit” to the proposal, adding that there could be a ceasefire deal by next week.

Hamas also said it wants more aid to flow through the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies, which comes as the UN human rights officer said it recorded 613 Palestinians killed in Gaza within a month while trying to obtain aid.

Most of them were said to have been killed while trying to reach food distribution points by the controversial US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

The spokeswoman for the UN human rights office, Ravina Shamdasani, said the agency was not able to attribute responsibility for the killings, but added that “it is clear that the Israeli military has shelled and shot at Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points” operated by GHF.

Ms Shamdasani said that of the total tallied, 509 killings were “GHF-related”, meaning at or near its distribution sites.

The GHF accused the UN of taking its casualty figures “directly from the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry” and of trying “to falsely smear our effort”, which echoed statements to Sky News by the executive director of GHF, Johnnie Moore.

Mr Moore called the UN figures a “disinformation campaign” that is “meant to shut down our efforts” in the Gaza Strip.