Seoul Gazette - Trump celebrates tumultuous 100 days in office

The 47th president will mark the milestone in trademark style, seeking to rejuvenate his base with a rally in the battleground state of Michigan that swung his way in November as he soundly defeated Kamala Harris.

Trump has shaken up the United States like few presidents before him.

His billionaire backer Elon Musk has led dramatic cutbacks of the federal workforce, and the president himself has reshaped relations with the world by unveiling sweeping tariffs, berating allies and eliminating much foreign aid.

Polls show that the honeymoon period that Americans historically accord presidents at the start of their terms has evaporated for Trump.

A poll published Sunday by The Washington Post and ABC News found that only 39 percent of Americans approve of Trump's performance.

The survey showed net disapproval even on what was his most popular issue -- his aggressive crackdown on immigration -- as controversy swirls over deportations without due process.

Trump angrily dismissed the polling, but has been tacitly acknowledging that he must moderate some policies as stock market turmoil takes a toll.

Wall Street, down more than six percent since Trump took office, ticked up Tuesday on news he would soften some of the sweeping tariffs impacting automakers.

- 'We've done everything' -

He also recently backtracked on threats to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who has warned that Trump's tariffs would likely reignite inflation.

After a 2017-2021 term in which some aides sought to rein him in, Trump has surrounded himself this time with unabashed loyalists -- and told reporters he was on track to accomplish all of his second-term goals.

"I think either we've done everything, or it's in the process of being done," Trump said as he prepared to fly to his rally at a community college in Warren, Michigan.

In a Q&A with reporters, he was asked about his preference for the next pope, and he joked: "I would like to be pope. That would be my No. 1 choice."

In the grand entrance hallway of the White House, Trump has removed a portrait of Barack Obama, the United States' first Black president, to make way for a painting of himself surviving an assassination attempt.

He has used threats of cutting off government access and contracts to pressure law firms whose partners once were involved in cases against him, and he has frozen billions of dollars in funding for universities -- hotbeds of criticism against the administration.

- Stretching limits -

Unlike most presidents, Trump has focused more on energizing his base than broadening his appeal -- and many supporters are still with him.

"He's amazing. Everybody's worried about tariffs. We don't care -- look at everything else that's coming together too," said Donna Fitzsimons, a 65-year-old merchandise seller at Michigan the rally venue ahead of Trump's appearance.

"People don't realize it takes time to get where you need to go."

The rival Democratic Party has seized on economic anxieties although it has also struggled in polling.

"Trump is to blame for the fact that life is more expensive, it's harder to retire, and a 'Trump recession' is at our doorstep," the Democratic National Committee said, calling the 100 days a "colossal failure."

Even with Congress narrowly in Republican hands, Trump has tested the limits of presidential power by signing more than 140 executive orders, many of which have faced court scrutiny.

He has sought to end birthright citizenship -- which is guaranteed by the US Constitution -- and Musk has summarily axed billions of dollars appropriated by Congress.

The former reality TV star has claimed the pledge was made "in jest," although CNN reported that he made it more than 50 times before taking office, and was even at pains to point out that he was being serious.

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N.Hong--SG