As you might have heard in the news lately, President Donald Trump completed his 100th day in office Saturday, April 29. Many commentators and analysts made their cases about what was accomplished, and what it means for the times to come. But why is the first 100 days the benchmark, and is it really a good assessment of what a president’s entire term will be like?
To start, the “first 100 days” has not always been with us. Many a president has pledged to begin actions early in his presidency, or within a certain timeframe. George Washington was not being judged in the newspapers over whether exactly 100 days in, the United States was progressing significantly in certain areas. Rather, the expression of the “first 100 days” was coined by another president, Franklin D. Roosevelt.
During the 1932 campaign in the midst of the Great Depression, FDR made many promises of things he would quickly achieve. Starting with his inauguration March 4, 1933, through a flurry of legislative and executive actions, many of those were completed. The 32nd President then introduced the phrase later in that year, and it quickly caught on, becoming the modern phenomenon we see now.
Is this a fair measure of a new president’s success, though? There are 1,461 days in a four-year presidential term, so 100 days is less than 10 percent of that number. There are many issues, major legislation or international crises, for example, that take long amounts of time and probably won’t be feasibly accomplished in this relatively short time frame. Although this very idea seems to emphasize our nation’s hopes for quick changes and results, I have never heard much of a 100-days concept applied to other nations’ leaders.
On the other hand, 100 days is certainly enough time to get a grasp on someone’s leadership style and temperament in office. Through the major actions and the global and domestic situations that pop up, we can get a sense of how the president really works, in contrast to the smooth campaign operations that characterize the election process. Being president is a taxing job, and we can see through their interviews and speeches maybe just what is going through their minds, what they think is the best course of action.
So what has President Trump done in his first 100 days? We have seen some executive orders, an attempted health-care bill, the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch as a Supreme Court justice and airstrikes on Syria. Along with many other items, Trump seems to be pushing ahead with much of what he said on the campaign trail. With Trump’s Cabinet now almost fully in place as well, the administration seems set to continue to advance his and the congressional Republican priorities into the future.
But maybe 100 days isn’t enough time to fully gauge public support or disapproval of the new president’s policies. Opinion polls and many protests show discontent over some actions taken during the past 100 days, but we won’t know until the 2018 mid-term elections whether the Republicans – and by extension Trump – will be able to continue their plans with control of both houses of Congress. Mid-terms have historically tripped up many presidents, such as when the Republicans regained control of the House of Representatives in 2010, two years into President Obama’s first term.
While having some benefits, I think the first 100 days is not always the best measurement of a new president. A single issue could realistically end up occupying much of this time, with little other actions to evaluate the president by. I would instead take a longer look, perhaps a year in, so we can see just what effects each new action had over an extended period of time. It’s in our best interests to stay informed and know just what our president and governments – national, state and local – have been up to. Not just for the first 100 days, but for all of them.
Connor Kockler is a Sauk Rapids-Rice High School student. He enjoys writing, politics and news, among other interests.
