President Donald Trump began his second non-consecutive term on Jan. 20, and prior to returning to the Oval Office, Trump made many promises. The first 100 days of presidency are crucial and the most productive of a president’s term, but these first 100 hours of Trump’s second term were especially full of executive orders.
Trump’s entire campaign platform made his first day goals clear. We heard about the mass deportations (the greatest in American history), the reinstatement of the travel ban on Muslim-majority countries and banning transgender people from joining the military. Up until the first day in office there’s only anticipation — we didn’t know what promises he would actually fulfill. Some of his executive orders take effect immediately, while some can still be checked by the other branches of government.
A lot of Trump’s promises are alarming and have incited fear in many Americans. Pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement, along with rescinding the restrictions on drilling in Alaska conveyed the president’s complete disregard for environmental protection and concern for climate change. The GOP is known for denying climate change as a threat or even a real issue at all, so pulling out of this multinational agreement feeds the Project 2025 worries. The logic behind both orders centers around prioritizing the economy which doesn’t exactly correlate but seems to be President Trump’s primary concern behind most of his plans.
Trump also granted full pardons to all Jan. 6 rioters who were convicted under the court of law, which would be around 1,200 to 1,500 people. This order is disgraceful and very hurtful to the American people and our government. That day, rioters who were moved by Trump’s words to hold onto his presidency threatened to hang former Vice President Mike Pence; threatened to shoot Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi; terrorized the Capitol, people of Washington D.C. and our democracy. The entire reason for the riot and the perpetual denial of the 2020 presidential election results just adds to how heinous this entire situation is. If elections can’t be trusted in a country as “democratic” as ours, then there is reason for citizens to be scared.
Along with this specific goal of his, Trump proceeded to reverse 78 of former President Joe Biden’s executive actions. Not only is this excessive, but Trump has not taken his seat back gracefully. His inauguration was a lot of his usual speeches with some additional disses at former President Biden. Trump repeatedly slammed the Biden administration, asserting it was a disaster while simultaneously claiming to promote unity. Undoing most of the former administration’s four years of work for the country doesn’t exactly establish a desire to want to work together or embrace the half of the country that didn’t vote for him.
It is amazing how many things Trump lived up to on his first day. His ICE seizures have been all over the news, highlighting the effectiveness of his deportation plans already. For his supporters it’s promising for a successful term. While it might have been a historic day, the actual plans he’s executing are concerning. For example, he talks about challenging birthright citizenship, a constitutional right. If Trump is willing to challenge something that’s been a right in this country for over 150 years, then how far will he go in these next four years? Some Republican congressional members have even proposed amending the Constitution so that Trump could serve another term. While these would usually seem completely outlandish and even dictatorial, like Trump himself told us, “the impossible is what we do best,” and in this case, that’s not what we want to hear.
Lastly, this new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is so odd. DOGE was established on his first day in office and many people still aren’t exactly sure what its purpose is. Apparently, the department will work towards maximizing government efficiency through modernized software being implemented throughout federal agencies, but the fact that it is an extension of the executive branch that is planned to be led by Elon Musk draws some questions.
Along with pulling out of the World Health Organization and having to reassign federal employees that were working there, Trump signed a freeze on hiring federal government employees (exempting military positions, immigration enforcement and national security). This is also another more complex project he’s working on, but he did sign on an order giving him more control over federal workforce, and this could be a return to a plan he had for 2020 which would make it easier for him to fire federal employees working in policy. Compared to the other things he got done on his first day, this one is a little more random but it does raise questions about people losing jobs, qualifications for federal jobs and possible nepotism.
All in all, it was definitely a productive first day, and Trump has definitely demonstrated his determination in creating a reimagined America in these next four years.
Loresa Zeqiraj, FCRH ’28, is an international studies major from Yorktown Heights, N.Y.
