A tariff gaffe, an utter disregard for the rule of law and empty promises basically define the second administration of Donald Trump. When I last wrote about American politics in the December edition of The Blue & Gold, it was very clear that Donald Trump—being the first Republican presidential candidate to win the national popular vote since two decades ago—was elected on a mandate to fix the economy. Today, the United States (US) has more problems than it had under the Biden administration. 

A key cornerstone of Trump’s third presidential campaign was to restore “respect for America” across the world, which he thought would strengthen American negotiation in ending conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine. Yet, the Israeli-Hamas ceasefire lasted for less than two months, and his approach to the Russian invasion of Ukraine is even more absurd. Not only has Trump not met his promise to end the war on “day one,” he has even said recently that he is realizing that Putin might not “want to stop the war,” as if we have not known this since the start of the war.

Even worse, Trump turned American allies into foes. Soon after Trump announced his universal tariffs, which were calculated with a dubious formula, Japan and South Korea—two of America’s most important partners checking China’s rising power in the Asia-Pacific region—met with China to discuss further economic integration. This could not have come at a worse time when America’s three largest trading partners—Mexico, Canada and China, all of which collectively buy more than 40% of all American exports—all announced retaliatory tariffs against American goods.

Even in the US, the effects of tariffs are already taking a toll on Americans. Wall Street entered panic mode, and the stock market crashed. Canadians, who make up a quarter of all travelers to the US, have reduced travel to the US by 32%, which could cost the American economy up to USD$6 billion and hundreds of thousands of jobs, according to Forbes. Orders for American soybeans and other agricultural products have been cancelled, costing American farmers billions of dollars. And all of this was done to “bring back jobs” that might not even return.

During his campaign, Trump also declared his intent to deport all undocumented immigrants in the US. He has attempted it, albeit unlawfully. Last month, the Trump administration defied a federal court order that halted the administration’s deportation flights, and flew the plane to an El Salvador prison that is notorious for torture and abuse. Among those deported was Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an immigrant granted special legal status which prevented him from getting deported to El Salvador, due to what the government claimed in court was a “clerical error” that would have been prevented with due process. When the Supreme Court ordered Trump to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the administration refused. Even US citizens have faced threats of deportation.

Now, Trump claims that his administration should be able to willfully ignore court orders and due process. It’s as if this administration believes that it is exceptional to the Constitution and the rights entitled to both citizens and foreigners. This is alarming. If a government can willfully ignore the rights granted by its Constitution, where is the limit for this government to infringe upon the civil liberties of Americans and foreigners alike?

The Trump administration has also led a chaotic effort to shrink the federal government. After cutting the Federal Emergency Management Agency—responsible for emergency response to natural disasters—by 28%, the federal government could not provide recovery aid to tornado victims in Arkansas. Furthermore, when a Milwaukee public school requested the Center for Disease Control (CDC) for assistance on lead removal, the CDC said it no longer had the capacity to do so due to cost-cutting. Even then, the Department of Government Efficiency could only cut 2% of the federal budget.

America voted for a candidate who promised to fix the economy that Biden left behind. Americans did not vote for this chaos, and they are responding. In a Fox News poll, Trump’s disapproval is higher than his approval by 11% 100 days into his second term, worse than his first term and any US president’s first 100 days. Voters are clear: this is not the mandate they gave Trump. If he keeps this chaos up, Trump will be looking at a grim midterm next year.