How Trump has tried to remake America in his first 100 days

The speed and scope with which Trump has tried to remake the relationship between the government and the citizenry in his first 100 days has been breathtaking.

The speed and scope with which President Donald Trump has tried to remake the relationship between the government and the citizenry in the first 100 days of his second term have been nothing short of breathtaking. That’s true for his fans and his critics alike.

When Trump travels to politically legendary Macomb County, Michigan, on Tuesday to mark the milestone, he will be able to point to his novel interpretations of the powers of the presidency to slash the federal workforce, withhold funds for foreign and domestic aid, stem the flow of illegal immigration through the U.S. border with Mexico, boost cryptocurrency and strangle trade, punish independent institutions — universities, law firms and media outlets among them — for failing to support his views and effectively outlaw diversity initiatives within the federal government and entities it supports.

Trump and his allies have relentlessly attacked federal judges who have rendered decisions slowing or stopping some of those policies — and, in one high-profile immigration case, did not comply with a district court judge’s order to halt deportations under the Alien Enemies Act. 

In times of war and economic crisis, past presidents, from Abraham Lincoln to Franklin Roosevelt, have tested the constitutional limits of their office in the name of protecting the nation from both foreign and domestic enemies and from the perils of financial ruin. None have tried to exercise so much power, across such a broad range of issues and with such disregard for Congress and the courts, as Trump has in a time of relative peace and economic stability in the United States.

Julian Zelizer, a presidential historian at Princeton University, said Trump has separated himself from predecessors by ignoring Congress and with his zeal for tearing down institutions, inside and outside the government, rather than building them up.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-tried-remake-america-first-100-days-rcna201224

---