4 ideas from a progressive on how Trump can turn things around

About 42 percent of Americans approve of President Trump’s performance in office, a historic low for a president in the early months of his term.

Just 43 percent approve of Trump’s handling of the economy, which had been his strong suit; 44 percent believe he “understands the problems facing people like you;” 55 percent oppose his tariff policies; 54 percent believe he is “exceeding the powers available to him.” A whopping 66 percent chose the word “chaotic” to describe his policies.

Poll numbers in the first 100 days are almost always as good as a president gets during his term, so it won’t be easy to turn things around.

That said, Trump can gain some ground with several initiatives that are almost certain to be popular across the political spectrum. Even his progressive critics should support actions they deem worthwhile in their own right.

First, Trump should induce Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who has become a distraction and a political liability, to resign. When he was nominated, the former Fox News host was widely viewed as unqualified to lead the Pentagon. He was accused of excessive drinking, infidelity, sexual misconduct and financial mismanagement of two small veterans’ organizations. Just two in 10 Americans supported his confirmation.

During his brief tenure as secretary, Hegseth has shared highly sensitive details about impending U.S. airstrikes on Houthis in Yemen on unsecure devices with, among others, his wife, brother and personal lawyer, and issued angry non-denial denials. The Pentagon inspector general is reviewing his handling of this material.

A couple of weeks ago, John Ullyot, a staunch Trump loyalist, resigned as chief spokesman of the Pentagon and stated that after “months of chaos” the Department of Defense was in “disarray,” and urged Trump remove Hegseth. Meanwhile, four high-level officials in the department, including Hegseth’s own chief of staff, were ousted or reassigned.

Not surprisingly, a recent poll revealed that only 36 percent of Americans have a favorable view of Hegseth. Trump, who just banished former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz to the United Nations, can surely strengthen his team by replacing Hegseth with an experienced military professional who shares his administration’s priorities and can get confirmed with bipartisan support in the Senate.

Second, in the wake of Elon Musk’s announcement that he will be devoting more time to Tesla and less to government service, Trump should distance himself from the hard-to-like billionaire and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency. DOGE has made high-profile mistakes and faces costly lawsuits related to mass layoffs. To the detriment of millions of Americans, it ignored advice that applies to both arrogant budget slashers and carpenters: “Measure twice, cut once.”

After promising to reduce the federal budget by $2 trillion and then revising that target to $1 trillion, Musk now claims savings of $150 billion — just 7.5% of the perhaps overly optimistic initial goal. That number is disputed by experts, who point out as well that firings, rehirings, lost productivity and paid leave will cost taxpayers a combined $135 billion. Meanwhile, the departure of 22,000 IRS employees could result in a loss of up to $8.5 billion in taxes collected in 2026 alone.

A recent Associated Press poll showed that 65 percent of Americans think Musk has too much power. “Republicans don’t want to own him,” a source close to the White House told reporters. By ditching Musk without dissing DOGE, Trump can somewhat more credibly authorize — and even order — heads of executive branch agencies to work with Congress to reduce “waste and fraud,” while promising to protect national security, veterans’ benefits, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

Third, Trump should see to it that Kilmar Abrego Garcia is freed from prison in El Salvador and reunited with his wife (an American citizen) and their three children, one of whom is disabled. An undocumented immigrant who has lived in Maryland since 2011 and was granted “protected legal status” in 2019, Abrego Garcia was deported by ICE officials, who mistakenly identified him as a member of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang. Following a Supreme Court decision directing the federal government to “facilitate” his return, the administration claimed without evidence that he was a member of the MS-13 gang, and that the U.S. had no power to compel El Salvador to release him.

Only 31 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of the case, and 76 percent believe the administration should not ignore or disobey Supreme Court rulings.

Fourth, the greatest challenge Trump faces in restoring public confidence in his administration is his ill-advised, inexplicable, on-again off-again tariff war, conducted against allies as well as adversaries, and spiking fears of inflation, job losses and a recession.

Although the damage to the system of global trade may be irreparable, Trump could try to get some breathing room by announcing that the U.S. has signed “memorandums of understanding” with, say, Japan and India, and extending the 90-day pause on tariffs on those countries. Although one anonymous expert said he “would not even call them deals,” which often take years to complete, this approach might allow Trump to claim victory, calm the markets, extend the pause on tariffs to other countries and ratchet back others, including the prohibitively high levies imposed on China.

Many progressives may think that it’s a mistake to help Trump mitigate his blunders, because the only way to save democracy is to let popular discontent grow and increase the possibility that Democrats will win big in 2026 and 2028.

But these days, when MAGA Republicans hold virtually all the levers of power, a case can be made that in addition to opposing unjust, unlawful and mean-spirited policies, a responsible opposition should endorse alternatives Trump might actually adopt as his own that enhance freedom, justice, democratic accountability and prosperity — even if doing so boosts his plummeting poll numbers.

Glenn Altschuler is the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Emeritus Professor of American Studies at Cornell University.