Trump’s first 100 days is a blast from the dark past

Reaching President Trump 100th day in his second term seems to have taken a lot longer than that since it’s rooted in the past rather than the present. Historians grade presidents on the progress they have made at the start of their administrations. It would be more appropriate to judge the president by the regress of the early portion of his second White House residency.

He has devoted his energies early to turning back the nation’s clock while Americans want to move forward. Trump demonstrated his nostalgia for former failed policies when he signed an executive order substituting President William McKinley’s name for Denali in Alaska.  It’s back to the bad old days of American imperialism and corporate corruption that marked McKinley’s tenure as president.

During his administration, McKinley acquired Puerto Rico and the Philippines. More than a century later the Caribbean island is still without voting representation in Congress or votes in the Electoral College. The acquisition of the Philippines led to a bloody guerilla jungle war that previewed the disastrous Vietnam conflict. Trump signed an executive order  changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico and threatened to take back the Panama Canal and steal Greenland from NATO ally Denmark.

McKinley’s presidency was the zenith of the Gilded Age of corporate domination in the United States. His successor, the great trustbuster, Teddy Roosevelt undermined the hold of big business on the economy. His distant cousin President Franklin Delano Roosevelt followed through. Trump hopes to restore those days of corporate domination with tax cuts for wealthy Americans and big business coupled with an end to economic regulation that protects the public from corporate exploitation.

The motif for Trump’s tenure is to Make America Great Again but American exceptionalism lies in our nation’s bright future not under the shadow of its dark past. The key to our future is a vibrant economy that serves all Americans, especially the middle class and people who want to advance economically. Trump serves the interests of fat cats and plutocrats while hard working families struggle.

He punted on the one job he promised the voters he would do: fight inflation. At a campaign rally last August he made this promise to Americans, “When I win, I will immediately bring prices down, starting on Day One.” He brazenly broke that pledge and failed abysmally to reduce the cost of living. The national polls demonstrate Americans have put him and congressional Republicans on double secret probation.

The numbers indicate that inflation is still rising and consumer confidence is near an all-time low. Day One has turned into Day 100 and prices are still rising.

Despite his pledge, inflation rose by 2.4 percent in March. Trump may not care about food prices but hard-pressed grocery shoppers do. The price of eggs rose 5.9 percent last month and their cost has increased by 60.4 percent in the last year. Consumer sentiment for April plunged to the fourth lowest level since 1952.

His on and off dalliance with a massive increase in taxes on imported goods will only accelerate inflation in consumer prices and further declines in consumer confidence and the value of 401(k) retirement accounts.

Americans have not reacted kindly to his efforts to turn back the clock or his failure to keep his campaign promise to bring lower prices. A new national poll from his friends at Fox News reveals Trump’s approval rating is already underwater and close to where it was at this point in his failed first term. His approval has dropped by 5 percent in the last month. In contrast, most Americans approved of Joe Biden’s and Barack Obama’s performance after their first 100 days of their terms.

A deep dive into the Fox survey paints an even bleaker picture for the president and his party. Only one in three Americans approve of the president’s performance on inflation and tariffs. Most people believe that his policies are bad for the economy.

How low can he go? If he goes any further underwater, vulnerable GOP incumbents will drown in next year’s midterm elections. A Democratic majority for the House of Representatives in 2027 would be a disaster for the Trump with congressional oversight hearings and another impeachment vote and a trial in the Senate.

Trump’s obsession with the past creates opportunities for Democrats in the future if they press their advantage. Trump’s attempts to demolish the federal government mean Democrats will have a blank canvas to innovate when the party returns to power.

His first hundred days have been a horror show. His flood the zone strategy has distracted and divided Democrats. My party needs to keep its eyes on the prize. The vibrant economy is still job No. 1 and the quickest way of undermining the president’s standing. But we must do more than resist Trump’s economic proposals. Democrats need to advance aggressive progressive proposals that serve the interests of hard working and financially hard-pressed working families.

Trump’s presidency is rooted in the past tense. Democrats must respond in the active voice. Instead of tax cuts for Elon Musk, Democrats should push for bankers and billionaires to pay their fair share of income and Social Security taxes. Instead of simply complaining about high food prices, we should break up the grocery chain cartels that are bleeding consumers dry. Aggressive progressive economic populism won’t come easily but it will pay big dividends down the line.

Brad Bannon is a national Democratic strategist and CEO of Bannon Communications Research which polls for Democrats, labor unions and progressive issue groups. He hosts the popular progressive podcast on power, politics and policy, Deadline D.C. with Brad Bannon.