An opinion piece by Sianna Zewdie (Y11)
As an American, when I look at the news, detailing yet another of President Trump’s exploits or screw-ups, it is not the destroyed foreign relations nor the economic crashes nor even the loss of personal freedoms that saddens me most. It is the fact that it has only been 130 days since he’s been elected president. This is what he has done in four months—what’s to happen in the next four years?
It has been exceedingly clear that his time in office so far has not been about keeping promises—it was about breaking the system. His administration’s actions have overwhelmingly been focused not restoring order but on shaping chaos to his advantage and using it to set the precedent for the next four years of his presidency.
From Day One: Executive Orders and a Scorching Power Grab
Donald Trump signed 26 executive orders on his first day alone, and went on to sign a total of 126 more in his first 100 days, the most of any other president. These orders largely focused on undoing the work of the previous Biden-Harris administration, proving what we already knew: if it comes down to the wellbeing of the average American, or petty vengeance, Trump will choose revenge every time.
The effects of his return were felt almost immediately around the globe (I did warn about this in my previous article on the administration) when he pulled the United States out of the WHO due to the organization’s “mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic”1. Yes, because the President who suggested injecting disinfectant into coronavirus patients, fired scientists working on vaccines and led an administrative response that spread false information about it is better than trained professionals at the WHO2 3 4.
The statement on the official website goes on to explain further reasons, one of which being the fact that China has a larger population but contributes less to the WHO. When I read that, it brings to mind memories of being younger and complaining when my mom gave my brother and me one chocolate each. I’d complain saying I did my chores and he didn’t, so I was the only one who deserved candy, conveniently forgetting the fact that my brother was only four. Similarly, while, yes, China does contribute less to the WHO, there are a variety reasons for that, primarily that China has a much smaller economy! It’s also important to note that 87.5% of America’s contributions to the WHO were voluntary—not required5. All this took me to find out was a quick Google search, and yet it seems the Trump administration can’t even do that.
Donald Trump also pardoned the rioters who had participated in the infamous storming of Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021, in protest of unfounded claims that the 2020 election was rigged (by the way, it’s quite convenient that Trump spent a lot of his campaign quietly insinuating that the 2024 would end up being rigged too, in preparation for a loss, but when his victory was announced, these claims suddenly vanished!)6. More than 1500 people were granted clemency and escaped years in prison, proving how the Justice branch of government seems of less import to Trump than a pesky mosquito. These are people who threatened innocent lives in a cultish frenzy, and they get to walk free? What tone does that set for the next four years?
A final—and very pressing issue—is Trump’s attempt to overturn birthright citizenship—something that has been a constitutional right since the founding fathers signed it in 1787. To know more about the specifics, Jennifer Yoo (Y12) has written an excellent article on it, however I will say that this attempt clearly shows Trump’s contempt for the constitution, and for the country itself. He will go as far as to change the fabric that makes up this nation all to serve his twisted political ideals, satisfy his cult following and solidify the iron grip he holds on America.
And this sets a dangerous precedent—if he can do this, if he can change the constitution how far can he go? Adolf Hitler only got as far as he did because people let him—people’s fear of war and communism led them to support him as a ‘better’ alternative, emboldening him to go to the lengths that he did. We mustn’t boost Trump’s ego in the same way, because honestly? It’s big enough already.
Government or Circus? The Art of Organized Disorganization
I’m afraid the paragraphs above were only the first section. We talked about his power grabs and policy shifts—now let’s cover the utter disarray in his government. Over 275 000 federal workers have been fired since the Trump administration came into power—largely thanks to the meddling of Trump’s paramour, Elon Musk—then rehired when courts reminded the administration that that was actually illegal (although, let’s be honest, when has that stopped Trump before). A bumbling, idiotic move on his administration’s part, sowing chaos rather than security.
Elon Musk’s DOGE bureau might be the most obvious attempt to bring business into government, not least by the fact that the agency conveniently had the same name as Musk’s cryptocurrency investments7. Before January 20, federal agencies were still investigating 32 cases in Musk’s companies, but once Musk began his new role, those specific departments received budget cuts and had many programs slashed8. Because Musk is now virtually untouchable, U.S. workers will continue to suffer unlawful treatment at Tesla plants, animals will continue to die in brain experiments at Neuralink and Starlink will keep on giving Russia access to Ukrainian internet service details. And yet, Trump’s administration will save the working class!
A vaguely amusing thing Musk did (if anything about all of this could be considered funny) is when his agency ordered federal workers to submit a weekly report email detailing ‘5 productive things they did this week’. It honestly sounds a lot like the kinds of evaluations my third grade teacher would give us at the end of a lesson (‘What went well? What didn’t? What will you do better next time?’) except with much higher stakes because anyone who didn’t respond weekly would be fired9.
Luckily, the Office of Personnel Management quickly informed workers that they didn’t have to do it if they didn’t want to, saving already overburdened federal workers from unnecessary additions to their work piles.
Scandals, Shenanigans, and Signalgate: Welcome to the Reality Show
A show I’ve been binging recently is Shonda Rhimes’ Scandal—it’s full of power plays and corrupt politicians dominating the D.C. scene. And I have to say, Oscar Wilde hit the nail cleanly on the head when he said that life imitates art. There are many things that shocked the American public since January—too many, in fact, to list here—but one highlight definitely had to be Signalgate.
For those who don’t know—on March 11, 2025, Jeffrey Goldberg, writer for the Atlantic, was added to a group chat on the Signal app, where high profile members of the U.S. government, such as the Secretary of State and the Vice President himself were talking about upcoming military operations. On March 15, Pete Hesgeth, Secretary of Defense, used the chat to discuss and share information regarding classified air strikes in Yemen—including types of missiles, and launch times.
Initially, Goldberg assumed it was a joke, but when the attacks occurred exactly as the groupchat had detailed, he realized the gravity of what he had accidentally discovered. At first, his article in the Atlantic merely detailed the situation, but he did not include details from the texts as he assumed it was a private U.S. government matter.
However, much like my little brother reassuring my mom that losing his English book wasn’t a big deal because he didn’t have much work in it anyway, the Trump administration dismissed concerns over Goldberg’s addition to the chat, claiming it didn’t contain classified information. Goldberg responded by releasing the screenshots of the chat—after all, if the government said it wasn’t classified, then surely the public should have access to it, right? You can read the thread here.
Another thing that has sparked public outrage is the Department of Homeland Security’s recent announcement that they are considering a proposal for a reality TV show in which immigrants would compete in a series of challenges to win American citizenship10. I think the fact that this news coincides with the casting announcements for the newest Hunger Games movie is just beautiful symmetry.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been a central figure in the controversy surrounding Trump’s administration not least due to a fact that he is an anti-vaxxer and conspiracy theorist…as well as the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services. I could write a whole article on RFK Jr. and his antics but for now, here are some of the highlights:
- Equated public health measures with Nazi war crimes
- Dumped a dead bear cub carcass in Central Park
- Chainsawed the head off a whale and drove it home
- Believes that the CIA was involved in the death of his uncle John F. Kennedy
- Claimed COVID-19 vaccination is a medical experiment on Black people
- Had his grandchildren swim with him in a D.C. river overflowing with sewage
- Has eaten horse, guinea pig and dog meat (it may have been him Trump was referring in his infamous quote from the 2024 debate with Kamala Harris)
He has already received backlash for his policies, such as cutting cancer funding, cutting FDA staffing and his pledge to discover the cause of autism by September (actually, he’s changed his mind about that one. He’ll find the cause of autism by the end of March instead)11 12. However, maybe we shouldn’t discount everything he says as incoherent ramblings—last week, he told Congress: ‘people shouldn’t take medical advice from me’13. I think this may be the only thing RFK Jr. and I will ever agree on.
The Culture Wars: Waging Battle on Common Sense and Humanity
The effects of the first 130 days go beyond politics and gossip forums and into people’s everyday lives. Trump has begun his attacks on the LGBTQ+ community by trying to suppress the rights of transgender and nonbinary people. On his first day in office, he issued a landmark executive order stating that the government would only accept two unchangeable sexes: male and female. The order explains itself by saying, “Efforts to eradicate the biological reality of sex fundamentally attack women by depriving them of their dignity, safety, and well-being,” as if Trump ever gave a damn about women’s rights.
He went on to try to eliminate gender ideology on the federal level, by replacing the word ‘gender’ with ‘sex’ on every government website, moving transgender women into male prisons, and banning transgender people from serving in the military1415. Across the government websites, agencies are also removing any evidence or photos of transgender and nonbinary people, one can only assume in order to remove any proof of their affiliation with the U.S. government.
They extended this policy to the entire LGBTQIA+ community, leading to the absurd situation where a Pentagon webpage about the Enola Gay—a plane, named after its pilot’s mother, that dropped an atomic bomb on Japan—was removed, seemingly because the word ‘gay’ was flagged during a site-wide purge. Not only does this show the raging homophobia in the Trump administration but also simply the pure incompetence present in all elements of the government.
Another ramification of Trump’s return to power is the eradication of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Programs. It wasn’t just trans and nonbinary people being removed from websites—although they bore the brunt of it—it was also women, people of color, and disabled people, all strategically erased from online government records. Histories of women in the armed forces. A page on Jackie Robinson, the first Black major league baseball player. An immigrant interning at NASA’s profile. The U.S. Department of State even sent out this list of phrases that they instructed their staff to avoid:
and the Department of Defense told the military to remove digital content that “focus[es] on immutable characteristics, such as race, ethnicity or sex”. The government is quickly making the American public forget that all these minorities, all these marginalized and underprivileged groups, not even 100 years after they finally got their hard-earned rights16.
And people can’t even discuss the depravity of it freely anymore! The Associated Press has been barred from White House events, funding for NPR and PBS have been cut and the Federal Communications Commission has begun investigations into the NBC, ABC and CBS. Now what could these news outlets have in common? That’s right—they’ve all been very vocal in their distaste for Donald Trump, and his ego, it seems, just can’t stand it17.
Donald Trump, a seemingly strong supporter for Israel in its conflict with Palestine has also orchestrated a crackdown on pro Palestine protests, particularly at colleges and universities. On March 8th 2025, Mahmoud Khalil, one such protester, was taken from his residential apartment at Columbia University by ICE agents without an arrest warrant. The State Department had ordered them to revoke his student visa—and when they learned that he was a lawful permanent resident, they were ordered to revoke that instead. He was taken to a detention center in Louisiana, where he is currently.
The Secretary of State justified his imprisonment with an almost obsolete Cold War era Act, that says that the Secretary of State may deport those whose presence may have ‘serious adverse foreign policy consequences’, which obviously in this political climate can only be pro-Palestine protesters18. This has escalated into a repression of free speech in colleges—some like Columbia folded under the pressure, while others, like Harvard, are taking a stand. Regardless of how colleges respond, the fact remains: the U.S. government leveraging federal funding to curtail free speech is not just alarming; it’s a chilling assault on fundamental rights.
Allies? Who Needs Those?
I won’t go into a long-winded description of Trump’s tariffs and their long term damage, but the mere fact that we are feeling the shockwaves here on the other side of the world proves Donald Trump isn’t just stirring chaos at home—he’s exporting it worldwide. It is interesting to see how his foreign policy seems to be primarily centered around burning bridges with our allies such as trying to convince Canada to be our 51st state, or starting an idiotic trade war with China that he had absolutely no chance of winning.
And yet, on ‘Liberation Day’ (a deeply ironic name) when he released the global tariffs, some countries escaped his expansive list—apparently nations such as Russia, North Korea and Cuba are the only ones worth preserving strong diplomatic ties with19. Of course, we must wager a trade war with islands not even inhabited by humans, like the Heard and McDonald islands, but known dictatorships? What have they ever done to deserve the hassle?
Another element of his foreign policy that is deeply concerning is his relations with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Unlike the previous Biden-Harris administration, Trump seems more focused on exploiting Ukraine’s vulnerability for financial gain rather helping them fight an unlawful invasion. Again, the Update has another excellent article detailing their infamous meeting, but the takeaway is clear: the idea of the U.S. helping others out of goodwill seems long gone—it’s all about material benefit now. He’s also taken to Truth Social to post some messages clearly intended for Putin to see and take as a threat. Here is one such message.
‘Vladimir, STOP!’. I’ll be honest, when I read that, all I can think of is Gal Gadot’s terrible line delivery in Justice League (2017)—’Kal-El, NO!’
A few more of Donald’s brilliant foreign policy moves:
- Pulling out from the Paris Climate Agreement, because he worries it places undue pressure on the U.S. economy20. Whose going to tell him there won’t be an economy to put pressure on if we burn up our world?
- Renamed Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America (but only within U.S. borders). Good for him, I guess, but he does realize that the rest of the world isn’t going to follow suit…right? It’s because of the Associated Press’s refusal to rename it in their articles by the way, that caused him to ban them from White House events21.
- Accepting a ‘gift’ of a plane from Qatar. Trump claims he’d be a ‘fool not to accept [it]’22.Oh, Donald. You’re a fool regardless. And—not only will this cost over a billion dollars for the U.S. government to process and furbish to meet the standards required to carry a president, the White House claims that the idea that this could be used to influence the president in international politics is ‘preposterous’23. Sure.
The Cost of Chaos, and What’s Next
If there’s any consolation, it’s the fact that the public is finally beginning to wake up and realize the horrifying dangers that come with Trump’s current power. He has the lowest 100-day approval rating going back 80 years—primarily because the threat of an economic recession has sparked fear among the general population24. Would you look at that: all those MAGA lovers who, throughout the campaigns, conveniently ignored economists’ warning of the dangers of Trump’s economic plans are shocked when the experts are right!
An interviewer recently remarked to Trump that ‘people are worried. Even some of the people who voted for you are saying, ‘I didn’t sign up for this.’’ Trump responded: ‘Well, they did sign up for it, actually. And this is what I campaigned on.’ And, you know what? For once, he’s right. Trump may have lied about many things, but a lot of these aforementioned catastrophes were explicitly detailed in his plans, many still viewable on his website. It forces us to reckon with a question: How much of this chaos was predictable, and therefore preventable?
This article, lengthy as it is, barely scratches the surface of the chaos this administration has unleashed in just four months. Entire topics—like mass deportations—would demand a sequel to unpack with the care they deserve. Donald Trump might just be the most terrifying chapter in modern American history. Chaos isn’t coming; it’s already here. And while the top 1% sip their champagne, everyone else will feel the sting—in their wallets, workplaces, schools, and social lives. It’s safe to say that I will likely spend the next four years checking this website daily. 130 days down…and only 1330 more to go.