30 Days of Trump

With an all-out assault on the federal bureaucracy taking center stage, Trump 2.0’s first month was a calculated storm of disruption, norm shattering and overhauling of government institutions.

The EOs: As political analyst Bruce Mehlman pointed out in the latest edition of his excellent “Six-Chart Sunday” series, the 70 executive orders President Trump has signed in 30 days “exceeds those in the first 100 days of every President since 1933.”

Zoom in: This handy Axios chart breaks down the president’s executive actions from Inauguration Day to Feb. 19, revealing a strong focus on restructuring the government, foreign policy and immigration.

The economy: As Mehlman noted, Trump sees a healthy stock market as proof of his economic success, but fears that trade wars and deportations will hurt profits have dragged down tariff-exposed stocks since his inauguration.

Inflation: Voters prioritized inflation and the economy in 2024, but Trump’s efforts so far haven’t moved the needle, with prices climbing higher than expected last month.

Immigration: Illegal border crossings plunged in the first few weeks of Trump’s new term, building on a downward trend that began under Joe Biden.

• Border arrests at the U.S.-Mexico border fell to 29,000 in January, down from 47,000 in December, and declining from a peak of 250,000.

The vibes: Per FiveThirtyEight’s polling aggregator, Trump’s net approval rating remains positive.

• However, his approval numbers have slipped in recent days while disapproval ratings have trended up, suggesting Americans may be starting to sour on the president.

• According to a CNN/SSRS poll, 55% support Trump’s deportation policies or want him to go further.

• On the other hand, 62% of Americans say Trump has not done enough to lower prices.

Bubba’s Two Cents

How should we judge President Trump’s first month? Well, It depends.

I’ve noticed that supporters fixate on the big picture while overlooking flaws in the details. They point out widespread dissatisfaction with the status quo and note that “this is what people voted for.” I’d caution them on getting overly confident. For instance, reports suggest some Republican lawmakers are privately “starting to freak out over the likely impact of severe cuts on their own states.” Elon Musk is clearly taking a chainsaw—not a scalpel—to the government. So I wouldn’t be too surprised if at least some of the administration’s aggressive cuts end up being unpopular once the dust clears.

On the other hand, many of Trump’s critics seem to be incapable of objectively evaluating the president. To them, acknowledging anything positive about Trump’s policies is the same as endorsing everything about him. They can’t understand how anyone could support the man. I’d caution them that a similar lack of sensitivity toward their fellow Americans is a big reason why Trump got elected—twice.

As always, it’s complicated.