Special Report: The First 100 Days

Corruption, Destruction, Incompetence, Lawlessness...Over and Over and Over Again

Just after Thanksgiving…

…I grew so frustrated by what I was seeing—and have so come to value contemporaneous accounts as the key building blocks of history—that I decided to start a brief daily journal of all that’s happening in the the Trump era.

I call it my Trump Tracker.

I know, I know….some people started these on the day Trump was actually sworn in, but the transition was already so alarming (and clearly underway), I thought (and believe even more so now) that tracking Trump’s activities even before Inauguration Day was important.

So on December 1, I started. And boy did those 100 days fly by. And going back through them now is an eye-opening if horrifying exercise.

First, it’s interesting to read what I wrote at the time not knowing what would come next. Clear patterns build over the course of the days and weeks that follows. Extreme directions accelerate.

Second, while some things were pretty predictable going in (Project 2025 policies, for example), other notable trends and features emerged that I wouldn’t have thought would be so dominant even 100 days ago: just how active Musk has been (M); the prominence and kowtowing of billionaires (B); the too-ready compliance of the media (Me); the truly bizarre ways in which the rush to isolationism and to topple the international order have played out (of course re Ukraine, but with Canada and Panama!?) (Intl), and so on.

The corruption (C), extremism (anti-DEI, anti-women, anti-LGBTQ, etc.) (Ex), anti-science/health (S), lawlessness/anti-rule of law (L), economic destruction (E), federal government destruction (F), allegiance to Project 2025 (P25) and anti-democracy attacks (D) were far more expected. Incompetence (Inc) shows up a lot too, as does the influence of Russia (R).

As my dad points out, there’s also a mob-style (Mb) feel to much of what’s happening.

To highlight all these themes, I’m adding the coded letters above as each element appears on particular days.

So with those codes included, here is the snapshot of the first 100 days—via short daily summaries of (usually) a significant action each day, and expertly illustrated by the great Kevin Necessary to keep it moving.

(I‘m not trying to capture every single thing that happens—just a daily snapshot of one or two major things). 100 seems like a lot, but once you start reading, I think you’ll find it easy to keep going…but like watching an accident, horrifying:

First 100 Days:

Day 1: (C, L, P25, Mb)

Trump announced that he will appoint both his daughters’ fathers-in-law to positions in his administration. Trump also announced that he will name Kash Patel to lead the FBI—even though the current FBI director (whom he appointed) has three years remaining in his 10-year term, and has not offered to resign.

Day 2: (D)

The California legislature began a special, emergency session to enact laws and allocate funds to resist Trump’s promised attacks on the laws and the people of the state.

In North Carolina, the GOP-gerrymandered State Senate overrode the outgoing Governor’s veto of a series of last-minute legislative measures that strip power away from statewide offices recently won by Democratic candidates.

Day 3: (Inc, Ex)

A second Trump nominee (the first was Matt Gaetz) withdrew his nomination outright. A Florida Sheriff whom Trump had picked to lead the Drug Enforcement Agency stepped aside.

In the meantime, even more damning facts about Trump’s Defense Secretary nominee, Pete Hegseth, emerged. He was “forced to step down by both of the two nonprofit advocacy groups that he ran—Veterans for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America—in the face of serious allegations of financial mismanagement, sexual impropriety, and personal misconduct.” One report found that Hegseth was “repeatedly intoxicated while acting in his official capacity—to the point of needing to be carried out of the organization’s events.” The report also detailed a highly toxic work environment of sexual assault and harassment under his leadership.

Day 4: (L, Ex, Mb)

Kash Patel is already acting on his instinct to stifle media criticism. His attorney wrote a letter to an MSNBC commentator (and former Trump official), threatening legal action because in an interview, she commented he was unqualified for the position, and shared that when she worked with him in the prior Trump White House, he’d displayed a pattern of dishonesty. Patel’s lawyer demanded that she retract her statement within 5 days or face legal consequences.

Day 5: (Intl, R, L)

Amid the chaos surrounding Trump’s parade of controversial nominees, one effect of his “flood the zone” strategy has been the scant attention being paid to his most dangerous pick when it comes to our national security. And the pick we can safely say Russian President Vladimir Putin would most value: Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence.

A sizable group of national security experts wrote a letter warning of this risk: among other concerns, they wrote: “Her sympathy for dictators like Vladimir Putin and Assad raises questions about her judgment and fitness.”

Day 6: (E)

The American economy in November exceeded expectations, gaining 227,000 jobs, including 26,000 manufacturing jobs. Wages also grew by .4% in November, stronger than expected—lifting the annual increase to 4%.

With only two months to go in the Biden administration, November’s numbers take the total number of jobs under Biden (since January 2021) to more than 16 million, and extending an impressive streak: a net positive of jobs created every month of his tenure. In that time, the nation has also seen the lowest average unemployment of any administration in 50 years. (E)

Day 7: (M, Intl., C, L, R)

The world’s richest man, Elon Musk continues to be the dominant and most visible figure of the incoming Trump administration—more high-profile than Trump himself. New filings revealed that Musk spent over $270 million to help secure Trump’s victory.

Musk is seen at Mar-a-Lago (Trump’s estate in Florida) regularly, including over Thanksgiving. He is playing a major role in pushing for Cabinet nominations, including Kash Patel as FBI director. A close collaborator in Musk’s SpaceX business has been tapped to run NASA. And Musk is threatening to oppose (in future primaries) any Republican Senators who do not go along with Trump nominations.

And even though a private citizen, Musk is already playing official and what look to be diplomatic duties.

On the domestic front, as part of his role as co-leader of a newly announced but ill-defined “Department of Government Efficiency,” he traveled to Capitol Hill to meet with senior politicians to discuss proposed reductions in federal government spending—up to $2 trillion. Musk is playing this role at the same time that he is a major contractor for the United States government.

On the international front, he has joined Trump on phone calls with at least one foreign leader (Ukraine’s Zelensky), taken a call from Israel’s president regarding hostage and Gaza negotiations, and appeared at the re-opening of Notre Dame Cathedral along with major foreign dignitaries and guests.

Day 8: (Me, D, Intl., R)

Donald Trump sat down for his first broad-ranging interview (on NBC ’s “Meet the Press”), and it featured an endless stream of lies and disinformation. In just a single interview, the man who will soon occupy the White House disseminated untruthful and often uncorrected propaganda on: the economy in his first term; birthright citizenship; January 6; the level of crimes by immigrants; inflation; NATO funding; the 2020 election; his record on health care; and his personal medical records.

Day 9: (L, D, Mb)

Trump allies spent the day amplifying Trump’s call for the prosecution and jailing of former House member Liz Cheney and other members of the bipartisan Congressional committee that investigated Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election.

Trump alleged in a December 8 interview that Cheney destroyed 117 documents as part of the January 6 investigation. Cheney called the allegations “ridiculous and false,” adding: “Donald Trump’s suggestion that members of Congress who later investigated his illegal and unconstitutional actions should be jailed is a continuation of his assault on the rule of law and the foundations of our republic."

In response to Trump’s comments, Cheney was subjected to a day’s worth of threats and personal/misogynistic attacks by Trump media outlets and allies.

Trump’s nominee for FBI Director has promised to target Trump’s perceived political enemies.

Day 10: (Ex, D, L)

While not a Cabinet-level post, one of the most important positions in the federal government—both practically and symbolically—is the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. This week, Trump announced his choice for the post. And to lead a division whose core mission is to strengthen our democracy, he has nominated a lawyer who has spent her career doing the opposite.

Her name is Harmeet Dhillon. According to leading voting rights attorney Marc Elias and his “Democracy Docket,” Dhillon has “become one of the leading legal figures working to roll back voting rights across the country. In the past few years, Dhillon…has been involved in more than a dozen different lawsuits…challenging voting rights laws, redistricting, election processes or Trump’s efforts to appear on the ballot in the 2024 election.”

If Trump gets his way, she will now directly lead the army of lawyers she hoped to enlist as party chair. But she will do it as part of government itself—even worse, as part of the division whose mission is to protect voters and democracy.

Day 11: (L, D, Ex, P25, Mb)

FBI Directors are supposed to be independent, and serve a 10-year term independent of the political cycle. But Trump nominated Kash Patel to be FBI director even through Christopher Wray had years remaining on his term. Trump did not cite a reason for why Wray should be replaced.

Nonetheless, Wray announced he will resign after the new year. By doing so, he has acceded to Trump’s violation of the norm.

In a post following Wray’s announcement, Trump attacked the Department of Justice, the FBI and Wray himself (making false allegations of its investigations into his own conduct), and falsely touted the credentials of Patel. “We want our FBI back,” Trump wrote, “and that will now happen.”

Day 12: (B, C, Me, Mb)

Beyond Elon Musk, prominent billionaires are all lining up in fealty to Trump. It was revealed that Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have both forked over a million dollars to Trump’s inauguration, while Google co-founder Sergey Brin dined with Trump at Mar a Lago.

Day 13: (S, Ex)

Trump has nominated infamous anti-vax quack RFK Jr. to be the nation’s Secretary of Health and Human Services. RFK and a chief lawyer—who himself specializes in anti-vaccine lawsuits—are hard at work filling key government health posts. And it was revealed today that that same lawyer has petitioned the government to revoke its approval of the vaccine that eradicated polio long ago.

On the same day, as part of his Time Magazine “Person of the Year” interview, Trump said “he would consider altering childhood vaccination programs in the United States and questioned whether vaccines cause autism—a widely disproven claim.”

Day 14: (F, Inc., C, E, P25)

Another day, another round of dramatic cuts (floated, at least) to core government services touching every corner of America. A Washington Post story reported that Trump is openly suggesting that the US Postal Service be privatized. And the Trump transition team is also discussing the rolling back of bank regulations, including the elimination the FDIC, which insures bank deposits and was a critical and successful reform following the Great Depression.

Day 15: (Me, C, Mb)

The trend of major media outlets—from The Washington Post to well-known MCNBC hosts—kowtowing to Trump’s bullying continues. The latest took place with ABC settling a defamation suit by Donald Trump, stemming from George Stephanopoulous’ reporting on the E. Jean Carroll lawsuit—using the exact same word (“rape”) that the judge who had overseen the case had used. To settle the case, ABC will now donate $15 mullion to Trump’s presidential library, and $1 million in legal fees.

Day 16: (D, Me)

Buoyed by his settlement with ABC, Trump continued his assault on the media by filing suit against the Des Moines Register—and its parent company Gannett—for publishing a poll late in the campaign that showed him trailing in Iowa, calling it “election interference.” At a press conference, Trump also claimed he would be taking action against 60 Minutes (for its interview of Kamala Harris), the board of the Pulitzer Prize, and Bob Woodward.

Day 17: (L, D, Mb)

Donald Trump and his minions have made clear that at the top of their revenge list is former Rep. Liz Cheney, along with other members of the Jan. 6 Committee. Today, a GOP House member (famous for leading a “tour” of the Capitol prior to the Jan. 6 attack) fired an opening salvo of that payback, releasing a report suggesting that Cheney may have violated federal laws in actions she took as the Vice Chair of the House Select Committee that investigated January 6 .

Day 18: (M, B, D, F, E, Mb)

Elon Musk, not elected to anything, used X to initiate repeated attacks on the end-of-year budget deal in Congress that would curtail a government shutdown. He threatened to oppose any supportive House Republican in their next primary, prompting GOP House members to publicly signal their opposition. Hours later, Trump and Vance followed, also announcing their opposition. The deal is now dead, two days before a looming shutdown.

In part due to the uncertainty and dysfunction, the Dow Jones fell almost 1,000 points—the fall beginning almost exactly when the drama began to unfold on social media:

Day 19: (M, B, F, Mb)

After Elon Musk, followed by Donald Trump, tanked a bipartisan deal to avert a government shutdown, dozens of Republicans refused to support a new Musk/Trump/Johnson deal that was cobbled together at the last moment. As a result, the deal died a day before the shutdown deadline.

As the dust settled, details of the rushed and rejected “deal” became clear: to name a few—cuts to child cancer research; elimination of a crackdown on pharmaceutical benefit managers (PBMs) to lower drug prices; and elimination of restrictions in high tech investments in China, which directly impacted Musk’s business interests.

While it’s unclear what will happen in the coming days, Musk’s chaos machine has clarified a number of realities even before the Trump term begins:

1) with his billions, willingness to invest it in primaries, and huge digital/disinformation megaphone via Twitter/X, Musk has more power/sway than Trump (past fat cats hid this fact better);

2) just a few tweets from Musk can launch a battle royale within the Republican Party; given their thin margins in the House, and fear of primaries, that is a guarantee of chaos and perpetual leadership uncertainty;

Day 20: (M, D)

The House reached a bipartisan budget agreement to keep funding the government and avoid the looming shutdown. When Speaker Johnson spoke to the media after the passage of the deal, he made it clear that he had talked to Elon Musk about it 15 minutes before talking to Trump.

Trump had threatened to primary any Republican who voted for a “deal” that did not include a debt ceiling extension, but this deal did not have an extension. Yet 170 Republicans voted for it.

Day 21: (M, Ex)

Through social media posts, Vice President Elect JD Vance and Elon Musk both embraced the Alternative for Germany (AfD) Party in Germany. AfD is a far-right party rising in the polls in Germany as a February election looms—and the first far-right party to win a state election in Germany since the Nazi era. According to NBC News, “[t]he party is monitored by the country’s domestic intelligence agency for suspected extremism. Party leader Björne Höcke has twice been found guilty by a German court of purposefully employing Nazi rhetoric.”

Day 22: (intl, inc)

Still a private citizen, Donald Trump staked claims on the territory of two sovereign nations. After the President of Panama rebuffed Trump’s suggestion that the US should reclaim the Panama Canal from Panama, Trump replied: “we’ll see about that!”

Early this morning, Trump staked another claim—this time declaring that the United States should seize Greenland from Denmark:

Day 23: (S, Intl.)

Numerous media outlets reported that the Trump Administration plans to remove the United States from the World Health Organization on Trump’s first day in office. The United States is the largest funder of the WHO, and its withdrawal would likely undermine global pandemic surveillance, response and coordination. The US absence would also leave the organization subject to the influence of other major nations, such as China.

Day 24:

Holiday :)

Day 25: (Intl)

President-Elect Trump focused his Christmas Day message on his latest obsession: acquiring large chunks of North and Central America—including the Panama Canal, Greenland and Canada.

Day 26: (Ex)

The Christmas spirit faded quickly in MAGA-world, as the following day was marked by an explosion of infighting among its factions and biggest names.

A week of of social media debate about tech companies hiring large numbers of employees from other nations, via HB-1 visas, exploded when DOGE co-chair Vivek Ramaswamy attempted to explain the trend. American culture is broken, he tweeted, marked by too many “Friends” reruns and prom queens and not enough admiration of characters such as Screech:

That cultural broadside launched a predictable backlash of both rational responses along with fierce anti-immigrant invective:

Day 27: (Ex, M, B)

The MAGA feud continued, with Elon Musk lashing out at those criticizing his views on immigration as “contemptible fools” who must be removed from the Republican Party.

Day 28: (M, B)

In the battle between Elon, Vivek and billionaire tech bros vs. his MAGA base, Trump sides with the bros. He explains that he uses HB-1 visas to staff his own properties, a statement that warrants closer examination.

Day 29: (E, L)

Media accounts emerged of a disturbing act of political and racial violence clearly motivated by Trumpian rhetoric. A Colorado man has been charged with following (for 40 miles) and allegedly assaulting a television reporter of Pacific Island descent.

“This is Trump's America now," the man said amid the alleged incident. “[A]re you even a U.S. citizen?…I'm a Marine and I took an oath to protect this country from people like you!" Once the assailant caught up to his victim, he allegedly put him in a headlock before others stepped in.

The incident follows other recent acts of right-wing violence and vigilantism, including a letter circulated in a rural Oregon community calling upon citizens to track and report people of color as suspected undocumented immigrants to be “rounded up.”

Day 30: (M, Inc.)

Trying to avert another chaotic food fight, Trump endorsed Mike Johnson in his bid to be House Speaker again. Elon Musk also endorsed Johnson shortly after Trump’s statement, but then muddied the waters by amplifying a tweet casting doubt on Johnson’s chances by a Johnson opponent.

In an effort to regain control of the narrative and end the public infighting, Trump’s incoming Chief of Staff sent a memo to Cabinet and administration nominees that they should refrain from social media posts without prior approval from Trump’s future White House counsel. Apparently this order had been made previously and violated.

This order presumably does not apply to either Elon Musk or Vivek Ramaswamy, whose “nominations” to run the bizarre and undefined “DOGE” do not require Congressional approval. But of course, it’s their tweets that set off the MAGA civil war in the first place.

Day 31: (M)

The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, and Donald Trump spent New Year’s Eve celebrating together at Mar a Lago.

Day 32: (Ext)

A brutal terrorist attack in the opening hours of 2025 killed at least 15 people in New Orleans, while injuring dozens more. Before noon, with details still sparse but with FOX News airing false information that the terrorist had crossed the border days before, President-elect Trump messaged that his prior statement that “the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in this country…turned out to be true” in New Orleans.

Hours later, the terrorist who committed the act was revealed to be a native of Texas and a military veteran, who said in a video that he was inspired by ISIS.

Fox retracted its original false report. But despite his original statement being exposed as false, Trump later messaged that the attack was due to “open borders,” and blamed the DOJ, FBI and Democratic officials for failing to do their job.

Day 33: (Ext)

Americans continued to learn more about two horrific attacks that took place on New Year’s Day, one in New Orleans and one in Las Vegas. Even though both were perpetrated by Americans (one originally from Texas, the other with Ohio ties), Trump and his allies continued to blame immigration as well as the FBI itself for the violence.

Day 34: (Me)

With new members being sworn into both the Senate and House, and Mike Johnson and John Thune being elected Speaker and Senate Majority Leader, the GOP now comprises the majority of both houses of Congress. But Johnson’s one-vote margin (secured by some last-minute Trump strong-arming) underscores the narrowness of that majority—the slimmest in almost a century, and about to get narrower (217-215) as some members take administration appointments.

On the media side, a Washington Post cartoonist resigned after an editor refused to run a cartoon depicting tech bro billionaires kissing Trump’s ring. On the same day, after facing a week of withering criticism for his stance on HB-1 visas, Elon Musk announced that the “X” algorithm will soon prioritize more positive posts. Essentially, now that Musk and Trump are running things, “X” will dissuade “[t]oo much negativity."

Day 35: (Ext)

More details emerged of the perpetrator of the Las Vegas explosion of a Cyber Truck outside Trump Tower. He was an active-duty US Army Green Beret, on leave for the holiday, who penned a manifesto explaining that his act was meant to be a “wake up call.” He provides a direct appeal to “[r]ally around the Trump, Musk, Kennedy.”

And he calls on his fellow servicembers, veterans and “all Americans” to “be prepared to fight to get the Dems out of the fed government and military by any means necessary….Hold until the purge is complete.”

Day 36: (D, F, E, P25, Intl)

Through posts and interviews, Trump and his political allies make clear that their plan on assuming office is “shock and awe”—rushing forward their plans into an immediate flurry of executive orders, followed by, as Trump put it, “one powerful Bill” combining all of his major policy proposals at once.

As always, he promises to pay for the added costs with tariffs.

Day 37: (Intl)

Unlike four years prior, the peaceful transfer of power occurred efficiently and quickly on Capitol Hill with the official counting of the electoral ballots, and the Vice President’s declaration that Donald Trump gained a majority.

Trump used the day to once again cast his eyes up North, declaring that “Many people in Canada LOVE being the 51st state.” He then touted all the ways Canada would benefit from merging into the United States:

Meanwhile, Don Jr. is traveling to Greenland, following weeks of his father publicly saying that too should become part of the United States:

Day 38: (Intl., B, Me, Mb)

Trump suggests that economic pressure and military force are potential options to annex Greenland and the Panama Canal, while circulating maps of Canada as a 51st state.

On the ever declining media front, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg announced that fact checking was too “political,” and would be eliminated from the nation’s most used social network, among other changes.

Day 39: (Ex, P25)

Wildfires ravage communities across the Los Angeles area, leading to deaths, injuries, evacuations and the destruction of thousands of homes. Even as the blazes burn, Donald Trump and his right-wing allies have turned the tragedies into the ugliest of partisan politics, personally attacking politicians they consider their enemies disseminating misinformation, and attacking LA’s fire chief, the city’s first woman and LGBTQ chief, as a so-called “DEI” Fire Chief.

Day 40: (L)

In a 5-4 decision allowing a New York sentencing hearing to move forward, the Supreme Court cleared the way for Trump to become the first convicted felon to assume the office of the presidency.

Day 41: (E)

The final jobs report of 2024 showed another 256,000 jobs added in December 2024, with unemployment dipping to 4.1%. It was the 48th month in a row of growth, the second longest on record, and makes Joe Biden the first president in history to not have a single month with job losses.

Day 42: (B, M, Ext)

The tension between different right-wing factions—the tech bros vs. the MAGA far right—continued to escalate. Steve Bannon vowed to stop Musk from having White House access, calling him an “evil guy.”

Day 43: (L, Ext, D)

Vice president-elect JD Vance unwittingly showed how much the lawless MAGA world is in charge by his near immediate flip-flop on whether or not Trump will pardon violent January 6 offenders.

He started out the day on Fox News, saying that “[i]f you committed violence on that day, obviously you shouldn’t be pardoned.” Amid an instant backlash to this so-called “betrayal,” Vance immediately walked back his comments: “I’ve been defending these guys for years…I assure you, we care about people unjustly locked up. Yes, that includes people provoked and it includes people who got a garbage trial.”

Day 44: (Inc., Ext, L)

The New Yorker released a report showing the “unprecedented” ends to which the Trump administration is going to confirm their controversial nominee for Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth. As the headline and opening sentences summarize, Hegseth supporters have “intimidated potential witnesses and suppressed the FBI background check.”

Day 45: (Inc, Ext, Intl)

Hours of hearings exposed numerous problems as to the fitness of Pete Hegseth to serve as US Secretary of Defense. His long and disturbing history of disqualifying personal and professional behavior have been well documented, as have many of his past statements ands writings about war crimes (which he seems to be OK with), banning women from combat, and criticism of NATO.

But his testimony also revealed so much: a lack of experience managing large organizations (he acknowledged managing 100 at most); basic knowledge of the role of the Defense Secretary and the world (he couldn’t name the countries of ASEAN); an unwillingness to commit to abiding by the Constitution when faced with illegal orders; and a refusal to commit to not “shoot[ing] protesters in the legs” if ordered to do so.

All indications are that Hegseth will be confirmed despite all these problems.

Day 46: (L, D, Ext, P25)

As confirmation hearings continued for Trump’s cabinet nominees, Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi refused to say that Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. She also ducked other questions, from her willingness to prosecute Trump’s “enemies” or stand up to illegal orders.

As economist Anders Aslund posted: “The first hearings with Hegseth, Rubio & Bond have clarified that nobody dares to contradict Trump on any point, while they dare to lie enormously.”

Day 47: (D, L, Intl., Inc, P25, Mb)

Details emerged this week that the incoming Trump administration is already prying into the nonpolitical employees of the National Security Council—including about their political views, contributions, who they voted for in the 2024 election, and loyalty to the incoming president.

To ensure loyalty, the incoming National Security Advisor “signaled” his intention “to get rid of all nonpolitical appointees and career intelligence officials serving on the NSC by Inauguration Day.”

Also this week, the Speaker of the House removed the chair of the House Intelligence Committee—an Ohio Republican named Mike Turner who had shown some independence on matters involving Russia and Ukraine.

Day 48: (E, B)

This week, Trump’s nominee to be Treasury Secretary stated in his confirmation hearing that extending the $4 trillion Trump tax cuts was “the single most important economic issue of the day.” This would essentially double down on the tax cuts from Trump’s first term which lifted billionaires and corporations but exploded the deficit and did not boost the economy as promised.

Day 49: (C, B, Mb)

Trump launched $Trump—his own “meme-linked cryptocurrency” (which has no actual value and can never be used as actual currency)—while he was personally attending what was called the “Crypto Ball” for the industry. With and because of his personal endorsement, the currency’s value skyrocketed by 600%, to a value of $32 billion. The prime beneficiary appears to be Trump and his family, because 80% of the supply is held by Trump-affiliated organizations (including one called “Fight Fight Fight.”). In a single day, he may have catapulted himself to the greatest wealth he’s ever had—up to $25 billion—doing so only days before he becomes America’s next president.

Someone who understands it well told me: “It's just about the most shocking thing I've ever witnessed.”

Day 50: (Me, B, C)

On Inauguration Eve, another massive social media channel aligned with Donald Trump to serve their mutual interests. TikTok (and, we must assume, the Chinese government) shut down operations early (even as Biden had said he would not enforce the shutdown), only to re-open hours later, and explicitly crediting Donald Trump. No coincidence, TikTok’s CEO will be Trump’s guest at today’s inauguration.

Day 51: (Ex, L, M, B, S, Int)

Beyond the standard inauguration festivities, a number of major events happen at once:

Trump pardons January 6 participants, including leaders of Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, along with those who committed intensely violent crimes.

Billionaires are seated in the front row of inauguration festivities.

Musk salutes like a Nazi. Twice.

Trump signs executive orders, which: attack the XIV Amendment (and birthright citizenship); remove the US from the Paris Climate Accords; open up security clearances to anyone Trump desires; and rescind the reduction of prescription prices.

Day 52: (Ex, L, M, B, S, Int, P25, R)

America begins to unpack all the executive orders Trump signed on Inauguration Day, including central planks of Project 2025.

Day 53: (Ex, L, P25)

One of the Trump executive orders rescinded an order from 60 years before—from the LBJ presidency, and the heart of the civil rights era. LBJ signed this order in 1965, which prohibited federal contractors “from discriminating in employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.” It’s been at the heart of progress in civil rights ever since its signing. Now, it’s gone.

And in a true warping of the role of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the new acting chair said she will use the EEOC to “root[] out unlawful DEI-motivated race and sex discrimination.”

Day 54: (F, Ex, L, P25)

The Trump administration ordered federal workers to “report” on one another as to who was working in diversity and equity positions, which have been slated for elimination.

Thousands of emails were sent stating: “We are aware of efforts by some in government to disguise these programs by using coded or imprecise language.” Workers were told to report on one another about such situations—“failure to report this information within 10 days may result in adverse consequences.”

Day 55: (Ext, Inc, L, F, C, P25, D, Mb)

Wholly unfit nominee Pete Hegseth needed Vice President JD Vance to cast the tie-breaking vote to secure his Defense Secretary confirmation, overcoming a 50-50- tie vote due to three “no” votes from Republicans, including former Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Late in the evening, the Trump Administration terminated 17 inspectors general at agencies across the federal government, including the state department, defense department, etc. IGs are independent positions meant to ferret out waste, fraud and abuse within these agencies. As Anne Applebaum posted: “Firing independent watchdogs is straight out of the authoritarian playbook. Removes another obstacle to corruption and abuse of power.”

Finally, as he visited North Carolina and California, Trump not only conditioned relief to California on the state passing a voter ID law (no conditions attached in North Carolina), but he also said he wants to eliminate or dramatically overhaul FEMA.

Day 56: (D, L, F, P25, Mb)

Americans serving in or applying for federal positions are now being met with loyalty tests to work for the government. The Associated Press reported that those “seeking jobs have been told they will have to prove their “enthusiasm” to enact Trump’s agenda and have been asked when their moment of “MAGA revelation” occurred.” It also asks how they had supported Trump in the 2024 election — with choices including volunteering, fundraising, door-knocking and making phone calls — and to submit a list of their social media handles.”

Day 57: (D, L, Ext, E)

In a CBS interview, JD Vance put on display exactly why Trump picked him to be Vice President. He basically does what he’s told, even if contradicts his own positions from even weeks ago:

• only weeks after saying violent Jan. 6 insurrectionists should “obviously” not be pardoned, Vance defended the release of violent Jan. 6 insurrectionists as “the right decision”

• defended the blatantly unconstitutional attack on birthright citizenship, saying—“just because we were founded by immigrants doesn't mean that, 240 years later, that we have to have the dumbest immigration policy in the world”

• and even though Trump had promised that if he won, “I will immediately bring prices down, starting on day one,” Vance laid out a different timetable: “It's going to take a little bit of time…Rome wasn't built in a day.”

Day 58: (L, D, F, P25)

The Acting Attorney General sent a memo to DOJ attorneys involved in aspects of the special investigations and prosecutions of President Trump for his actions during and at the end of his first term.

“You played a significant role in prosecuting President Trump,” the memo from the Acting Attorney General asserts. “As a result…you are removed from federal service effective immediately.”

Day 59: (P25, Ext, F, S)

The Trump administration issued a memo announcing that as a result of Trump’s Executive Order (and Project 2025’s call) to remove “DEI” from the federal government, that “Federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other related agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders.”

Day 60: (F, S)

After a day of chaos due to the federal funding freeze, along with the portal for Medicaid assistance being shut down in 50 states, a district court issued an order staying the freeze subject to a hearing next week. The Trump Administration immediately tried to blame the media for the chaos and confusion their own wide-sweeping order and accompanying actions has caused.

An email was sent to millions of federal employees offering what was couched as a “deferred resignation,” with a deadline to respond of February 6. The email sent a clear signal that life for them is about to get very difficult (“furloughs,” “reclassification[s]”, “address in a fair and open way those who do not meet the high standards”), making clear that they may not survive the change coming their way, at least professionally.

Day 61: (Ext, F, P25)

America saw its worst aviation accident in more than a decade, as a military helicopter collided with an American Airlines commuter flight over the Potomac River.

At a press conference addressing the tragedy, with bodies still being recovered and families learning of lost loved ones, President Trump suggested that a possible cause of the crash was the hiring of diverse employees within FAA and air safety functions. There was zero information backing up this claim. He then went on to speculate about other things that went wrong.

Day 62: (E, Intl)

Trump unilaterally imposed 25% tariffs on products from Mexico and Canada and 10% on products from China. Leaders of Mexico and Canada immediately announced that they would retaliate with tariffs on American-made goods, with Canada targeting red states in particular.

Day 63: (E, F, M, C, Mb)

Counter to his campaign message, and in the wake of his unilateral tariffs, Trump told Americans that they may experience “pain” from his policies, but that that pain is a “price that must be paid.”

Elon Musk and his amorphous and undefined team of private individuals at DOGE have gained access to critical data systems of the federal government, including Department of Treasury data that includes all Americans' social security, tax, Medicare, and other financial information, as well as data from the Office of Personnel Management, the General Services Administration, and USAID.

Musk also is using this access to shut down payments to federal contractors.

Day 64: (F, Intl, M, R)

DOGE, Musk and the Trump Administration waged an all-out assault on the US Agency for International Development. In one fell swoop, the new Administration: cut off employee access to US AID headquarters; suspended dozens of top staff; attacked the agency via coordinated messaging, accusing it of being corrupt/criminal, Marxist, and a slush fund; shut down its website; shut down much of US AID’s work (including tracking avian flu in foreign countries) by freezing foreign assistance; echoed Russian talking points and rhetoric about US AID’s mission and operation; removed top US AID officials for refusing to turn over classified materials without appropriate clearances; announced that Secretary of State Rubio was the acting US AID director (even though it’s a separate agency), and so on.

No surprise, Russia and its leaders celebrated the attack on the agency:

Day 65: (F, Intl. M, R)

The next shoe dropped in the all-out assault on U.S. AID, with the state department announcing that ALL U.S. AID personnel on foreign soil would be evacuated home this week…

And all but a few U.S. AID personnel will be placed on administrative leave Friday:

Day 66: (Intl., L, Inc.)

Two days before, Trump publicly shocked the world by publicly stating his intention to send US troops to Gaza to, as he said, create a “long-term ownership position."

When he made this bizarre announcement, he said: “Everybody I’ve spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land.”

But within 24 hours, it was clear that this global announcement had not been vetted at all. As the New York Times reported:

“Inside the U.S. government, there had been no meetings with the State Department or Pentagon, as would normally occur for any serious foreign policy proposal, let alone one of such magnitude. There had been no working groups. The Defense Department had produced no estimates of the troop numbers required, or cost estimates, or even an outline of how it might work.”

Day 67: (F, D, L, S, P25)

A series of court decisions slowed Trump actions on multiple fronts:

A district court judge (and Reagan appointee) issued a national injunction against Trump’s executive order trying to eliminate birthright citizenship. The judge did not mince words: “Citizenship by birth is an unequivocal Constitutional right. It is one the precious principles that makes the Untied States the great nation that it is. The President cannot change, limit or qualify this Constitutional right via executive order."

And pending review of cases challenging the “deferred resignation” offer to federal workers, as well as the raids of data in both the Treasury and Labor Departments, actions in all three cases were temporarily stopped.

So far, Trump has not won a single decision in court surrounding his series of illegal and problematic actions and executive orders.

Unfortunately, the next DOGE target looks to be the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which includes the National Weather Service and National Hurricane Center. DOGE apparently informed senior staff to plan to reduce its staff by 50% and funding by 30%.

Day 68: (F, P25, E)

The U.S. Senate confirmed Russell Vought as the new director of the Office of Management and Budget. Vought was one of the prime architects of Project 2025, a major champion of Schedule F who vows to treat federal workers as “villains.” He believes that the executive has the power to withhold spending funds approved by Congress (something the Trump administration is already attempting to do by freezing spending across the nation).

Day 69: (P25, F, E, B)

The new OMB director essentially ordered Consumer Financial Protection Bureau employees to cease almost all the Bureau’s work. Since its creation in 2010, the Bureau has returned more than $20 billion to American consumers, while improving transparency and adding pro-consumer rules and regulations to a wide variety of financial transactions.

Needless to say, certain well-monied interests do not like the work of this watchdog for everyday American. Elon Musk has made it clear he wants to kill the CFPB.

Day 70: (L, D)

The sitting Vice President of the United States sent out a tweet suggesting that a federal judge acted improperly by exercising judicial review, and, specifically, ascertaining the lawfulness of Trump administration activity. Judges “aren’t allowed to” do that, Vance wrote.

Day 71: (C)

The Trump Administration continues to normalize corruption, dropping charges against NYC Mayor Eric Adams, and giving a full and unconditional pardon to former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.

Day 72: (F, M, F, E, Ex)

Even as Americans reel from the billionaire-led takeover of American government (with polls showing disapproval of both the direction and Musk himself), and courts stopping almost every effort in its tracks, Donald Trump yesterday signed an executive order further expanding the power of DOGE over our government.

Agencies are being ordered to work with DOGE to undertake “large-scale reductions in force” and limit hiring. Specifically, Musk and his team of little green men are being placed in the position of controlling all future hires to the federal government. New career appointment hires must be made “in consultation with” DOGE; and vacancies should not be filled unless DOGE approves.

Day 73: (Intl., Inc., R)

The Republican Senate confirmed Tulsi Gabbard as the nation’s Director of National Intelligence. Former Senate leader Mitch McConnell voted no on Gabbard, saying: “The nation should not have to worry that the intelligence assessments the President receives are tainted by a Director of National Intelligence with a history of alarming lapses in judgment. … Entrusting the coordination of the intelligence community to someone who struggles to acknowledge these facts is an unnecessary risk.”

Day 74: (S, P25, F, Ex, L, D)

The anti-vax conspiracy theorist RFK Jr. (who also displayed a stunning ignorance of basic elements of America’s health care system in his confirmation hearings) was confirmed as the new leader of HHS by the Senate, with the only Republican “No” vote being that of Mitch McConnell, who said:

"[A] record of trafficking in dangerous conspiracy theories and eroding trust in public health institutions does not entitle Mr. Kennedy to lead [HHS].”

FBI Director nominee Kash Patel also advanced to the Senate on a party-line committee vote, even as evidence emerged that he lied under oath about not being part of firings that are already taking place at the FBI.

Day 75: (C, L)

Numerous DOJ prosecutors resigned rather than participate in dismissing corruption charges against NYC Mayor Eric Adams in what looks to be a clear quid pro quo (in exchange for the Mayor advancing administration policy on immigration.)

One of those who resigned penned a scorching letter explaining his decision: “I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion. But it was never going to be me.”

Day 76: (L, C, Intl, F, R)

Donald Trump tweeted: “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.”

Day 77: (M, F, E, Inc., Intl)

As part of its continued piracy of Americans’ private data, DOGE targets the IRS. DOGE employees—whoever the hell they are—sought access to the IRS’s Integrated Data Retrieval System, which houses the data of millions of Americans.

To make matters worse, reports are emerging that DOGE’s own systems are poorly constructed and easily subject to hacking: “Cybersecurity specialists reviewing the website noted that it appeared hastily constructed, containing multiple vulnerabilities, coding errors, and exposed details in its source code.”

The Huffington Post reports that the DOGE website exposed information—both the size and staff—of a highly secretive federal government agency known as the National Reconnaissaince Office, which “designs, builds and maintains U.S. intelligence satellites.” The agency’s budgets and staffing are classified information.

Day 78: (F, M, E)

The acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration, and a Social Security employee for 30 years, resigned from her post rather than acceding DOGE demands that she grant access to the private data of Social Security recipients. Specifically, DOGE sought access to SSA’s “Enterprise Data Warehouse” — a centralized database that serves as the main hub for personal, sensitive information related to social security benefits such as beneficiary records and earnings data.”

More than 70 million Americans receive Social Security benefits. But SSA has data beyond just those beneficiaries: “SSA has data on everyone who has a Social Security number, which is virtually all Americans, everyone who has Medicare, and every low-income American who has applied for Social Security's means-tested companion program, Supplemental Security Income.”

Day 79: (Intl., R)

The “negotiation” in Saudi Arabia between US and Russia about the Ukrainian war, followed by Trump’s statements that Ukraine started the war and demanding a new Ukraine election, was an absolute capitulation by the United States, a monumental victory for Russia, and an abandonment of the people of Ukraine.

Day 80: (F, E, M, S)

Best estimates are now that around 200,000 federal workers have lost their jobs due to DOGE and Trump. An estimated 75,000 more have accepted buyouts.

According to ABC News, these terminations include workers in the following departments and agencies:

• Department of Education

• Department of Homeland Security (half from FEMA, as floods ravage Appalachia, and a large chunk from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA))

• Department of Energy (including the National Nuclear Security Administration)

• U.S. AID — more than 10,000 placed on leave

• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

• Department of Veterans Affairs — more than 1,000 lost their jobs

• Department of Agriculture (USDA), including to the U.S. Forest Service

• Environmental Protection Agency

• Department of Health and Human Services—including NIH, the FDA, and the CDC

  • *the grant-making process for NIH-funded research is also stopped around the nation

• Department of the Interior — with a large number coming from the Bureau of Land Management

• The Small Business Administration

• internal agencies, such as the Office of Personnel Management and General Services Administration

Day 81: (P25, L, Ext., D)

Kash Patel was confirmed to be the nation’s next FBI director.

Day 82: (P25, L, D, Intl, Ex)

In addition to the FBI director, another major federal position that has long been independent of the politics of the moment has been the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Trump fired Joint Chiefs Chairman CQ Brown, a 4-star general and 41-year Air Force veteran from the post…and announced his intention to replace him with a three-star general, who would skip over numerous four-star generals.

This occurred amid a broader purge of top military leaders, including the lead lawyer of every military department.

Day 83: (M, F, L, C, Intl.)

Elon Musk, a billionaire whose role remains unclear atop the federal government (except that he spent $200M-plus to secure that role) sent an email to millions of federal workers telling them to reply by 11:59 p.m. Monday on the five things they accomplished the previous week.

Day 84: (Intl, R)

Following a court order lifting a stay, the Trump Administration moved forward on shutting down U.S. AID across the globe. Thousands of employees are being laid off, and most of the remaining are being placed on administrative leave.

Day 85: (Intl, R)

On the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine advanced a motion at the United Nations condemning Russian “aggression” and calling for Russia to unconditionally withdraw from Ukraine.

93 nations voted for the resolution, including our traditional allies in Europe. 65 voted to abstain, including China and Iran.

Only 17 nations voted against Ukraine’s motion, including North Korea, Belarus, Syria, Cuba and Sudan. The United States joined this group.

Day 86: (Me, D)

The White House announced a new policy that it will choose which reporters are selected to be part of the press pool that covers and travels with the president—as opposed to the journalists themselves, the long-standing practice.

Day 87: (S, F, Ext)

Tragically, for the first time in a decade, America saw a measles death—an unvaccinated child—amid an outbreak in West Texas that has infected more than 120 people, and led to 18 hospitalizations thus far. RFK dismissed the measles death as “not unusual”, and that we have measles outbreaks “all the time” (that is FALSE) while offering nothing in the way of solutions. DOGE has terminated more than 1,300 employees at the Center for Disease Control, and under RFK’s leadership, the March meeting to set the strains to be included in next year’s flu shot has been cancelled.

Day 88: (Inc, S, F, M, E)

If any one story captures the danger, inept and true idiocy of these first Trump/Musk/DOGE months, it is the following story and headline: “Trump officials race to rehire bird flu employees as egg prices skyrocket: “I don’t know if people are going to want to come back,” said one USDA employee.

Day 89: (Intl., L, D, R)

Much of America watched live as Trump and Vance brow-beat President Zelensky in the oval office. A later press conference was cancelled.

The grotesqueness made it clear that in the global battle between western democracies and rogue, corrupt and lawless autocracies, the US has switched sides.

Day 90: (Intl., D, R)

Outside of three prominent Republicans, all other Republican officials remained silent on (outside of blaming Zelensky and cheering Trump) on the disgraceful Oval Office meeting.

Day 91: (Intl., C, R)

Speaker Mike Johnson (who came to power having never faced a real general election in his career) suggested that democratically elected President Zelensky resign, which would accomplish a central Russian strategic goal. At the same time, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth terminated cyber operations against Russia.

On the same day, a coalition of Western nations and NATO allies united in support of Zelensky and Ukraine in an emergency meeting in London. The US is no longer at the table.

Day 92: (Intl., E, R)

Donald Trump announced that he is suspending military aid to Ukraine, while reconfirming the imposition of 25% tariffs on trade with Canada, America’s largest trading partner, and Mexico. Stock market prices plunged as he made the announcement, with the Dow falling 700 points on the day.

Day 93: (Ext., D, L)

Trump’s delivered his first speech to Congress—the longest on record. According to even the Fox News analyst Brit Hume, “the most partisan speech I’ve ever heard a president give.” And it included a non-stop litany of lies and disinformation, so much so that it took CNN’s fact-checker an entire eleven minutes to set the record straight.

Far more dark than even the evening’s speech, Trump engaged in a different autocratic step earlier in the day, threatening colleges and universities that “allow illegal protests.” He threatened to defund such schools, and to arrest and/or deport “[a]gitators” involved in protests.

Day 94: (F, P25, M)

A memo circulated within the Trump administration that lays out the DOGE/Department of Veterans Affairs plan to terminate 80,000 employees from the VA—about 16% of the total workforce. About 25% of all VA employees are veterans themselves.

Day 95: (F, D, L)

For many of the first 95 days, the story was about what outrageous executive order Trump signed.

The story here is about the planned executive order that Trump did not sign.

All week, it was clear the plan was for Thursday to be the day Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education. The draft had even been circulated to the media.

On a far darker front, Trump did sign an order yesterday targeting the Perkins Couie law firm, clearly attempting to destroy the firm (including saying it should not have access to federal buildings, attacking its hiring practices, etc) and chill any clients from working with it.

Day 96: (F, D, L, Intl.)

In a dispute over appointing an “acting chair” of the U.S African Development Foundation, the Trump Administration is making its “broadest assertion of presidential power over independent agencies yet…stak[ing] out a legal position that would undercut the Senate’s power to confirm new officers at agencies like USADF [and giving Trump] the “‘inherent authority under Article II’ to appoint acting officials without going through the Senate’s process of advice and consent.’”

If taken seriously, Trump’s argument would allow for a huge power grab—“an opening...to bypass the Senate and install commissioners and board members at agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission, the National Labor Relations Board, and the Federal Election Commission.”

Day 97: (E, Inc.)

After the election, Trump said that nothing was more central to his victory than the high price of eggs. When asked why he’d won after the election, here was his answer: “Very simple word, groceries. Like almost -- you know, who uses the word? I started using the word -- the groceries. When you buy apples, when you buy bacon, when you buy eggs, they would double and triple the price over a short period of time, and I won an election based on that. We're going to bring those prices way down."

Several months later, egg prices are way up. Not down. This has become a widely covered and inconvenient topic for Trump.

In response, Trump posted on article whose headline was: '“Shut Up About Egg Prices.”

Day 98: (E, Intl. Inc.)

Numerous economic indicators indicate that Trump/Musk policies and chaos are fueling an economic downturn.

“Are you expecting a recession this year?” he was asked in an interview.

Without using the word recession, a man infamous for lying incessantly could not bring himself to say no. Instead, he said that we should expect a “period of transition” and that “these things take time.”

Day 99: (E, Inc.)

One day after even Trump could not deny to a national TV audience that tough economic times are coming, the Dow tumbled almost 900 points—or 2% of its total value. The NASDAQ dropped 4%—its worst day since 2022.

Day 100: (L, D, Ext, F, S)

The Trump Administration announced that almost half of the 4,100 employees of the Department of Education have been laid off, and that Dept. of Ed. headquarters were to be vacated by 6 p.m.

Meanwhile, the precedent being set by the detention and attempted deportation of a Columbia protester is becoming more clear, with the White House acknowledging it is a “blueprint” for similar actions going forward. The White House also clairified—“The allegation here is not that he was breaking the law.” But that the behavior posed a “threat to the foreign policy and national security interests of the United States.” (As I said, much of the first 100 days was predictable. In fact, readers of my book “2025” know that this was precisely what happened in Chapter 1.)

So there you have it, the first 100 days.

On the positive front—about 50 days in, Americans horrified by all this began to wake up, stand up and speak out. And that gives us Kevin’s most hopeful cartoon of the 100 days:

And THIS needs to be the biggest story of the NEXT 100 days. And every 100 days after that….

I will have a lot more to say about that.