The president has sought to divide and conquer America
by Biodun Iginla, Political News Analyst, The Economist Intelligence Unit, New York
ON April 29th Donald Trump, America’s president, will mark his 100th day occupying the highest office in the land. This period is seen as a high-water mark for presidential power: the time in which presidents enjoy both popularity and momentum from campaigning to set the agenda for the next four years and to push through legislation in Congress.
Measuring the performance of presidents is often tricky. But before he was elected Mr Trump helpfully issued a “100-day action plan to make America great again”. These 18 actions and ten congressional bills spelt out Mr Trump’s priorities for his presidency. They included construction of a wall on the Mexican border; suspending illegal immigration from “terror-prone countries”; and labelling China a currency manipulator.
By this yardstick, progress has been slow. Although Mr Trump has now issued more than 30 executive orders, ten more than Barack Obama over the same period (see left-hand chart), efforts have not begun on 12 of the issues in his action plan. His presidency-defining health-care legislation and immigration bans have so far been thwarted by Congress and the judiciary, respectively.
That has left Mr Trump frustrated, but it might not deter his supporters. A poll conducted by YouGov for The Economist on April 22nd asked 1,500 Americans whether their president had exceeded their expectations or not. Of those who identified as Republican or Democrat, 30% thought that Mr Trump had met their expectations. Yet the remainder were sharply divided: 41% of Democrats thought the president had performed “much worse” than expected; 28% of Republicans thought he had performed “much better”.
These sentiments are reflected in Mr Trump’s approval ratings, which are the lowest of any post-war president. But the country is divided by party loyalties: 88% of Republicans approve of the president, while 82% of Democrats disapprove. Mr Obama, by contrast, was far less divisive. Mr Trump was a polarising figure on the campaign trail; he is no different in office.
ON April 29th Donald Trump, America’s president, will mark his 100th day occupying the highest office in the land. This period is seen as a high-water mark for presidential power: the time in which presidents enjoy both popularity and momentum from campaigning to set the agenda for the next four years and to push through legislation in Congress.
Measuring the performance of presidents is often tricky. But before he was elected Mr Trump helpfully issued a “100-day action plan to make America great again”. These 18 actions and ten congressional bills spelt out Mr Trump’s priorities for his presidency. They included construction of a wall on the Mexican border; suspending illegal immigration from “terror-prone countries”; and labelling China a currency manipulator.
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That has left Mr Trump frustrated, but it might not deter his supporters. A poll conducted by YouGov for The Economist on April 22nd asked 1,500 Americans whether their president had exceeded their expectations or not. Of those who identified as Republican or Democrat, 30% thought that Mr Trump had met their expectations. Yet the remainder were sharply divided: 41% of Democrats thought the president had performed “much worse” than expected; 28% of Republicans thought he had performed “much better”.
These sentiments are reflected in Mr Trump’s approval ratings, which are the lowest of any post-war president. But the country is divided by party loyalties: 88% of Republicans approve of the president, while 82% of Democrats disapprove. Mr Obama, by contrast, was far less divisive. Mr Trump was a polarising figure on the campaign trail; he is no different in office.
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