Saturday marked President Trump’s 100th day in office and in sticking true to his colors he spent the evening at a rally in Pennsylvania (Which I attended, but we’ll get to that in another post). During the campaign the President released what he called “The Contract with the American Voter” in which he outlined what he would look to accomplish in his first 100 days if he was elected.

So let’s take a look and see how he’s done.

Six measures to clean up the corruption and special interest collusion in Washington, DC

“Drain the Swamp” was one of the President’s key campaign lines. He uses it to describe a political climate in Washington that is controlled by big money and unethical politicians. Most politicians say things like this during their campaigns, but considering the President was a political outsider, he was able to really sell this message.

(1) We have yet to see a constitutional amendment imposing term limits. Either Congress or the States can call for a Constitutional Convention. A convention has never been called by the states and it’s unlikely for Congress to impose limits on how long they can personally serve, so this may never happen. FAILURE.

(2) Three days after his inauguration, the President enacted a hiring freeze. This was then lifted on April 12th. While the hiring freeze didn’t last for the entire 100 days, I do see this as a SUCCESS, in that they released information on how to reduce their offices and slow hiring.

(3) We have seen a new Executive Order that calls for every new regulation to kill two previous regulations. SUCCESS. (4) He also put forward another executive order banning Congressional officials becoming lobbyists. SUCCESS.

(5) He did enact a lifetime ban on White House officials lobbying on behalf of a foreign government, but ex-National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn is now registered as a foreign agent to Turkey which undercuts the entire order. SUCCESS (kind of) (6) Finally, we should have seen a complete ban on foreign lobbyists raising money for American elections which we haven’t seen this just yet. FAILURE

So overall on his “Drain the Swamp” message, he’s actually done reasonably well in keeping his promises. 4 out of 6 promises kept.

Seven actions to protect American workers

We then see the President move on to focus on helping the American workers. This entire section is mainly focused on trade and the economy, which seems to be the President’s favorite focus point.

(1) We have seen the President both announce that he plans to withdraw AND renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). It seems unlikely that we will actually withdraw, but it’s fair to say that we could see serious negotiations. SUCCESS (2) He also withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) after only a few days in office. SUCCESS

(3) He has yet to label China a currency manipulator, even going as far to say that they aren’t manipulating their currency. He has said that he can’t call them a currency manipulator while asking for their help with North Korea, so maybe this will happen later. FAILURE (4) He has however directed his administration to find foreign trade abuses and address them as needed. SUCCESS

(5) We have seen the President end what he calls the “War on Coal” which lifts restrictions on production of jobs in coal, shale, oil, and clean coal. SUCCESS. (6) He has also lifted restrictions on the Keystone Pipeline SUCCESS

(7) As for the Paris Climate Agreement and other international climate change programs, we have yet to see any movement on this topic. Last night at his rally he said he would make a decision within the next two weeks. FAILURE

Within the realm of actions to protect the American worker, he’s done well with fulfilling his promises. Economists were conflicted with the possible repercussions of the TPP and it’s possible that Secretary Clinton would have also pulled out had she won. His last three promises ride primarily on how you feel about the environment and where the government’s intervention should begin and end. 5 out of 7 promises kept.

Five actions to restore security and the constitutional rule of law:

“Law and Order” was also another important message during the campaign for the Trump Administration. He even went as far as to declare himself the Law and Order candidate at the Republican National Convention.

(1) In terms of cancelling all of President Obama’s unconstitutional executive actions, we get a mixed bag. This obviously comes down to what is deemed unconstitutional. During the campaign the President focused specifically on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) as being a prime example. We have yet to see any movement on DACA. We’ve also seen few other highly contested actions being removed. FAILURE

(2) The President nominated Judge Gorsuch, a highly respected judge who was later confirmed. Many voters went as far as to say that this was the only reason that they voted for the President, outlining the importance of the Supreme Court. SUCCESS

(3) There has been a few actions regarding sanctuary cities, and there is still some pending legislation concerning this topic. We are past the 100 days mark, but considering pieces are still being moved on both sides I think it’s fair to consider this IN PROGRESS. (4) We have seen the President pursue the removal of two million illegal immigrants. SUCCESS

(5) The President attempted to suspend immigration from terror prone regions, but this was stopped by the courts and it’s unlikely that we will see any type of conclusion that is favorable for the administration. FAILURE

Within the realm of Rule of Law, we’ve seen a bit of movement regarding illegal immigrants within the country, but no movements on immigration reform. It’s also important to highlight the major success in nominating a Supreme Court Judge that he said would “uphold and defend the U.S. Constitution”. 2 and a half out of 5 promises kept.

I will work with Congress to introduce the following broader legislative measures and fight for their passage within the first 100 days of my Administration:

FAILURE

The President’s legislative agenda and his ability to work with Congress is where he really falls short. Of the ten promises he outlines on his second page, we’ve only seen movement on three of the ten promises and each of those is almost worse off than where it was beforehand.

The three that we have seen movement on:

(1) Middle Class Tax Relief and Simplification Act. And when I say “movement”, I mean that the President and his team released a one page document outlining some ideas. We’ve discussed before how this new tax plan would change the existing code, but we haven’t seen any movement from Congress or any more details out of the White House. FAILURE

(2) Repeal and Replace Obamacare Act. We’ve seen the Republicans put forward three different version of their new healthcare bill. All of which have failed quite miserably. We have yet to see any legislation that will be likely to pass the Senate and calls into question what the outlook for healthcare reform will be. FAILURE

(3) End Illegal Immigration Act. We’ve seen the President talk on numerous occasions about the wall and how it will eventually be paid for by Mexico. But we have yet to see that come to fruition, we’ve also not seen a significant portion of Congress get behind the idea. The President’s budget does include money for the wall, but it’s not likely to make it into the final version. FAILURE

0 out of 10 promises kept.

So how is he doing?

Overall, the President has had his share of success in Executive Actions. He had a a very big win with his nomination of Judge Gorsuch and he’s had some serious impacts on illegal immigration and Obama-era regulations that he considered to be aggressive. Compared to other President’s, he’s actually signed more Executive Orders in the first 100 days than any other administration in the past 72 years. However, he’s been called hypocritical considering he was quite disapproving of President Obama’s usage of Executive Actions. On promises within the realm of executive power, out of the 18 promises he has kept 11 and a half.

We’ve seen him keep a significant amount of promises that can be completed with just his signature, but we’ve yet to see much movement on anything that requires more than that. Any part of his agenda that requires him to work with Congress has yet to get out of the starting gate, which is significant considering that Republicans hold the majority. Considering the amount of dealmaking prowess the President is said to have, it’s surprising that we haven’t seen any real legislation. Within the realm of legislative power, out of 10 promises he has kept zero.

In total, he’s kept 11 and half out of 28 promises made to the American voter. So while he hasn’t had a very successful first 100 days, it’s fair to say that someone gaining their sea legs might not hit their stride until a few months or even a year in.