A Presidency in Retreat

After 100 days, the American people have soured on Trump and his chaos

As we hit the first 100 days, Trump has once again made history, but not the kind he was hoping for: a new Post/ABC poll finds Trump’s approval at 39%, the lowest of any president in the past 80 years for their first 100 days, including Trump’s disastrous first regime. Two-thirds of Americans find him “chaotic,” and 6-in-10 find him “scary.” He has also gone underwater on every single issue, including his signature issues, the economy and immigration.

As I have written here, Trump cares about two things: his approval and the stock market. Despite his protestations otherwise, he is obsessed with both as measures of his performance and success. Similar to American voters, Wall Street has soured on Trump, christening what is now known as the Trump ‘ Sell America’ trade - as global investors flee the U.S. stock market, bond markets and U.S. currency, and we usher in a period of the loss of U.S. exceptionalism. This is not exactly on brand for making America great again; but rather Trump has transformed the U.S. economy from being the envy of the world, into an international embarrassment!

We are going to cover how we got here, seven examples of his retreat, and what could come in the next phase of the second regime.

First, How Did it Come Apart?