Trump’s 100 Days: A Future with No Visible Change So Far

Published in Kobe Shimbun
(Japan) on 2 May 2025
by (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Dorothy Phoenix. Edited by Michelle Bisson.
April 29, which marks 100 days since the start of U.S. President Donald Trump's term, is approaching.

During this period, the administration has turned its back on the consensus of the international community and repealed policy measures related to diversity and climate change through executive orders calling for reckless layoffs. Trump has entrusted the dissolution of federal government agencies to entrepreneurs who supported him, and he has imposed high tariffs on allied nations, including Japan.

In a speech on April 29, Trump boasted that he has “delivered the most profound change in Washington” From the standpoint of his ardent supporters, this was probably a relief.

However, what kind of society will there be after existing policies overturned? There is no clear concrete vision yet.

If this superpower continues to stray off course, grave rifts could appear in the international community. Trump should be aware that ultimately great losses will befall the U.S. itself.

In the U.S., people consider the first 100 days to be a time to assess how well an administration is doing, and approval ratings tend to be relatively high.

However, Trump's approval rating has slumped from 45% immediately following his inauguration to 39%. The mainstream U.S. press estimates that this is historically the lowest level for a president’s first 100 days.

The assessment of the administration's economic policies is particularly low. Within the U.S., reciprocal tariffs have also had a major impact, including price increases, leading to sharp drops in stock and U.S. securities prices. The Trump administration has issued financial relief measures in response to demands from the automotive and other industries, but this just shows that implementing these measures is just grandstanding and there’s no conclusive discussion about how effective they are.

The U.S. and others have judged America to be a leading democracy. But one cannot overlook that the Trump administration's America First approach has not only diminished its position gone down, but shaken its own democracy.

Courts have issued over 120 injunctions halting Trump's executive orders to recklessly fire federal workers, but the administration has ignored them, demanding the judges be impeached. If the administration is plotting to disrupt the separation of powers and establish a presidential dictatorship, then it is hard to call the U.S. a democratic nation.

As for negotiations to strike a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine, the U.S. has proposed a peace plan that aligns with Russia's objectives. Trump's excessive rush to broker a cease-fire agreement with himself as intermediary, and his embrace of iron-fisted nations that dismiss human rights and international order, are questionable.

French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed his vision that France, instead of the U.S., shield all of Europe with its “nuclear umbrella.” Trust in the United States. is rapidly eroding, and Japan must also pay attention to this state of affairs where the balance of the world's security could crumble.

As far as Japan is concerned, it faces the issue of minimizing the domestic impact of reciprocal tariffs. At the same time, the U.S. must once again recognize that it is a member of the world's democratic camp and take an active role in protecting human rights and liberty through international cooperation.


<社説>トランプ氏100日/いまだ見えぬ「変革」の先

米国の第2次トランプ政権が、4月29日に発足100日を迎えた。

 この間、国際社会の共通認識に背を向けて、多様性の重視や気候変動に関する政策を大統領令の乱発で撤廃した。自らを支援した実業家に連邦政府機関の解体を委ね、日本などの同盟国にも高関税を突きつけた。

 トランプ氏は29日の演説で、「ワシントンで最も重大な変革をもたらした」と豪語した。彼の熱烈な支持者にとっては、留飲を下げる思いなのだろう。

 だが「変革」で既存の政策を覆した先にどんな社会を築くのか。具体像はいまだに明確ではない。

 このまま超大国が迷走すれば国際社会に深刻な亀裂が入る。結果的に米国自身にも大きな損失が及ぶことを、トランプ氏は自覚すべきだ。

 米国では最初の100日間は政権の実力を見極める期間とされ、支持率も比較的高い傾向にある。

 ところがトランプ氏の支持率は、発足直後の45%から39%に下落した。100日後としては歴代最低の水準と米大手紙は分析する。

 中でも経済政策は評価が低い。相互関税は物価上昇など国内への影響も大きく、株式や米国債の急落を招いた。自動車業界などの要望を受けトランプ政権は影響緩和策を打ち出したが、政策効果の議論を煮詰めず場当たりで実行している証しだ。

 これまで米国は民主主義陣営の自他ともに認めるリーダーだった。看過できないのは、トランプ政権が自国優先でその地位を降りるにとどまらず、自国の民主主義までも揺さぶろうとしている点だ。

 トランプ政権が乱発した大統領令には、各地の裁判所が120を超す差し止め命令を出した。しかし政権はこれを無視し、判事の弾劾を迫っている。三権分立を揺るがせ、大統領独裁をもくろむのなら、もはや民主主義国家とは言い難い。

 ロシアとウクライナの停戦交渉を巡ってはロシアの意向に沿うような和平案を示した。自らの仲介による停戦を急ぐあまり、人権や国際秩序を軽んじる強権国家の振る舞いを容認する姿勢は疑問符が付く。

 フランスのマクロン大統領は、米国に代わってフランスが欧州全体に「核の傘」を差しかける構想を示した。米国への信頼が急速に損なわれ、世界の安全保障のバランスが崩れかねない状況を日本も留意する必要がある。

 日本にとって眼前の課題は、相互関税の国内への影響を最小限に抑えることだ。同時に、米国が世界の民主主義陣営の一員としての認識に立ち返り、人権や自由の擁護に積極的に動くよう、国際社会と連携して働きかけを強めなければならない。
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