President Trump’s first 100 days back in office clearly transformed America’s political landscape, but a range of big-ticket items are still in progress, with tariffs atop the list for markets.
The uncertainty there appears likely to stretch at least into the summer, with a series of conflicting statements from Trump and his aides in recent days providing little in the way of guidance.
Tariffs appear to also be the biggest drag on Trump’s waning popularity, with a New York Times poll tracker showing the steady decline of the president’s approval ratings, especially after “Liberation Day” on April 2 when he unveiled his reciprocal tariff plans.
Read more: The latest news and updates on Trump’s tariffs
Since then, Trump and his team have offered countless conflicting summaries of the latest on key trade issues. The uncertainty continued this past weekend ahead of the official 100-day marker on Tuesday.
Unclear as ever are how negotiations are going, what deescalation might look like, and even whether talks with China are underway.
“I’ve made 200 deals,” Trump claimed in an interview with Time conducted last week. Two days later, he told reporters it would be “physically impossible” to negotiate many of the deals before a deadline this July.
In comments this past weekend, Trump appeared to pivot even further from a focus on deals to lower rates, saying tariff talks with foreign leaders are ongoing but suggesting tariffs could lead to tax cuts because “we’re going to be taking in a tremendous amount of money.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent offered a new summary of the approach on Sunday, telling ABC, “in game theory, it’s called strategic uncertainty.”
It’s emblematic of Trump’s approach that has increased the uncertainty around key economic issues that are nowhere near finality 100 days in.
And it’s a dynamic being felt on a range of fronts from taxes, where an effort in Congress has been slowed, to the war in Ukraine, a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, and elsewhere.
As Trump has stretched his unilateral executive authority to new heights and signed new presidential actions nearly every day — including a historic wave after being sworn in — he has found progress to be much slower when working with outside groups from Congress to foreign nations.
‘I will act with historic speed’
For Trump, he often promised the opposite as he came into office.
“Starting tomorrow, I will act with historic speed and strength and fix every single crisis facing our country,” Trump proclaimed at a rally the night before taking the oath of office for a second time.
