As Donald Trump completes 100 days in office on Tuesday (April 29), his approval rating has taken a nosedive, marking the lowest for any American President in at least seven decades.
He has made a flurry of promises during this period, including pledging to end the Russia-Ukraine War, stem undocumented immigration, and withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement.
The verdict on Trump’s first 100 days in office…
It is in, and it does not flatter the President.
A poll by Pew Research Center shows that his approval rating has declined by 7% since February and stands at 40% currently. His rapidly evolving tariff decisions have been received poorly, with 59% of respondents disapproving of these measures.
His move to minimise government has been divisive, with 55% disapproving of the administrative cuts on federal departments and agencies.
An analysis by The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy last week indicated that Trump’s tariffs could increase the tax burden on the poorest 20% of American households (incomes less than $29,000) by 6.2%, around four times more than those in the top 1% (incomes exceeding $195,000).
This was based on the state of Trump’s tariffs then, specifically 10% on goods from most countries, 25% sector-specific tariffs on some goods from some countries, and the 145% levy on China.
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The Pew poll also indicates a decline in public expectations of economic performance – 45% of Americans expect economic conditions to worsen. Among these, the prices of food and consumer goods as well as housing costs are the chief concerns, with 67% very concerned about the former, and 61% very concerned about the latter.
Looking forward: Trump’s “Big, Beautiful” tax bill
A key battle will be played out in the coming weeks in the Republican-dominated Congress, as Trump seeks to realise his “Big, Beautiful” tax bill. This promised bill has been a cornerstone of Trump 2.0, and both houses of Congress approved versions of this bill earlier this month.
In a nutshell, this bill aims to expand the scope of Trump’s 2017 tax cuts to the wealthy while introducing new tax breaks, to cut federal spending and increase defence spending, and raise the debt ceiling by up to $5 trillion.
The goal is to get the bill on its legs by early May, or latest by Memorial Day (May 26).
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While the budget resolutions passed by both houses have been identical, the House of Representatives has advocated for deeper spending cuts on programmes like Medicaid and clean energy, amounting to at least $1.5 trillion (as opposed to the Senate’s $4 billion in proposed cuts).
The two bills are undergoing a process of budget reconciliation, in which lawmakers from both houses work together to present a unified bill, amid resistance from party lawmakers to specific details.
One group of Republican lawmakers demands that the tax cuts (an income source for the government) be paired with significant cuts in government spending, with the assumption that economic growth will absorb some of the costs over time.
A separate group has advocated for increasing the cap on state and local tax deductions (SALT), which was restricted to $10,000 in Trump’s 2017 tax law. These lawmakers hail from states with high property taxes and costs of living like New York, California and New Jersey, and may withhold their support otherwise.