How Trump Took Over Washington And The World—In 100 Days

Forbes

Surrounded by loyalists, Donald Trump knows the old rules no longer apply to him. He’s taking full advantage, implementing ideas he has held for decades.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2025/04/29/shock-and-awe-how-trump-took-over-washington-and-the-world-in-100-days/  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Today on Forbes, shock and awe, how Trump took over Washington and the world in 100 days.

00:09One hundred days into a second term, the world revolves around Donald Trump.

00:13In Europe, nations scramble to bulk up on arms in hopes of defending Ukraine, or perhaps

00:19themselves.

00:20In Asia, manufacturers strategize where to move production lines, without knowing the

00:25rules of the game.

00:27In Latin America, the tired, poor, huddled masses stay home, sensing that things are

00:32different now in the land of liberty.

00:35Those inside the United States feel it too, with uncertainty seeping into the most powerful

00:40institutions, Wall Street banks, Capitol Hill offices, federal agency headquarters, and private

00:46university campuses.

00:48Donald Trump, meanwhile, seems happier than ever back on his throne.

00:53Andrew Weiss, who worked inside the Trump Organization from 1981 to 2017, says, quote,

01:00He is more relaxed, and he's got more loyal people.

01:04And almost all of them are eager to sing his praises.

01:07In a statement, White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt says, quote,

01:11In his first one hundred days, President Trump has delivered on hundreds of promises and already

01:16accomplished his two most important campaign goals.

01:19The border is secure, and inflation is ending.

01:23In a role as spokesperson, there's no surprise that she is exaggerating the president's progress

01:27on inflation here.

01:29Yet the truth is, no one should be surprised by the swift start.

01:34Trump's priorities have been clear since the 1980s and 1990s, when the real estate developer

01:38spoke up on a few issues that mattered to him.

01:42Take international trade.

01:43In 1988, Trump scoffed, quote,

01:46It's not free trade.

01:48If you ever go to Japan right now and try to sell something, forget about it.

01:53He struck a similar tone on defense spending, saying, quote,

01:55Hinting at his thoughts on immigration, he told one associate the United States would

02:03not become a majority-minority nation.

02:06He said, quote,

02:07It'll never happen.

02:08We're not going to become South Africa.

02:11With Trump back in the White House, the issues that have long been on his agenda are now on

02:15the nation's agenda.

02:17Gordon Sondland, who served as ambassador to the European Union during Trump's first

02:21term, marvels at the so-called, quote, shock and awe start to his second term.

02:27He says, quote,

02:28These are fundamental things that he believes and has believed for three to four decades.

02:34It might all be bewildering if Trump had not been so consistent for so long.

02:39Decode the president's base instincts and his first 100 days become more understandable,

02:44his remaining 1,362 more predictable.

02:49The first thing any president does is pick his people, and Trump has always been attracted

02:53to fellow tycoons.

02:55Alan Marcus, a communications consultant who worked with Trump in the 1990s, says, quote,

03:01He loves associating with rich guys.

03:05Trump named Elon Musk, his biggest donor and the world's richest man, as a special government

03:10employee, a designation given to short-term employees that generally allows them to retain

03:15their assets.

03:16Musk is one of an unprecedented 10 billionaires in the administration.

03:22Musk's so-called Department of Government efficiency seemed perfectly primed to take

03:25on the bureaucracy.

03:27Trump, who has long chafed at independent voices, used his first Friday in office to purge a lineup

03:32of inspectors general, the watchdogs whose job it was to root out waste, fraud, and abuse

03:38long before Musk showed up.

03:40Trump also slashed USAID, which doled out money to help poor countries around the world.

03:46And Doge ran through multiple federal agencies, canceling contracts and firing tens of thousands

03:50of government workers.

03:52Meanwhile, arrests and deportations were seen in all parts of the country, and Trump's

03:57legal team remade the usually independent Department of Justice into a de facto arm of the White

04:01House, an unprecedented move.

04:05His own house upended, Trump turned to the global stage, hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr

04:10Zelensky at the White House in February.

04:13As cameras captured the disintegration of a wartime alliance on television, Trump said,

04:18You're either going to make a deal, or we're out.

04:21You don't have the cards.

04:23That's how Trump views the world.

04:25There are people who matter, and people who don't.

04:28Sondland explains, quote, It's very transactional.

04:32In March, Trump launched a global trade war, putting global markets on a seesaw.

04:38Never won for nuance, Trump plows ahead, his tariff announcements and social media posts

04:43moving markets by trillions.

04:45The true test for Trump, however, is what comes next.

04:49Can a man who forged his political career on grievance, convinced that everyone is ripping

04:53off the United States, shift to implementing solutions?

04:58For full coverage, check out Dan Alexander's piece on Forbes.com.

05:03This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.

05:06Thanks for tuning in.

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