A Different Look at the First 100 Days

It's not just about policies and personalities but about how we debate and discuss; there will be enough commentary on the pros and cons of campaign politics and most policies from others. Not here.

As many of you know, I've supported work to lower toxic polarization for years, and that work has lived alongside my political activism. This won't be a piece examining Trump's first 100 days in detail (there will be plenty who will do that). Instead, this will be about reactions to Trump's first 100 days and thoughts about our toxic divides. It also includes my frustrations with Democrats/liberals, some of whom I see as having acted just as undemocratically and unfairly as they believe Trump has behaved.

Liberal/anti-Trump readers might be thinking, "Why would I want to hear another Republican rant about Democrats?" I think this is important because we need to understand each other. Democrats should want to understand my frustrations and my anger, no matter if they strongly disagree, just as I try my best to understand their concerns.

Born when President Eisenhower was in the midst of his reelection campaign, I’ve seen a few “First Hundred Days” of new Administrations. I’m most attuned to the ones since early 1977, just after Jimmy Carter’s election. But there’s been nothing like these first weeks of Trump’s second term, even going back to George Washington’s.

I’m unsure who invented the “first hundred days” landmark for evaluating presidential administrations or Congresses. Some suggest President Franklin D. Roosevelt referenced his first hundred days during a radio addresses in 1933. Some historians reference the hundred-day reign of Emperor Napoleon after his return to France from exile in Elba in 1815, when he found that the political climate had changed, and he was forced to concede on his hundredth day.

Queue the Trump-Napoleon comparisons, both involving second acts from exile by “nationalists,” among other perjoratives.

Charles De Stueben depicts Napoleon’s return from Elba in 1815, for his hundred-day reign.

Expect a flurry of such stories about the new Trump Administration next Wednesday, April 30th, focusing on Trump’s mercurial actions on tariffs, regardless of the results we have yet to see. I’m sure they’re already at work. I can hear their bony fingers banging on laptop keyboards, with occasional glances at MSNBC for inspiration.

Expect no references to the promises and failures of Joe Biden’s first hundred days, or the most significant modern scandal in American history, the cover-up of his cognitive decline, the consequences of an open southern border, or his failed Afghanistan withdrawal, or his son’s and brothers’ grifting ways. There will be no stories about our unsustainable $37 trillion and growing deficit, much created over the past four years, but which several administrations contributed to, including Trump 45.

Maybe they’ll find room to allude to the phony Clinton campaign and FBI-coordinated Russia collusion hoax that marred much of Trump’s first hundred days eight years ago. I’m not counting on it because the media broke itself years ago and shows no sign of recovery.

But the news media is but part of the problem; it’s who feeds and echoes them that drives much of the outrage machine, as Democratic legislators scramble to take advantage of any opportunity to rally their demoralized and angry base. That includes the record-breaking speech that wasn’t a filibuster from a New Jersey Senator and wannabe President that nobody heard or remembers, a trip by a Maryland Senator and other Democratic Members of Congress to “rescue” a violent terrorist, human trafficker, and wife-beater with false claims over his deportation. Rachel Morin and Laken Riley, call your offices.

It amazes me that some Democrats are so focused on “due process” when dozens of Americans were deprived of it by murderous, criminal, illegal aliens, who administered “sentences” on their victims that no judge can overturn. I know some of this reeks of “whataboutism.” For many of us, it exposes myopia, hypocrisy and double standards, and we need to work through it to find the real points of contention and create honest conversations. That’s hard, but that’s part of the process.

Pro-immigration advocates, political consultants, and their denizens of keyboard warriors have been craving and begging for Trump’s defiance of court orders to prove their “threat to democracy” and “tyranny” narratives, never mind the facts. Sadly enough, facts never get their boots on before propaganda and narratives have circulated the globe. They are often full of nuance and complexity. Smart people know to wait before making judgments, given how first accounts are often wrong, as their numbers dwindle in an increasingly ADHD world. The wisdom of the crowds, it seems, rules the day. I’ll stick to my nonconformist strategies and tactics, including listening, researching, and learning, and ignoring the crowd as the occasion calls.

Social media has become the weapon of choice and a militarized zone for the Outrage Machine. It is also a tool used by bullies and worse in our schools. Virginia recently became the latest state to ban cellphones from public schools for students under 16. Author Jonathan Haidt created a movement with his book, The Anxious Generation. It’s about how social media use by children is helping fuel a mental health crisis. Gov. Glenn Youngkin cited the book when he signed legislation, following an executive order he issued months earlier to ban the use of smartphones in schools. California’s Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, has done the same.

We could use that bipartisanship to explore this: If cell phones (and social media) are doing that much damage to our young people, what have we done, and what are they doing to the rest of us? Research and publications are beginning to tell us, and it would be nice to find someone who could aggregate all this into a single location. Maybe someone has, and I don’t know about it. Despite operating in this space to varying degrees and in different ways for the past two decades, I’ve discovered many authors, Substacks, books, and other resources on taming the Outrage Machine just over the past couple of months. I’m delighted to see such interest, even as I have problems with many approaches and motivations.

Many advocates for more civility in our political discourse are their own worst enemies. They attempt to use it to change minds without exploring why Other Team members feel and operate as they do. I see that every day. Many well-meaning people are pushing civility with a focus on All Things Trump. If you’re a Trump supporter, you’re the problem, they earnestly pontificate from their insulated bubbles. Their befuddlement belies their incuriosity. Living and operating in bubbles will do that.

It’s tough because what gets rewarded gets repeated. And it takes little more than a glance at campaign financial disclosure reports to confirm that the politicians who crave and get the most attention, often for outrageous statements and actions, are raking in the dough. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Brooklyn congresswoman seen as an heir to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), raised $9.5 million in campaign funds during the first three months of 2025, including $7.7 million from unitemized personal contributions, presumably most of which came from the controversial Democratic online fundraising site, ActBlue (watch this space). She raised and spent $15.1 million during the two-year 2023-24 election cycle.

Image produced by Grok

Outrage pays. Can you read all those crazy fundraising emails without rolling your eyes? I can’t, but they work. That’s why they keep coming. It makes you wonder, who writes this stuff? Again, what gets rewarded gets repeated. Maybe stop rewarding those who feed or benefit from the Outrage Machine? Maybe now that Elon Musk is soon returning to his day job, he can consider my idea of creating a “green check” program for X (formerly Twitter) for people who ascribe to a code of conduct on social media based on simple manners, like no profanity, well-researched and documentable facts, respect for others. Radical, I know.

Let’s not exclude Republicans, but outrage seems less profitable on the GOP side. You can’t blame Trump entirely for fueling the outrage, since he was wildly outraised by Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party in 2024. Let’s consult the very non-partisan Ballotpedia:

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), she of Jewish space-laser infamy, raised $655,000 during the same period. That’s still an impressive haul for a House member, especially for three months, but it is less than AOC’s fellow “Squad” member and Somalia native Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) raised during the first quarter of 2025 - $815,000. Disgraced former US Rep. Matt Gaetz (FL-1), now fomenting outrage on One America News, raised $6.7 million during the 2024 election cycle, and unlike AOC, he had serious primary opposition. The numbers dwarf those of their colleagues who actually . . . legislate.

For those hyperventilating from too much consumption of MSNBC, Newsmax, or the Outrage Machines that fuel them, when Day 100 rolls around next week, the Trump presidency will still have 1,360 days left. This is a marathon, not a sprint, barring any future attempts by a Ryan Routh or a Thomas Crooks to shorten this presidency. There are certainly plenty of people advocating for Trump’s assassination on social media, which I won’t post here. For those keeping vigil, a handy website tracks the days, hours, and minutes. Pace yourself and take a break from politicizing everything, especially those who do so on social media. Budgeting your social media time might be a good start.

There’s hope: Purcellville, Virginia, shows the way.

It’s very easy to get discouraged and unplug from the political firebombing and crossfire and disengage from family and friends perceived as being “political” in one way or another, even when they’re not. I make it a point never to be the first to bring up politics or start a political discussion with family and friends. I’d rather hear about family, work, travel, or other events in their lives. Those of us who have worked, breathed, and lived politics our adult lives - no matter how constructively or civilly - are among the most shunned. It intimidates a lot of people into silence. Sometimes, that’s the intent, and it’s neither constructive nor healthy. It’s also dishonest.

However, going local is another way to avoid the national Outrage Machine. A recent dispute in my nearby town of Purcellville, Virginia, in western Loudoun County, gives me hope.

I won’t delve too much into the details, but Purcellville is a charming incorporated town of about 10,000, not including those of us who live within its expansive zip code that ranges close to historic Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia. It’s the 9th-largest incorporated town in Virginia and is located in the bucolic western half of Loudoun County, which borders the Shenandoah Valley to the west and Maryland to the north. General Phillip Sheridan and his Union troops burned and destroyed much of the county in 1865, during the Civil War, despite the presence of several pro-union communities. Lots of history here.

Loudoun County is home to roughly 80 percent of the nation’s internet traffic and over 200 “data centers” that fuel it. It’s been the nation’s wealthiest county for three decades. Getting transmissions lines to those data-hungry centers is a huge issue here. And don’t you DARE mess with our 360 miles of dirt roads here in the western half of the county. I enjoy waking up to the sounds of roosters crowing and cows bellowing. I have more animals than people as neighbors, and they don’t argue. They just want to be fed.

Purcellville’s non-partisan elections last year resulted in the election of a four-member majority slate of candidates, known as “Team Mayberry,” with a promise to halt growth and reduce rising water bills. Team Mayberry’s Christopher Bertaut replaced Mayor Stan Milan.

If you’re running as “Team Mayberry,” you may want to remember what the 1960s show was all about. It was starred by Andy Griffith, who played the town’s police chief and his deputy, Barney Fife (played by Don Knotts). It featured a cast of characters in a mythical North Carolina town, including future adult actor and director Ron Howard.

Mayberry RFD Police Chief Andy Griffith with an adolescent Ron Howard

Well, Team Mayberry voted to eliminate its police department as a budget-saving device. Team Mayberry was firing Andy and Barney. They said the County Sheriff’s 600-member department, which already provides service to the highly populated but unincorporated planned communities and “census-designated addresses” in wealthy eastern Loudoun County and a host of small towns nearby, could cover it. Andy Griffith, call your office.

Except they never talked to the Sheriff, Mike Chapman, a Republican handily elected to his third term last year in this purple-lean-blue county. The community features 800 small businesses, many of which were incensed. I know—I spoke to several of them, including my local barber.

Citizens organized with social media sites, mobilized a recall campaign under Virginia state law (another story unto itself), solicited regional media, including Washington, DC, television stations, and in a vote this week, the council relented. One member of Team Mayberry switched her vote. The rebellious citizens won. The police were saved for at least another year. The recall campaign continues, and Team Mayberry is in grave danger of being removed from office by a state Circuit Court, due to violations of the Freedom of Information Act and other laws. The vice mayor, a former police officer fired for violating his sick leave, is now under investigation by state police at the request of Attorney General Jason Miyares (R).

There was no partisanship, little rancor, and a focus on the issues. When someone posted something personal or incorrect, they were gently admonished. People delved into records and facts. Facebook proved to be a valuable and inexpensive organizing tool for residents. All things considered, despite strong passions, it was remarkably civil. Check out this Facebook page (“Purcellville Deserves Better”) or this coverage from the Loudoun Times-Mirror, a terrific local newspaper, if you’re interested in the whole story.

I still don’t know the political or partisan leanings of the local players involved, and nobody seemed to care. Perhaps because in a town this small, everyone knows each other, and you run into them at local grocery stores, churches, and baseball games. Better yet, they know each other’s families and care deeply about their community.

It’s funny; you’re more civil with people when facing them, instead of hiding behind keyboards.

Yes, the chaotic and ill-advised rollout of the Trump tariff wars has hurt me financially. I’m sorry for the DOGE-inspired job reductions that amount to less than five percent of the federal workforce, if that. I like what DOGE is trying to do, and I probably would have handled much of their work differently. Their failure to get ahead of their actions with a good communication (and legislative) strategy has allowed their opponents to smear them, even inspire violence that has obviously intimidated people from buying Teslas. I’m sad that friends worried about USAID contracts saw delays. I don’t like some of Trump's executive orders, but the real issue is that Congress has given too much authority and responsibility to the Executive Branch, including over tariffs.

Perhaps people should be more worried about an over dependence on federal largess. My grandson is already inheriting a part of a $36 trillion debt that is sure to reach $50 trillion around the time I leave this earthly plane, if not sooner. I’ve already begun to apologize to him, but he’s only two years old. I worry about little, but his future tops my list.

But if the election were held today, I’d still vote for Trump over Kamala Harris or Joe Biden, who did enormous damage to our culture and country over the past four years. Read my posts over the past few years to understand why I feel that way. Our federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies lied to us repeatedly, as did our government COVID “experts,” and our legal system has been alarmingly politicized, including out-of-control district judges who unconstitutionally, in my opinion, issue nationwide injunctions. That practice has always been wrong, regardless of which judge did it or who nominated them.

You are witnessing, in part, the result of the Senate's loss of the filibuster in 2013 over executive and most judicial appointments. Forcing a bipartisan consensus on judicial appointments helped us achieve a truly bipartisan, if nonpartisan, judiciary. That has sadly changed, and Congress is as much at fault as is the Executive Branch. But there is ample evidence that The Left™ has worked overtime to undercut confidence in our judiciary.

All our institutions are under attack of one kind or another, it seems. Antonio Gramsci planned this from an Italian prison before World War II. You can look it up.

The first hundred days have been chaotic, breeding uncertainty and stress for many. They also boldly, if imperfectly, executed promises that 77,302,580 Americans were promised and voted for. Like it or not, it’s evidence that democracy works. Democracy can also be messy.

The Outrage Machine, complete with disgruntled employees and ex-employees “overenforcing” Trump orders or leaking false, misleading, or confidential information, breeds much of the contempt we see on social media. It’s also true that Trump and his administration have bungled things, as all Administrations do. The sheer volume of activity, the players, and the momentum practically guaranteed that mistakes would happen. Some of us are forgiving, given the direction we’re now headed.

Others will say that this Trump Administration, unlike the first, is full of “yes” men and women. Someone should tell Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, who hardly fits that role. I bet there are others we won’t know about until the post-mortems are published in about four years.

Frankly, I tire of people who are outraged over anything and everything Trump does just because he proposed it, or salute and fall in line with unquestioned support. Personality-driven politics is both dangerous and shallow. It’s funny watching Democrats who once hated globalism now embracing it because of Trump’s “nationalism,” or worse. The same with tariffs. The examples are endless, as is the hypocrisy. However, it helps to pay attention to all the “infamous” executive orders and read them. I’m working through them. I’m learning lots. And there are lots of them.

Sadly, too many keyboard warriors and Outrage Machine operators never bother to. They should.

Must. Feed. The. Outrage. Machine. Civic duty be damned.

My post-election analysis last November did promise you this: “If you were looking for a ‘return to normalcy,’ well, forget that.” I warned you. I also remind you that about one in seven Americans are either on the extreme left (about 9 percent) or right (roughly 8 percent) who largely fuel this outrage.

The tail is wagging the dog.

Maybe events like Purcellville’s came at a time to show us what’s important and how to communicate and respond. Perhaps it’s the Purcellvilles of the world, not the Washington, DCs, that show the way. Hat tip to Braver Angels, the terrific organization teaching America how to bridge our divides from the ground up.