100 Days of 2.0

We didn’t start the fire, but we're not gonna put it out either

The second Trump administration has just passed the 100-day mark. The President celebrated with a rally in Michigan, calling his first stretch in office a “revolution of common sense.” Among his highlighted wins: ordering an end to transgender medical procedures on children, taking aim at DEI programs in higher education, and most notably, effectively sealing the southern border—exactly what his base elected him to do.

Still, you’d be forgiven for a sense of déjà vu. Media coverage of Trump 47 has been even more negative than it was during Trump 45. Pollsters insist he’s more unpopular than ever—even worse off than Eisenhower at his 100-day milestone. (Then again, when it comes to polls about Trump, take them with a large grain of salt.) Critics say it's all about money and ego. Democrats offered little more than snark, with one claiming he’d rather take 100 vaccine shots than endure another Trump term. (Weren’t we told that was noble a few years ago?) Others would rather cook family dinners or ride a noisy school bus than sit through another Trump headline. Strange complaints for people who supposedly went to Washington to serve the public. They are already filing articles of impeachment, sharpening claws for potential midterm changes in the House.

Of course, Trump can do no wrong for his most loyal supporters. But not everyone’s cheering. His Swiss army tariff strategy—meant to fund tax cuts, reshore manufacturing, and bring China to heel—has given critics easy ammo. After the President suggested kids might have to settle for fewer toys when tariffs hit, one commentator dubbed his plan a conservative version of “you’ll own nothing and be happy.” And while the public is tired of unchecked immigration, deportations are still touchy, if reports are to be believed. Hostile media outlets do their best to smush illegal and legal immigration together to keep voters confused and inflamed about who is being thrown out.

Libertarian journalist Michael Moynihan called the opening salvo of Trump 2.0 the “100 days of Whataboutism”, criticizing the executive fervor as reactionary. But many Americans remember: Biden defied the Supreme Court and opened the border. Obama apologized for America and ushered in identity politics on steroids. What about the “pen and phone” governance of previous Democrat administrations? What about the lawfare? What about the censorship? If this is whataboutism, it’s got receipts.

Still, there’s a valid warning here: a flurry of executive orders isn't the same as lasting reform. So far, only 6 bills have made it through Congress–nowhere near enough to cement long-term change. Unless legislative progress picks up, everything Trump is doing could be undone by the next administration.

So the question remains–can conservatives turn executive power into cultural momentum and durable policy? Right now, we seem caught in a strange cycle—elites betray public trust, which fuels conspiracy theories, which leads to even deeper mistrust. Rinse and repeat. This feedback loop is supercharged by the internet, where every breach of trust goes viral and every doubt finds a megaphone. To get off this ride, we can’t keep playing political ping-pong–we’ll keep swinging between extremes with nothing to show for it. Real change requires more than bold executive moves. It needs deep roots—in the culture, in our institutions, in the moral imagination of the people.

That starts with us. Don’t just cheer from the sidelines—get involved. The culture won’t shift because one man sits in the White House for four years; it’ll shift when millions of ordinary people live as though Jesus is real, truth matters, and cowardice is not a virtue. Pray harder. Stand firmer. And remember: real revolutions don’t start in D.C.—they start in hearts and homes.