100 days of Trump is too many

IF the first 100 days of a presidency were probationary, Donald Trump would be lucky to walk away with a severance cheque and a framed photo of himself.

- CHRISTOPHER BUCKTIN

Instead, as the milestone approaches, America is stuck with a leader who's governing like he's still hosting The Apprentice, only this time the stakes are global stability, the economy, and what's left of America’s reputation.

Let's start with the big moves.

Trump, in a fit of performative nationalism, axed USAID - the agency responsible for keeping large parts of the world from completely falling apart.

His message was clear: America is closed for charity. Unfortunately, China didn’t get the memo. They stepped in immediately with cheque books and bulldozers, filling the void Trump left like a Bond villain on a world tour. It was like the US leader was busy tweeting in all caps, while China's President Xi Jinping was playing Risk.

And then there were the tariffs. Trump's economic “strategy” was to slap levies on everything that moves, hoping to sound tough while ignoring the sound of Wall Street clutching its pearls.