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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