The Trump Report Card

Donald Trump at 100 days in his second term is the least popular post-war US president, if the polls are right. At 41 per cent, he has done worse than Bill Clinton (55 per cent) and Joe Biden (57 per cent), and is a long way from John F Kennedy (83 per cent), according to Gallup. Trump 2.0 has done worse than Trump 1.0 (44 per cent). The New York Times/Siena College poll found his approval rating at 42 per cent; CNN at 41 per cent. According to NYT-Siena, which sampled 913 voters nationwide, 66 per cent called Trump 2.0 “chaotic”; 59 per cent thought it is “scary”.
Most Americans support deportation of illegals but 51 per cent feel Trump hasn’t done a good job; 52 per cent disapprove of his handling of federal government workers. Even heartland Republicans fear he may have constitutionally overreached. The refrain is Trump has “gone too far”, a view shared by 54 per cent. Allowing for sample and political bias, it’s a poor report card—55 per cent think Trump is mishandling the economy with his tariff wars. That’s the nadir for a man whose USP was the economy.

A Canadian Election Made in the United States

It’s not Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Justin Trudeau’s surprise successor, but Donald Trump who should take credit for the Liberal Party pulling off what was an impossible comeback a few weeks ago. The Liberals rode Canadian anger at Trump’s unrelenting taunts and threats—from tariffs to making Canada the 51st of the United States—to win a fourth consecutive federal term albeit falling just short of a majority. The former central banker, a political novice when he took over from Trudeau, said, “President Trump is trying to break us so that America can own us—that will never ever happen.” Trump’s attacks on Canada torpedoed the campaign of Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives who, in January, were looking at an easy victory given the mismanaged economy and 10 years of Trudeau. Beginning as a Trump fan, Poilievre couldn’t convincingly turn the campaign around and ended up losing his own two-decade-old seat in Ontario. Meanwhile, the New Democratic Party was decimated and its pro-Khalistani leader Jagmeet Singh resigned. Carney is reputed as a pragmatist. He has settled the question of Canadian sovereignty once again. But can he break with Trudeau’s legacy?

An Apology from Harvard

The Trump administration might call it karma. Harvard President Alan Garber had little choice but to issue an apology after two internal investigations released scathing reports about anti-Semitism and Islamophobia on campus, aggravated by Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel and the ensuing Gaza war. In a letter accompanying the reports, Garber pledged “Harvard cannot—and will not—abide bigotry”. It changes little where the university’s lawsuit against the government is concerned. Garber has promised to review academic courses and admission policies—a key demand of the Trump administration—but the remedial plan doesn’t come close to the White House’s expectations.

Alan GarberCanada electionsDonald TrumpgeopoliticsHarvardJagmeet SinghMark Carneypro-KhalistaniThe Globetrotter