Saturday was President Trump’s 100th day in office. It is almost pointless to say that because everyone has been reminded about it endlessly this week. Whether it was from a CNN countdown or a passing comment from the cashier at a used book store, we have heard enough about the 100-day benchmark.
Now why does the 100-day benchmark matter? Not a lot of people have been asking this question. It seems to be an arbitrary checkpoint to see what the president and his administration have accomplished so far. However, the 100-day benchmark is a lot more important and a lot more dangerous than it appears to be.
The first reason the 100-day mark is dangerous is that it creates the illusion that democracy works quickly. As anyone who has watched C-SPAN can tell you, government moves slowly. We often blame this slowness on incompetence or negligence. But this slowness is a necessary part of democracies.
Legislation takes a while to craft. Policymakers have to take into account every little detail so that it is not struck down in court or harmful to someone. Good examples of the consequences of trying to bypass this tedious process is President Trump’s executive orders. They were rushed and were struck down almost immediately because the policymakers didn’t have time to consult lawyers or even look at the U.S. Constitution.
Government policies are not decided by shifts in the majority’s opinion. While this causes a lot of problems, such as in presidential elections, it also protects government from becoming a lynch mob.
America is not run by a majoritarian or authoritarian government, no matter how many people on my Facebook feed believe it is. If we were living under either one of these types of government, then a lot more would have gotten done. But what would have been done would not have been in the interest of the greatest amount of people.
The 100-day mark also places an unnecessary spotlight on the president and his administration. People were sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for what “bigly” thing President Trump was going to do to prove that he had accomplished something. Trump himself saw that he needed to do something to live up to the 100-day mark, and almost passed big and explosive legislation. The pressure got to President Trump and he almost did something dangerous.
Trump’s “cramming” could have caused a lot of problems. Anyone who has stayed up writing a paper the night before it is due can tell you that what they created was nonsense at best.
I believe how people reacted to the 100-day mark tells a lot about how we as citizens think. A lot of people wanted real, quick and easy change. They believed and still believe that Donald Trump, as a businessman, would be able to provide that for them. But presidents have limits on their power. Government can’t be run like a business.
Presidents also don’t have a return policy. After 100 days, we can’t just elect a new president if we aren’t satisfied with the current one. We are stuck with President Trump for another 1,358 days.
While the 100-day mark is both pointless and dangerous, I believe we have learned some important things. We have learned that democracy is slow and that it needs to stay that way. We have learned a lesson in consequences. And finally, we have learned that President Trump should be judged every day — not just after 100 days.
