100 days that changed America 14:46
Story highlights
- President Donald Trump came to Washington intent on keeping his promise to turn the establishment on its head
- He whipped up a political hurricane
- A CNN feature, '100 Days that Changed America,' aimed to capture those in the path of Hurricane Trump
(CNN)The first 100 days is not just about the new President.
The
dawn of a new administration unleashes conflicting forces of change,
hope, opposition, dislocation and even confusion that reverberate
throughout Washington far beyond the West Wing of the White House.
Every
first 100 days is fraught — but President Donald Trump slammed into
town on January 20 with unusual force, in keeping with a promise he made
to supporters to turn the establishment on its head.
The
political hurricane that he whipped up battered Democrats and his own
party, ripping through the corridors of power on Capitol Hill, as he
flouted countless assumptions on how a president should behave.
In
a new CNN feature, '100 Days that Changed America,' CNN Politics and
Digital Studios spoke with people across the political spectrum caught
in the path of Hurricane Trump. Both those who have witnessed the new
administration up close and those who stood outside to cheer or jeer.
We
talked to Democrats suddenly adjusting to a new political foe and
Republicans trying to work out how to march in lock step with the most
unorthodox President in recent history.
Progressives
told us how the reality of Trump helped trigger a new mood of political
activist that sent them into the streets to protest.
We spoke to Trump supporters who believe that the turmoil in the capital is simply a downpayment on the disruption he promised.
At
the end of the first 100 days, the storm shows little sign of blowing
itself out, even if Trump has, on foreign policy especially, toned some
radical campaign stances, especially regarding US alliances in Europe
and Asia.
Even
so, as events of the just the last week, including the unveiling of a
new tax plan and a new broadside against the federal judiciary, show,
the President remains as unpredictable as ever.
Surveying
the turmoil that raged in Washington in the weeks after Trump took
office, Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union, told
us: "It's a little messy, it can be a little chaotic, but we needed it.
We definitely needed it."
Messy is a good word.
Trump
hit the ground running with a blizzard of executive orders. But his
travel ban on citizens of predominantly Muslim nations sent angry
protesters into the nation's airports before hitting a dead end, when it
was blocked by the federal courts.
The
President pressed ahead with an effort to repeal Obamacare, which
fizzled in a humiliating defeat for the White House and the GOP House
leadership.
He
gave a well-received speech to a joint session of both chambers of
Congress, and for a moment it seemed that the President would finally
bask in the honeymoon that most new commanders in chief get to enjoy.
But
within hours, the story that has haunted the new administration from
the start, questions about the involvement of Trump aides and Russia at a
time when Moscow was accused of interfering in the election,
resurfaced.
The
first 100 days is often a sobering experience for Presidents as they
first come come face-to-face with the huge responsibilities of serving
as commander in chief. Trump faced a life and death decision when he
ordered cruise missile strikes in Syria to punish the use of chemical
weapons by government forces. He had once advised his predecessor,
Barack Obama, not to bomb Syria. But he changed his tune after he saw
harrowing video of children choking for air after a chemical weapons
attack.
"I
talked with him the night of the bombing and told him I was very proud
of our nation and proud of him for making that decision as quickly as he
did," Sen. Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee told us.
"I thought it was exactly the right thing to do."
Some
Republicans see an evolution in Trump's behavior and demeanor, despite
his tendency to roil his opponents with his Twitter account and lambast
the press. They also insist that the loyal voters who put the President
in the White House are not going to desert him over a sometimes rocky
start.
"DC
is not going to be changed in 100 days. What you're talking about is
disrupting an institution that doesn't want to change," said Bryan
Lanza, a deputy communications director for the Trump-Pence campaign.
On
the other side of the political spectrum, Trump's arrival in the Oval
Office triggered an immediate backlash from progressives who had been in
mourning since Hillary Clinton lost the election.
"We
know this is just one moment, it's a moment to celebrate really, but I
want the girls to understand what activism looks like," one activist
told us, after taking her daughters to a Women's March in Washington on
the first weekend of Trump's presidency.
Democrats
caught in the whiplash of Trump's first 100 days have also hurriedly
had to draw new battle lines as they work out how to fight back.
"He's
done nothing but push us further and further and further away, with
every executive order that he's issued so far," Democratic New York Rep.
Joseph Crowley said midway through the first 100 days.
"He's not trying to bring the country together, but further drive us apart."
One
Washington figure who was originally critical of Trump, former Sen.
Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, suddenly found herself on his team —
helping to shepherd Supreme Court pick Neil Gorsuch through his
confirmation process.
"I
really thought about it, and I thought this is very important for the
country and what a phenomenal nomination," Ayotte, who was interviewed
for the project after losing her seat in last November's election, said.
"I have to say, I was surprised, but I was very glad to work with him on this."
Gorsuch's
confirmation was a rare moment one of the most successful moments of
Trump's 100 days. But it still shook up the Washington status quo
because because Republicans were forced to dismantle Senate rules to get
around a Democratic filibuster.
That
drama, which played out over several weeks, was another of the
remarkable events that unspooled as Trump settled into the White House.
But
it's not been all work in Washington. Longtime swamp dweller Ryan
Williams, a former White House aide for President George W. Bush and
campaign hand for Mitt Romney, has noticed a changed in the city's
culture.
Some
presidents were known for frequenting the Georgetown dinner party
circuit, others have put certain restaurants on the map just by dropping
in for a meal. But the locus of Trump world in DC is a place with the
President's name on the front.
"The Trump Hotel is definitely the place to see and be seen in Washington these days," Williams told us.
"Not
just for the President but for senior administration officials. I
believe the treasury secretary even lives in the hotel during the
weekdays."
The
White House will likely be relieved when this week is over — the first
100 days marker is often an irritant to new presidents who chafe at
being judged so early on, as they are still learning the ropes of their
job.
But
as he embarks on the next 100 days of his presidency, and beyond, Trump
is saddled by the lowest approval ratings of any new commander in chief
in modern history.
But
all is not lost. Some presidents, like Bill Clinton for instance,
endured a tumultuous first 100 days but went on to win a second term.
Others,
like Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford, exhibited vulnerabilities during
their first 100 days that came helped derail their presidencies later
on.
No one can say to which category Trump will eventually belong.
That's the story of the next 1,300 plus days ...
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