Donald Trump just lately hit the media circuit to make his case to, or maybe, to plead with the American folks, as polls present the vast majority of them aren’t on board together with his excessive agenda and chaotic course for the nation. For somebody who has known as the media “really corrupt,” and has complained that information retailers “actually write 97.6 % dangerous about me”—which, in his view, is unquestionably “unlawful”—Trump has been busy making the rounds with journalists, from The Atlantic to Time, ABC to NBC.
There’s a lot to criticize on the subject of Trump and the media, like his authoritarian therapy of the White Home press corps, equivalent to barring the Related Press for persevering with to go together with “Gulf of Mexico” over the Pravda-esque “Gulf of America.” Nonetheless, Trump does quite a lot of interviews, which assist reveal how he’s making an attempt to create a story and shift public perceptions—and likewise present a way of the place on earth his head is.
Nicely, the outcomes these days have been mind-blowing. Right here’s one response from arguably probably the most highly effective individual on this planet: “I don’t assume a gorgeous child woman—that’s 11 years outdated—must have 30 dolls. They’ll have three dolls or 4 dolls,” he told NBC’s Kristen Welker over the weekend on Meet the Press, when defending his tariffs, including, “They don’t must have 250 pencils, they’ll have 5.”
Sure, this is similar man who was elected to make issues cheaper, who vowed to “finish inflation and make America inexpensive once more” on Day 1. However on Wednesday—or Day 101 of the Trump presidency—he was busy blaming Joe Biden for the financial system contracting in 2025’s first quarter and suggesting the second quarter can be his predecessor’s fault too. The general public doesn’t seem like shopping for Trump’s excuses, with a CNN poll discovering 6 in 10 Individuals already saying his “insurance policies have elevated the price of residing of their neighborhood.”
Trump has dismissed issues about Individuals having much less and spending extra. It was in a cupboard assembly final week the place he first began speaking a couple of discount in toys, suggesting “kids may have two dolls as a substitute of 30 dolls” and “possibly the 2 dolls will price a few bucks greater than they might usually.” Welker asked him throughout Sunday’s interview when it turns into the “Trump financial system,” to which he responded, “It partially is correct now. And I actually imply this. I believe the nice components are the Trump financial system and the dangerous components are the Biden financial system, as a result of he’s performed a horrible job.”
In the meantime, Trump has launched into a commerce conflict, and was requested by Time about his adviser Peter Navarro promising “90 deals in 90 days,” none of which had but been introduced when the interview was printed on April 25, or even now. “I’ve made 200 offers,” Trump claimed, although he didn’t present any examples.
After which there was the very scary prospect of a recession. Presidents are likely to work very laborious to stop one—as even discuss of a recession can rattle the markets. However bafflingly, Trump appeared open to the chance. “Something can occur,” Trump instructed Welker, whereas including that he thinks “we’re going to have the best financial growth in historical past.”
In a dizzying 100 days, Trump signed 142 government orders, which is 100 more than Biden in the identical interval, and his administration is embroiled in authorized battles over various them. One of many problematic fights Trump is waging in the intervening time is over due course of, with doubtlessly large ramifications for American democracy. It’s a conflict Trump has been dropping within the courts, together with the Supreme Courtroom, which dominated 9-0 that america should facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man lawlessly deported to El Salvador.
When asked by Time if he had requested that El Salvador president Nayib Bukele flip over Abrego Garcia, Trump mentioned, “I haven’t been requested to ask him by my attorneys. No person requested me to ask him that query, besides you.” An odd reply from somebody who has been repeatedly requested in regards to the Abrego Garcia case. In the meantime, Trump acknowledged in his interview with ABC’s Terry Moran that he may get Abrego Garcia again by making a name. When requested in regards to the court docket’s order to facilitate his launch, Trump mentioned, “I’m not the one making this determination. We have now legal professionals that don’t need to do that.” The change, which included Moran correcting Trump after he claimed Abrego Garcia had “MS-13” tattooed on his knuckles, grew more and more tense, because the president began complaining that Moran was “not being very good.”
Days later, Welker asked Trump, “Don’t it is advisable uphold the Structure as president?” Trump responded, “I don’t know.” This reply is maybe the scariest of all of the solutions Trump has given. Barely greater than 100 days in the past, Trump swore on the Bible to “assist and defend the Structure of america in opposition to all enemies, overseas and home; that I’ll bear true religion and allegiance to the identical.” So the query turns into: Does Trump not imagine this to be true? Or did he by no means imagine it?
Whereas Trump might act like he doesn’t care, and is the last word decider—“I run the nation and the world,” he told The Atlantic—these interviews counsel Trump does care about shaping perceptions, or at the least making an attempt to clarify himself. So he’s turning to the identical media that he vilifies to spin his unpopular Mission 2025 agenda and disastrous tariff rollout. Certain, he’s going to attempt to spin the mess of his first a number of months in workplace, however that doesn’t imply the general public will purchase it.
