The Story Begins: Trump’s First Month as Commander in Chief

Jacob Hamburger, Managing Editor
March 8, 2017

Since President Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2017, it’s certainly been a busy White House. The first month has largely been about delivering upon campaign promises amidst a polarizing response.

Perhaps Trump’s most controversial aspect of his platform was his stance on immigration, as he promised to tighten border control through the construction of a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border as well as place more restrictions on the admission of refugees. The New York Times has reported that, in his first few executive orders as President, he ordered the construction of such a wall, and an immigration ban that would deny refugees from Syria as well as refugees from other nations for at least 120 days. After the 120 days, they would begin to let more refugees in, but at a far reduced clip than in the Obama administration. This order mortified liberal Americans, who took to the press and social media to express their discontent. This opposition, coupled with the order being struck down in federal court due to its unconstitutionality, has halted progress.

Trump began talking to world leaders soon after his inauguration, most notably Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, becoming active in the global sphere as he begun to familiarize himself with other influential leaders.

The President also nominated his entire cabinet in his first month as President, many of them being polarizing candidates. The best example of this is Betsy DeVos, Trump’s nomination for Secretary of Education who was appointed on a 51-50 vote in the Senate, with Vice President Pence serving as tiebreaker.

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Close nominations like DeVos’s only further highlight how fragmented America has become politically since Trump’s election, a problem that must be addressed in the coming months.

Regardless of if you agree, or disagree, with President Trump’s actions, there is no doubt the 45th President has been very active over his first month, perhaps foreshadowing what we should expect of our President in the coming term. He has only scratched the surface of his platform that won him the Presidency. Only time will truly tell what other major reforms Trump proposes, but if the first month is any indication, Americans are about to get exactly what just under half, 46.1%, of them voted for.