I’ve spent a lot of time speaking with President Donald Trump over the past few months and my expectations for his first 100 days in power are very high.
Americans are about to witness a period of rapid change that will revolutionize their lives.
For one, Trump knows that he must move fast.
He has two years of nearly unfettered control of Washington DC, before mid-term elections threaten to undermine the Republican party’s slim majorities in the House and Senate.
Secondly, Trump knows he has pulled off the greatest political comeback in American history – and he’s not about to squander his second chance.
He is well aware that he cannot run for election again, so he’ll move to secure his legacy – and quickly.
This administration will kick off, as has been well-reported, with a flurry of executive orders and many designed to reverse dozens of hurried dictates issued in the waning days of President Joe Biden’s term.
But beyond the initial clean-up work, I believe that Trump will focus on four key priorities:
I’ve spent a lot of time speaking with President Donald Trump over the past few months and my expectations for his first 100 days in power are very high.
Trump has two years of nearly unfettered control of Washington DC, before mid-term elections threaten to undermine the Republican party’s slim majorities in the House and Senate.
This administration will kick off, as has been well-reported, with a flurry of executive orders and many designed to reverse dozens of hurried dictates issued in the waning days of President Joe Biden’s term.
Tax cuts and deregulation
Trump’s aim is to cut the federal corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 15 percent.
If he can’t manage that, then simply securing an extension of his 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (which had lowered the rate to 21, while Biden once proposed raising the rate to 28 percent) will prove attractive to the business community and keep investment flooding into America.
And that means more jobs, more opportunity, more growth!
There’s a dispute, of course, over how Trump will lower tax rates and, perhaps, reduce tax revenues without exacerbating America’s $27 trillion debt crisis. But the US will only ever emerge from beneath this mountain of borrowed money by growing the economy. Trump will make that possible.
And his plan to cut waste in government spending through Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) could very well make up the difference of any lost tax revenue. Musk has suggested he could save as much as $2 trillion.
Trump and Musk’s DOGE will also focus on slashing cumbersome government regulations on the banking, cryptocurrency, agriculture and transportation industries lifting another burden from the backs of businesses.
All together, these reforms will unleash American entrepreneurs and workers.
New world powerhouse
Trump wants to renegotiate America’s trade deals, but I am most excited about his enthusiasm for creating a new economic union between the US and Canada.
In one move, Trump could create the world’s largest economic engine – one that is dedicated to freedom of speech and democracy.
Canadians are intrigued by this idea. Of course, they don’t want to give up sovereignty, but there’s a middle-ground in terms of establishing new trading arrangements and a secure shared border that promotes business interests.
I also have no doubt that Trump will make good on his pledge to close the US/Mexico border to unbridled illegal immigration.
One of the most captivating possibilities of a US/Canadians economic union is the creation of a ‘uni-passport’ – a passport that would be available to both Americans and Canadians that would allow them to easily study and work in each other’s countries.
Trump’s plan to cut waste in government spending through Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) could very well make up the difference of any lost tax revenue.
Tariffs as tools
There has been a lot of scaremongering over Trump’s vows to slap tariffs on imported goods, as hysterical critics claim that this will sour international relations and send consumer prices soaring.
This sort of blanket panic is based on a misunderstanding of Trump’s plan. He isn’t going to use tariffs in perpetuity. As is always true with Trump, the tariff is a weapon in his arsenal to be deployed when needed.
Trump will wield tariffs to gain short-term leverage over foreign businesses like European car makers and, most importantly, the Chinese government.
Tariffs can also give Trump leverage in foreign policy. For example, he can impose levies on Mexico if their government doesn’t help secure the US-Mexico border.
However, if Trump leaves tariffs in place for too long, I will start to be concerned about a return of inflation.
Under Biden, far too much money was poured into the economy, leading to a crippling period of hyperinflation that placed an unsustainable strain on millions of Americans.
The average salary in America is around $68,000. For those people, when the grocery bill skyrockets 22 percent over four years, there’s not much left to spend on housing, childcare and life’s other necessities.
Trump is loath to return to those conditions.
Energy Freedom
The Ukraine-Russia war sent gas and oil prices soaring over the past few years and had so many knock-on effects on European countries that were reliant on Russia’s Vladimir Putin for their energy supplies.
Nobody wants that to happen in the US. Rightfully, one of Trump’s top priorities is to make America energy independent.
By building up the American energy sector, and deregulating the oil and gas industries, Trump will increase energy security and bring down costs for businesses and individuals alike.
American energy export to our allies will reduce their reliance on bad actors like Putin and the Chinese Communist regime.
