Trump’s first month: Is he any closer to making America great again?
Billionaire Elon Musk speaking next to US President Donald Trump at the White House on Feb 11.PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON – It is a gusty morning in the American capital, which is experiencing an extended cold snap. But in a largely Democratic town, there is a new chill that has nothing to do with the weather.
All shook up by US President Donald Trump, who is one month into his second term, and his “first buddy” Elon Musk, government workers are filing silently into the clusters of stately buildings along Pennsylvania Avenue. High overhead, a couple of golden eagles glide on unseasonal thermals.
Mr Trump is not in town, but his hold on the public imagination is complete. Mr Musk flits in and out of the White House, while his presence continues to be the subject of debate.
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On the morning of Feb 18, though, there was a brief interlude on the TV news channels when the headlines were not about Mr Trump.
The blow-by-blow coverage of his administration was upstaged by a live broadcast from Toronto Pearson International Airport about rescue operations that saved all 80 people on board the jet that flipped onto its roof as it crash-landed on Feb 17.
At a 30-minute press conference in the afternoon at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, an unsmiling Mr Trump, with the air of a man expecting no thanks, announced details of the latest executive order – the 68th since he was sworn in on Jan 20 – to expand access to in-vitro fertilization and make it more affordable.
Then, he answered a stream of questions from reporters crowded into a room at his resort. US-Russia talks were the hot topic of the day, having displaced Gaza, which had a run of almost two weeks.
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The work-in-progress tariff policy always attracts a question or two; on Feb 18, it resulted in a statement from Mr Trump that he is considering imposing levies of up to 25 per cent on the imports of semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and autos.
At prime time, Mr Trump was back on the screens, this time in a double-bill appearance with Mr Musk, the billionaire running America’s biggest cost-cutting exercise. The interview from the Oval Office had the air of a parlor chat, with both defending the massive overhaul of the federal government that is under way.
Mr Trump may well be the hardest-working 78-year-old in America; his supporters like to say that this President has done more in four weeks than his predecessor Joe Biden did in four years.
Mr Trump has imposed new tariffs on trading partners, unfurled all manner of controversial foreign policy initiatives, initiated mass deportations, frozen foreign aid, terminated diversity, equity and inclusion programs and rolled back transgender rights.
His sweeping executive orders have also produced legal and political challenges, contributing to an air of uncertainty.
Can Trump fulfil his Maga promise?
After 30 days in office, is Mr Trump any closer to delivering on his election promise to make America great again?
Outside of his startling foreign policy proposals – “take over” and rebuild Gaza and open peace talks with Russia without taking Ukraine on board – the Trump administration’s most ambitious idea has been to downsize the federal government.
There is an undeniable logic to this: the US has run a budget deficit since 1970, adding to the national debt every year, which has snowballed to a staggering US$36 trillion in 2025. As every lawmaker from both political parties agrees, this presents a threat to the country’s financial stability.
The Department of Government Efficiency, or Doge, under Mr Musk has initiated thousands of job cuts across federal agencies. The first on the block are probationary officers, who have the least job protection.
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Coupled with about 75,000 workers who took Mr Musk’s offer to tender their resignations voluntarily and accept a nine-month severance package as part of an unprecedented exercise, the job cuts amount to less than 5 per cent of the federal government’s 2.3 million workers. The target is to cut up to 10 per cent of the federal workforce.
The administration has also moved to dismantle some federal agencies such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the US Agency for International Development. It has also threatened to close the Department of Education.
Mr Trump promises to let the states handle education and repeatedly cites figures claiming that the US spends the largest amount of money per student, only to lag behind developed countries on mathematics and science scores.
Doge has so far saved American taxpayers US$55 billion, according to the latest update on the group’s website. The newly minted department promises transparency but does not provide a complete breakdown of how the savings were generated.
Controversy continues to swirl around its legality. Doge has no authority to issue rules, rescind regulations, terminate the services of federal employees or enforce federal laws. Yet, with the executive authority of the President behind it, the department wields tremendous influence.
Mr Musk is not its employee or chief, the White House clarified in a court filing on Feb 17. Instead, he was described as a “senior adviser to the President” with “no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself”.
Doge’s actions have sparked dozens of lawsuits from labour unions and advocacy groups. They alleged executive overreach and questioned the legality of moves made without consulting Congress.
But there is a bigger issue still that neither Mr Trump nor Mr Musk has satisfactorily answered. Even if Doge meets its 10 per cent retrenchment target, it would result in savings of only about US$25 billion annually – a mere fraction of federal spending, which stood at US$6.75 trillion in 2024.
Economists say the only realistic ways to tackle the budget deficit – the gap between what the government earns and what it spends – are to raise new taxes and make cuts to big entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare. Mr Trump has said no to both.
Is the US declining?
But the urgency to correct course is real: for the first time in its history, the US spent more on interest payments than on defence in 2024.
At the Hoover Institution, a venerable public policy think-tank, this stokes an age-old debate: is this a sign of impending American decline?
Since 1880, the US has contributed a quarter of the world’s gross domestic product with only 5 per cent of the global population. But for how much longer? Will it be undone by Mr Trump, who says he is trying to fix it?
For Dr John Cochrane, an economist and senior fellow at Hoover, the American story will survive Mr Trump, who is taking a wrecking ball to government – an edifice that has outlasted several administrations.
“It’s a story that has held through thick and thin, one administration, another administration, one political party, another political party, one tax regime, a different tax regime. So policy has not created this power, and policy has not been able to suppress this power,” he said.
His fellow panelist likened the actions of the Trump administration to a show put up by the World Wrestling Entertainment, a global leader in sports entertainment.
“It’s this amazing show that has a tremendous following in the United States. They have these fantastic characters. They wear these great costumes. They have a lot of face paint. They have great nicknames, and they run around the stage, pretending to throw each other on the floor or kick each other in the head, and the audience is mesmerized,” said Dr Steve Kotkin, a historian.
“So that’s the kind of policy we have now… this fantastic ability to mesmerize people’s attention with this incredible show by a guy who’s just unparalleled in his ability to attract people’s attention.”
What could be a turning point?
It is not clear if Americans would agree with this assessment.
Mr Trump’s election in November 2024 marked the first time a Republican candidate won the popular vote since 2004.
A CBS poll showed Mr Trump had a 53 percent approval rating in his first month. Other polls showed lower numbers, below Mr Biden’s in the comparable period of his presidency.
But the Democrats, with no clear leader in sight three months after they lost the White House and both Houses of Congress, have not been able to cramp Mr Trump’s style.
Mr James Carville, a leading Democratic strategist, has advised his party men to “play possum”, or lie low and not interfere with the sporadic nationwide protests against Mr Trump and his policies.
The Nov 4, 2025, election for governor in the neighboring state of Virginia may be a turning point. Hit by Mr Trump’s policies, the state’s large population of federal employees and their families will likely vote heavily against the Trump-aligned candidate, Mr Carville predicted.
