Ep 1: Trump 2.0 - 100 Days In

A review of the first 100 days of the Trump's actions in his second administration. 

Episode Transcript

Raheel Khan (00:02):
Hello, and welcome to the first episode of
Khannecting the Dots, where Itackle the complex, sometimes
overwhelming issues shaping theUS and the world, and try to
make it more understandable.
So we can all connect the dotstogether.
I'm your host, Raheel Khan.
Before we get started though,let's talk for a minute about
why I'm starting a podcast.

(00:22):
There's a lot of chaos in theworld right now, and it can
really get confusing trying toget through all the noise and
figure out what's really goingon.
Like so many of you, I'm tryingto make sense of it.
I don't have all the answers,but I'm searching and I hope
that by sharing my journey tounderstand the world, I can help
you make sense of it too.
So for this first episode, we'regonna talk about a man who's

(00:45):
never out of the headlines.
Donald Trump.
Specifically, let's focus on hisfirst 100 days of his second
term.
It's been a wild ride.
Executive orders, social mediatirades, and a whole lot of norm
breaking.
So let's dive in.
Let's start from the beginning,the 2024 election.
Trump is now only the second USpresident to win two

(01:07):
non-consecutive terms.
After Grover Cleveland did thesame back in the late 18
hundreds.
This time, he defeated KamalaHarris by over 2 million votes
and swept all seven swingstates.
Trump and his team called it amandate.
But was it really?
that's up for debate.
At his inauguration, hisapproval rating hovered between
47 and 52%.

(01:29):
That's higher than during hisfirst term for sure, but as we
all know, a lot can change in ahundred days and boy has it
ever.
Even before he was sworn in.
Trump reminded us that for him,Power and money are inseparable.
Just days before taking office,Trump launched his own meme
coin, a cryptocurrency thatexploded in value up 300%

(01:52):
overnight.
At its peak, his holdings werevalued at$63.5 billion.
Briefly making him one of theworld's richest people.
Not to be outdone.
His wife released her own coin afew days later, which also
skyrocketed in value.
Here's the catch.
Since then, both coins havecrashed.
Trump's is down over 80%.

(02:13):
Melania is over 95%.
So you may be thinking, why am Italking about this?
What's the deal They didn't makeany money out of it.
It was just another failedattempt, but that might not be
true.
Reporting suggest they actuallymay have made about$350 million
from all the transaction fees.
And of course, that's not theend of the story.
Now, the top 220 coin holdersget a private gala dinner, and

(02:37):
the top 25 will get exclusiveperks, including a sit down with
the president and maybe a tourof the White House.
So what's going on here?
Was this whole thing just tobring attention to crypto, or is
it a pump and dump scheme designto fleece the supporters and
make him more money?
Did foreign governments investin his meme coin and now they
have some influence over him?

(02:58):
Is this upcoming dinner, justcreative fundraising or is it
pay to play?
Influence pedaling, dressed upin crypto?
Ethically, it's a mess and it'sraising serious questions about
transparency, accountability,and the blurred lines between
public office and private gain.
Once he was sworn in, Trumpwasted no time getting orders

(03:18):
out.
On his first day.
26 executive orders.
More than any president inmodern day history.
On day 30 73 by day one hundred,one hundred and forty two
executive orders, plus dozens ofmemoranda and proclamations.
To put that in perspective, thatis triple what Biden did in his
first 100 days.
He also declared eight nationalemergencies, again, more than

(03:42):
any president in modern times.
The irony of it is that whenBiden and Obama issued executive
orders, the Republicans wereconstantly criticizing them,
calling executive overreach thatthey're playing King.
But now that Trump is doing it,they're either silent about it
or cheering him on.
And these orders, they touch oneverything.
Immigration, the environment,foreign policy, energy, even

(04:05):
culture.
So let's break down what it allmeans.
Immigration has been a key Trumpissue since 2015, when he came
down that golden escalator.
His message illegal immigrantsare destroying this country and
they need to be kicked out.
His goal deport 1 millionundocumented people by the end
of the year.
So far, 139,000 have beendeported.

(04:27):
How did he do it?
Well, he declared a nationalemergency at the border,
deployed over 1500 troops andexpanded expedited removal to
apply anywhere in the country.
And even former protected areaslike hospitals, schools, and
churches are no longer safe.
What is expedited removal?
1996 Law.
That allowed immigrants caughtwithin a hundred miles of the
border and who couldn't provethat they were in this country

(04:49):
for at least two years to bedeported without due process.
It already was controversial,but now it's.
Way more so.
ICE raids, sometimes televisedare occurring all over the
country while at the same timeimmigrants are being picked up
at routine check-ins.
Some of them after years offaithfully checking in.
While Trump promised to focus onviolent criminals, many deported

(05:10):
had no criminal record.
Or if they do, they're fromminor offenses, at most.
He's designated gangs like MS 13and Tren de Aragua terrorist
organizations.
Then invoked the Aliens EnemyAct of 1798 to send people to
CECOT prison in El Salvador, aplace known for exceptional
harsh treatment.
Of the 298 men sent, 75% of themhad no criminal record, and of

(05:33):
25% that did it was from minoroffenses.
And far from being recalcitrantabout his mistakes, Trump and
his administration have doubleddown now they're floating the
idea of sending citizens justthe really bad ones, of course,
there as well.
He's reinstated the Remain inMexico policy.
Forcing asylum seekers to waitin Mexico for their hearings,

(05:54):
and is pushing an end tobirthright citizenship.
Border crossings are down forsure, but at what cost?
Families are being separated.
Communities are living in fear,and the legal battles are just
beginning.
Let's move on to energy and theenvironment.
Another day one action.
Trump declared a national energyemergency.

(06:15):
coal is now reclassified as amineral, making it easier to
mine.
Drilling projects on publiclands are being fast tracked.
Offshore drilling is expanding.
Environmental protections likeclean water and air regulations
are being rolled back.
Trump says we need more energyto power AI data centers, but he
pulled back on funding foralready approved offshore wind
projects, saying that theproject was approved too

(06:36):
quickly.
Even though it took two and ahalf years.
He withdrew again from the ParisClimate Accord calling climate
change a hoax and promising toput America first when it comes
to energy.
Not content with gutting federalenvironmental laws.
Now he's going after state lawsas well, attacking cap and trade
programs at various states.
His message, fossil fuels first,environmental protections last.

(07:01):
But scientists warn this couldhave devastating impacts on both
the US and the world at large.
On the foreign policy front,it's America first.
All over again.
He ordered the State Departmentto put US interests above
traditional alliances.
While openly attacks NATO calls,European allies freeloaders and
says that the EU was created toskew over the us.

(07:24):
He's praised Vladimir Putin,publicly berated zelensky at the
White House, and blamed Ukrainefor its own invasion.
He even froze the ForeignCorrupt Practices Act.
Allowing US companies to bribeforeign officials, something
that's been illegal for decades.
And if that weren't enough, hisadministration has halted

(07:44):
foreign aid to dozens ofcountries.
He's proposed buying, eveninvading, Greenland.
Taking over the Panama Canal andannexing Canada as the 51st
state.
He also renamed the Gulf ofMexico, the Gulf of America,
even though it's aninternational body of water and
he doesn't have authority to doso.
With Israel, he's backedmilitary actions that violated a

(08:04):
ceasefire, his own team helpedto negotiate.
He's proposed occupying Gaza andrelocating Palestinians, even
creating a bizarre social mediavideo showing Gaza as a Riviera
of the Middle East.
A move critics called the Ablueprint for ethnic cleansing.
All of his actions have leftAmerica's allies confused and
his adversaries, emboldened.

(08:28):
On trade, Trump is all abouttariffs.
His new tariff plan is asaggressive as ever.
Liberation Day was supposed tobe a grand day for the us, but
instead it led to massconfusion, panic, and sent the
stock market in a tailspin.
His plan, every country with atrade surplus against the US
gets hit with tariffs equal tohalf the value of their surplus.
Minimum 10%.

(08:50):
The markets went crazy.
S and p 500 dropped 10% in justthree days.
The NASDAQ 20% overall.
He paused the plan for 90 daysafter a lot of backlash, but
still tariffs remain; 10%universal, 25% on Canada and
Mexico, on goods not covered bythe U-S-M-C-A, 145% on China.
Sure the stock market'srecovered, but prices are going

(09:13):
up on everything fromelectronics to groceries.
And Trump's Response.
Maybe the children will have 2dolls instead of 30.
Maybe the 2 dolls will cost acouple of bucks more than they
would normally.
That's a tough pill to swallowfor Americans already feeling
squeezed by high,costs foreverything.
On healthcare-ideas once fringeare now center stage, Robert F.

(09:35):
Kennedy junior, a known vaccineskeptic is now leading health
and human services.
Despite the worst measlesoutbreak in 25 years, vaccine
skepticism is spreading.
RFK Junior isn't helping as hepromotes unproven side effects
to the vaccine and untestedtreatments for the disease.
If that wasn't enough, Trump'spulled the US outta the World

(09:56):
Health Organization and orderedall global public health
collaboration to stop.
The consequence?
US health officials are now lessaware of worldwide diseases that
could pose a risk to America.
He's slashing the NIH budget,defunding research, cutting, or
at least delaying drug pricecontrols, and is going after the
Affordable Care Act again.

(10:19):
On abortion, he reinstated theglobal gag rule, which restricts
funding for any organizationthat provides or even discusses
abortion anywhere in the world.
He's banned gender affirmingcare for minors, and while he
called himself the father ofIVF, he also eliminated the CDC
team that tracks IVF safety.

(10:40):
By sidelining scientists andhealthcare professionals, the
administration isn't justignoring expertise, it's risking
lives and dragging downAmerica's standing in global
health.
On the technology front, thefederal government is all about
ai.
Every federal agency now has aChief AI Officer.
Trump says AI must be free ofbias, but critics warn that

(11:01):
ignoring real world inequalitiescan make things worse.
He ordered the government tostop interfering with social
media moderation and ordered aninvestigation in the Biden era
efforts to combatmisinformation.
Trump's war with the deep stategained full steam in the last
100 days.
He's weaponized the governmentagainst dissent, reinstating

(11:22):
Schedule F, making it easier tofire federal workers who were
supposed to be protected againstthese type of political firings.
He got Rid Of multipleinspectors general, despite
being required to go throughCongress for this.
He signed another order givingthe White House unprecedented
control over independentagencies, something that blurs
the line between oversight andoutright control.

(11:45):
He also ordered agencies toscrap 10 rules for every new
one, including essential memosand guidance, which cripples
their ability to communicatepolicy and protect the public
effectively.
While Trump has been working tobend the government to his will,
Elon Musk has been taking hischainsaw to government in the
form of Doge.
They've gutted numerous agenciesand cut at least 120,000 jobs

(12:07):
already, and up to 280,000 areat risk.
The result, a government that'sless stable and less accountable
serving the president, not thepeople.
In education.
Linda McMahon, a former WWEexecutive, now leads the
Department of Education, and hergoal is to dismantle it.

(12:31):
Trump reinstated patrioticeducation, targeting diversity,
equity and inclusion programs,and its pushing for school
privatization Disciplinepolicies are also being rolled
back to favor old schoolapproaches.
Even though data clearly showsthat black and brown students
are punished more harshly thanwhite students for the exact
same infractions.

(12:53):
Colleges and universities arenot being spared.
They're basically undersurveillance now, ostensibly, to
ensure there's no foreigninfluence.
What it is, is intimidation inthe guise of transparency.
International students are atrisk for deportation over what
they say online or at protests,or even minor encounters with
law enforcement such as trafficviolations.

(13:15):
Combating antisemitism is beingused as a means to roundup
Students who don't agree withTrump and Republicans about
Israel.
The arts and humanities have notbeen spared either.
He slashed funding forlibraries, museums, and the arts
in general.
He disbanded the President'sCommittee on the Arts and
Humanities, and installedhimself as a chair of the
Kennedy Center, purging itsboard and realign its

(13:37):
programming, all because hethought it was too woke.
Let's not forget his crusadeagainst DEI.
It's everywhere from schools tocorporations to government
agencies.
Nobody has been spared the antiDEI crusade.
Finally, let's talk about hispardons and retribution tour.
Trump has already pardonedJanuary 6th rioters, political

(13:59):
allies, anti-abortion activistsand white collar criminals.
he's even proposed reparationsfor the Jan Sixers.
He's used the DOJ as hispersonal attack squad and a
speech he gave to the DOJ.
He declared himself the chieflaw enforcement officer and
attacked prosecutors asderanged, judges as corrupt and
opponents as scum.
He singled out names and mediaoutlets and called for

(14:22):
investigations against them.
This was decried as an openassault on law.
Trump is also targeting lawfirms who've opposed him or
helped his opponents, and two exofficials who didn't back his
2020 claims about fraudulentelections.
This isn't accountability, it'sretaliation, and the message is
clear.
Loyalty to Trump is rewarded,dissent is punished.

(14:47):
So where do things stand now?
Where do we go from here?
After 100 days, Trump's approvalrating has dropped to 42%.
55% of Americans disapprove ofhis performance even on his form
of strong issues likeimmigration and the economy.
Over 220 lawsuits have beenfiled against his

(15:07):
administration, and the federalcourts are already blocking key
parts of his agenda.
And the people They're speakingout.
Protests have been occurring incities across the country.
Constituents are showing up toRepublican town halls and
voicing their frustration.
Democratic leaders like CoryBooker, Chris Murphy, Tim Waltz,

(15:27):
AOC, and Bernie Sanders arespeaking up and mobilizing
nationwide.
Despite the concerns andcriticism, Trump is just
doubling down.
He tweets things like he whosaves his country does not
violate any law.
Or post pictures of himselfwearing a crown and calling
himself king.
He's been blatantly defyingcourt orders, even from the

(15:48):
Supreme Court, and recentlyresponded with an, I don't know,
when asked if it's his job touphold the constitution.
These are not normal times.
If there's one lesson from thesefirst 100 days, it's this.
Democracy is not a spectatorsport.
As the founders said, aninformed citizenry is crucial

(16:09):
for a healthy democracy.
That's what this podcast is allabout, to help you connect the
dots, to help you stay informed,to help us all push for a better
future.
Thanks for listening to the veryfirst episode of Khannecting the
Dots.
If you found the episodehelpful, please subscribe, leave
a review and share it with afriend.
And until next time, staycurious, stay critical, and stay

(16:31):
connected.