Trump's first 100 days will require a second Reconstruction [View all]

Trump's first 100 days will require a second Reconstruction
"It will take us a long time to recover" from the first 100 days of Donald Trump's second term

By Chauncey DeVega
Senior Writer
Published May 1, 2025 5:58AM (EDT)


(Salon) Donald Trump has been president for 100 days. He promised to “Make America Great Again!” Instead, Trump and his administration and the MAGA Republicans have made the United States less democratic, less free, less safe, less prosperous, less respected around the world, and much more unhappy.

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Legal scholars, political scientists, and other leading voices are sounding the alarm at a deafening level that the United States is quickly collapsing (or already has) into a state of authoritarian rule under Trump. In a new article in the prestigious journal Foreign Affairs, political scientists Stephen Levitsky and Lucan A. Way describe this collapse, as “U.S. democracy will likely break down during the Second Trump administration in the sense that it will cease to meet standard criteria for a liberal democracy — full adult suffrage, free and fair elections, and broad protection of civil liberties….”

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In an attempt to gain a better perspective and insights on Donald Trump’s first 100 days back in power, what may happen next, and what has already been lost, I reached out to a range of leading experts. I also asked them the following question: If these first 100 days of Trump’s administration are indeed the good times as compared to what will come next, what do they want to prepare the American people for?

Barbara McQuade is a professor at the University of Michigan Law School. She is the author of the book “Attack from Within: How Disinformation is Sabotaging America.” McQuade is also a legal analyst for NBC News and MSNBC, and a co-host of the podcast #SistersInLaw.

At 100 days, my strongest emotion is sadness. I think we will get through these dark days, but not without some significant steps backward in our march toward a more perfect union. Trump's chaos and low approval ratings show that his authoritarian moves are not what voters chose in November, which gives me hope for candidates more interested in unity in the 2026 and 2028 elections, but it will take us a long time to recover from the harms of this administration. Damage to scientific research, public health, universities, diversity, and the rule of law will not recover overnight. ...................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2025/05/01/first-100-days-will-require-a-second-reconstruction/