Trump's First 100 Days: Steamrolling Government, Strong-arming Allies And Igniting Trade Wars

In his first 100 days , President Donald Trump exerted his power in a sweep and scale that has no easy historical comparison.

His actions target the architecture of the New Deal and the Great Society , but they hardly stop there. He is also rewriting the Reagan Republican orthodoxy of free trade and strong international alliances. All of it is in service of fundamentally altering the role of government in American life and the U.S. place in the world.

To implement parts of his vision, he deployed the world's richest person, Elon Musk, to dismantle the federal workforce, deciding only after the fact if the cuts had gone too far.

Trump also has unilaterally declared the power to remake the post-World War II alliance with Europe that has largely maintained peace for nearly 80 years. The Republican president has made extraordinary emergency declarations to rewrite the rules of global trade, setting off panic in markets and capitals around the world. And he has ordered the removal of migrants to a prison in El Salvador without judicial review.

What's more, he has taken direct aim at law, media, public health and culture, attempting to bring all to heel, with some surprising success.