3608 Days
Trump wants us to limit our choices. Let's remember we still have them.
Happy birthday dear Krista!
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Unless you’ve been trapped under a heavy bookshelf or stranded on a deserted island, Donald Trump marked his second first 100 days.
In that time, Trump has signed 143 Executive Orders—a record. At breakneck speed, he has transformed the economy, foreign policy, immigration, the rule of law, and societal norms. There hasn’t been a day he hasn’t dominated the headlines. My mother, who watches Turkish satellite television, recently quipped, “Even on Turkish TV you can’t escape Trump.”
She’s right. That’s been true not only for the last 100 days—but for the past 3,608.
It started on June 15, 2014, when Trump descended the golden escalator in Trump Tower to announce his candidacy for president. No one took it seriously, opting to treat it like a spectacle. Nearly a decade later, we are still watching—only this time standing witness to America’s metamorphosis.
In that time, Trump seized on the discontent working class Americans felt as the social mobility that made America the land of opportunity ground to a halt—and rewrote the national agenda around it. In 2017, he framed tariffs and trade barriers as a defense of the American worker. Since then, both parties have followed his lead. When Joe Biden came to office in 2020, while he took a different tone and tactic, he didn’t tinker with Trump’s tariffs and doubled down on protecting workers.
On the world stage, Trump has redefined America’s role. He has undermined allies, hollowed out the national security apparatus of experts and resources, cut off foreign assistance, and, worst of all, elevated loyalty over competence. Yes, I’m talking about Pete Hegseth.
Trump has famously called this approach “American first.” What that has actually translated into is what I said back in February—bullying and the complete erasure of human rights. We’ve stopped pretending they matter. Hey, at least we’re not hypocrites anymore.
Popularly, that’s called “competitive authoritarianism.” Others call it fascism. Whatever your preferred term, what sticks with me after Trump’s latest 100 days is what’s missing—not just guardrails, but purpose and choice.
That’s something my friend and neighbor Todd put into focus for me earlier this week. He was telling me about the enormous staff cuts his environmental organization were forced to make in Congo and the tough choices others in the climate space are making amid the attack on the field as well as foreign assistance. That is true at other NGOs and foundations across the board. Choices are shrinking—and the ones we’re opting for in order to survive only add to the pervasive uncertainty and fear that has come to define the moment.
That’s being felt beyond the US as well. Countries bordering Russia, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and nearby Poland are dropping out of the Ottawa Convention that bans anti-personnel landmines. Germany’s new chancellor has spoken about his interest in sharing nuclear capabilities with Britain and France. Other countries are revisiting their own nuclear ambitions—a trend that should terrify us all.
But before we can even think about the possibility of a nuclear confrontation, let’s consider the decision Trump made in walking away from the World Health Organization and defunding scientific research. Billions of lives—yes, billions—could be affected by the knowledge we’ve chosen to ignore, the labs we’ve shuttered, and the cures we’ve decided not to pursue.
Our world order has not only become chaotic and dangerous, but disheartening too, especially for women.
In 2017, women donned pink pussy hats and marched on cities across America, as a show of female force against Trump’s “grab ‘em by the pussy.” Where have they and their purpose gone? I fear the answer lies in the same place that diversity, equity, and inclusion has retreated—behind the manosphere and the sheer exhaustion of the fight. That’s honestly how I feel.
Wednesday may have been 100 days of Trump’s second term, but what we are experiencing is a decade in the making—and I haven’t even touched Project 2025. The constant chaos has made it impossible to focus on a singular thing—and made the erosion of rights and values the norm. That is entirely intentional. It doesn’t have to be.
Trump may have a grip on the presidency, but he doesn’t yet have a grip on all of us—unless we let him. We don’t need to match the chaos with despair. We need to counter it with clarity. Support local and public media. Show up to local elections. Back organizations fighting for rights, science, democracy—and women! Talk to your neighbors. Wear the damn pink hat again if that’s what it takes. The point is: we still have choices. The escalator may be descending, but we can still get off—if we’re willing to act like it. — Elmira
Elsewhere in the World.....
On our radar...
WPS
This week, Pete Hegseth announced that he “ended” the Women, Peace, & Security program at the Department of Defense, calling it a “Biden initiative that overburdens our commanders and troops—distracting from our core task: WAR-FIGHTING.”
Oh Pete. To start, you can’t just end WPS, it’s an actual law—a law that your fellow cabinet member Kristi Noem, who in 2017 as a member of Congress, penned (along with Jan Schakowsky), which, as Ellen Mitchell notes, Marco Rubio co-sponsored in the Senate and your boss, Donald Trump, signed into law in 2017. National Security Advisor and Signal chat idiot Mike Walz was a founding member of the WPS Caucus when he was in Congress. (The Hill)
Secondly, your core task isn’t WAR-FIGHTING, it is protecting America and Americans. If you understood that, you'd know that it involves preventing conflict, which women do when they’re involved in peace negotiations, which is what WPS is about.
Just say you hate women.
Speaking of women….
Yo Congress: Do your job
The Trump administration has fired a number of senior women from top national security posts. More than a 100 current and former national security officials have sent a letter to Congress requesting an investigation. They note:
“The marginalization of women in our national security establishment, and the dismantling of efforts to ensure our government can access talented Americans, turn back the clock on equality and leave our nation less safe. We urge you to exercise your oversight duties to examine and halt this harmful trend that is weakening America.”
Ukraine mineral deal
The US and Ukraine signed a deal that paves the way for the US to mine rare minerals, such as lithium, which we use in our electronic devices, in Ukraine. Yana Prots lays out the deal’s details. (Kyiv Independent)
Trump’s 100 days
Reflections about Trump’s first 100 days have focused on what he's done. Bronwen Maddox asks, will it stick, given all the chaos, u-turns, and, frankly, missteps? Especially on foreign policy, Trump will probably miss his goal of beating China. (Chatham House)
Captain Canada
Canadians opted for a fourth Liberal Party government on Monday. Mark Carney stays as the country’s prime minister, now with a clear mandate to govern. But don’t be fooled that Canadians got behind the anti-Trump candidate. Paula Lewis points out that they’re divided on almost everything else. (CNN)
Vietnam: 50 years on
Fifty years ago, on April 30, 1975, the US ended its war in Vietnam, which left 60,000 American servicemen dead and over 3 million Vietnamese. The two countries have worked to reconcile relations since the 1990s, first with the lifting of sanctions and subsequent trade deals. But with Trump’s tariffs, Miranda Jeyaretnam and Chad de Guzman point out, that effort is in jeopardy. (Time)
Minh-Thu Pham left Vietnam in 1979, making her way to Indonesia and then Tennessee. She’s dismayed at the country that took her in and gave her and many Vietnamese hope. (Substack)
Africa
On Sudan, Mai Hassan and Ahmed Kodouda lay out the various scenarios for what comes next for the country and region. The current stalemate between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the militia group, the RSF, could hold—if there were a serious peace negotiation. Yet, as we are seeing with tensions resurfacing in South Sudan, agreements do not hold and the default seems to be war. (Foreign Affairs)
Asia
As mentioned last week, following the assassination of tourists in Kashmir, tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated. There are now fears that the two nuclear powers are headed to war. Manjari Chatterjee Miller looks at the possibilities. (CFR)
Canada redux? Australians head to the polls this weekend. Will the Trump factor compel voters to opt for the center left incumbent party instead of the conservatives? With tariff uncertainty, Kirsty Needham says it might. (Reuters)
The Americas
Trump is looking to El Salvador as a model for controlling crime. Naomi Roht-Arriaza says that it should be a cautionary tale, turning the Central American country into a lawless state with a compromised judicial system where people are whisked into prison with no proof of crime. (Just Security)
About that Good Neighbor policy…. Trump’s tariffs may be an attempt to make America great again, but what it’s doing in the region is driving Latin America towards China, writes Fernanda Magnotta. (Americas Quarterly)
Trinidad and Tobago has elected a woman as prime minister—the country’s first, writes Janine Mendes-Franco. (Global Voices)
Middle East
On Thursday, Pete Hegseth said that Iran would face CONSEQUENCES for its support of Houthis in Yemen. Shortly after, Oman’s foreign minister announced that the planned US-Iran talks this weekend, the fourth, were cancelled. Jessica Corbett has more. (Common Dreams)
Let’s get an international protective force in Gaza, write Nicola Perugini and Shahd Hammouri. (Al Jazeera)
Europe
Spain and Portugal experienced massive countrywide blackouts on Monday. What caused it? Helena Horton considers the possibilities that it was a “rare atmospheric phenomenon” and whether alternative energy is to blame. (Guardian)
Ugh. When it comes to Turkey, I’m always stunned at how the West not only gets it wrong, but doesn’t even try to understand the country. Case in point, the NYT editorial board argued this week that the US and Europe shouldn’t allow the country’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to get away with his authoritarian crackdown—and the supposed drift towards “Islamic extremism.” Just because Erdoğan is a “religious conservative” doesn’t mean he’s an Islamic extremist—he’s been in power for 25 years and he hasn’t turned Turkey into an Islamic Republic. Do better NYT.
Maria Simeonova has a better grasp, arguing that Europeans can invest in a partnership with Turkey but also nurturing the seeds of a more democratic Turkey. (ECFR)
Technology
Congress can get things done. This week, it passed the Take It Down Act, a bipartisan bill that requires online platforms to remove revenge porn and deep fakes, writes Jasmine Mithani. (The 19th)
Opportunities
Women Moving Millions is hiring for a Communications Manager.
The Asia Group is hiring for a Communications Director.
Alight is hiring for a Chief Financial & Administrative Officer.
Also, congrats to John Proctor is the Villain, which racked up a slew of Tony nominations yesterday. It’s a terrific play, by a female playwright, with mainly female roles—a much needed counter to the male dominated line up on Broadway at the moment. Let’s support women.
Editorial Team
Elmira Bayrasli - Editor-in-Chief