Musk to Leave DC as Trump Admin Passes 100 Days

Bloomberg's Hadriana Lowenkron and Beth Fouhy, partner at FGS Global, talk Elon Musk's time in the Trump administration and reflect on the moves made in President Trump's first 100 days in office.

Donald Trump rode back into office on expectations that he’d turbocharge the American economy. Polls showed voters were sick of inflation, nostalgic for the economy of Trump’s first term and willing to overlook doubts about his character and temperament because they liked his promise to bring down prices “on Day 1” and spark an economic “boom like no other.”

With the first 100 days of Trump’s term now in the books, however, many Americans are experiencing buyer’s remorse. Much of their dissatisfaction is rooted in frustration with what was supposed to be Trump’s great strength: managing the economy.

At a rally on Tuesday night in Michigan, Trump characteristically sought to paint a much rosier picture, declaring his early tenure “the most successful first 100 days of any administration in the history of our country.” But a flood of recent economic and polling data suggests Trump and Republicans face serious political jeopardy if they don’t turn things around soon.

To begin with, the Day 1 revival that Trump promised voters didn’t happen. Instead, they got a trade war that’s shaken the foundations of the global economy. Prices haven’t fallen, as Trump claimed they would. But equity markets have dropped sharply. So has the overall US economic outlook. And supply shortages could soon hit US retailers, because cargo shipments have plummeted in response to 145% tariffs on Chinese imports.

Instead of animal spirits fueling a “Trump boom,” as many forecasters had predicted, the president’s haphazard imposition of steep tariffs on enemies and allies alike has caused recession fears to rear up, as trade partners retaliate with levies of their own and businesses freeze investments and cut earnings outlooks. “America is a brand,” hedge fund magnate and Trump supporter Ken Griffin complained last week, and “we are eroding that brand.”

Voters are paying close attention to Trump’s actions and responding with historic levels of alarm. Consumer sentiment in the University of Michigan’s survey plunged after he announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs on April 2. The percentage of Americans who expect unemployment to rise is now higher than at any point since the Great Recession. Inflation expectations have skyrocketed too. The University of Michigan survey found that Americans now expect prices to rise at a 6.5% rate over the next year—almost triple the 2.4% the federal government reported in March, and the highest year-ahead expectation since 1981, according to the survey. Perhaps most problematic from a political standpoint, a growing number of Americans say they expect the financial pain to hit them personally. For the first time this century, a Gallup Poll found that a majority—53%—say their personal finances are getting worse.

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