Why Trump's second 100 days matter more
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Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios
Steve Bannon and other top MAGA voices tell Axios that President Trump's second 100 days — ending Aug. 7 — will be pivotal in determining how much of his second-term agenda he'll actually deliver.
Why it matters: Trump has harnessed executive power in unprecedented ways — to curtail immigration, gut federal agencies and punish his enemies. But almost nothing he's done so far has been codified in law, ratified in treaties, or otherwise set in stone.
Trump is now demanding Congress send him a "big, beautiful bill" that cuts taxes, hardens the border and expands energy production. He's fighting the judiciary to allow him to step up deportations. And he's globetrotting to try to revamp trade relations with China and end years of fighting in Gaza and Ukraine.
- "What happens between now and Labor Day," Bannon told Axios, "really defines — more than even the first 100 days of flood-the-zone — not just Trump's second term, but Trump's legacy."
- "It's stopping the Third World War," Bannon added. "It's laying out his definitive economic and financial plan, how we're going to finance it. Plus it's his assault on the 'Deep State' [and] the redefinition of the Article II [Executive Branch] powers. And these are all converging into one huge f***ing fight."
The big picture: The next phase of Trump's presidency includes future-proofing his agenda. Republicans are pushing for favorable court rulings to establish precedents — and for Congress to codify his actions, including voting on the steep cuts in federal staffing.
- Trump is also battling in the courts to conduct mass deportations with limited due process, and restrict birthright citizenship.
To top it all off, he's waging a global trade war, attempting to resolve shooting wars in Gaza and Ukraine, and trying to swiftly cut a nuclear deal with Iran.
- A 90-day détente in a trade war with China helped alleviate the tariff pain. But the lack of a permanent deal is injecting unprecedented uncertainty into the economy.
What they're saying: "I'd say if there was one word to sum up what MAGA wants, it's 'more,'" said Ben Bergquam, a conservative journalist frequently featured on right-wing media.
- Bergquam said that includes a hunger for "more arrests of the enemies within," including judges and prosecutors.
When asked if he's confident Trump will be able to execute, Bannon said: "100% — it's Trump."
- "This is the age of Trump," Bannon added. "June 15 is the 10th anniversary of coming down the golden escalator. And I would say the 10 years have been a preamble to these [next] 100 days."
Reality check: The GOP has a tiny House majority and the president's sprawling bill — which one MAGA source dubbed a "no-fail exercise" — is far from the finish line. Republican senators want to rewrite much of it.
- Republicans in Congress could start to feel heat over tariffs if price increases take hold. And there's no guarantee they'll hold onto the House in next year's midterms.
