By Hank Russell
As President Donald Trump touted his accomplishments during his first 100 days in office, some Democrats claimed his policies have done more harm than good for New York State.
The White House posted a number of press releases announcing what the president has done since taking office three months ago. Among those achievements were:
- the deportation of criminal illegal aliens, which he described as “the worst of the worst”
- the closing of the southern border, which, according to the Trump administration, resulted in a 95% reduction in illegal border encounters and a 99% drop in “gotaways” — that is, those who entered the country illegally by evading law enforcement
- The creation of 345,000 jobs, with 228,000 jobs created in March alone
- Securing over $5 trillion in new U.S.-based investments, resulting in the creation of more than 451,000 jobs
“Since President Donald J. Trump took office, his unwavering commitment to revitalizing American industry has spurred trillions of dollars of investments in U.S. manufacturing, production, and innovation — and the list only continues to grow,” the White House said in a statement.
On April 29, Trump held a rally outside Detroit, Michigan. We’re here tonight in the heartland of our nation to celebrate the most successful first 100 days of any administration in the history of our country,” Trump said, according to the Associated Press. “We’ve just gotten started. You haven’t even seen anything yet.”
However, Attorney General Letitia James and Governor Kathy Hochul said that what Trump accomplished thus far has hurt New York.
James has filed a series of lawsuits against the Trump administration challenging its policies that she said would negatively impact the state. Joining other state attorneys general, she has sued Trump over his actions to birthright citizenship, freeze federal funding, cut funding for schools, medical research and teacher training, and getting ride of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
“We will not allow this administration to trample our Constitution, strip Americans of their fundamental rights, and dismantle critical services that millions of people rely on every day,” James said. “We stopped some of their most unconstitutional policies dead in their tracks, and we are not slowing down. If this administration continues to bulldoze the Constitution and ignore the law, they will find all of us standing in the way every single time.”
Hochul recently announced that she and James have announced that they have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for imposing what they called illegal tariffs. According to independent estimates, Trump’s tariffs will cost the State’s economy more than $7 billion, result in more than 280,000 jobs lost and hit New York families with an average cost increase of $6,400.
“The first 100 days of the Trump Administration have been rife with chaos and uncertainty, from on-again, off-again tariffs to cuts to vital programs, New Yorkers are paying the price,” Hochul said. “President Trump promised relief from inflation and his policies are making life harder, chaotic and more expensive for working-class New Yorkers while slashing the very services they rely on.”
Long Island Life & Politics is currently conducting a poll on Trump’s job performance. As of press time, 37.5% said he is doing an excellent job, 12.5% said his performance is only fair and 50% said he is doing a poor job.