“We are all afraid,” Alaska Republican Senator Liza Murkowski said last week at an event in Anchorage. “I’m oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice because retaliation is real,” she explained. Republican politicians are afraid to voice their dissent. Federal employees are afraid of being fired. Immigrants — especially if they are Venezuelan and have tattoos — are afraid of being deported without any due process to their countries (or worse, of being locked up in a maximum security prison in El Salvador). Universities are afraid of having their funding withdrawn. Foreign students are afraid of losing their visas. Law firms are afraid of being punished if they don’t bend. Companies are afraid of maintaining their diversity, equality, and inclusion policies. Benefit recipients are afraid of losing them. The media is afraid of retaliation. Trans people are afraid of being discriminated against….. Another senator, Democrat Cory Booker, recalled a quote from one of America’s Founding Fathers, Thomas Jefferson, the third president: “When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, there is liberty.”

Donald Trump is about to complete 100 days of his second term as president of the United States. The Republican returned to the White House with a radical agenda and a long list of enemies. He won the November 5 election over Democrat Kamala Harris with a difference of less than 1.5 percentage points in the popular vote, but a wide lead in the Electoral College. His party won a majority in both houses of Congress. The Supreme Court also has a large conservative majority.

With the experience of his first term and four years ruminating his revenge, once back in power Trump surrounded himself with loyalists and began to govern by decree. His crusade against immigration, the need for revenge, his authoritarian drift, the erosion of ties with allies and a trade war have marked the start of his second term in office.

Trump said on the campaign trail that he would be “dictator” on day one. About to complete 100 days in office, he has barely signed any laws approved by Congress, but rather has issued about 140 executive orders, many of them of dubious constitutionality. With them, he has bent the limits of presidential authority and tested the resistance of the country’s democratic system. His authoritarian drift has brought the country to the brink of a constitutional crisis. His erratic trade policy has crippled the economy and triggered a crisis of global proportions. His imperialist ambitions and his pawing at the geopolitical chessboard have eroded the confidence of his allies in the U.S.

According to a poll published Friday by The New York Times, the adjectives that best define Trump’s first 100 days for voters are chaotic (66%), scary (59%) and exciting (42%). His approval rating of 45%, according to Gallup, is the lowest first quarter approval rating of any president since World War II… except for himself in his first term.

The first 100 days became a standard measure for judging the beginning of a presidency with Franklin D. Roosevelt, who in that period brought forward an ambitious legislative agenda that was part of the New Deal to confront the Great Depression. Since then, conventionally, it is a sort of first examination of the president’s administration.

Trump won the 2024 election by capitalizing on working-class discontent with irregular immigration and inflation. In terms of results, the plunge in the inflow of undocumented immigrants is the biggest success of his first 100 days, although border arrivals had already fallen sharply in the last stretch of Joe Biden’s term.

The Republican has relied on the Mexican’s government collaboration, but, above all, he has deliberately played the fear card. The number of people he has deported thus far is not very different from Biden’s numbers at the beginning of his mandate. But the theatrics behind this administration’s immigration raids and deportations, the president’s xenophobic discourse and the arbitrariness and lack of guarantees to which the deportees are subjected have had a deterrent effect on the arrival of new immigrants. The transfer of over 200 immigrants, mainly Venezuelans, to a maximum security prison in El Salvador in a twisted application of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act is the best example of this. Immigrants have been expelled and locked up without evidence, trial, or safeguards.

Salvadoran Kilmar Abrego García, deported in what the Trump administration has acknowledged was an “administrative error” since the man had a judicial order prohibiting his expulsion, but who remains imprisoned in El Salvador, has become a symbol of that arbitrariness. Trump, however, has preferred to demonize Abrego García than to make amends for his mistake. A federal judge asserted that the administration is engaging in “willful and intentional disregard” of court orders to facilitate Abrego García’s return. “This isn’t just about one man. The administration’s violation of his constitutional rights is a threat to the rights of all,” said Maryland Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, who visited Abrego García in El Salvador.

This Friday, the FBI arrested a judge accused by the Department of Justice of obstructing the detention of an immigrant in her courtroom by letting him out through a back door. That this was a politically motivated arrest was made clear by Attorney General Pam Bondi, who threatened judges who protect immigrants: “We will come after you and prosecute you. We will find you.” “This is what fascism looks like,” Senator Van Hollen retorted.

Trump has also pushed the limits of executive power with his trade war. The International Emergency Economic Powers Act grants the president authority to regulate trade in the face of an “unusual and extraordinary threat” from abroad, but the way Trump has used that power is unprecedented. A dozen Democratic states alleged in a lawsuit that he has overreached and violated the Constitution and the law with his tariffs. “National trade policy,” they claimed, “now hinges on the president’s whims rather than the sound exercise of his lawful authority.”

Trump has been changing tariffs from one day to the next, approving them, suspending them, raising them and reducing them, at times simply through a message on social media. On the third “Liberation Day” — the president used the same name for the day he won the election and for the day of his inauguration — he launched a trade war against the entire world without having allies or a clear strategy. As a result, he patches and rectifies his measures every so often, removing tariffs, apparently without understanding the complexity of today’s supply chains or the implications of his measures. The chaos and uncertainty caused by his erratic actions is holding back not only the U.S. economy, but the world economy as well.

The trade war has pitted Washington against Beijing in an arm wrestling match that Trump seems to regret a little: he renounced to respond to the latest Chinese retaliation, reached out for dialogue and is seeking a de-escalation. But it has also strained U.S. relations with its neighbors and allies. In Canada and Europe, especially, distrust towards the first power is spreading, fed by the turnaround in U.S. foreign policy.

Trump has manifested imperialist anxieties, asserting that he will take control of Greenland and the Panama Canal and toying with the idea of annexing Canada. He has questioned his commitment to NATO and has aligned himself with Russian President Vladimir Putin to try to end the war in Ukraine with a deal favorable to Moscow. Having said more than 50 times on the campaign trail that he would end the war in 24 hours, the inability to achieve this in his first 100 days is particularly frustrating to him. He has also failed to stop the war in Gaza.

Just as his economic policy is symbolized by his photo with the tariff poster, the defining moments of his foreign policy are his contempt for the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in the Oval Office, and the press conference he gave with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which he launched his crazy idea of expelling the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip so that the U.S. could take control of the territory and convert it into a real estate development overlooking the sea.

Musk’s chaos

Another unusual image left by these 100 days is that of Elon Musk with his son X on his shoulders in the Oval Office. The world’s richest man has helped make “chaotic” a defining adjective of the administration thus far. Musk and his lackeys took the federal government by storm as if it were a Silicon Valley startup. The cuts and layoffs of tens of thousands of civil servants, often without any criteria whatsoever, have made him a hated figure halfway around the world.

After his cars were boycotted and Tesla’s profits plummeted, Musk decided to step aside from his governmental duties. As a semi-farewell gift, the Trump administration committed to easing regulation of autonomous driving. Tesla shares rose 10% and Musk’s fortune increased by $18 billion the Friday after the announcement.

The Trump administration, full of billionaires, does not seem to understand the concept of conflict of interest. The president himself has offered to receive at the White House and invite to a “private and intimate dinner” those who invest the most in his memecoin, the $TRUMP, which soared with the announcement, enriching Trump. Days earlier, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent shared behind closed doors with bankers and investors that tariffs on China were not sustainable and Wall Street soared.

With the Democratic Party still in a state of shock, pockets of resistance have emerged against Trump’s abuses and arbitrariness. Two of them stand out above the rest: the judges, especially on immigration, and the financial markets, which have put a stop to his economic nonsense, forcing the president to partially back down on tariffs and to bury his desires to oust Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

The countdown to the end of Trump’s second term still marks 1,363 days, but the president has fantasized several times about running for a third term, which is prohibited by the Constitution. His online store sells Trump 2028 caps for $50, but asks for patience for deliveries “due to high demand.”

Despite the frenetic activity at the start of his second term, Trump has found time to become the first president to attend the Super Bowl and the Daytona 500 Miles. He has also attended several wrestling tournaments. In addition, according to the trumpgolftrack.com website, he has golfed 24 of his first 100 days.

¿Cuentan unas escaleras centenarias empinadas como el demonio como carrera de montaña? El estreno del trail en la Gran Muralla China sirve un par de estampas dignas de las grandes carreras: aficionados coreando el lento ascenso de los corredores, conscientes de que la siguiente torre de vigilancia será solo una más de un recorrido tan tortuoso como épico. Las Golden Trail World Series desembarcan en un monumento declarado Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la Unesco para exportar a nivel mundial un deporte minoritario. Y de paso, han creado otra carrera de aúpa, con más de 1.900 metros de desnivel positivo en 24 kilómetros. El circuito sigue buscando fórmulas para combatir el auge de los kenianos, pero no sucumbieron a un trazado minado, el trono de un veterano como Patrick Kipngeno y de una recién llegada como Caroline Kimutai.

Las Golden eligieron la muralla de Jinshanling porque está a 130 kilómetros al noreste de Pekín, unas dos horas y media en autobús, más lejana que otras. Por eso no es un lugar masificado y las autoridades locales han puesto una alfombra roja. No solo es una de las mejor preservadas, sino que el nombre significa montaña dorada. Un matrimonio claro. Este paraíso de la fotografía está en la provincia de Hebei y tiene 10,5 kilómetros, de los que algo menos de seis están abiertos a los visitantes. Y a los corredores. Fue construida hace 650 años por la dinastía Ming; una tarea que llevó 31 años, entre 1368 y 1389, aunque fue reconstruida después entre 1567 y 1570. Hay 67 torres de vigilancia, más o menos una cada 150 metros.

El monumento es parte del ADN de la cultura china, su método para mantener a raya al invasor, sobre todo, mongol. “Para mí, la muralla significa perseverancia”, resume Miao Yao, la estrella del trail chino, que convirtió la presentación de la víspera al evento, un acto discreto en otros puntos del planeta, en una fiesta. Cuando el circuito anunció la carrera meses atrás, planteó un menú en teoría asequible de 1.500 metros de desnivel positivo, pero cuando los atletas reconocieron el circuito entre el martes y el miércoles descubrieron 400 más, de propina: será que el GPS no calcula el ascenso entre escalones de artesano, cada uno con su tamaño, desde la casi planicie a rozar con la tibia para escalarlos. Esto obliga a decidir cada segundo cuánto alargar la zancada: cuántos sortear en cada paso, si compensa correr o es mejor andar. Una tensión que agota las fuerzas y la vista, necesaria para los atajos: superarlos por un estrecho flanco evita bajar y subir para seguir avanzando. “Apreciad el privilegio de correr en este monumento. Espero que honréis la carrera, aunque sea dura”. Así cerró el director del circuito, Greg Vollet, el briefing previo.

Como los seis kilómetros de muralla están en la primera mitad de carrera, el consejo era guardar fuerzas para lo que viniera después. Allí llegaron agrupadas las mujeres, pero las kenianas encendieron la moto. No solo Joyce Njeru, la vigente ganadora de la general, sino dos versiones que amenazan con mejorarla. Kimutai y Joyline Chepngeno, ganadora el año pasado en la catedral de Sierre-Zinal y en la final, aterrizaron en Pekín el jueves por la noche tras un viaje retrasado por los permisos de vacunación, pero dio igual su falta de aclimatación: un par de entrenos suaves y al lío. Encarecieron la victoria en el avituallamiento del kilómetro 12, el principio de la verdadera trampa: un perfil de sierra afilado hasta la médula, una macedonia de subidas cortas con pendientes criminales que cuesta siquiera medir. En parte porque no da tiempo: apenas 200 metros y mismo tobogán hacia abajo, con tierra áspera por la falta de lluvia que no permite frenar. Pura Kenia.

Ese campo abierto de cuestas entre cintas naranjas muestra las distancias, que no fueron abusivas. Ganó Kimutai en 2h39m14s; a 2m12s llegó Chepngeno, un podio que cerró Madalina Florea a 3m59s, la silueta que veía Sara Alonso, que acabó cuarta a 5m04s y sale del doblete asiático como líder de la general tras ganar en Kobe. La perseverancia solo valió a Miao, que no escondió la misión nacional de pelear la victoria, para ser quinta, mientras Njeru se retiró por problemas estomacales. Malen Osa se quedó en la muralla tras un día cruzado entre calambres y caídas al que, a diferencia de Japón, donde fue tercera, no pudo dar la vuelta.

Patrick Kipngeno, que sujeta su trofeo como vencedor mientras espera que un trenecito turístico le conduzca de vuelta al hotel, habla del recorrido más duro de su vida. El ganador de las cuatro carreras de las Golden en Asia desde su desembarco en 2024 tiró de experiencia para dejar que la nueva generación, la de Timothy Kibett y Samwel Kiprotich, explotara después de la muralla para ponerse en cabeza en el kilómetro 14 y no mirar atrás, un registro fugaz de 2h13m05s. Le siguió su escudero, Philemon Kiriago, que repitió el segundo puesto de Kobe, esta vez a solo 37s. Tercero fue el suizo Joey Hadorn, que dio una clase magistral bajando escaleras y llegó a 58s. La dureza de las pendientes y las fuerzas justas tras batallar seis días atrás en Japón generó una lucha apretada. Aitor Blanco (15º) y Fabián Venero (16ª) fueron los mejores españoles tras un top-10 con cinco kenianos.

En la muralla no se ganaba la carrera, pero sí perdía. Y era el motivo de todo, un sueño que los kenianos hicieron suyo. Alucinaban los turistas viéndoles volar en media hora por un recorrido que las agencias turísticas estiman en tres. También los vendedores de los puestos de bebida y recuerdos que copan casi cada torre de vigilancia, entre escalones en los que casi no cabe un pie. Imaginen su catedral de referencia y añadan a atletas de élite corriendo por esos escalones como si fuera un jardín. El circuito, que ha firmado este un acuerdo con el Warner Bros para explotar el deporte a nivel global, quizás haya dado con su pelotazo. Porque esos frikis que recorren montañas han conquistado un escenario tan conocido como la luna.

Donald Trump has always liked to use the stock market as a barometer of his success. The signals the market has emitted since his return to the White House have been discouraging the U.S. president’s administration, especially in terms of the trade war. It’s not just the stock market: the bond market and the dollar’s price have reflected the growing distrust in U.S. assets that Trump has generated. Along with the courts, the economy is taking charge of reining in some of the president’s decisions. Pressure from businesses and investors has led Trump to soften tariffs and appear more conciliatory toward China. Furthermore, a new market scare has led him to say he has no intention of firing Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, just days after calling for his dismissal.

“I used to think that if there was reincarnation, I wanted to come back as the president or the pope or as a .400 baseball hitter. But now I would like to come back as the bond market. You can intimidate everybody.” This quote is from James Carville, Bill Clinton’s advisor, who saw how market pressure forced him to change his economic policy. The concept of “bond vigilantes” actually predates it. It was coined by economist Ed Yardeni, referring to investors who sell Treasury bonds, driving up the required yield, when they lose confidence in a country’s economic and fiscal policy. The bond vigilantes forced Clinton to back down, forced Liz Truss to resign as UK prime minister, and, via risk premiums, in Spain forced José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero to implement harsh cuts, and Mariano Rajoy to request a financial bailout from the European institutions.

Trump isn’t easily intimidated, but the rise in U.S. bond yields, along with the stock market crash and the depreciation of the dollar, were the triggers for his declaration of a 90-day partial truce in the trade war on April 9. The Republican admitted that investors were “getting a little yippy.” “I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line. They’re getting a little bit… afraid,” he said, celebrating how “beautiful” the market looked after the truce.

The situation has been repeated in the last week. Just days after suggesting he was considering removing the Federal Reserve chair, he asserted Tuesday that he has no intention of doing so. “The press is jumping the gun on things. No, I have no intention of firing him,” Trump said. Meanwhile, threats to the central bank’s independence have heightened distrust in U.S. assets and driven the dollar to a three-year low, with further declines on Wall Street and in the bond markets.

Moderate the trade war

The market punishment and the rapidly deteriorating economic outlook have also forced Trump and his team to soften the tone in the trade war with China. The current tariffs, at 145% on Chinese imports (and 125% on Chinese purchases of U.S. goods), “are not sustainable,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday at a closed-door event with bankers. Trump himself later endorsed the idea in the Oval Office. He said the steep tariffs “will come down substantially, but they won’t be zero. It won’t be anywhere near that high,” he insisted.

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that the White House is considering a substantial reduction in tariffs on China, to levels of approximately 50% to 65%, in a combination that could include tariffs of 35% on goods the U.S. doesn’t consider strategic and 100% on those for which there is interest in special protection. This would be a way to begin the de-escalation process, but the president hasn’t made a decision.

On Wednesday, without abandoning his protectionist rhetoric, Trump once again extended his hand: “We’re going to have a fair deal with China,” he affirmed. Bessent, speaking to the press after a speech at a Washington hotel, offered a mixed bag. Asked if there was a unilateral offer from the president to de-escalate the trade war, he said “absolutely not.” At the same time, he left the door open to a reduction by both sides: “I don’t think either side believes the current tariff levels are sustainable, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they were lowered mutually,” he stated, asserting that there is “an opportunity for a great deal.”

In his first term, Trump was the first president in nearly a century to destroy jobs. He could have blamed the pandemic, but the crisis he now threatens to unleash is entirely self-inflicted. Fears of a financial crisis leading to a deep recession have spread within the White House in recent weeks, a scenario they internally call “1929,” according to The New York Times, in reference to the stock market crash that year that sparked the Great Depression.

It’s not just the markets. Automakers succeeded in getting Trump to ease tariffs on cars and components from Mexico and Canada after warning of the risk of exorbitant prices. The idea of iPhones costing over $2,000 and pressure from Apple preceded the tariff exemptions on cell phones, tablets, and computers. This week, executives from large retailers such as Walmart, Target, and Home Depot, major importers of Chinese products, visited the White House, warning of the risk of price hikes and empty shelves. Trade policy thus becomes an influence peddling from which small and medium-sized businesses are excluded. It’s the large ones, those that helped Trump raise $239 million for his inauguration festivities, that have access to the president.

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