With such resistance, Trump has reason to be proud of 100 days

Just about every columnist in the nation has been offering a take on President Trump’s first 100 days.

Not wanting to be absent from the brouhaha, I’m giving mine.

Let’s begin by acknowledging that opinions run the gamut from the president’s ardent supporters to those whose disdain for him has become legendary — despite recent polls that say he would easily defeat Hillary Clinton if the election were to be held today.

Trump’s own review begins with his declaration that the 100-day mark is a “ridiculous standard.” I completely agree.

The conventional view that the first three months of a new presidency tells the story of how the entire term will work out simply doesn’t apply to someone who is so unconventional in his approach to governing.

Few will disagree that this president is exceptional in his irregular manner, style and behavior when compared to his modern-day predecessors.

Some people like that about him, and others dislike it so much that nothing seems to dissuade them from pursuing a dead-end course to impeachment.

The reality they can’t seem to grasp is that Trump’s style and approach got him elected.

Facing fierce opposition from Democrats and most of the national media, he’s making progress in delivering on his promises. And it’s driving his critics crazy.

The president has laid down a marker in reviewing his early performance: “No administration has accomplished more in the first 90 days.”

Right on schedule, the media declared that claim to be bogus, as in Politifact’s review based on a comparison to a president last in office 72 years ago.

“Trump has had some achievements in office, but at the very least, they are much less numerous and far-reaching than those of [Franklin] Roosevelt, the standard against whom all presidents are measured.”

Such self-appointed authorities should be viewed and translated only on the basis of the degree of bias they have in reaching their entirely predictable conclusions.

As for my contribution to the conversation, there are three things Trump has achieved that, more than all the others detailed in the wall-to-wall coverage he’s receiving, distinguish his early success.

First is the seating of Justice Neil Gorsuch on the Supreme Court. That singular accomplishment substantially increases the chances that decisions shaping the country’s future will be true to our Constitution.

Second are Trump’s military actions that put real muscle back into the work of diplomacy, which will do more than we have seen in a decade to promote peace in the world and the security of our own country.

Third are the measures he has taken to reduce the regulatory burden on the power of our economic system, which offers the best chance for all Americans to succeed in pursuing and achieving their dreams.

Some balance has been restored after a one-sided agenda in the previous administration of significantly increasing the role of the federal government in the lives of free Americans.

Beyond those accomplishments, Trump’s administration has launched work to reform our nation’s health insurance system, secure our borders and reform a broken tax structure. Workers will be able to keep more of their hard-earned paychecks.

Perhaps more demonstrable than any of the individual measures in judging the start-up of his presidency is watching the president pursue the course he promised during his surprisingly successful campaign.

That he is succeeding in the face of all the resistance he’s encountering in Washington, in newspapers across the country and the ever-pervasive electronic grind working against him provides strong evidence to support his own conclusion about how well he is doing.

This story was originally published April 28, 2017 at 6:55 PM with the headline "With such resistance, Trump has reason to be proud of 100 days."