Political analyst Mark Halperin said Thursday that President Donald Trump is already implementing “fundamental” government reforms in his rapid-fire first days in office.
After being sworn in, Trump signed over 200 executive actions within 12 hours, addressing issues ranging from the border crisis to the economy. When asked by host Leland Vittert on “On Balance with Leland Vittert” whether “Donald Trump 2.0” has “changed the game,” Halperin said Trump has, pointing to the “symbolism” of several executive orders and the way he transformed enacting policy into a fanfare event.
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“He has [changed the game], and there’s a lot of reasons for it. You mentioned one, which is the pardons and the signing of the executive orders,” Halperin said. “I don’t think anyone’s ever signed it in front of 20,000 cheering fans in an arena and chucked the pens into the crowd like t-shirts wadded up out of a cannon, signing these pardons, these executive orders and pardons, that are not expected along with ones that were.”
Trump sat at a desk in the middle of Capital One Arena on Monday while surrounded by 20,000 of his supporters and began signing various executive orders, including one to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Accord.
“Democratic strategist Steve Elmendorf was on 2WAY last night. He said it’s the three A’s. It’s the authenticity that Trump has always benefited from. It’s the attention. He’s dominated this week in a way that none of us who have covered Washington and politics can remember. And it’s action,” Halperin continued. “He’s done more — Trump’s prone to hyperbole, but when he says he’s done more in three and a half days than some people do in four years there’s, maybe, if these things hold, there may be some truth to that. Because he’s making [former President Ronald] Reagan look like a member of the deep state. He is changing things in a fundamental way and he’s benefited from four years off to think about it.”
Vittert also asked Halperin about the political implications of Trump’s pardons, which included pardoning Jan. 6 Capitol rioters and peaceful pro-life protesters.
“I’m not here to cheer for Donald Trump or to promote him. I’m telling you as an experienced analyst and watch of administrations, the symbolism here is powerful,” the political analyst said. “Some of the things they’re doing is changing federal policy, but things like the pardons are symbolic and Trump is not afraid of being criticized by The Washington Post editorial board or by a prominent columnist. And you saw in most of our presidents, not all, but in most, a concern about what the establishment thinks of them.”
“Trump craves their support, but he’s operating now with … a very long gestating plan and all of these things they’re doing are not by accident. They all have a lot of symbolism to them,” he continued. “Some are dog whistles, but some are shouts to the entire nation and most of what he’s doing, despite what some people in the establishment think, most, not all, but most of what he’s doing is quite popular.”
The freshly sworn in president also went from Capital One Arena to the White House, where he answered questions from reporters for nearly an hour while signing more executive orders, including undoing former President Joe Biden’s electric vehicle mandate.
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