What I Learned About Trump’s Second Term by Reading His First 100 Executive Orders

We’ve gotten used to seeing a president’s first 100 days as a gauge of progress and a benchmark for history. (Thanks, Franklin Roosevelt.) To understand the early days of President Trump’s second term, however, when so much has happened so quickly, there is an alternative milestone to consider.

Last week, with more than a month to go before he will reach 100 days in office, Trump surpassed 100 executive orders. Reading through them all lays bare the assumptions, obsessions and contradictions of the man signing them.

The executive order is Trump’s preferred governing tool. Even with Republican congressional majorities, he favors the flourish of the order over the hassle of lawmaking. Why bother assembling legislative coalitions when you can just write, “By the authority vested in me as president by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered” and then tack on whatever you like?