Trump's First 100 Days and a Possible Government Shutdown: A Closer Look

-President Trump has been scrambling
for literally any kind of positive achievement
as he nears the end of his first 100 days in office.
Meanwhile, he and Congress are facing down an imminent deadline
to avoid a government shutdown.
For more on this, it's time for "A Closer Look."
[ Cheers and applause ]
Trump is nearing the 100 day milestone
with record low approval ratings
and a White House in constant chaos,
which means today was the perfect day
for a jovial, well-rested former President Obama
to show up in Chicago for his first public appearance
after leaving office and say this.
-So, uh...
what -- what's been going on while I've been gone?
[ Laughter ]
[ Chuckles sarcastically ]
Everything!
Everything has been going on.
Of course, after that comment, Obama threw on some shades,
kite surfed out of the auditorium
and yelled, "Somebody get me a mai tai."
But Obama's first post-election public appearance
was especially well-timed,
because Saturday will mark the 100th day of Trump's presidency.
Which is traditionally when presidents get
their first big report card on their performance so far.
And this will shock you.
Most people think he's not doing great.
-We have our brand-new NBC News Wall Street Journal poll
so tell us just how Americans think
the president is doing as we approach Day 100.
In short, not well.
-The worst approval ratings around the 100 day mark
for any president in modern times.
-He laid out a very detailed 100 day contract he called it --
Obamacare, tax reform, border wall funding,
infrastructure spending, new trade tariffs,
labeling China a currency manipulator,
ending the common core education standards.
100 days in or one week from 100 days anyway,
incomplete at best.
None of this, none of this has been done.
-None of this has been done.
If this were a movie, it would be called
"100 Dayz and Confused."
Now, the polls did have one bit of good news for Trump,
which if a new election were held today,
Trump would win over Clinton 43% to 40%.
And of course,
Trump could not help but brag about those numbers,
tweeting yesterday...
Still?
Does he think he won the popular vote the first time?
Because I got news for you, buddy.
You can't still do something you've never done before.
It's like me saying "It's been 100 days,
but Rihanna would still go out with me.
[ Laughter ]
[ Applause ]
Thank you for sticking with me.
Nonetheless, the 100 day report card is on the way.
And like every terrible student,
Trump is trying to turn an "F" into an "A,"
tweeting last week...
Yeah, the 100 day report card is an arbitrary,
meaningless political milestone that most people care about.
Most people, that is, except Donald Trump.
-I propose the contract with the American voter.
It's a set of promises for what I'll do in my first 100 days.
What follows is my 100 day action plan
to make America great again.
Just think about what we can accomplish
in the first 100 days of a Trump administration.
-And then after you thought about it,
tell me what you came up with, because I've got nothing.
[ Laughter, cheers and applause ]
So as the 100 day milestone nears,
Trump has failed to deliver
on almost everyone of his major legislative promises.
Now, there are many reasons for this including Trumps ignorance
about the basic political realities of governing.
In fact Trump is so ignorant,
he's ignorant of his own ignorance.
For example, he apparently just learned
that there were different factions
within the Republican Party
and talked about as if it was a brilliant insight
telling the AP in an interview...
Trump is like an annoying 8-year-old kid
that just got home from school.
Did you know fish can breathe underwater by using their gills?
Yeah, Timmy, I did know that.
Everybody knows that, now go suck on your juice box.
In fact, Trump even seems to have trouble remembering
the names of Congressional leaders
as we discover last week
when he kept referring to House Speaker Paul Ryan as Ron
before catching himself and trying to save it.
-My thanks goes to Speaker Ryan
who's represented the city for nearly two decades in Congress.
And you know where he is?
He's with NATO, and -- So he has a good excuse.
I said, "Ron, make sure these countries
start paying their bills a little bit more.
You know, they're way, way behind, Ron.
I'm gonna talk to you about that, Ron."
But, Paul, you're over with NATO,
get them to pay their bills.
-I said Ron, "I mean, I'm talking to you, Ron.
Your names not Ron? I meant Don.
I was talking to myself.
Don, you've got to get them to pay their bills.
Good idea, Don. Thank you, Don."
[ Laughter ]
So, with less than a week to the 100 day deadline,
the Trump himself champion,
the president has failed to deliver
on nearly every one of his major legislative promises.
How could things get any worse?
-Shutdown showdown.
-The White House is racing
to avoid marking the president's first 100 days in office
with a government shutdown.
-If Congress doesn't send President Trump
a the government funding bill midnight on Friday,
the government will run out of money
and a shutdown would begin.
-A sticking point as you may know
is money for the wall along our border with Mexico.
-He could be the first President in history
to face a government shut down in his first 100 days.
-Okay, but are we sure
the government wasn't shutdown already?
Because it was reported recently that...
Under Trump, our federal government is staffed
as well as Duane Reade on a Sunday morning.
Hello?
Hello, I need my heart pills.
Duane?
Reade?
So the White House is requesting money for the border wall
and the bill that funds the government.
But the crucial question is will the president veto
any bill that does not include money for the wall?
The government staying open hangs on this question,
so when the AP asked Trump that question point-blank,
this is what he said -- and this is his full unedited answer.
As opposed to everything up to that point,
which had been super [bleep] telligible.
[ Laughter ]
So let's get back --
Let's get back to his answer about the wall.
I'll tell you one thing,
that answer would have definitely made
a much tougher chant at Trump rallies.
Who's going to pay for the wall?
We don't know yet. People want the border wall.
Your base definitely wants to border wall.
You're base really wants it. We've been to many rallies.
Unintelligible.
[ Applause ]
Now...
Trump's answer on the wall might be confusing for you
for many reasons,
including the fact that, as you may recall,
Trump promised repeatedly that Mexico will pay for the wall.
And on Sunday he took to Twitter to settle the discrepancy
with his signature bravado declaring unequivocally
that without any hesitation that...
Trump's tweets are starting to sound like the fine print
on a contest to win a free cruise.
[ Laughter ]
[ Cheers and applause ]
Trump was also asked how much the wall would cost?
And again this is his real answer.
Man, even the biggest sucker at the used car lot
knows to walk away when the salesman says super-duper.
[ Laughter ]
And I'll tell you what, I like you.
I'm gonna throw the undercoating for free.
I just have to talk to my manager, super-duper.
Now publicly, Republicans and the Trump administration
have downplayed the risk of a government shutdown
over border wall funding.
But privately, they seem excited.
One unnamed top White House official told the New Yorker...
We've all been saying "get outta here, it's too ridiculous"
for two years, yet here he is.
Get out of here!
So, Trump...
[ Cheers and applause ]
So, Trump obviously has very few concrete achievements
to celebrate his first 100 days.
Which of course left Trump brag
about the thing he loves to brag about the most -- ratings.
In fact Trump is so enamored by ratings,
he's even basing major personnel decisions on them.
The Washington Post reported yesterday
that when the prospect of firing Sean Spicer came up
in a recent meeting, Trump replied...
Yeah, everyone tunes in to watch Sean Spicer
for the same reason this video has 31 million views.
[ Grunting ]
[ Laughter ]
Incidentally Trump just made that guy Secretary of Pools.
[ Laughter ]
So Trump is facing a 100 day milestone
with virtually no successes to brag about,
which may be why, when asked by reporters last week
about the sudden flurry of activity
and how his administration was doing
as it neared the 100 day deadline,
he resorted to the most meaningless platitudes possible.
-It's going to be great. It'll happen.
-You're gonna do healthcare and tax reform?
-It'll happen. We'll see what happens.
No particular rush, but we'll see with happens.
But healthcare is coming along well.
Government is coming along really well.
[ Laughter ]
-That's the President of the United States saying
government is coming along really well.
It's like going home to your wife and saying,
"Hello, wife, our marriage is coming along really well."
This has been "A Closer Look."
[ Cheers and applause ]

Trump's First 100 Days and a Possible Government Shutdown: A Closer Look

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