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Politics

100 days of Trump: What you need to know

April 27, 2017

April 29 marks 100 days since Donald Trump was sworn into the Oval Office and pledged to put "America First!" With more than 1,360 days to go in his presidency, here's a look at what you need to know so far.

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Donald Trump
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/A.Brandon

'Putting America first,' Trump ditches TPP deal

Ahead of Trump's 100th day in the White House, DW asked Germans living in the United States to rate President Donald Trump's performance.

In New York, DW's Miodrag Soric met Michael Hansen who heads a tech training firm with over 5,000 employees worldwide:

Michael Hansen assesses 100 days of Trump

- 'America first!'

Trump promised to swiftly check off the list of his campaign promises once he became president. What looked like a promising start for his administration quickly sunk into the mire of Washington. Here's a look at his top five campaign promises:

- 100 days as president: Trump's top 5 campaign promises

'Putting America first,' Trump ditches TPP deal

- That wall

Trump's pledge to build a wall on the US-Mexican border has left many people on edge. In the border city of Nogales, the gaps between fences often provide divided family members with the only glimpse of each other. 

Life on US-Mexico border

- Culture shock

After 100 days, Trump's presidency has brought exclusion, says US-based German photographer Reiner Leist. He told DW how politics change the way we view art - and why both art and politics benefit from stamina. 

- Read: Trump era 'brings up pain of exclusion,' says German photographer in US

But Trump's actions so far haven't come without protest. We talked to the US photographer Steve Schapiro who's made it his mission to chronicle American life:

DW's Washington, DC, bureau chief Miodrag Soric talks about the mood in the capital and the rift in US society.

- Read: Division and disappointment - DW's Washington bureau chief on Trump's first 100 days

DW has compiled a list of documentaries that shed light on the polemical leader and the issues he is facing. One upcoming docu-series exploring life in Trump's America is a project on race by rapper Jay Z.

But if you're looking for a good laugh instead, The Simpsons are here to help process these past few weeks with humor. Years ago, The Simpsons predicted the future: Donald Trump would become US President. The idea seemed absurd at the time, but now that man has been in that very office for the past 100 days. The Simpsons noted the irony in their latest viral clip.

- Read: 100 days of Trump: The Simpsons take stock

DW spoke with YouTube star Flula Borg - a German native who has built somewhat of a cult following in the USA - about his thoughts on the new US president.

- Read: 100 days of Trump: Flula Borg's unending nightmare

- Environmental disaster?

From lifting restrictions on mining coal to removing barriers to the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, Trump has wasted little time in pushing through legislation at the expense of the environment. But how much will his policies have on the environment in the long-term? Will a growing global consensus and technological innovation be enough to stem their potential damage? 

- Read: 100 days of Trump: An environmental disaster?

- Between the lines

For booksellers, Trump has been the stuff of dreams. North American magazines and blogs have been listing a range of must-read books, in an attempt to understand the new president's behavior. At the end of January, Orson Wells' 1949 dystopian novel "1984" shot to the top of the bestseller lists as readers, fraught with "alternative facts," grappled to understand the political situation.