CNN: Let's Face It, Trump Is the Most Influential President This Century -- And More
Ed Morrissey
And it's not just on tariffs, although that's where Harry Enten starts with his data analytics. After just six months of his second non-consecutive term, Donald Trump has changed the direction of the US in several ways, and tariffs may actually be the least important.
One could say that Trump has fundamentally transformed America ... or more accurately, fundamentally transformed it back:
Eric Daugherty provided a lengthy transcript of Enten's remarks in his X post. Let's parse through them, from the weakest argument to the strongest:
"Already, 180 executive orders signed by Donald Trump this year. You have to go all the way back to the FDR administration once again to find a year in which there were as many executive orders signed as we have this year. To give you an idea, Biden during his first year signed 77. That's the entire year. We're only a little bit more than halfway through this year."
Is this a good way to highlight influence? Don't get me wrong -- Trump came back to office far more prepared to take action, and this is a good measure of that preparation. However, EOs are simply directives on how to use executive authority, to the extent that they operate within those legitimate bounds. A far better measure of influence would be the successes Trump has had in taking back that executive authority to pare down the bureaucracy and to fire people who exercise executive authority under the absurd guise of "independent agencies."
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https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2025/08/04/cnn-lets-face-it-trump-is-the-most-influential-president-this-century-n3805470
