Tied up in litigation and facing massive opposition in the polls, in the streets and in civil society, an increasingly unpopular president is hitting a wall.
Despite disavowing the widely criticized Project 2025 during his campaign, President Donald Trump has, unsurprisingly, pursued many of the recommendations from this radical right-wing policy agenda. In his first 100 days, Trump completed 92 out of 313 Project 2025 goals—and took action on another 66. As of July 22, that number has increased to 114, with another 64 in progress.
Trump has been particularly aggressive in pursuing Project 2025 policies that attack women’s rights. After 100 days in office, he had enacted nearly a quarter of Project 2025’s policy recommendations aimed at eroding reproductive health and rights, and was working on another 24 percent of these objectives.
Concurrently, Trump enacted more than half of Project 2025’s policy objectives in the area of LGBTQ+ rights, and was actively working to enact another 22 percent.
Items accomplished in just these two areas—reproductive rights/health and LGBTQ+ rights—comprised nearly 25 percent of everything Trump did in those first months to carry out the Project 2025 agenda.
Trump achieved many of these policies by executive order or agency action, such as the Department of Justice withdrawing from a lawsuit filed by the Biden administration to enforce the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) against states that prohibit hospitals from providing emergency medical care to pregnant women. Trump reinstated the global gag rule banning aid to groups that counsel patients or speak favorably about abortion, and prohibited abortion travel funding for members of the military stationed in states that ban abortion.
In education, Trump rescinded Biden-era Title IX rules that strengthened protections for student survivors of sexual assault and discrimination. In the workplace, Trump revoked President Lyndon B. Johnson’s executive orders prohibiting race and sex discrimination by federal contractors and subcontractors. He also tried to eliminate Head Start, the government-funded childcare program for low-income families.
At the same time, Trump is working with Republicans in Congress to gut social safety net programs to allow them to grant trillions of dollars in tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy and corporations. In May, a Republican budget bill proposed draconian cuts to the food assistance program SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), using budget reconciliation rules that prevent a Senate filibuster and allow passage without bipartisan support. The proposed cuts target women, children, the elderly and low-income families.
Congress passed the budget reconciliation bill, cutting nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid which will leave an estimated 17 million Americans without access to healthcare. Medicaid covers nearly half of all births in the U.S., funds medical care for 37 million children and supports 63 percent of all nursing home residents. Without Medicaid, pregnancy becomes more dangerous and complications are more fatal. SNAP helps 42 million people—mostly women and their children—pay for groceries, school breakfasts and lunches.
These cuts are deeply unpopular with the American public.
Polling from Meeting Street Insights, a Republican firm, revealed that although voters in battleground congressional districts are divided politically, they are strongly opposed to cutting Medicaid. More than two-thirds (68 percent) of respondents said cutting Medicaid benefits to pay for tax cuts is a bad idea; only 22 percent said it is a good idea.
Similarly, in a poll by Save the Children Action Network, more than two-thirds of voters (67 percent) said they’d feel less favorably toward Congress if it were to cut SNAP benefits—a result consistent across party lines. Some 81 percent of Democrats polled expressed this sentiment, as did 70 percent of Independents and 52 percent of Republicans. Many said they believe SNAP benefits should instead be increased.
At 100 days, Trump was once again the most unpopular president since modern polling began, with 61 percent of Americans disapproving of his handling of the economy and 60 percent disapproving of his handling of foreign affairs. According to polling by Fox News, he’s even lost ground with white men without a college degree—his approval rating fell 22 points by April 21 with his primary demographic.
These disapproval ratings don’t stray far from public opinion on the GOP’s budget bill with 61 percent of Americans opposing its passing, according to a recently released poll by CNN.
Held Up By The Courts
Many of Trump’s actions were promptly challenged in court for exceeding presidential authority. More than 300 lawsuits challenging Trump’s policies have resulted in courts blocking many of them. As of May 1, courts have entered more than 200 orders stopping the administration’s actions in 128 cases and have yet to rule in another 140 cases. In only 43 cases have courts allowed Trump’s policies to go into effect. New cases are filed daily.
“What we’ve been seeing is that in a number of cases, judges who you might not think were as aligned with some of … the underlying policies are really concerned about the lawless way in which the administration’s operating, including in not following basic procedures,” says Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward.
Trump is appealing many of these decisions and, in some cases, defying the courts. According to research by Navigator, nearly two-thirds of Americans say that Trump believes he is above the law—and they are concerned about the absence of checks and balances on his power.
Taking to the Streets
Trump’s policies are spurring massive pushback, fueling nervousness among Republicans eyeing next year’s midterm elections.
On April 5, millions of people joined the Hands Off! demonstrations in more than 1,400 locations in all 50 states, calling for “an end to this billionaire power grab.” Protests happened at state capitols, federal buildings, congressional offices, Social Security headquarters, town halls and public parks. A coalition of more than 150 progressive organizations organized the protests, including women’s rights, civil rights, pro-democracy and LGBTQ+ groups, as well as labor unions and climate justice organizations.
Organizers had three demands: “an end to the billionaire takeover and rampant corruption of the Trump administration; an end to slashing federal funds for Medicaid, Social Security and other programs working people rely on; and an end to the attacks on immigrants, trans people and other communities.”
While protests have been growing since inauguration day, April 5 was among the first mass mobilizations of protesters, followed by a No Kings Nationwide Day of Defiance on June 14, organized to coincide with Trump’s military parade of tanks and troops in the streets of Washington, D.C., celebrating his birthday. Organizers declared, “From city blocks to small towns, from courthouse steps to community parks, we’re taking action to reject authoritarianism—and show the world what democracy actually looks like.”
Civil society is resisting as well. Initially some universities such as Columbia agreed to Trump’s demands, but led by Harvard University, many have begun fighting back—filing legal challenges and banding together to support one another in opposing the administration. According to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll, most Americans disagree with Trump’s treatment of colleges and universities.
The people are rising up against Trump’s authoritarianism, hoping to save our democracy, the rule of law and our constitutional and human rights.
This article appears in the Summer 2025 issue of Ms. Join the Ms. community today and you’ll get issues delivered straight to your mailbox—or order a single copy of the Summer issue as a standalone for just $5.
