President Donald Trump's second term has seen an unprecedented blitzkrieg on America's governing norms, with his administration moving to overturn constitutional rights and protections, ignore the Supreme Court and cut tens of thousands of jobs from the federal government.
All of this and more happened in three months, delighting Mr Trump's supporters, who say he is doing exactly what they wanted him to, especially his clampdown on immigration.
Republican politicians have largely backed the President despite him grabbing at some of Congress's authorities over trade and spending. And the Democrats remain in disarray, incapable of offering a coherent alternative narrative, giving Mr Trump an air of untouchability.
Yet things can change quickly in politics. Next week marks 100 days of the second Trump term, and an interesting new milestone could be coming into view: the high-water mark of the 78-year-old leader's power.
Like a fighter in the ring stunning his opponent with one-two jabs, Mr Trump has left his naysayers and critics dazed and wobbly with an incessant stream of executive orders (139 and counting) and decrees.
But instead of pausing for breath and taking a step back to assess his next move, Mr Trump has kept on punching – and is starting to miss the mark.
The most obvious example is his tariffs policy. Trying to address some of the deleterious effects of globalisation on US and western workers is a worthy goal, but Mr Trump's approach has been disastrous.
Based on convictions he developed in the 1980s when Japan was America's top economic rival, Mr Trump is trying to uproot the same globalised trading system that the US pushed on the rest of the world for decades. He wants to resurrect America as a manufacturing powerhouse and is convinced his tariffs will bring the US untold wealth, even though it is American companies and consumers that must pay the bills.
To achieve this, he is bullying friends and foes alike with “reciprocal” tariffs that have little to do with supposed taxes charged by other countries.
Many economists warn that his policies will lead to shortages on American shop shelves, increased prices as tariff costs are passed on to the consumer and eventually to a recession as supply chains buckle.
Mr Trump was forced this week to reckon with the reality of the financial markets, which took another nosedive on Monday as he seemed close to attempting to fire Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, something Mr Powell maintains the President has no authority to do.
In his first term, Mr Trump bragged about stock market highs, so we know he would have been feeling queasy watching all the major indices bleed red for weeks on end.
Amid the rout, he insisted he wouldn't fire Mr Powell and he has ordered a 90-day pause on his tariffs on all countries except China. Few expect him to fully resume the tariffs when the time comes in July.
The markets acted as an unexpected check on Mr Trump's power, but not before he sustained political damage. According to a Pew Research Centre poll this week, only 40 per cent of Americans approve of how he’s handling the job – a decline of 7 percentage points from February and the lowest level of any recent president at this point in their term.
Another target of the Trump administration's ire this year has been American universities and their purported support of pro-Palestinian student protests, which Republicans claim were anti-Semitic. Mr Trump wants to cut multibillion-dollar research grants unless institutions agree to an ideological takeover by the government. Several acquiesced but Harvard University this month rejected demands for control of its student body and is now suing the government for trying to freeze its research grants. Other universities are now joining the pushback.
The Trump administration’s philosophy is to move fast, break things and see what policies it can push through before judicial or public disapproval forces a change in course. That disapproval is only going to increase as the economy sours and voters blame Mr Trump.
The President has long prided himself in ignoring counsel, and is so certain in his convictions that he recently displayed red baseball caps in the Oval Office emblazoned with the phrase “Trump was right about everything!”
“I have a gut, and my gut tells me more sometimes than anybody else’s brain can ever tell me,” he famously said back in 2018.
But recent weeks have shown that Mr Trump must contend with forces much bigger than his own intuition, and his next 100 days in office are likely to be harder for him than the first.
LAST-16 FIXTURES
Sunday, January 20
3pm: Jordan v Vietnam at Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
6pm: Thailand v China at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: Iran v Oman at Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Monday, January 21
3pm: Japan v Saudi Arabia at Sharjah Stadium
6pm: Australia v Uzbekistan at Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: UAE v Kyrgyzstan at Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tuesday, January 22
5pm: South Korea v Bahrain at Rashid Stadium, Dubai
8pm: Qatar v Iraq at Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi
THE DRAFT
The final phase of player recruitment for the T10 League has taken place, with UAE and Indian players being drafted to each of the eight teams.
Bengal Tigers
UAE players: Chirag Suri, Mohammed Usman
Indian: Zaheer Khan
Karachians
UAE players: Ahmed Raza, Ghulam Shabber
Indian: Pravin Tambe
Kerala Kings
UAE players: Mohammed Naveed, Abdul Shakoor
Indian: RS Sodhi
Maratha Arabians
UAE players: Zahoor Khan, Amir Hayat
Indian: S Badrinath
Northern Warriors
UAE players: Imran Haider, Rahul Bhatia
Indian: Amitoze Singh
Pakhtoons
UAE players: Hafiz Kaleem, Sheer Walli
Indian: RP Singh
Punjabi Legends
UAE players: Shaiman Anwar, Sandy Singh
Indian: Praveen Kumar
Rajputs
UAE players: Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed
Indian: Munaf Patel
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Match info
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Liverpool v Porto, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE)
Matches can be watched on BeIN Sports
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
The Outsider
Stephen King, Penguin
'Cheb%20Khaled'
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The biog
Place of birth: Kalba
Family: Mother of eight children and has 10 grandchildren
Favourite traditional dish: Al Harees, a slow cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled cracked or coarsely ground wheat mixed with meat or chicken
Favourite book: My early life by Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah
Favourite quote: By Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's Founding Father, “Those who have no past will have no present or future.”
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
THE BIO
Mr Al Qassimi is 37 and lives in Dubai
He is a keen drummer and loves gardening
His favourite way to unwind is spending time with his two children and cooking
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The biog
Name: Abeer Al Bah
Born: 1972
Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992
Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old
Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
if you go
The flights
Emirates have direct flights from Dubai to Glasgow from Dh3,115. Alternatively, if you want to see a bit of Edinburgh first, then you can fly there direct with Etihad from Abu Dhabi.
The hotel
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Located in the heart of Mackintosh's Glasgow, the Dakota Deluxe is perhaps the most refined hotel anywhere in the city. Doubles from Dh850
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Events and tours
There are various Mackintosh specific events throughout 2018 – for more details and to see a map of his surviving designs see glasgowmackintosh.com
For walking tours focussing on the Glasgow Style, see the website of the Glasgow School of Art.
More information
For ideas on planning a trip to Scotland, visit www.visitscotland.com
In Praise of Zayed
A thousand grains of Sand whirl in the sky
To mark the journey of one passer-by
If then a Cavalcade disturbs the scene,
Shall such grains sing before they start to fly?
What man of Honour, and to Honour bred
Will fear to go wherever Truth has led?
For though a Thousand urge him to retreat
He'll laugh, until such counsellors have fled.
Stands always One, defiant and alone
Against the Many, when all Hope has flown.
Then comes the Test; and only then the time
Of reckoning what each can call his own.
History will not forget: that one small Seed
Sufficed to tip the Scales in time of need.
More than a debt, the Emirates owe to Zayed
Their very Souls, from outside influence freed.
No praise from Roderic can increase his Fame.
Steadfastness was the Essence of his name.
The changing years grow Gardens in the Sand
And build new Roads to Sand which stays the same.
But Hearts are not rebuilt, nor Seed resown.
What was, remains, essentially Alone.
Until the Golden Messenger, all-wise,
Calls out: "Come now, my Friend!" - and All is known
- Roderic Fenwick Owen
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
About Tenderd
Started: May 2018
Founder: Arjun Mohan
Based: Dubai
Size: 23 employees
Funding: Raised $5.8m in a seed fund round in December 2018. Backers include Y Combinator, Beco Capital, Venturesouq, Paul Graham, Peter Thiel, Paul Buchheit, Justin Mateen, Matt Mickiewicz, SOMA, Dynamo and Global Founders Capital
About%20My%20Father
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The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
