Trump’s first hundred days and Judge Hannah Dugan’s arrest

Today marks the one hundredth day of President Trump’s second term, and he plans to celebrate it by sitting down with ABC News tonight for his first broadcast interview since taking office in January. But while the interview with ABC will be significant, it’s hardly the only opportunity he’s taking to try and frame the start of his second term in a more favorable light.

Trump is scheduled to take part in a two-hour town hall with NewsNation on Wednesday before delivering the commencement address at the University of Alabama on Thursday. And all of this after having spent much of last week sitting down for interviews with Time magazine and The Atlantic.

In his interview with Time, he stated, “I feel that we’ve had a very successful presidency in one hundred days,” though he cautioned that “it takes a little time in transition. You know, we’re resetting a table.”

The notion that it’s too early to judge Trump’s presidency has some merit, considering there are still 1,361 more days before someone else steps into the position. However, that hasn’t stopped many from trying, and the latest results indicate that the public’s patience may be starting to wear thin.

A conflict Trump should lose

While the numbers vary depending on the poll, the general consensus seems to be that roughly 40 percent of Americans approve of how Trump’s term has gone so far. And while he still enjoys a 75 percent approval rating among Republicans, even that number has started to fall in recent weeks.

The biggest reason for his declining popularity is economic. Less than 40 percent of Americans agree with his stance on tariffs, while the state of inflation was seen in a similarly dismal light.

A majority still approve of his approach to border security—the only issue where he polled positively in Fox News’s latest study—yet his ratings on immigration as a whole are now underwater. This shift is largely due to the belief that he has become overly reliant on executive orders and the fear that his approach will eventually lead him into a direct confrontation with the judiciary—a conflict that as many as 88 percent of Americans believe he should lose.

And few stories have epitomized the nature of Trump’s perceived battle with the courts better than the arrest of Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan last week.

Did Dugan deserve arrest?

When Dugan was first arrested in her courthouse last Friday, the initial reaction online revolved primarily around the belief that this was a sign of Trump fighting back against the courts and the judges who opposed his agenda. But while there may be some truth to those allegations, there is more to the story than how it was first portrayed.

The controversy began when Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a Mexican national who entered the country illegally after having been previously deported in 2013, appeared before Dugan’s court on charges of battery and domestic abuse. 

Agents from ICE, the Department of Homeland Security, and local law enforcement were waiting outside of her courtroom when she decided to instruct Flores-Ruiz to use the jury door to exit into a part of the courthouse where he would have a better chance of escape. The plan worked, at least for a time, as agents were forced to chase him down in the streets to make the arrest.

Dugan was then charged with “obstructing or impeding a proceeding before a department or agency of the United States” and with “concealing an individual to prevent his discovery and arrest.”

Unfortunately, the details of her actions were made known long after her story began to make the rounds on social media, and by that point, quite a few on both sides of the aisle held strong opinions regarding her arrest. In the days since, some of that furor has calmed, but a palpable fear still exists about the precedent set by arresting a judge.

Minnesota senator Tina Smith spoke for many when she asked of Dugan’s detention, “Republicans: How is this not a red line for you?” Yet, as Fox News’s Jonathan Turley points out, “What is the ‘red line’ for judges if the allegations are true? This judge is accused of conduct that has resulted in charges for other citizens.”

So, what should we make of this story? And what can it teach us about a better approach to controversial subjects going forward?

A prophecy fulfilled?

Ultimately, the optics of Trump’s administration arresting a judge as his conflict with the judiciary escalates are understandably bad. Chances are that Dugan’s arrest would not have generated nearly the backlash it did if it could not be seen as something of a fulfilled prophecy by those on the left.

At the same time, judges going out of their way to circumvent the application of the law is also problematic. And if the charges against Dugan are accurate—which appears to be the case, though she will get her opportunity to prove otherwise—she did act in a way that warrants arrest.

Could the situation have been avoided by not trying to arrest illegal aliens inside a courthouse? Probably, and there are good arguments as to why waiting elsewhere may be the better path going forward. Yet none of that changes what Dugan did, and her story is a good example of why we need to recognize that multiple ideas can be true at the same time, rather than feeling the need to choose between them.

A price we must be willing to pay

Holding competing ideas without defaulting to an often-unnecessary choice between them is a necessary part of discerning the truth. Doing so consistently is difficult, however, since it will typically require us to value what is true over what we may prefer to believe. And that commitment to truth in today’s highly politicized climate will likely lead us to become politically homeless in a world where both sides demand loyalty.

As Christians, is that a price we’re willing to pay?

I hope it is, because if we reach a point where we are more afraid of standing alone than we are of standing apart from God, then we will have much bigger problems than culture wars and judicial conflicts.

So, where is truth on your list of priorities today? Are you ready to choose God’s side over friends, family, or political parties when making that choice is necessary?

There’s only one correct way to answer those questions.

Will God’s answer be your answer today?

Quote of the day:

“Your tribe will always create a narrative that helps you completely avoid accountability. Reject it. Sometimes it is your fault. Sometimes your culture is wrong. Sometimes your opponents get it right.” —Justin Giboney

Our latest website resources:

• Deion Sanders’ advice to his son Shedeur after draft slide
• Massive crowds fill St. Peter’s Square for Pope Francis’s funeral
• The universe smiled this morning
• The funeral of Pope Francis and the papal conclave to follow
• FSU student used chewing gum to survive mass shooting