1. United States
2. Iowa
3. Letter

I read your piece in the Iowa State Daily titled “100 Days of Promises Kept Under President Trump,” and I have to say—publishing that in a college newspaper feels especially insulting. It reads like you assume students and young voters won’t fact-check you or connect the dots between policy decisions and their real-world consequences. Your piece boasts about “promises kept,” but you conveniently leave out the damage this administration is already doing—especially to places like Iowa State University. There’s no mention of the massive changes to the Department of Education that have directly hurt students here: the dismantling of DEI programs, the unnecessary revocation of student visas with little explanation, and funding cuts that have led to canceled graduate offerings. These aren’t distant headlines. These are things happening right now—on this campus, in this city. You also don’t mention the job losses at USDA and related federal research —cuts that hit Ames squarely. This is a city that depends on those agencies for stability, opportunity, and innovation. The ripple effects are already being felt. And in a town where 11% of the population is foreign-born, the message being sent by this administration—and your silence on these issues—is loud and clear: they don’t belong. That may play well with certain political donors, but it doesn’t serve your constituents here. And let’s be honest: celebrating the effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act is a strange flex in a student newspaper. Students are among the biggest beneficiaries of the ACA—especially those staying on their parents’ insurance until age 26. That option didn’t exist when I was in my 20s. I went years without coverage. So no, stripping that away isn’t something to brag about. And no one is buying the “repeal and replace” line anymore. Everyone remembers Trump saying there was a “concept” instead of a plan. That clip went viral for a reason. There's been no fraud found - where are the charges? Why do savings numbers keep shrinking? DOGE is a liability, not an accomplishment. How much are saving on litigation? You say Trump has “restored law and order,” while ignoring his constant attacks on the judiciary. Courts are the backbone of law and order. Destroying trust in the judiciary is an attack on democracy. Let’s not pretend these “accomplishments” are victories. Nearly everything you cite is from executive orders. In reality, you’ve made a great case for how ineffective your party has been at governing. If Republicans in Congress were doing their jobs, they wouldn’t need the executive branch to carry the entire agenda. I'll give you credit for having guts to push propaganda in this town about the “success” of an administration that’s visibly harming the very people reading your column. That kind of political theater takes nerve. Let us know when you schedule your Story County town hall.