When President Barack Obama took office in January 2009, he inherited a crippled American economy. As a direct result of the 2008 Financial Crisis, the country was experiencing a recession worse than any other in the history of the United States--unemployment had reached nearly 8 percent under President George W. Bush. While there was undoubtedly more that President Obama could have done, the American economy regained its footing under his administration. Under his leadership, the unemployment rate was cut almost in half, and almost 10 million non-farming jobs were created, approximately five times the number of jobs created by President Obama's predecessor. Though the American economy is still feeling the aftershocks of the Great Recession, President Obama left the country's economy stronger than he found it. 

President Donald Trump, despite having been in office for less than a week, has already fanned the flames of economic anxiety. Despite his (frequently debunked) reputation as a savvy businessman, members of the Federal Reserve have already stated that they are experiencing "considerable uncertainty" regarding the potential impact of President Trump's policies on the American economy. Unlike President Obama, President Trump is highly volatile and unpredictable--these qualities make it difficult for federal agencies and investors to gauge the stability of any American market or trade deal.

Within just three days of being sworn into office, President Trump signed an executive order ending the United States' participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The TPP was an agreement among Pacific-bordering nations to increase trade between participating parties by drastically decreasing tariffs. Ultimately, President Obama had hoped that the TPP would not only bolster economic growth, but would serve to strengthen the political and economic ties of the eleven other TPP member states--Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Chile and Peru. The TPP would have created an economic powerhouse in the Pacific that was to hopefully compete with China--as the BBC pointed out: "The 12 countries involved have a collective population of about 800 million - almost double that of the European Union's single market. The 12-nation would-be bloc is already responsible for 40% of world trade." By withdrawing his support, President Trump has effectively nullified the partnership as a whole, as it needed to be ratified by all twelve member states in order to take effect.

Critics of the TPP argue that the deal places too great an emphasis on globalization as opposed to increasing the number of American manufacturing jobs. President Trump stated: "We are going to stop the ridiculous trade deals that have taken everybody out of our country and taken companies out of our country, and it's going to be reversed... I think you're going to have a lot of companies coming back to our country." Despite his assertions, economists worry that by refusing to sign onto the agreement, President Trump has both handed China the opportunity to fill a major power vacuum in the region and provoked China into a potential trade war. 

On the same day as his withdrawal from the TPP, President Trump signed another executive order issuing a hiring freeze across all federal agencies. Mr. Trump hopes to drastically reduce the size of the federal workforce and has already targeted departments that he would like to downsize. Though the socioeconomic implications of this executive order may seem insignificant, it is worth noting that federal jobs have been crucial in maintaining America's middle class since President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal back in the 1930s. The Keynesian idea of increasing government spending was implemented by creating and growing federal agencies--keeping our middle class strong and our unemployment numbers low. Through this executive order, President Trump is dismissing a core tenant of what has kept the American economy grounded for over seventy years.

While we have yet to see the direct impact of President Trump's new policies, it seems as though we are currently standing on shaky ground. Mr. Trump has repeatedly emphasized that everything he does will seek to put "America first," focusing inwards on domestic growth as opposed to globalization. Through executive orders, he seeks to redefine the the American economy.