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During last year's presidential campaign, Donald Trump constantly repeated his intention to bring about dramatic change as soon as he returned to the White House.

But few expected it to come at such breakneck speed.

In the three months since he took the oath of office, the 47th president has deployed his power in a way that compares to few predecessors.

In stacks of bound documents signed off with a presidential pen and policy announcements made in all caps on social media, his blizzard of executive actions has reached into every corner of American life.

To his supporters, the shock-and-awe approach has been a tangible demonstration of an all-action president, delivering on his promises and enacting long-awaited reforms.

But his critics fear he is doing irreparable harm to the country and overstepping his powers - crippling important government functions and perhaps permanently reshaping the presidency in the process.

Here are six turning points from the first 100 days.

The White House has moved aggressively to wrest control of spending from Congress, unilaterally defunding programmes and entire agencies.

This erosion of its power has been largely met by silence on Capitol Hill, where Trump's Republicans hold slim majorities in both chambers.

The courts have been more resistant, with well over 100 rulings so far halting presidential actions they deem to be unconstitutional, according to a tally by the New York Times.

Some of the biggest clashes have been over Trump's immigration crackdown. In March, more than 200 Venezuelans deemed a danger to the US, were deported to El Salvador, many under sweeping wartime powers and without the usual process of evidence being presented in court.

A Republican-appointed judge on a federal appeals court said he was "shocked" by how the White House had acted.

"Now the branches come too close to grinding irrevocably against one another in a conflict that promises to diminish both," Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson wrote.

Trump and White House officials have said they will obey court rulings, even as the president lambasts many of the judges who issue them and the administration at times moves slowly to fully comply.

It all amounts to a unique test of a constitutional system that for centuries has operated under a certain amount of good faith.

While Trump has been at the centre of this push, one of his principal agents of chaos is a man who wasn't born in the US, but who built a business empire there.

The economy was the biggest concern for US voters in November's election, and Trump rode a tide of deep unhappiness over Biden's handling of inflation all the way to victory.

His pledge to cut prices, pare back government regulation and boost homegrown industry was a pro-business message warmly welcomed on Wall Street and by many working Americans.

But as Trump tries to follow through on his promise of new tariffs, the economic costs, at least in the short term, have become painfully apparent.

The stock market is sinking, interest rates - including for home mortgages - are rising, and consumer confidence is down. Unemployment is also ticking up, in part due to the growing number of federal employees forced out of their jobs.

The Federal Reserve Bank, along with economic experts, warn Trump's plan will shrink economic growth and possibly lead to a recession.

While the president's approval ratings on his handling of the economy have tumbled, many of his supporters are sticking with him. And in former industrial areas hollowed out by the loss of manufacturing jobs, there are hopes that tariffs could even the global playing field.

"Trump has earned back the respect," says truck driver Ben Maurer in Pennsylvania, referring to tariffs on China. "We are still the force to be reckoned with."

Economic concerns have contributed to Trump's overall decline in the polls, but in one key area, he is still largely on solid ground in the public's eye - immigration.