A year has passed since Donald Trump was sworn in for the second time to “preserve, protect and defend” the U.S. Constitution. Since then, the world has not been the same. With a focus on the America First agenda, the U.S. president has largely put the rules-based world order out of play and formulated his own guidelines. Here is Trump's first year in office in bullet form:
The New US Security Strategy: NATO, Venezuela and Greenland
A warning of “civilizational extinction” in Europe, an end to global mass migration, American “supremacy” in Latin America, and dominance in the Western Hemisphere. In December, the United States published its new security strategy.
Less than a month later, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were captured in a military operation in Caracas. They were taken to the United States, where Maduro was charged, among other things, with narco-terrorism. Trump has announced that the United States will "govern" Venezuela for a period of time, including the country's oil industry.
In parallel, the president reiterated his threats against (Danish) Greenland, which he believes the U.S. needs from a “national security perspective.” This led to crisis meetings in the EU and questions about what it would mean for the military alliance NATO if one member attacked another.
Regarding NATO, Trump has continued to demand that European members in particular increase their defense spending. And the Pentagon has told Europe that by 2027 it must take over the bulk of NATO's responsibilities within Europe.
The wars in Gaza and Ukraine
During the election campaign, Trump promised a quick end to the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. His envoys have been flying to the conflict areas, and in early October a peace agreement between Israel and Hamas was signed. However, the situation in Gaza remains difficult and there are questions about the settlement and the future governance of the Gaza Strip.
In Ukraine, the attacks continue. Trump has admitted that ending the Russian war of aggression has been harder than he thought. In August, he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, and he has met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy several times (including the disastrous February meeting that degenerated into an argument). The U.S. has presented draft peace agreements, which have been criticized as being too favorable to Russia.
A Nobel Prize wish
Trump has repeatedly said he wants the Nobel Peace Prize. In a speech to the UN General Assembly last fall, the president claimed to have ended seven wars and called himself a peacemaker – while also giving the international community the boot.
Experts say that Trump is not acting in the spirit of Nobel. Critics claim that the path the U.S. has now taken is imperialistic and puts the rules-based world order, where democracy and international law are the watchwords, out of play.
The global trade war
“Tariffs are the most beautiful word in the dictionary,” the president has claimed time and again.
It is well known that Trump believes the U.S. has been treated unfairly in world trade and that punitive tariffs are the right way to fight back. In April, he announced tariffs on goods from virtually the entire world. Some have since been put on hold, others are still under negotiation – and markets have been chaotic at times.
Economists have warned, among other things, that the tariffs could lead to higher inflation at home, but the effects are still difficult to assess.
A capital city to Trump's taste
This summer, real estate mogul Trump began a facelift for his hometown of Washington, D.C., aimed at creating rat-free and safe streets, more beautiful parks, and reduced crime (the police force was federalized and the National Guard was sent in). He also fought with the state-funded Smithsonian to get a more “patriotic and success-oriented” focus on its exhibitions.
In October, there was a sudden demolition of the East Wing of the White House to make way for a large gold ballroom that will be ready for the United States' 250th birthday on July 4. Trump also wants to erect a golden triumphal arch - an "Arc de Trump".
ICE, mass deportations and border control
Trump has for years accused migrants who are in the United States illegally of violent crimes and drug trafficking and promised mass deportations. This spring, he invoked a law from 1798 to use “all means possible” against what he said were criminal gang members. Mass raids on undocumented immigrants have led to protests and legal battles, but also reduced immigration.
Trump's use of the National Guard in cities, mainly those controlled by Democrats, to quell protests, keep crime in check, and assist in raids against undocumented immigrants has sparked outrage.
In January, federal immigration police ICE shot and killed a mother of three in Minneapolis, leading to major protests.
Shrunken state and the fight against diversity
The federal government laid off tens of thousands of government employees. The development agency USAID was shut down, the Department of Education was dismantled, cuts were made to the FBI, and climate initiatives were strangled. Among other things.
Trump ordered the closure of state diversity initiatives. He also demanded that the country's prestigious universities do the same, leading to fierce conflicts.
Trump has signed over 220 executive orders this year, more than in his entire first term. The massive package of legislation he pushed through Congress last summer mainly included tax cuts and defense spending.
Trump's historiography
In December, new plaques were placed on the White House portrait wall of former presidents, some of which were written by Trump himself. The texts contain both insults and baseless claims. Among other things, they say that Joe Biden was sleepy and Barack Obama was divisive.
The White House website recently published a reworded description of the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, stating that the deadly incident was a “peaceful protest” and that the police allowed it to degenerate.
Tina Magnergård Bjers/TT
Facts: Donald Trump
TT
79-year-old Donald Trump was the 45th president of the United States between 2017 and 2021. The outspoken Republican failed to be re-elected in 2020 but won the election in 2024. He is now the 47th president of the United States and is in his second term.
Trump was the first president of the United States to have no previous experience as an elected politician or military officer. Instead, he has devoted his life to business. His most prominent promise is to “Make America Great Again.”
Born in Queens, New York. Has a degree in economics with a focus on real estate from the University of Pennsylvania. Trump inherited real estate from his father, and with them as a base built an empire with a focus on hotels and golf courses, among other things.
Donald Trump is a father of five children and married for the third time. His wife and First Lady of the United States is Slovenian-American Melania Trump.
