President Trump swept into the White Home with a whirlwind of a primary week, shortly making good on a variety of marketing campaign guarantees whereas embracing the trimmings of the presidency.
Trump’s first full week of his second time period noticed him signal dozens of government orders, communicate every day with members of the press and use a number of the similar language about his critics that sparked fears that he would use the presidency for retribution.
Listed here are 5 takeaways from Trump’s week again within the White Home.
Fast motion on immigration
Trump wasted no time this week following via on his pledge to drastically reshape the nation’s method to immigration.
The president on his first day in workplace took a variety of actions to severely prohibit immigration whereas driving a larger navy presence on the border. He paused refugee admissions, declared a nationwide emergency on the southern border, designated cartels as international terrorist organizations, shut down an app utilized by asylum-seekers to make appointments on the border and tried to finish birthright citizenship.
Whereas the birthright citizenship order was swiftly blocked by a federal decide, Trump and his aides have been fast to tout different methods through which his immigration crackdown has come to fruition.
Trump’s Division of Homeland Safety additionally approved brokers to hold out arrests at delicate areas together with faculties, church buildings and companies, reversing a Biden administration rule to not make arrests in what was deemed as “sensitive areas.”
Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt touted that the administration had began utilizing navy plane to deport immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally.
“President Trump is sending a strong and clear message to the entire world: if you illegally enter the United States of America, you will face severe consequences,” Leavitt mentioned.
Trump nonetheless loves the press
The president spoke to the press every single day this week, beginning on Monday proper after his inauguration when he took questions for over an hour whereas signing government orders within the Oval Workplace.
He talked to the press once more on Tuesday from the White Home whereas saying a brand new synthetic intelligence funding and he was interviewed by Fox Information host Sean Hannity on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Trump took a number of extra questions from the Oval Workplace whereas signing extra government orders.
And, Trump answered an array of questions all through Friday, beginning with when he left the White Home for a visit to North Carolina and once more throughout briefings within the Tar Heel state whereas surveying injury by Hurricane Helene.
Trump shouldn’t be anticipated to be again on the White Home till Monday night.
It was sufficient to trigger whiplash for the White Home press corps, which had change into accustomed to a sleepier schedule through the Biden years.
“Does Biden ever do information conferences like this?” Trump requested reporters on his first day within the Oval Workplace. “None…And it would be zero for the next infinity.”
Opponents nonetheless prime of thoughts
Trump on the marketing campaign path repeatedly shrugged off questions on whether or not he would search revenge on his critics and rivals by saying he would unite the nation via success.
However after one week, it’s clear Trump’s opponents are nonetheless prime of thoughts, and a few are paying the worth of their federal authorities safety.
The president moved to drag Secret Service safety the Biden administration had granted to former Trump nationwide safety adviser John Bolton, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former Trump official Brian Hook. All three have been granted extra safety due to threats towards them from Iran.
He additionally moved to finish the safety element for Anthony Fauci, who helped coordinate the COVID-19 response as director of Nationwide Institute of Allergy and Infectious Illnesses on the Nationwide Institutes of Well being throughout Trump’s first time period. Fauci retired from public service throughout Biden’s time period.
Bolton particularly has change into an outspoken critic of Trump, whereas Fauci bought severely underneath Trump’s pores and skin through the preliminary pandemic response, changing into a nemesis to the GOP. Pompeo briefly thought of a 2024 presidential marketing campaign and has at instances been vaguely important of his former boss, although he endorsed Trump in 2024 and has been sharply important of Democrats.
Trump additionally raised alarms when he steered to Fox’s Hannity that former President Biden made a mistake by not preemptively pardoning himself. Trump went on to counsel his political rivals ought to face the identical authorized battles he did.
“I went through four years of hell. I spent millions of dollars in legal fees and I won, but I did it the hard way,” Trump informed Hannity. “It’s really hard to say that they shouldn’t have to go through it also. It is very hard to say that.”
Concentrate on tradition wars
Trump spent a lot of the primary week in workplace concentrating on points which can be thought of liberal or “woke,” taking goal on the concept of greater than two genders and at range, fairness and inclusion (DEI) packages.
He signed an government order on his first day in workplace that acknowledged solely two sexes, female and male, and directed federal businesses to stop promotion of the idea of gender transition. He mentioned his actions have been a part of a broader marketing campaign promise to rid the nation of what he has known as “transgender insanity.”
The president additionally signed an government order to finish DEI packages throughout the federal authorities and put workers which can be engaged on DEI packages on administrative go away.
Memos have been despatched to federal workers throughout the federal government pushing them to report any efforts to “disguise” range packages and threatening “adverse consequences” for many who don’t comply.
He inspired non-public firms to additionally roll again DEI packages and plenty of have adopted go well with, like Goal, McDonald’s and Walmart.
Trump informed the World Financial Discussion board in a digital speech on Thursday that his administration “has taken action to abolish all discriminatory diversity, equity and inclusion nonsense — and these are policies that were absolute nonsense.”
No motion on tariffs, financial system — but
Trump threatened on the marketing campaign path to impose a 25 p.c tariff on all items from Mexico and Canada and a ten p.c tariff on items from China on his first day in workplace.
As an alternative of imposing these tariffs, he has solely indicated that he would impose 25 p.c tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada starting Feb. 1.
He then invited firms to function within the U.S., warning that they’ll face tariffs in the event that they don’t in his remarks to the World Financial Discussion board.
“My message to every business in the world is very simple, come make your product in America and we will give you among the lowest taxes of any nation of earth… but if you don’t make your product in America then very simply, you will have to pay a tariff,” he mentioned.
The president added, “Under the Trump administration, there will be no better place on earth to create jobs, build factories, or grow a company than right here in the good old USA.”
Trump’s lack of direct motion on the financial system in his first week has given a gap to Democrats, who’ve accused the president of failing to ship on his sweeping guarantees to shortly decrease prices. Trump repeatedly bashed Biden and Vice President Harris all through the marketing campaign for inflation and the excessive price of products like gasoline and groceries.
Some Democrats seized on an government order Trump signed this week that rescinded a Biden administration order geared toward decreasing prescription drug prices.
“It’s striking to me that President Trump hasn’t produced a single executive order yet that would make it easier to buy a home or afford groceries,” Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) posted on X. “I’d love to come back to the desk on bipartisan options to truly decrease prices for People.
