{"id":141577,"date":"2026-01-20T14:19:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T14:19:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/141577\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T14:19:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T14:19:14","slug":"11-stunning-moves-by-trump-in-his-first-year-back-in-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/141577\/","title":{"rendered":"11 stunning moves by Trump in his first year back in office"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

During his first term, President Trump was both praised and condemned for being wildly unpredictable, pushing boundaries and disregarding long-standing norms in Washington.<\/p>\n

During the 2024 presidential campaign, then-Vice President Kamala Harris \u2014 Trump\u2019s opponent \u2014 spoke directly to his volatile leadership style in her final pitch to voters, saying their choice would determine \u201cwhether we have a country rooted in freedom for every American or ruled by chaos and division.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, Americans returned Trump to the White House. And in the year since, they have watched Trump once again take stunning and unprecedented action \u2014 sometimes in line with his campaign promises, other times in direct conflict with them.<\/p>\n

Deploying immigration forces, troops \"Chicago <\/p>\n

Residents and protesters clash with federal agents in Chicago on Oct. 14.<\/p>\n

(Joshua Lott \/ Washington Post via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

During his campaign, Trump promised to launch<\/a> the \u201clargest deportation operation in American history.\u201d The rollout has been tense as masked agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other agencies have swarmed into American cities and detained large numbers of people \u2014 including many with no criminal convictions<\/a> and some who are U.S. citizens<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The agents\u2019 use of aggressive tactics and deadly force, including in the recent fatal shooting<\/a> of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minnesota, has sparked protests and concern among local leaders and members of Congress<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Trump has responded to some protests by ordering National Guard troops into cities, including Los Angeles. He also sent U.S. Marines<\/a> into L.A. Those deployments were challenged in court, and \u2014 after a loss in the Supreme Court<\/a> \u2014 Trump ended them. However, he has since threatened to send troops into Minnesota by invoking the Insurrection Act.<\/p>\n

Threatening to take Greenland \"Vice <\/p>\n

Vice President JD Vance arrives in Pituffik, Greenland, in March.<\/p>\n

(Jim Watson \/ Pool \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Trump has repeatedly threatened to seize Greenland from Denmark, a NATO ally, and the White House has declined to rule out military force.<\/p>\n

Despite an existing agreement allowing the U.S. to maintain a strong military presence there, Trump has said full U.S. control of Greenland is necessary for regional security and to prevent Russia or China from taking control. \u201cAnything less than that is unacceptable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A U.S. seizure of the island would mark a stunning abandonment of NATO, which has linked the security of the U.S. and Europe for more than 75 years. European leaders have staunchly opposed<\/a> any such move and called on the Trump administration to back off. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has said a U.S. takeover of Greenland would end the NATO alliance. <\/p>\n

Demolishing the East Wing \"Architect <\/p>\n

Architect Shalom Baranes shows a site plan for a new $400-million White House ballroom during a meeting this month of the National Capital Planning Commission.<\/p>\n

(Chip Somodevilla \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

In October, Trump surprised historic preservationists and other political leaders by demolishing the East Wing<\/a> of the White House, which was built in 1902 under President Theodore Roosevelt and rebuilt in the 1940s under President Franklin D. Roosevelt.<\/p>\n

Trump argued the historic building \u2014 which housed the first lady\u2019s offices for half a century \u2014 needed to be cleared to make way for a $300-million ballroom for state dinners and other large events, which in the past have been hosted in tents on the White House lawn. Some defended the choice, saying a larger hosting space was long overdue.<\/p>\n

Still, the demolition of the iconic site riled many, not least because Trump carried it out without adhering to established processes for altering historic federal buildings \u2014 including by failing to submit his ballroom plans to the National Capital Planning Commission, which oversees renovations and additions to federal buildings in Washington.<\/p>\n

Deposing Maduro of Venezuela \"President <\/p>\n

President Trump and CIA Director John Ratcliffe monitor U.S. military operations in Venezuela, from Trump\u2019s Mar-a-Lago Club on Jan. 3.<\/p>\n

(Molly Riley \/ White House via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

On Jan. 3, Trump announced that U.S. special forces had captured Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro<\/a> and his wife during an overnight military operation involving more than 150 U.S. aircraft entering Venezuelan airspace. Venezuelan authorities said 100 people were killed<\/a>, including Venezuelan and Cuban security forces, and denounced the operation as a violation of Venezuela\u2019s sovereignty.<\/p>\n

Trump administration officials said the operation was to bring Maduro to justice on drug, weapons and conspiracy charges, to which Maduro has pleaded not guilty. Several foreign allies and adversaries, and many Democratic leaders in Congress, denounced the operation as a violation of international law<\/a> that would embolden Russia and China to act with similar regional aggression.<\/p>\n

Trump cited the legal case against Maduro but also Venezuela\u2019s vast oil reserves, which he said would be tapped to uplift Venezuelans, repay debts to American oil companies and fund U.S. oversight of the country. Some critics were surprised Trump was so forthright about his interest in Venezuela\u2019s oil.<\/p>\n

Pardoning Jan. 6 rioters \"Ben <\/p>\n

Ben Pollock awaits the possible release of his children outside of the DC Central Detention Facility on Jan. 20, the day President Trump was sworn in for his second term.<\/p>\n

(Bryan Woolston \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

One of Trump\u2019s first actions in office was to pardon or commute the sentences<\/a> of those involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, in which his supporters beat U.S. Capitol police officers in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying President Biden\u2019s 2020 election.<\/p>\n

Trump had telegraphed that he might pardon some of those charged in the assault, after downplaying the attack and calling them \u201chostages.\u201d However, he surprised many when he pardoned or commuted the sentences of everyone involved \u2014 more than 1,500 people, including those charged and convicted of the most violent attacks on officers.<\/a><\/p>\n

Among those freed by Trump was David Dempsey<\/a>, a Van Nuys man who had been described by federal prosecutors as \u201cone of the most violent rioters.\u201d Dempsey had been sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to assaulting a law enforcement officer with a dangerous weapon and breaching the seat of Congress.<\/p>\n

Berating Zelensky of Ukraine \"President <\/p>\n

President Trump and Vice President JD Vance meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office on Feb. 28. Vance said Zelensky was being \u201cdisrespectful\u201d and had failed to thank Trump for his support, even though Zelensky had thanked him.<\/p>\n

(Andrew Harnik \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

In February, Trump and Vice President JD Vance raised diplomatic eyebrows around the globe when they publicly berated Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky<\/a> in an unprecedented exchange in the Oval Office, accusing the U.S. ally of being ungrateful for American help in combating Russian attacks. <\/p>\n

Vance said Zelensky was being \u201cdisrespectful\u201d and had failed to thank Trump for his support, even though Zelensky had thanked him.<\/p>\n

Then, after Zelensky said Ukraine would require security guarantees as part of any deal to end the war, and that a ceasefire was untenable because Russia would use it to regroup, Trump laid into him, saying, \u201cThe problem is, I\u2019ve empowered you to be a tough guy. And I don\u2019t think you\u2019d be a tough guy without the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said Zelensky would make a deal with Russia or the U.S. would \u201cbe out,\u201d which he said wouldn\u2019t be \u201cpretty\u201d for Ukraine. \u201cYou don\u2019t have the cards,\u201d Trump said, before accusing Zelensky of \u201cgambling with World War III.\u201d<\/p>\n

Investigating political opponents \"Atty. <\/p>\n

Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi departs after testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee in October.<\/p>\n

(Alex Wong \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

One after another, Trump\u2019s political opponents have been targeted with investigations led by political appointees in the Justice Department, often despite career prosecutors raising concerns.<\/p>\n

Several have been pursued by Bill Pulte, the Trump-appointed director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, for allegedly committing fraud when securing home mortgages years ago, including by claiming multiple homes as their primary residence. Mortgage allegations have been made against Sen. Adam Schiff<\/a> (D-Calif.), Rep. Eric Swalwell<\/a> (D-Dublin), New York Atty. Gen. Letitia James<\/a> and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.<\/a> <\/p>\n

In addition, former FBI Director James Comey<\/a> was charged with allegedly lying to Congress and obstruction. And just this month, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell<\/a> said the Justice Department had threatened the central bank with a criminal indictment over Powell\u2019s testimony about Fed building renovations \u2014 which he said was a pretext for the administration to undermine the Fed\u2019s independence<\/a> in setting interest rates.<\/p>\n

Trump has defended the investigations as legitimate efforts to hold powerful people accountable for alleged crimes. However, many experts have argued the cases smack of political persecution. Charges against James and Comey were tossed.<\/a><\/p>\n

Instigating tariff wars \"President <\/p>\n

President Trump displays a list of tariffs he announced at a White House event in April.<\/p>\n

(Chip Somodevilla\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Trump has repeatedly destabilized global markets by instituting, lifting and reimposing sweeping tariffs on foreign nations. On April 2, Trump held a \u201cLiberation Day\u201d event<\/a> at the White House where he announced \u201creciprocal tariffs\u201d against nations around the world \u2014 which he said were in response to the U.S. for decades being \u201clooted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump help up a poster board with new tariff rates, including a 67% tariff on China and a 39% tariff on the European Union. He said the latter, a close U.S. ally, is seen as \u201cfriendly,\u201d but \u201cthey rip us off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Experts immediately questioned the methodology Trump used for calculating the figures, said the tariffs were not reciprocal and raised concerns they would destabilize markets and increase costs for American consumers \u2014 which they did.<\/p>\n

The tariffs have also raised billions of dollars<\/a> for the U.S. Treasury, but harmed some of the poorest nations in the world<\/a> and sparked tensions with the nation\u2019s largest trading partners, including China, Canada and Mexico.<\/a><\/p>\n

Bombing Iran\u2019s nuclear sites \"President <\/p>\n

President Trump addresses the nation in June following the announcement that the U.S. had bombed nuclear sites in Iran.<\/p>\n

(Carlos Barria \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

In June, the U.S. joined Israel in attacking Iran,<\/a> sending American stealth bombers to drop \u201cbunker-buster\u201d bombs on three sites associated with Tehran\u2019s nuclear program. The attack followed Israeli strikes to destroy Iran\u2019s air defenses and offensive missile capabilities.<\/p>\n

In an address to the nation, Trump said Iran\u2019s key nuclear facilities were \u201ccompletely and fully obliterated.\u201d Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian condemned the attacks, saying the bombings \u201cshowed that the United States is the primary instigator of the Zionist regime\u2019s hostile actions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many worried the attack would be the precursor to a larger conflict, but Tehran\u2019s response was muted.<\/p>\n

Waffling on the Epstein files \"Donald <\/p>\n

Donald Trump in shown in 2000 at Mar-a-Lago with his then-girlfriend and future wife, Melania Knauss, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.<\/p>\n

(Davidoff Studios Photography \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

During his campaign, Trump promised to release the Epstein files \u2014 a trove of records from investigations into disgraced billionaire and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a one-time friend of Trump\u2019s who died in federal prison in 2019. Many Americans, including Trump\u2019s supporters, have long demanded the records, in part to assess whether other powerful men were complicit or involved in the abuse.<\/p>\n

However, after taking office, Trump \u2014 who has long denied any wrongdoing \u2014 worked to prevent the release, pressuring members of Congress not to back a bill mandating it. Not until Congress appeared poised to pass the bill anyway did Trump relent, reverse course<\/a> and sign the measure into law.<\/p>\n

The Justice Department released a massive but extensively redacted trove of records<\/a> in response to the new law in December. They contained references to Trump being involved in or aware of Epstein\u2019s sexual abuse, which the White House called untrue.<\/a><\/p>\n

Declaring end to birthright citizenship<\/p>\n

Trump has signed a wave of executive orders radically altering U.S. policy and the federal government. One that stands out is his order purporting to end birthright citizenship for the U.S.-born children of many immigrants \u2014 which is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment of 1868, which states, \u201cAll persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the United States and the state wherein they reside.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Trump administration has argued that language applies to freed slaves, not the children of immigrants in the country temporarily or illegally. California, other states and private groups challenged the order in court, and federal judges have put it on hold.<\/p>\n

Last month, the Supreme Court said it would hear arguments<\/a> on Trump\u2019s order \u2014 teeing up a major test of Trump\u2019s power.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"During his first term, President Trump was both praised and condemned for being wildly unpredictable, pushing boundaries and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":141578,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[1794,3573,1752,5665,71254,48,52,51,47,50,49,346,6843,592,27469,13967,1519,6964,9298,2805,71255],"class_list":["post-141577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-attack","tag-china","tag-congress","tag-first-year","tag-foreign-nation","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-office","tag-operation","tag-people","tag-russia","tag-tariff","tag-trump","tag-u-s-immigration","tag-venezuela","tag-white-house","tag-zelensky"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}