Foreign policy and international relationships
After launching a military operation in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, Trump paused it within 24 hours and threatened on Truth Social that 'the bombing starts' at 'a much higher level' if Iran doesn't accept his peace terms.
Trump joined Israel in nearly 900 strikes on Iran in 12 hours, killing Supreme Leader Khamenei, opening an undeclared war that he later told Congress he didn't need their authorization to wage.
National Security Adviser Mike Waltz accidentally added The Atlantic's editor to a Signal group where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was sharing the targets, weapons, and timing of imminent U.S. strikes on Yemen — and Trump's first instinct was to defend everyone involved.
Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to fly Venezuelan men — and at least one Maryland man with explicit court protection from removal — to El Salvador's CECOT prison, then defied a federal judge's order to turn the planes around and a unanimous Supreme Court order to bring one of them back.
Trump imposed or threatened sweeping tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico, and China, roiling global markets and sparking fears of a trade war, before pausing some tariffs after last-minute negotiations with neighboring countries.
Within hours of taking office, Trump signed dozens of executive orders targeting immigration, withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement, ending federal DEI programs, and declaring a national emergency at the southern border.
The House of Representatives impeached President Trump on two articles — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress — making him the third U.S. president to be impeached.
A whistleblower revealed that Trump had pressured Ukraine's president to investigate political rival Joe Biden during a July phone call, while withholding military aid, leading to Trump's first impeachment by the House of Representatives.
After Saudi agents murdered and dismembered journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Trump refused to hold Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman accountable, prioritizing arms deals over human rights and press freedom.
Standing beside Russian President Vladimir Putin at a joint press conference in Helsinki, Trump sided with Putin's denial of election interference over the unanimous assessment of U.S. intelligence agencies, stunning allies and drawing bipartisan condemnation.
The Trump administration's 'zero tolerance' immigration policy resulted in thousands of children being forcibly separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border, with some families never reunited, provoking widespread outrage and comparisons to internment camps.
During a bipartisan meeting on immigration, Trump asked why the U.S. was accepting immigrants from 'shithole countries' in Africa and Haiti rather than from places like Norway, laying bare the racial animus behind his immigration agenda.
At a rally in Florida, Trump referenced a nonexistent terrorist attack 'last night in Sweden,' baffling the Swedish government and drawing international ridicule. He later claimed he was referring to a Fox News segment.
National Security Advisor Michael Flynn was forced to resign after it was revealed he had lied to Vice President Pence about his conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak regarding U.S. sanctions.
As multiple officials confirmed intelligence intercepts showed Michael Flynn lied about discussing sanctions with Russia's ambassador, senior White House aides refused to defend him on national television and Trump remained conspicuously silent.
Just one week into his presidency, Trump signed an executive order banning entry from seven Muslim-majority countries, triggering immediate chaos at airports and a wave of federal court challenges.
At a press conference, Trump publicly called on Russia to find Hillary Clinton's deleted emails, saying 'Russia, if you're listening,' in a moment that would become central to investigations of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The Trump Organization continued pursuing a deal to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, engaging in negotiations with Russian developers that would extend secretly through the 2016 presidential campaign.
Donald Trump brought the Miss Universe pageant to Moscow in partnership with Russian oligarch Aras Agalarov, an event that deepened Trump's financial ties to Russia and later drew scrutiny from federal investigators.
