Trump now one of most consequential American presidents | Politics | News

A year ago, newly sworn-in President Donald Trump announced in his inaugural address that the “golden age of America begins right now”. From that moment, he instituted a “shock and awe” strategy of steering the country hard to the political Right. Having experienced the first Trump Administration, the world thought it was prepared, but it did not expect what followed.

On Trump’s first day, he signed 26 executive orders to create US energy independence, end DEI policies, undertake major civil service reform and secure America’s border.

What presidents usually pursue over the course of four years, President Trump has attempted in just one. With his political comeback secured, President Trump was ready to remake America into the MAGA dream of his first term, free from “the blob”, old GOP insiders, and the threat of impeachment or false Russian collusion accusations. Excessive Democrat lawfare during the Biden years secured his power in the Republican Party with immense fidelity. His loyal team shot out of the gate with the confidence of veterans, knowing they were making history.

Domestically, Trump’s first focus was to close the southern border. Eight million illegal immigrants crossed into the US over the previous four years, averaging 155,000 encounters per month. By the summer, the encounters were below 100. Through an executive order, he labelled drug cartels terrorists and ICE started deporting them, alongside US forces launching lethal boat strikes in the renamed Gulf of America.

Another major focus has been American energy policy. Once again leaving the Paris Climate Accords and stopping the war against fossil fuels, the United States a year later is now the first country to export more than 100 million metric tons of LNG in a year.

Trump’s flagship piece of legislation, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, undid many Biden-era green tax credits, and introduced no tax on tips and no tax on overtime-pay. It also made lower income tax rates permanent and doubled child tax credits. Alongside visa reforms like the “Gold Visa” and their tariff strategy, which brought in $264 billion in 2025, the Administration hopes this economic recipe will buoy the US economy in the tough upcoming midterms.

Despite being elected on a domestic agenda, President Trump has given significant attention to international affairs. The “President of Peace” has claimed to have brokered the end of eight wars, most notably securing the return of all the Israeli hostages and a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. Unafraid to use hard power when necessary, American military might has impressed the world with missions from Operation Midnight Hammer, targeting the Iranian uranium enrichment programme, to Operation Absolute Resolve, arresting Venezuela’s President Nicholas Maduro on narco-terrorism charges.

Most controversially however, Trump has reshaped geopolitics into one bifurcated between the US and China: Trump’s Corollary. This shift has made it difficult for the new and old worlds to find common ground as well as on tariffs, ceasefires, defence spending or free speech. The Trump Administration and the Europeans are speaking past each other.

The shake-up started with Vice President Vance’s Munich Security Conference Speech, which spoke about “censorship” and Europe’s “fear of their own voters”. Soon after came Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs. To balance the US trade deficit, President Trump declared a national emergency over trade deficits, imposing “reciprocal tariffs” starting with a universal 10% on imports, confusing allies. Sixty-five percent of Americans disapprove of this policy. Any day now, the US Supreme Court will rule on its constitutionality.

Turning to Greenland, the Americans believe they are the only ones who have the weapons and capabilities to defend the Arctic and the potential to unearth the rare minerals. In the 1951 agreement with the Danes, the Americans must ask permission first to act there but it’s always granted. However, the Trump Administration does not want the extra step and seems unconcerned about potential effects on faithful diplomatic relations.

At the one-year anniversary of President Trump’s second term, the question is can the “art of the deal” change geopolitics and keep the NATO alliance intact?

Whether one likes him or not, President Trump is now one of the most consequential presidents in American history. His embrace and deployment of American self-belief and military prowess have set him apart from recent predecessors. Although, dramatic change always comes at a cost, the question remains whether the old alliances that held together in the previous world order will adapt to the new one.