On 20th January 2025, Donald J. Trump took oath as the 47th President of the United States of America and became only the second president to take oath for the second nonconsecutive term after Grover Cleveland in 1893. Also, Trump becomes the oldest US President to take oath at 78.
On his first day in the Oval Office, which he entered after a four-year lapse, he signed over 48 Executive Orders and reversed over a hundred Biden orders. Notably, he fulfilled his election promises when he entered the White House. Right or wrong, that can be debated, but there is little doubt that no US President has been so prepared at the time of his inauguration as Trump this time.
Even if Trump is the US President for the second term, he remains an outsider to the US Establishment. Therefore, many of his acts would be seen as beyond the comprehension of a routine political leader. For instance, he “declared an emergency at the US-Mexico border, vowing to deploy troops to the region, including the National Guard.” This decision may cause a significant humanitarian crisis at the southern borders. Still, Trump has already warned that he is willing to deploy additional troops to deal with the evolving situation.
At the international level, Trump has succeeded in getting a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel.
Next in line, and perhaps one of the most dangerous orders, was Trump’s declaration of “certain international cartels and organisations, such as Tren de Aragua and MS-13, as foreign terrorist organisations and announced plans to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to target them.” It is dangerous because the South American cartels are extremely notorious and do not hesitate to eliminate elements which try to hinder their illegal operations. If Trump successfully harnesses these cartels, he will have done an excellent service for the US and the entire Western Hemisphere.
On his Day 1 in office, President Trump reinstated the “Remain in Mexico” policy, meaning that asylum seekers could not enter the US while their cases were being processed. Even the app that facilitated them to book their appointments and track their cases was cancelled. Trump is coming very hard, as promised during the election campaign, on the illegal immigrants.
Perhaps the most important executive order that Trump signed soon after his inauguration was “an attempt to end birthright citizenship for those born to undocumented immigrants.” The order already faces legal challenges because the US Constitution protects Birthright citizenship. The new order implies that (starting 30 days after the order) the newborn babies are not to be recognised as citizens if their mothers were “unlawfully present” at the time of birth and their father was not a US citizen or a lawful permanent resident. The outcome of the legal battle may take some time, but the order has undoubtedly caused a lot of uncertainty among the people who only hoped to become legal due to their newborns.
Interestingly, Trump again signed an order to withdraw the US from the Paris Climate Agreement. One can recall that he had done so during his first presidency, too, but Biden had rejoined. Here, it is necessary to mention that the US is the world’s second-largest greenhouse gas emitter after China.
Several orders regarding federal government employees were issued, but the most notable was the pardoning of the January 6 “defendants charged with participating in the Capitol riot.” This block pardon will benefit some 1500 Trump supporters. Simply put, Trump is on his way to fulfilling his election promises on a fast-track basis, but that is to suit domestic politics.
At the international level, Trump has succeeded in getting a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel and ensuring that hostages are released and humanitarian aid reaches Gaza. This is a significant achievement and a fulfilment of his most important promises made to Muslim voters in the US. One can only hope this temporary ceasefire will make way for the end of 15 months of one-sided war.
Seeking foreign investment, one of the most essential elements for successfully implementing MAGA, Trump has insisted that Saudi Arabia invest at least one trillion dollars over the next four years. He also called upon one of the largest oil producers to significantly reduce the oil prices so that the Ukrainian war could be stopped. These two moves for Saudi Arabia are significant and will be monitored keenly by major stakeholders in the evolving geopolitics.
In this short article, I have only highlighted a few important orders and moves that President Trump made on his first day in the Oval Office, however, in Part II, I will delve into the probable outcomes of these actions and their impact on the accomplishments of MAGA objectives.
(To Be Concluded)
The writer of this article has authored three international books: “Nuclear Deterrence and Conflict Management Between India and Pakistan” “South Asia Needs Hybrid Peace” and “Understanding Sun Tzu and the Art of Hybrid War.”