News analysis
A year into his return, Trump wields executive power with few restraints
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US President Donald Trump has triggered trade wars by imposing tariffs on goods from most countries.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump will mark on Jan 20 his first year back in the White House after a shock-and-awe policy blitz that has expanded presidential power and reshaped America’s relations with the world.
As he enters his second year, he appears increasingly unconstrained, pursuing policies that have deepened divisions in the country.
In recent weeks, Mr Trump ordered a more aggressive federal crackdown
He oversaw an audacious military raid on Venezuela to capture President Nicolas Maduro, revived his controversial plan to take over Greenland, threatened to bomb Iran, and shrugged off concerns over a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
“I don’t care,” Mr Trump told Reuters in an Oval Office interview last week, when asked about the potential economic fallout from the probe into Mr Powell.
Speaking to The New York Times on Jan 7, Mr Trump said the only check on him as commander-in-chief to launch military strikes abroad was “my own morality”
Taken together, Mr Trump’s comments underscore a view of the presidency in which he is constrained chiefly by his own judgment rather than institutional restraint.
Ms Anna Kelly, a White House spokeswoman, said Mr Trump’s first instinct is diplomacy, and he makes all decisions thoughtfully.
But she added he keeps all options on the table and decided to send the US military into Venezuela to capture Mr Maduro
When Mr Trump triumphantly returned to the White House on Jan 20, 2025, for a second term, he vowed to remake the economy, the federal bureaucracy, immigration policy and much of US. cultural life.
He has delivered on much of that agenda, becoming one of the most powerful presidents in modern US history.
‘Lawless behaviour’
Like all American presidents who cannot seek another term, Mr Trump faces the almost inevitable waning of power in his second year.
He remains a deeply unpopular figure: A growing number of Americans are unhappy with his handling of the economy and have concerns about his priorities. But opinions are deeply polarised, and he still enjoys substantial support among his core supporters.
Mr Trump’s approval rating stands at 41 per cent according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, with 58 per cent of adults disapproving of his job performance. The number is low for US presidents in general but not the lowest of Mr Trump’s second term.
“Trump’s total disregard for the rule of law or basic checks and balances has made Americans less safe across the board,” said Democratic strategist Alex Floyd, adding that voters could punish Republicans for what he described as “lawless behaviour”.
In his interview with Reuters, Mr Trump acknowledged that Republicans were in danger of losing control of Congress in the November elections, saying history does not favour the party of the president in midterms.
Earlier, he told a gathering of Republican lawmakers to fight to retain control of Congress, or a newly empowered Democratic majority in the House of Representatives would impeach him for the third time.
When asked by Reuters about Americans’ worries about high prices – the top issue for voters ahead of the elections – Mr Trump repeated his claim the economy was the “strongest” in history, despite data showing stubbornly high inflation.
In recent weeks, Mr Trump has tried to address concerns over the cost of living in speeches and with other actions, but has complicated that effort by simultaneously calling the issue of affordability a Democratic “hoax”.
Most powerful president since 1930s
In his first year back in the White House, Mr Trump has cut the size of the federal civilian workforce, dismantled and closed government agencies, slashed humanitarian aid to foreign countries, ordered sweeping immigration raids and deportations.
He also sent National Guard troops into Democratic-run cities.
He has also triggered trade wars by imposing tariffs on goods from most countries, passed a massive tax-and-spending-cut Bill, prosecuted political enemies, cancelled or restricted access to some vaccines, and attacked universities, law firms and media outlets.
Despite promising to end Russia’s war in Ukraine
All modern presidents have sought to expand their presidential power, but Mr Trump has increased executive might at a rate rarely seen before, historians and analysts say.
He has done this through executive orders and emergency declarations that have shifted decision-making away from Congress and to the White House.
The conservative majority on the Supreme Court have mostly sided with Mr Trump, and the Republican-controlled Congress has done little to stand in his way. And unlike his first term, Mr Trump has total control over his Cabinet, which is packed with loyalists.
Mr Timothy Naftali, a presidential historian, said Mr Trump has wielded power with fewer constraints in his second term than any president since Franklin Roosevelt.
In the first few years of his 1933-1945 White House tenure, Roosevelt, a Democratic president, enjoyed large majorities in Congress, which passed most of his domestic agenda to expand government with little resistance.
He also enjoyed significant public support for his efforts to tackle the Great Depression and faced a fractured Republican opposition.
Analysts and party strategists say Mr Trump’s difficulty in convincing voters that he understands their struggles with high living costs could prompt some Republican lawmakers to distance themselves in an effort to protect their seats in November.
Aides say Mr Trump will frequently hit the road
But his economic speeches in recent weeks have frequently been meandering and unfocused, and he has continued to focus much of his attention on foreign affairs, a lack of message discipline that alarms some Republican strategists and candidates. REUTERS
