Trump in turbo mode: What the new US President did and said in a week
Donald Trump (photo: Getty Images)
The new US President Donald Trump has been in office for a week now and has not wasted any time. He signed a huge number of executive orders and made many statements about the end of Russia's war against Ukraine and other events in the world.
RBC-Ukraine takes a look at Trump's main activities in the first week of his presidency.
Contents
End of Russia's war against Ukraine
In his inaugural speech, Donald Trump did not mention Russia's aggression against Ukraine, but said that US power would “stop all wars and bring a new spirit of unity to a world."
On January 21, while signing his first executive orders, Trump spoke to journalists, saying that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “wants to make a deal.” Trump expressed hope that Putin should also be ready for it, because “he is destroying Russia without making a deal.”
The US President has instructed his special representative for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, to end the war within 100 days, The Wall Street Journal reports. According to the article, Kellogg's activity is the initial step in peace talks, which Trump intends to control personally. It is not yet known when he will visit Ukraine.
On January 22, the US president made another statement on Truth Social. Trump wrote that he “loves the Russian people” and has always had a very good relationship with Putin. He also called on the Russian leader to negotiate now to end the war before it gets worse.
“If we don't make a 'deal,' and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries,” Trump wrote.
During his speech at the Davos Economic Forum on January 23, the US president said he hoped to get China's help to end the war with Russia. Trump will also seek to reduce oil prices, which, according to him, could lead to an end to the war in Ukraine. This can be accomplished by increasing American production and involving other countries.
“I'm also going to ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC to bring down the cost of oil. If the price came down, the Russia-Ukraine war would end immediately,” Trump said.
Later, Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, clarified that he was talking about a price of $45 per barrel.
A phone call between Trump and Putin is also expected in the near future.
Keith Kellogg (photo: Getty Images)
At the same time, Trump does not rule out buying American weapons for Ukraine at the expense of proceeds from frozen Russian assets, as Keith Kellogg said in an interview with Fox News. He noted that “this is a topic for discussion”. However, according to Kellogg, this is not going to solve the problem.
So, for Ukraine, Trump's first week, as expected, did not bring any significant changes, but Trump's focus on concluding a “deal” on the war became even more obvious - although its parameters still remain unclear.
World politics
In an interview with Fox News on January 23, Trump said that he would have “a lot of work to do” because many things should not have happened during Biden's presidency.
Audit of aid
One of Trump's first orders was to suspend aid to other countries for 90 days. During this time, an audit is to take place, and the relevant departments of the State Department will assess the effectiveness of aid programs and their consistency with US foreign policy. The suspension applies mainly to aid provided through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and does not affect military assistance to Ukraine.
Trump's national security adviser, Mike Waltz, authorized a “full background check” of several dozen personnel officials working in the White House to ensure that employees are loyal and will fulfill Trump's tasks, not sabotage them. According to the Washington Post, during a brief call from Waltz's chief of staff, Brian McCormack, officials were told that they had to leave the building. They were instructed to return only on the orders of their supervisors, senior directors appointed by the Trump administration.
The appointment of new people to Trump's team is in full swing. The US president can appoint some of the employees unilaterally. Others require the consent of the Senate.
China
At a press conference in the Oval Office of the White House on January 21, Trump said that he was considering imposing 10% tariffs on all Chinese goods as early as February 1. This is a move he had been talking about since the election campaign. On the eve of his inauguration, Trump spoke by phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“The call was very good for both China and the United States. It is my expectation that we will solve many problems together, and starting immediately. We discussed balancing Trade, Fentanyl, TikTok, and many other subjects. President Xi and I will do everything possible to make the World more peaceful and safe,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also spoke by phone with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi. Among other things, Rubio emphasized the US commitment to allies in the region and serious concerns about China's pressure on Taiwan and in the South China Sea.
WHO
Trump has withdrawn the US from the World Health Organization, but legally the US will only withdraw from the WHO in 2026 - according to the organization's charter, a year's notice is required. Trump has been criticizing the organization since 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic, accusing it of being under Chinese control.
The politician initiated the US withdrawal from the WHO back then, but Joe Biden reversed this decision.
The United States is the largest financial donor to the WHO and allocates 18% of its budget.
Marco Rubio (photo: Getty Images)
Latin America
Trump returned Cuba to the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Biden made the decision to remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism shortly before the end of his term on January 15. Cuba has been under the influence of the Soviet Union since the late 50s, and then had close ties with Russia and China.
The new US president also renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America by executive order. As he explained, the Gulf plays a key role in the US economy.
US domestic policy
Fighting the “deep state”
Trump signed an executive order creating the “Department of Government Efficiency” headed by billionaire Elon Musk. According to Trump, Musk will have an office in the White House, which will employ about 20 people. The department will help ensure the implementation of executive branch decisions. Previously, it was planned that the department would be headed by two people: Elon Musk and another entrepreneur, Vivek Ramaswamy, but the latter decided to focus on other matters. According to the Washington Post, the reason is a conflict between Musk and Ramaswamy.
At the same time, Elon Musk was not allowed to get an office in the center of the White House, as Susan Wiles, White House chief of staff, decided. She made it clear that she does not welcome “people who want to work independently or be a star.”
Energy
With his first executive orders, Trump declared a state of emergency in the US energy sector. This move unleashes the hands of American companies to extract fossil fuels. He also restored the federal oil and gas leasing program, lifted the ban on liquefied natural gas exports, and lifted the ban on drilling, particularly in US coastal waters.
Trump also withdrew the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, which aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to combat climate change. This step will lead to the abolition of environmental protection measures and slow down the pace of green energy projects while giving an impetus to certain industries here and now.
The US president has also suspended the lease of new federal wind power plants until an environmental and economic assessment is completed. According to him, wind turbines are ugly, expensive, and harmful to wildlife. Biden's 2021 executive order, which stipulated that half of all new cars sold in the United States would be electric by 2030, was also canceled.
TikTok
On the first day of his presidency, the politician set a 75-day delay in the ban on TikTok in the United States, provided for by a law passed during Biden's term. Trump began working on a deal to sell TikTok to an American company.
In an interview with Fox News, Trump said that the media platform is not as big a threat to US national security as supporters of its ban say.
“You’re dealing with a lot of young people. Is it that important for China to be spying on young people? Young people watching crazy videos and things,” said the US president, who obviously doesn't use TikTok much personally and has a very incomplete understanding of the content shared on the platform.
ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok, is planning to conclude a deal to keep the app available in the US. According to Axios, various options are being considered, including the sale of a stake to an American company.
Migration
Trump has declared a state of emergency on the border with Mexico. The executive order provides for increased border control and military powers to ensure order at the border. Deportations of illegal immigrants from the United States have begun. Colombia, one of the countries where illegal immigrants are being returned, refused to accept them. In response, Trump announced a 25% duty on all goods imported into the US from Colombia, enhanced customs and border checks of Colombian citizens and cargo, and sanctions against several Colombian politicians.
Stricter rules for obtaining work permits and green cards will also be introduced.
Drug cartels that smuggle illegal immigrants from Mexico to the United States have been recognized as foreign terrorist organizations. This gives the US new tools to fight them, including military operations and additional economic sanctions. It is planned to create task forces to fight drug cartels.
Archival photo: Thousands of migrants from southern Mexico set off on foot toward the US border (Getty Images)
In another executive order, the US president canceled the automatic granting of US citizenship to all those born in the country, which is supposed to eliminate one of the incentives for illegal immigrants to come to the United States. However, this order has already been challenged in the courts of several states, so its implementation remains in question.
The Department of Homeland Security has suspended a number of programs that allowed immigrants to temporarily stay in the United States. In particular, refugees from Ukraine under the Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) program, as well as from Cuba, Haiti, and Venezuela, are banned from entering the United States.
Artificial intelligence - Stargate
Trump has initiated the establishment of Stargate, a company that will deal with artificial intelligence. It is planned that $500 billion will be invested in the company in the coming years. Stargate plans to partner with OpenAI (its main product is Chat GPT), and Oracle, a manufacturer of software for organizations with the financial support of Japan's SoftBank. At least 100,000 jobs will be created as part of Stargate, while data centers will be built across the country.
Pardon of those convicted of storming the Capitol
The US President pardoned about 1,270 people convicted of participating in the events of January 6, 2021, and ordered the Department of Justice to close about 300 more pending cases.
It is about the riots on January 6, 2021, when the US Congress was about to approve the results of the 2020 presidential election. Donald Trump lost, but he refused to recognize the election results and gathered a crowded rally in Washington. His calls to “fight for votes” were perceived by some protesters as a signal to storm the building. Five people were killed.
Only two sexes
Another executive order required the government to use the term “sex” instead of “gender,” and government-issued identity documents (including passports and visas) were based on what the order calls “an individual's immutable biological classification as either male or female.” Some of Biden's executive orders aimed at promoting racial equality and combating discrimination against sexual minorities were canceled.
Sources: statements by American politicians, Donald Trump's executive orders, and articles by Reuters, Axios, Washington Post, CNN, New York Post, and The Wall Street Journal.
