(Official White House Photo by Tia Dufour)
Donald Trump will likely go down in history as the most socially divisive president since Abraham Lincoln. His return to the world’s most powerful office has reignited deep political rifts at a time when the right and left seem increasingly alienated from one another. This comeback signals the golden age of anti-establishment populism—a movement determined to tear down what it sees as broken in America.
We caught our first glimpse of this new era on Inauguration Day, when 26 executive orders were signed. These included pardoning January 6th insurrectionists, ending diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, halting foreign aid, and declaring a national emergency at the US-Mexico border. These decisions largely reflect populist campaign promises—but a more critical trend has emerged: Trump appears to be testing the limits of executive power.
As of publication, nine rulings have already blocked his initiatives. While judicial challenges to executive orders are not unusual, Trump’s strategy seems to be pushing constitutional boundaries. In theory, the U.S. government operates through a balance between the executive, legislative, and judiciary branches. But a Republican-controlled Congress appears increasingly complacent, allowing Trump to go toe-to-toe with the courts over presidential authority.
A surprising key player in this battle? Elon Musk. Appointed head of the new “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE)—yes, really—Musk has become an aggressive force for dismantling federal agencies. DOGE was front and center in the controversial move to shut down USAID. DOGE staff allegedly accessed classified USAID files without authorisation, and officials who tried to block them were placed on leave. After Musk declared “We’re shutting it down” (with apparent presidential approval), hundreds of employees lost access to embassy systems, panic buttons, and internal networks.
The Treasury Department was next. A top civil servant was pushed into retirement for refusing DOGE access to software responsible for managing over $5 trillion in federal payments. DOGE gained access anyway—until courts began reversing those permissions, and lawsuits started flooding in. From attempts to end birthright citizenship, allow immigration raids in churches and schools, freeze trillions in federal funding, and redefine transgender inmate rights, nearly every bold move has been met with fierce legal resistance.
While a few Republican rebels have supported Democrats in Congress during confirmation hearings, the overall response has been muted. For now, Trump appears ready to go to war with the judiciary—and the Supreme Court may soon be forced to decide just how far presidential powers can stretch.
But Trump’s ambitions go beyond U.S. borders. His foreign policy is shaping up to be imperialistic in tone. He has floated ideas of annexing Greenland, occupying the Panama Canal, and even pushing for Canada to become the 51st state. Already, Canada and Mexico are negotiating to avoid massive tariffs—mirroring tactics he used against Colombia just seven days into his second term.
Diplomats anticipated turbulence after the election, but the speed and scope of Trump’s actions have rattled even America’s closest allies. He’s doubling down on U.S.-Israeli relations, threatening to “let hell break out” against Hamas if hostages aren’t released by February 15th, and has suggested the U.S. should take permanent ownership of Gaza, relocating Palestinians elsewhere with no right to return.
Meanwhile, ties with Europe are fraying. Tariffs against the EU loom, and Trump reportedly sounded “aggressive and confrontational” in a call with Denmark’s Prime Minister over Greenland. His position on Ukraine has also taken a hard turn. Military aid is now conditional—he insists that both Ukraine and Russia enter peace negotiations. Ukraine, seeing this as a gamble, is betting that Trump will end up clashing with Putin over Russia’s unwillingness to make real concessions.
It’s too early to tell how Trump will navigate a stubborn Kremlin or a hesitant Kyiv—but if the first 25 days are any indication, tensions may escalate fast.
