USA Trump performs hard political U-turn
US President Donald Trump is making a radical U-turn on domestic and foreign policy on his very first day in office. Immediately after taking the oath of office, the 78-year-old decided to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organization (WHO).
21.01.2025, 05:22
SDA
Trump scaled back the policies of his predecessor Joe Biden with dozens of executive orders. At the beginning of his second term, Trump pardoned 1,500 supporters who stormed the Capitol in Washington in January 2021.
He left no doubt about his foreign policy ambitions - taking over the Panama Canal and Greenland. He held out the prospect of tariffs of 25 percent on imports from Mexico and Canada.
Trump is celebrating an unprecedented comeback as the most powerful man in the world. After his conviction for concealing hush money last year, the Republican returned politically stronger than ever and with majorities in both chambers of parliament following his clear election victory over Democrat Kamala Harris.
Trump pardons his supporters
Trump's supporters, whom he now always referred to as "hostages", had invaded the House in Washington on January 6, 2021, to prevent the confirmation of Biden's election victory. Several Democratic politicians were shocked by the pardons, as police officers were also violently attacked during the assault. Trump, on the other hand, said: "In most cases, they did nothing wrong."
Import duties postponed
The heavy import tariffs for Canada and Mexico, which Trump had promised during the election campaign for his first day in office, have been postponed. "I think we'll do it on February 1st," said Trump in the White House. He again explained the planned tariffs by saying that the two countries had allowed large numbers of migrants to enter the USA.
Trump: Selenskyj wants a deal
Trump will also not keep his former promise to end the war in Ukraine immediately. The new announcement: "As soon as possible." At the same time, Trump said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi was prepared to make a deal. He did not know whether this also applied to Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. "I think he will destroy Russia if he doesn't make a deal," said Trump. It is possible that he will soon be on the phone with Putin.
No longer automatically a US citizen at birth in the USA
In a radical move, Trump wants to abolish the right to citizenship by birth in the USA. However, the so-called birthright is enshrined as an amendment to the US Constitution. Trump must therefore be prepared for lawsuits against his decree. However, his decree could lead to the issue coming before the country's Supreme Court. This could actually interpret the constitution differently than before.
Conservatives have been trying for years to push for the abolition of the right to citizenship by birth. They are particularly focused on children born in the United States to migrants living illegally in the USA.
Office for Musk
Also on the first day, Trump made official the committee in which tech billionaire Elon Musk is to help drastically cut US government spending. Musk will be given an office for around 20 employees, Trump announced. However, it will not be located in the West Wing of the White House, he said in response to a question from journalists. All federal employees will also return to offices and working from home will be abolished for them.
75-day postponement for Tiktok
Trump has issued a decree granting the video app Tiktok 75 days more time before it is shut down in the USA. A US law stipulates that the China-based Tiktok owner Bytedance must divest itself of Tiktok by Sunday in order for the app to remain available in the US. Trump is convinced that he can negotiate a deal for the app by extending the deadline. His plan is for the USA to receive a 50 percent share in the app. Tiktok would be worth nothing without US approval.
Trump wants the Panama Canal and Greenland
"Greenland is a wonderful place. We need it for international security," said Trump in the White House. He was sure that Denmark, to which Greenland belongs, would join in. On the Panama Canal, Trump was surprisingly direct: "We'll get it back."
