Obviously, there is a degree of subjectivity to what made it on the list because there are so many things to choose from. They are in chronological order beginning with the start of the regime. My commentary is italicized.
1. Signed an EO seeking to end birthright citizenship.
This one made the list because it's unconstitutional.
Trump issued an executive order to end birthright citizenship for babies of undocumented immigrants and for people with temporary status.
immigrationimpact.com
2. Pardoned everyone involved in the J/6 Capital riot.
It is hands down the most egregious abuse of the pardon power in US history. Even I, as cynical as I am about trump, didn't think he would pardon members of his mob who beat up policemen. It set the tone for what was to come.
3. Ordered that officials overseeing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts across the federal government be placed on leave and that agencies take steps to close their offices.
This was chosen not for the significance of the order by itself but as a representation of the broader effort to stigmatize the hiring of woman and minorities. Not just in the federal government but in every aspect of employment including private industry.
Staff members overseeing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts were to be placed on paid administrative leave by 5 p.m. Wednesday.
www.nytimes.com
4. trump said CA should not receive disaster aid for the devastating LA area fires.
A comment made out of sheer ignorance and spite because Don doesn't like CA being dominated by Dem's. It would eventually be followed by the calamitous waste of 2B gallons of water in a comical yet tragic act of foolishness. Disaster relief should never be withheld based on politics.
5. Fired over a dozen IG's.
Chosen because it is representative of his ongoing efforts to purge any oversight regarding the corrupt acts of his regime.
6. Said the people living in Gaza should be forcibly removed to make way for the development of a resort.
I don't think an explanation is needed when someone suggests an area be ethnically cleansed.
7. Blocked, and then rescinded the blockage, of federal grants to all manner of recipients around the country.
Putting aside the vagueness of the order creating confusion the move was almost immediately blocked by a court due to its blatant illegality.
8. Put two top security officials at USAID on administrative leave after refusing to give representatives of Elon's access to internal systems.
As is the case with a number of actions on this list, this is more representative of the overall effort to illegally usurp the power to control things not under the control of the executive branch, not the act itself.
9. Announced tariffs on imported goods from China and Canada.
Again, because there have been so many instances of tariff foolishness this serves as a proxy for all of them. My position on tariffs is they can be effectively used in targeted ways as a means to protect individual industries being disadvantaged by the practices of foreign governments. But they shouldn't be used out of ignorance, vindictiveness, and a misunderstanding of how they work.
10. Commentary suggesting the Panama Canal, Canada, and Greenland become part of the US........the latter by force if necessary.
Quite simply the imperialistic rantings of a bombastic 78 year old with delusions of grandeur.
11. This one encompasses a lot. On Bondi's first day she began exerting control over the DoJ. On the agenda, demanding total fealty to trump, identifying FBI agents who participated in trump's investigation so they themselves could be investigated,
weaken efforts to combat foreign influence in our elections, and disbanding of the foreign influence task force. It didn't take long for Pam to go back on her pledge during her confirmation that "politics will not play a part" in her decisions. Gosh, what a liar.
12. DOGE. trump called the ruling to block Musk’s cost-cutting team’s access to Treasury payment and data systems “absurd and judicial overreach” and attacked the judge as an “activist.”
www.nytimes.com
Another singular event being exemplary of the broader and numerous abuses and illegal acts of the DOGE team. Many of which have been blocked by the courts. Also of note are the many employees fired under the guise of DOGE that had to be rehired because they perform essential duties. And that many cost cutting claims made by DOGE had to be retracted because they were lies.
13. Lawyers for the trump regime argued that a court order blocking Musk’s aides from entering Treasury's payment and data systems impinged on the president’s absolute powers over the executive branch, which they said the courts could not usurp.
My apologies for the redundancy but once again I'm using this as an example of all the times trump has acted in ways that exceed the actual authority given to the prez under the Constitution. Like trying to essentially eliminate the Dept. of Ed. trump also implied he is above the law by saying “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.”
14. JD Vance's speech in Europe during which he scolded our allies over matters including free speech and immigration. He said the greatest threat facing the European continent was not from Russia and China, but "from within".
It was the moment our former European allies were put on notice the US was no longer a reliable partner in the fight against the spread of right wing ideologies.
15. "The US and Russia moved toward a head-spinning reset of their relationship on Tuesday, agreeing to work together on ending the Ukraine war, financial investment and re-establishing normal relations. The meeting between senior officials from both countries was a striking display of bonhomie after three years of American efforts to isolate Moscow for its 2022 invasion."
The two sides met in Saudi Arabia for their most extensive discussions in years. In addition to Ukraine, business ties were on the table.
www.nytimes.com
Saying this was a tectonic shift in the decades long policy towards Russia is, perhaps, an under statement. It was followed by the now famous Oval Office meeting with Zelenskyy and accusations by trump that Zelenskyy.......not Putin.......is a dictator responsible for Russia invading Ukraine. In turn followed by trump announcing military aid to Ukraine had stopped as well as intel sharing. Both decisions being reversed because they displayed such overt favoritism for Putin. trump also ordered the Pentagon to stop all cyber-operations against Russia.
16. trump blocked funding for biomedical research despite a court order preventing him from doing so. A policy that was reversed when it's ramifications became apparent.
Self-explanatory, dangerous behavior.
17. The trump admin said on Tuesday that it would start handpicking which media outlets were allowed to participate in the presidential press pool, the small, rotating group of reporters who relay the president’s day-to-day activities to the public. The change breaks decades of precedent. It allows the White House to assert more control over which journalists can witness his activities up-close and ask him questions.
In announcing plans to hand-select the reporters who can ask the president questions at many events, the White House is breaking decades of precedent.
www.nytimes.com
A classic move of authoritarian governments endeavoring to control media access and being able to count on trump not getting tough questions from the press pool.
18. Cancelled grant money to a number of American universities while making reinstatement of the grants contingent on the admin being allowed to exert control over university policies and curriculum.
Emblematic of trump's attempt to gain control over aspects of American society he sees as threatening to his autocratic ideology. The same can be said for his EO's regarding law firms he sees as enemies because they represented clients who filed various lawsuits against him. Once again, the echoes of authoritarian rule are deafening.
19. The defiance of a court order regarding the deportation of over 200 hundred Venezuelans to an El Salvadorian prison.
Quite a lot going on here including trump illegally invoking the AEA, rationalizing his authority to deport people who have not been given due process. And an ongoing investigation, which the admin is stonewalling, as to the timing of the court order relative to when the flights carrying the deportees took off.
20. The Signal chat event during which operational details of an impending attack on the Houthis was discussed on an unsecure communications medium.
Wow, where to begin? The regime is sticking to the overt lie nothing included in the communications was classified. The entire episode being reflective of the of the people trump selected to be in charge of national security being unqualified. And, naturally, trump's steadfast refusal to acknowledge the clown show that burst out in to the open for all to see.
I should note the list is an edited version of the NYT's compilation of 67 significant events having taken place since the start of trump 2.0. Many of them had to be left out. It's been a fire hose of controversy, chaos, petulance, childishness, incompetence, broken promises, and appeasement to the worst impulses of his base.
I see no slowing it down until such time as the nationwide protests and anger directed at members of the Repub congressional caucus begins to make them concerned........not about the country........but for their re-election.
