Mass deportations, a plan for ‘ethnic cleansing’ and tariffs on allies – this is what ‘making America great again’ looks like if Donald Trump’s first 50 days in the White House are anything to go by.
It was five years ago that Steve Bannon, who helped run the US president’s 2016 campaign, described his strategy to rule – overwhelm the media and the people.
‘All we have to do is flood the zone,’ he told PBS at the time. ‘Every day we hit them with three things. They will bite on one, and we will get our stuff done, bang, bang, bang.
‘These guys will never be able to recover. But we have to start with muzzle velocity.’
Trump’s first 50 days have lived up to that idea – with a barrage of executive orders and policy reversals that are reshaping America’s role on the world stage.
To make sense of all this, Metro spoke with Jason Pack, fellow at Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) and host of the Disorder Podcast.
He told us last week that the president’s ‘sole desire’ is to disorder the very problems he claims that he will solve.
Here are the top 10 most controversial announcements to come out of the Oval Office since Trump’s inauguration.
January 20-25: ‘national emergency’ at US-Mexico border; suspension of asylum; attack on birthright citizenship
Within the first few days in the White House, Trump announces a flurry of immigration-related executive orders, starting with declaring a national emergency at the southern border.
As many as 1,500 active-duty troops are deployed to help secure the US-Mexico border – which Trump claims is overrun by cartels and criminal gangs – and prevent undocumented immigrants from ‘invading’.
In another executive order, the president suspends the legal right to seek asylum and halted the US refugee resettlement programme.
He also attempts to end birthright citizenship for children born to parents who are in the country illegally or temporarily.
A federal judge has since blocked this.
January 21: Pardon of 1,600 Capitol rioters
Trump issues a blanket ‘full, complete and unconditional pardon’ to rioters who stormed the Capitol Building on January 6, 2021
More than 1,500 people are pardoned, including many who had assaulted police officers, drawing condemnation from the families of victims.
January 26: Trump’s ‘ethnic cleansing’ plan for Gaza
The president urges Jordan and Egypt to take in 1.9 million Palestinians as part of his plan to ‘just clean out’ Gaza after 15 months of Israel’s war.
Less than a week after his inauguration, he floats the idea, saying that he would urge the leaders of the two Arab nations to accommodate people from the besieged enclave.
He later shares an AI video on his Truth Social platform showcasing what appears to be a vision of Gaza under his rule as a ‘Riviera of the Middle East’, which features Elon Musk and a Trump Tower – but no Palestinians.
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January 26: Gulf of Mexico renamed to Gulf of America
Google Maps announces plans to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the ‘Gulf of America’ in response to an executive order from Trump’s office.
The tech company says it has a ‘longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources’ in a statement on X.
The change is set to be visible for users in the US only and will remain Gulf of Mexico in Mexico.
Outside of the US and Mexico, Google Maps users will be able to see both names.
January 27: Trump’s intentions for Greenland
Denmark pledges $2 billion of extra spending to boost its military forces in the Arctic following Trump’s repeated offer to buy Greenland.
The president first made the suggestion for the semi-autonomous Danish territory during his last term as US president, but has since doubled down.
Posting on social media, he says ownership of the island is an ‘absolute necessity’ for US security and ‘freedom throughout the World [sic]’.
He refuses to rule out using military force to gain control of Greenland and the Panama Canal, which he also wants.
February 13: Call with Vladimir Putin
The president says negotiations to end the full-scale invasion of Ukraine will begin ‘immediately’ after holding a ‘lengthy and highly productive’ with his Russian counterpart.
This is believed to be the first conversation between the two leaders since Trump returned to office, and is the start of his rehabilitation of US and Russia relations.
February 26: Ukraine-US minerals deal
Trump pushes for a deal which could see up to half of Ukraine’s rare-earth minerals ahead of Volodymyr Zelensky’s trip to Washington.
It would be a sharp U-turn from Zelensky’s original stance on the idea when he said the 50% share of minerals demanded from America was akin to ‘selling his nation’.
February 26: $5 million gold card announcement
Plans to sell ‘gold cards’ to millionaires who want to acquire citizenship in the US is announced.
Foreigners willing to spend $5 million (£3.9 million) would be given ‘green card privileges’ and a ‘route to citizenship’.
The president said even Russian oligarchs – some of which he claimed are ‘very nice people’ – would be allowed to qualify.
February 28: Trump’s ambush of Zelensky in Oval Office
Zelensky meets with Trump hoping to sign the crucial minerals deal, which would guarantee America’s continued support for Ukraine in the ongoing war against Russia.
But tensions between the two leaders soon boil over, and the conference quickly descends into a shouting match.
‘You are either going to make a deal or we are out,’ Trump tells Zelensky before asking him to leave the White House.
March 4-5: Suspension of aid and intelligence to Ukraine
In response to Zelesnky’s refusal to sign the ‘extortionate’ minerals deal, Trump’s administration cuts off military aid and intelligence to Ukraine.
Seen as ‘punishment’ to Ukraine, the move could seriously hamper the ability to track and target Russian forces on the frontline and protect civilians.
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