In just 12 months, Trump plunged America into social, economic and environmental havoc
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD — opinion@theaggie.org
January 2026 marks the anniversary of President Donald Trump’s second inauguration and the end of the first year of his second term in office. During that time, he has enacted an unprecedented amount of harmful policies and caused a tremendous amount of disruption and unrest for people across America.
Many of these destructive moves have checked off boxes on Trump’s Project 2025 plan — also known as the 2025 Presidential Transition Project — which is a federal policy agenda for reconstructing the executive branch of government. It was initially published prior to the 2024 election by The Heritage Foundation in collaboration with former employees of the first Trump administration. The plan in-and-of-itself is alarming, but even more so is the fact that he has managed to accomplish so much of it in just the first year of his presidency.
On inauguration day alone, Trump signed 26 executive orders covering a vast array of issue topics. Regarding immigration, he ended birthright citizenship, paused admission of refugees and reinstated his “Remain in Mexico” policy (introduced in his first term) calling for increased screening of migrants entering the United States. Another order established only two federally recognized sexes (male and female), one officially withdrew the U.S. from the World Health Organization (WHO) and still another created his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — a notoriously (and ironically) ineffective and mysterious organization in which Elon Musk was heavily involved.
In this initial batch of executive orders, Trump also dismantled Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs in the federal government, stating them to be “radical” and “wasteful.” The resulting consequences include reduced representation of minority populations in professional organizations, increased workplace hostility and discrimination, economic disparities and a general reversal of decades of social progress.
Also on his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement — a legally binding, international treaty adopted by 195 member states of the United Nations (UN) at the 2015 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at COP21 in Paris, France. The goal of the treaty is to prevent the global average temperature from exceeding pre-industrial levels — an ambitious (but necessary) goal that would require worldwide participation and cannot be achieved without compliance from the U.S: one of the leading producers of greenhouse gas emissions in the world.
In March, the Trump administration announced 31 actions that severely restricted the abilities of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — this marked the biggest hit the EPA has ever taken since its institution in 1970. Along with the termination of American participation in the Paris Climate Agreement, this was a step toward Trump’s goal to increase U.S. oil and gas extraction and production (as laid out in Project 2025). Under the regulations enforced by both institutions, his administration would be unable to abuse federal lands and offshore areas for oil drilling and fracking the way they have, all of which comes at the expense of the health of the American people and our already-vulnerable environment.
In further pursuit of his unsustainable (and frankly, destructive) oil objectives, Trump invaded Venezuela on Jan. 3 to seize their oil and mineral reserves. He has also indicated his desire to acquire Greenland from the Danish government.
“If we don’t do it the easy way, we’ll do it the hard way,” Trump said earlier this month, on annexing Greenland.
In economic policy, Trump imposed numerous tariffs on imported goods from all U.S. global trade partners. Among the most impacted products are drugs, steel and aluminum, copper, kitchen cabinets and furniture, cars and car parts, trucks and some groceries. This may benefit Trump and his colleagues, but once again it comes at the direct expense of the American people. They might cause an increase in domestic production, but at a higher cost that gets passed down to consumers. While he promised to lower grocery prices across America as part of his campaign, he has so far caused much of the opposite.
In March, Trump signed an executive order designed to permanently eliminate the U.S. Department of Education. While he doesn’t have the power to actually eradicate it (such power is reserved for Congress), this action significantly reduced the department’s ability to operate effectively.
In September, the Trump administration announced their 20-point plan to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, the terms of which were accepted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. However, no action has been taken towards this goal.
“Despite the ceasefire, the Israeli military continues to conduct military operations with air strikes, shelling and gunfire occurring across the [Gaza] Strip,” Ramiz Alakbarov, Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said at a Jan. 28 UN meeting.
The genocide in Palestine continues to escalate, despite Trump and Netanyahu’s empty promises. After agreeing to uphold peace throughout the region, Trump has continued to stand by Netanyahu while Israel attacked at least six of the region’s countries in a single three-day span. Israel continues to bomb Lebanon and further destabilize Middle Eastern relations, in addition to committing human rights violations in Palestine, while world leaders and international organizations remain complicit.
Trump has time and again thrown further insult to injury toward the Palestinian people since his term began. His “Great Trust” plan, alongside an artificial intelligence (AI) video of the “Gaza Riviera,” was a disturbing reminder that he holds no regard for the plight of the Palestinian people. Offered “solutions” did not include direct Palestinian sovereignty; casualties have increased, while death toll figures remain severely underreported since summer. Trump’s “Board of Peace” to oversee the ceasefire notably excludes Palestinian leadership.
In December, Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, claiming that Russia and Ukraine are “closer than ever before” to a peace deal. He also claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is continuing to push for resolution, seemingly ignoring the fact that Russia had just launched their most recent round of attacks on Ukraine. Again, even though TrumpTrump claims to be working to calm foreign tensions, nothing has actually been done; conflict is still rampant and his administration has provided very little in the way of foreign aid.
In another vein, the November 2025 Epstein Files Transparency Act, enacted by Congress and signed by Trump, mandated the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release all documents related to Jeffrey Epstein. Among the countless officials’ names present in the documents, one of the most prominent was Trump, which came up 1,500 times. Additionally, nearly 2 million documents are still in review by the DOJ, with women coming forth to report sexual assault at the hands of Trump.
Over the past month, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) severely ramped up efforts to meet deportation goals. In the process, they have brutally murdered multiple, innocent individuals — including Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Department of Homeland Security claimed that “President Trump and Secretary [Kristi] Noem unleashed ICE to target the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens” — instead, they fatally shot innocent Americans. Rather than make life in the U.S. safer, as the federal government claims is their goal, they themselves pose the biggest threat to the people of America.
This is far from a comprehensive list of the atrocities the Trump administration has committed since January, 2025, but it alone demonstrates that they’ve caused an unacceptable amount of damage. Omitted from this list: the dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID); the longest government shutdown in American history; the defunding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting; a systematic rewrite of history; the demolition of the White House’s East Wing and the gaudish remodeling of the Oval Office; and countless other affronts.
If Trump truly cared about the wellbeing of his country, none of these changes would have been made. He might say that he has the best interests of the American people at heart, but that is far from the truth — actions speak louder than words, and he has acted to our direct detriment. The job of the President is to protect and serve the country, but instead, Trump is hurting Americans, causing them to live in fear and disparity and even becoming the very agent of their deaths.
While we still have three years left with Trump in office, the midterm elections, which determine the composition of Congress, will take place this November. The Editorial Board implores you to use your voice and vote for legislative representatives and local leaders who will defend your communities against Trump’s vicious agenda — we must do what we can to ensure that this chaos and destruction does not continue.
Think deeply about the unprecedented events that have occurred under Trump’s leadership over the past year; we, as a nation, cannot afford to quadruple the devastation we have endured so far. While it may be difficult to inspire change at the executive level, we cannot discount the impact of congressional and local politics, community organizations and mutual aid. Actions that may seem inconsequential can combine and amplify the efforts of one individual or group, and through their implementation, progress toward a kinder and more just society can be made.
Written by: The Editorial Board — opinion@theaggie.org
