It’s Tuesday, the traditional day for elections and for our pause-and-consider newsletter on politics and policy. We think of it as a mini-magazine in your inbox.
5 FORGOTTEN POINTS ABOUT TRUMP’S FIRST YEAR
By Lisa Desjardins, @LisaDNews
Correspondent
A year ago today, a frozen weather front sent President Donald Trump’s second inauguration indoors, reconfiguring the ceremony and leaving the inaugural platform that had taken six months to complete empty and useless.
In hindsight, the universe was signalling to us: “We are about to go dramatically off script.”
Since then, the president has made his first term look comparatively like a normal rain cloud. Those first four years seemed to teach him how to wield power in a surge of actions and statements — regardless of whether they are clearly within his legal ability.
Watch the segment in the player above.
One year into Trump’s second term, here’s a look at five things the president did that may have gotten lost, or forgotten, in the storm.
Changing geographical names. Trump signed an executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.” He also returned the name Mount McKinley to Alaska’s highest peak, also known as Denali. The Associated Press uses Gulf of Mexico as a primary name for the body of water, citing other countries and international audiences that don’t recognize the name change. But AP uses Mount McKinley in its coverage, acknowledging that Trump has authority over U.S. geographic names. Trump also restored Confederate names to some military bases.
A flurry of pardons. Trump pardoned former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, one among many controversial pardons this term. Blagojevich was impeached and convicted of essentially trying to sell and open a U.S. Senate seat vacated by former President Barack Obama.
Dismantling AmeriCorps. The Trump administration notified AmeriCorps agencies it was ending hundreds of millions in grants, gutting the volunteer program. AmeriCorps still exists, but its abilities and the future for many of its programs are unclear. The organization’s homepage is “under renovation.”
Launching mandatory detention. This Trump administration changed immigration policy to put “mandatory detention” in place for immigration cases. This means that immigration judges are not to order bond hearings for anyone charged in their courts, unless Department of Homeland Security officials grant an exception. A Politico review recently found that hundreds of judges have rejected or ruled against this push in individual cases. The issue is legally unresolved as it works its way through courts.
PBS News will be diving into various aspects of Trump 2.0 in the coming days.
We started Monday with something you had a preview of last week — our look at what Congress thinks about Trump’s push for executive power and what it means for the legislative branch long term.
Stay tuned for more the rest of this week, including looks at immigration and democracy.
One Big Question: Going into the second year of Trump’s second term, what is Congress’ relationship with the president? Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter and Jasmine Wright of NOTUS discuss.
A Closer Look: In the first episode of “Compass Points,” PBS News’ Nick Schifrin explores Trump's worldview and how it fits in a rapidly changing global order.
Perspectives: The former chair of the NATO Military Committee on the strategic importance of Greenland as Trump escalates his threats.
THIS WEEK’S TRIVIA QUESTION
By Joshua Barajas
Senior Editor, Digital
President Donald Trump said there is “no going back” in his campaign to take over Greenland.
One reason Trump wants the Arctic island is because he didn’t win the Nobel Peace Prize, according to a message he sent to Norway’s prime minister over the weekend.
Trump told Jonas Gahr Støre in the message, first reported by PBS News, that he no longer feels “an obligation to think purely of Peace” after the country decided to not award him the much-coveted prize. He also questioned Denmark’s claim to Greenland, which has been a self-governing territory under the Danish Kingdom for centuries.
“I don’t care about the Nobel Prize,” Trump later told reporters, adding that the decision is “controlled by Norway.” (The peace prize winners are selected by an independent body appointed by the Norwegian Parliament — not decided by the government itself.)
And though Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, the award’s most recent recipient, gave Trump her medal, the Nobel Foundation has reiterated that the award cannot be “passed on” to others.
Our question: Who was the first American to win any Nobel Prize? (Hint: It was a U.S. president.)
Send your answers to [email protected] or tweet using #PoliticsTrivia. The first correct answers will earn a shout-out next week.
Last week, we asked: Which U.S. historical figure is featured prominently in the Labor Department’s “One Homeland” video?
Congratulations to our winners: Paul Taylor and Linda Ross!
Thank you all for reading and watching. We’ll drop into your inbox next week.
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