On January 19, 2025- the eve of the second inauguration of Donald Trump- I posted the following on my social media:

On the eve of Trump 2.0 I would like to issue a challenge to all of my Facebook friends on all sides of the aisle over the next four years: ditch tribalism and stay informed (not misinformed, but truly informed). How do we do this. Here’s my proposal:

1. We should all want to see President Trump work for the benefit of ALL AMERICANS. For those who are not Trump fans, should he make positive decisions or take positive actions that actually benefit ALL AMERICANS, give credit where credit is due. Don’t crap all over it just because it is Trump. For the pro-Trump crowd, when he makes decisions or takes actions that don’t benefit ALL AMERICANS, or make no sense, or actually hurt American citizens please call it out for what it is. Don’t continue trying to bend reality to try to uphold this bizarre narrative that Trump can do no wrong.

2. Be honest about where we are starting and where we end up going. As of the 3rd quarter of 2024 the GDP is +3.1%. Real GDP increased in 46 states and DC. Current inflation rate is 2.9%, down 3.35% from 2023. The unemployment rate is 4.1%. 256K jobs were added in December of 2024. Average mortgage interest rates are 7.16% for 30-year fixed and 6.47% for 15-year fixed. Average gas prices in the US are $3.09/gallon. The average price of a carton of eggs is $4.15. The average price of a gallon of milk is $4.10. On Friday, January 17th the DOW closed at +334.70. Also, remember that 2024 quarter 4 numbers and part of 2025 quarter 1 numbers will still reflect the Biden economy. Also, the Biden Administration was able to help negotiate the ceasefire in Gaza (be honest, Trump had nothing to do with that- he’s busy planning the annexation of Greenland and the Panama Canal).

3. Don’t be hypocritical. Don’t piss and moan when the people you don’t agree with do something, then turn around and celebrate when “your side” does the same. If it’s bullshit it’s bullshit no matter who does it.

4. Try to cut the cord with legacy media, especially cable news which, to quote Tim Allen, is “one person telling you the actual news and three people telling you what you should think about it “ I’ve been getting my news from straight news apps from Reuters and the BBC and feel better informed and less stressed out.

Above all, we need to remember this country belongs to all of us and not just to a select few. We should want what is best for all Americans and settle for nothing less.

It was shortly after Inauguration Day that I decided that one of my goals over the next four years is to be well informed about what is happening politically in our country. Not that I felt uninformed prior, but as time goes on we all suffer from current events amnesia and can’t always come up with the evidence to detail our positions.

So I’ve made it a point to keep track of all the major happenings during the Trump 2.0 era so that I can keep myself honest when engaging in political conversation. I will also share these here for this who want to keep track of what has come down and is coming down the pike: the good, the bad, and the ugly. This is everything that has occurred over the last 40 days:

Pardoned about 1,600 January 6th defendants and commuted 14 others’ sentences to time served including Stewart Rhodes, founder of The Oath Keepers, and ex-boss of the Proud Boys Enrique Tarrio.

Cancelled flights for 1,600 Afghan refugees including those of unaccompanied minors, former Afghan fighters who fought alongside US troops against the Taliban, and family members of active-duty US military personnel.

Shut down an app that allowed migrants and to schedule an appointment to enroll in a program to legally enter the United States and cancelled existing appointments.

Withdrew the United States from the Paris Climate Accord.

Froze all federal hiring excepting the military and other excluded categories.

Ordered federal employees to return to the office 5 days a week (some federal employees collective bargaining agreements allow the to work remotely a few days a week or under certain circumstances- this will likely be an issue with their unions).

Froze the creation of new federal regulations.

Ordered the heads of all executive departments and agencies to “deliver emergency price relief, consistent with applicable law, to the American people.”

Began the process of withdrawing the US from the World Health Organization.

Delayed the ban of TikTok for 75 days.

Limited birthright citizenship to children of legal immigrants (temporarily halted by a federal judge as birthright citizenship is enshrined in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution).

Changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America” and Denali back to Mt. McKinley.

Rescinded electric vehicle targets.

Reclassified thousands of federal employees as political hires making them easier to fire.

Created a policy recognizing only two genders.

Declared a national emergency to allow for rolling back restrictions on drilling in Alaska as well as undoing a pause on gas exports and fast-tracking permits for new fossil fuel infrastructure.

Declared a national border emergency that paves the way to deploy US troops to the southern border and begin implementation of hardline immigration policies.

Announced implementation of 25% tariffs on goods coming from Canada and Mexico beginning February 1st.

Removed websites focused on LGBTQ+ issues from The White House’s and federal agencies websites.

Ended policies limiting arrests of migrants at sensitive locations like schools and churches.

Directed all federal diversity, equity, and inclusion staff to be put on paid leave and that agencies begin to make plans to lay them off.

Eliminated all members of the Aviation Security and Advisory Committee. The committee, which was mandated by congress after the 1988 PanAm 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland will continue to exist but with no members.

Fired the heads of the TSA and Coast Guard.

Pardoned Ross Ulbricht who ran darknet market website The Silk Road, which facilitated the sale of narcotics and other illegal products and services.

Designated drug cartels and international gangs as terrorist organizations.

Rescinded Pres. Biden’s executive order making drugs costs cheaper for individuals on Medicare and Medicaid.

Declassified files on JFK, RFK, and MLK assassinations.

Ordered State Department to freeze a passport applications with “X” gender markers.

Ordered the National Institute of Health to pause mass communications and public appearances that are not directly related to emergencies or critical to preserving health.

Signed the Laken Riley Act which requires the detention of unauthorized immigrants accused of theft and violent crimes.

Announced plans to eliminate FEMA.

Pulled Dr. Anthony Fauci’s security detail.

Disbanded newly formed board meant to advise federal agencies about school safety strategies.

Fired inspector generals of 12 major agencies without notifying Congress as required.

Asked the Department of the Interior to officially recognize the Lumbee tribe of North Carolina.

Pressured Jordan and Egypt to accept more Palestinian refugees. Proposed “cleaning out” Gaza.

Revoked the security clearance of nearly four dozen former intelligence officers.

Ordered tariffs and visa restrictions on Colombia for not accepting flights from the US containing deportees. This caused Colombia to retaliate with tariffs of its own. All tariffs were dropped after governments came to an agreement.

Suggested California adopt voter ID legislation in order to receive government funding after the wild fires in Los Angeles.

Reinstated thousands of troops who were removed from the military for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic.

Proposed an executive order to put the Iron Dome in place for the United States.

Fired employees of the Justice Department who worked on the criminal prosecutions of President Trump.

Signed an order barring transgender people from military service.

Ordered a halt to all grant, loan, and other financial assistance programs disbursed by the federal government. (Temporarily blocked by federal judge and later rescinded the memo).

Ordered a halt on sending HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis medications as well as medical supplies for for newborn babies to countries supported by USAID around the globe.

Fired Biden-appointed member of the US National Labor Relations Board. The board already had two other vacancies so it is now left with only two members. As such the board can’t issue decisions even on routine cases accusing companies or unions of violating federal labor laws as it doesn’t have a quorum.

Claimed, falsely, that the US military entered California and turned on the state’s water supply when in actuality the federal government turned on three water pumps after they were offline for three days for maintenance.

Ordered the Center for Disease Control to stop working with the World Health Organization immediately.

Pulled security detail from John Bolton and announced intention to pull security detail from General Mark Milley.

Offered all federal workers a buyout with 7 months pay in order to shrink size of government.

Signed order to cut federal support for gender transitions for anyone under 19.

Revoked deportation protections for Venezuelans.

Directed the opening of a detention center at Guantanamo Bay to hold up to 30,000 migrants who are living illegally in the United States.

Blamed the mid-air collision of an American Airlines regional passenger jet and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport on DEI initiatives at the FAA without evidence stating, “The FAA diversity push includes a focus on hiring people with severe intellectual and psychiatric disabilities. That is amazing…with severe disabilities, the most underrepresented segment of the workforce and they want them in and they want them- they can be air traffic controllers.” When asked how he could blame DEI hiring for the crash he responded, “Because I have common sense…we want brilliant people doing this.” He specifically claimed the FAA’s hiring of individuals who are hearing or visually impaired, amputees or individuals who were born with missing limbs, suffer from partial or complete paralysis, epileptics, and individuals with dwarfism were issues that could have contributed to the crash. No evidence of this was presented. He also blamed Barrack Obama, Joe Biden, Democrats, and the 2020 election, again without evidence.

Appointed new head of the FAA after former head of the FAA resigned on January 20th due to pressure from Elon Musk.

Announced 25% tariffs against Mexico and Canada would be delayed and take affect on March 1st instead of February 1st, only to announce a few hours later that they would take affect on February 1st as originally announced.

Ordered federal employees to remove pronouns from email signatures by the end of the day Friday, January 31st.

Rescinded an order that would allow servicewomen to travel for abortion care.

Moving to fire FBI agents who participated in investigations of President Trump.

Signed an executive order asserting that American schools are to provide children with an education that instills “patriotic admiration for our incredible nation and the values for which we stand.” The order said it’s a “discriminatory equity ideology” to teach children that the United States is “fundamentally racist, sexist, or otherwise discriminatory,” and that children should receive a patriotic education that is an: 1) “accurate, honest, unifying, inspiring, and ennobling characterization of America’s founding and foundational principles; 2) a clear examination of how the United States has admirably grown closer to its noble principles throughout its history; 3) the concept that commitment to America’s aspirations is beneficial and justified; 4) the concept that celebration of America’s greatness and history is proper.”

Aides to Elon Musk charged with running the U.S. government’s human resources agency (Office of Personnel Management or OPM) locked career civil servants out of computer systems that contains the data of millions of federal employees.

U.S. envoy to Venezuela Richard Grennell returned from meeting with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with six U.S. citizens who presumably were being held in Venezuela.

Terminated thousands of FBI agents who investigated January 6th.

The Defense Intelligence Agency paused all activities and events related to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Holocaust Remembrance Day, Juneteenth, and LGBQT Pride Month.

Removed NBC, NPR, and the New York Times from Pentagon offices in favor of Breitbart and One America News Network.

Began the process of looking to defund NPR and PBS.

Demanded Ukraine hold elections before the end of 2025 especially if Kyiv and Moscow come to an agreement on a ceasefire. Kyiv seems to suggest conversations have been happening between Moscow and Washington without the inclusion of Kyiv, which they maintain is dangerous.

Ordered air strike on Islamic State in Somalia.

Fired the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Imposed 10% tariffs on goods from China.

Gave control of the Department of the Treasury’s payment system to Elon Musk and DOGE.

Mexico implemented tariff and non-tariff measures against the United States in retaliation for US tariffs on Mexican imports.

Canada implemented 25% tariffs on $155 billion in products from the United States in retaliation on US tariffs on Canadian imports, including fruit and liquor. Canada is also advising Canadians not to travel to the United States.

Retaliated against Selena Gomez for posting a now-deleted video of herself crying amid ICE raids against migrants.

Informed lawyers at the US Securities Exchange Commission that they must seek permission from the politically appointed leadership before they launched probes.

Gave Panama an ultimatum that if they do not reduce China’s influence around the canal area they will face possible US action.

Put on leave two officials at USAID who attempted to block associates of DOGE from seeing classified information they did not have the required security clearance to see. The DOGE associates were then given access to the classified information above their clearance level.

Elon Musk announced DOGE will be shutting down USAID. It was later announced that USAID would be absorbed by the state department with Secretary of State Marco Rubio serving as acting head.

The Dow Dropped 435 points on opening February 3rd due to the tariffs being put into effect. It ended the day down 122.75.

Announced tariffs on Mexico would be paused for one month to allow for negotiations as Mexico sends 10,000 troops to the border. This is the same number of troops Mexico agreed to send to the border in 2021 in a deal with President Biden. Since then there have been 10-15K Mexican troops at the southern border on and off for the past four years.

Signed an executive order to create a sovereign wealth fund and stated it could be used to buy TikTok.

The Liquor Control Boards of Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Manitoba pull all American products from their shelves. These LCB’s are the only wholesale providers of alcohol in the provinces. They also vowed to not restock American products in the restaurants, clubs, and bars in these provinces.

The US and Canada agree on a one month pause on the tariffs, during which time negotiations will take place. Canada has agreed to deploy new technology and personnel to the northern border as well as working with the United States to launch cooperative efforts to fight organized crime, fentanyl smuggling, and money laundering (a program they had already announced six weeks ago).

China counters with retaliatory tariffs against the United States and threatens to investigate Google.

Ontario announced it will cancel a $100 million project with Elon Musk’s Starlink.

Medical advocacy group Doctors for America sued the main US health agencies for removing websites containing “a broad range of health-related data and other information.”

Ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to open two dams in Central California on Friday, January 31st to send water to fire-ravaged Southern California. 2.2 billion gallons of water flowed out of California reservoirs into tributaries that do not go to Los Angeles or the ravaged farmlands the move was intended to help. Additionally, due to it being the wet winter season the water was largely wasted.

Proposed that the US to take ownership of the Gaza Strip and redevelop it after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere. Stated Israel would hand over Gaza peacefully after fighting there has commenced. Israel begins preparations for resettlement of Palestinians in Gaza.

Signed an order to withdraw the United States from the UN Human Rights Council. Israel would withdraw a few days later.

Scrubbed LGBTQ government agency web pages to remove information about trans and intersex people. Changed the abbreviation to LGB.

The US Postal Service announced a ban on all incoming packages from China and Hong Kong. This was walked back the following day.

Struck deal with Guatemala to accept deportees from the United States that hail from other countries.

Signed an order looking to ban all transgender athletes from competing in women’s and girl’s sports.

A federal judge temporarily blocked Trump’s plan offering federal workers incentives to resign.

DOGE employees prohibited access to USAID headquarters and the Department of Education by member of Congress under orders from Elon Musk.

Imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court over investigations of Israel.

Announced forthcoming implementation of reciprocal tariffs.

Signed an order to create a national Garden of America Heroes statue park.

A judge blocked the Trump Administrations attempt to put 2,200 USAID workers on leave.

Stated he would revoke Joe Biden’s security clearance barring him from receiving intelligence briefings typically given to ex-presidents.

Democratic district attorneys filed a lawsuit to stop DOGE from accessing Treasury Department records that contain personal data of American citizens. This was followed by a lawsuit by 19 states.

Announced the desire to resettle white South African farmers and their families as refugees.

Ordered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to stop all work.

Announced 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the US. The European Union vowed to retaliate.

Announced open to the idea of other states in the Middle East participating in the redevelopment of Gaza once it is owned by the United States.

Announced that Palestinians won’t have the right to return to Gaza under his plan for the territory.

Announced intention to make himself chair of the Kennedy Center. Stated this would be done to stop the production of “woke” shows before stating he hasn’t seen any of the Kennedy Center productions.

Called for ceasefire deal to be cancelled if Hamas does not release all of the hostages by February 15th. Netanyahu later announces ceasefire will end if hostages are not released by February 15th. Hamas announced Israeli hostages would be released on February 15th as planned.

Declined to back JD Vance as his successor as GOP nominee for the 2028 election stating it is “too soon.”

Justice Department ordered top prosecutors to drop charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams.

Pardoned Rod Blagojevich.

Signed an executive order to oust paper straw usage.

Announced the discontinuation of the penny.

Blocked an AP reporter from the White House due to the AP’s refusal to use “Gulf of America” over Gulf of Mexico.

DOGE cut $900 million from agency that tracks American students’ academic progress.

Secured the release of American teacher Mark Fogel from Russian imprisonment. Kremlin says one jailed Russian was released in exchange. It was later announced that the individual was Russian convicted money launderer Alexander Vinnik.

Fired the USAID inspector general a day after a warning about oversight of humanitarian aid.

Video evidence from a January 6th riot case has disappeared from a government platform that provided access to evidence used in court.

Proclaimed February 9th “Gulf of America Day”.

Paused enforcement of a law banning companies from bribing foreign government officials.

Eight inspectors general fired by Trump filed a lawsuit claiming unlawful termination.

Announced negotiations had begun to end the war in Ukraine between Trump and Putin without the inclusion ok Kyiv.

Signed a plan to hike tariffs on trading partners.

The State Department has budgeted $400 million for armored Teslas.

Suggested Mitch McConnell may not have been honest about having polio after he voted against approving Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Federal judges order Trump administration to lift freeze on foreign aid and pauses order that restricts gender-affirming care for transgender youth.

Laid off probationary government workers with promise of more cuts to come.

France, Germany, Poland, Italy, Spain, and the UK demand a seat at the table in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine and vow to protect Ukraine’s sovereignty.

Announced plan to eliminate Daylight Savings Time.

Announced desire for denuclearization talks with Russia and China. Stated hopes for cuts in defense spending.

Posted the White House’s Valentine’s Day message which read: “Roses are red/Violets are blue/If you come here illegally/We’ll deport you.”

Signed order pulling federal funding from schools with COVID-19 vaccine mandates (a majority of schools in the United States today do not mandate the COVID-19 vaccine for students attend).

Accidentally fired en masse at the National Nuclear Security Administration who play a critical role in maintaining the US nuclear weapons stockpiles.

Laid off a thousand staff members at thee Department of Veterans Affairs.

Laid off half of the CDCs staff at the Epidemic Intelligence Service.

Kennedy Center removed LGBTQ pride concert from their performance schedule.

JD Vance met with Alice Weidel, the leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany party while on a visit to Germany.

Trump’s lead envoy to Ukraine announced that Europe won’t have a seat at the table in negotiations over the end of the war in Ukraine. Secretary of State Marco Rubio countered that the EU would have a voice in any “real negotiations” to end the war in Ukraine.

Admitted on X that he can break any law he wants, posting twice: “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law…”

Requested that the Supreme Court permit the firing of the head of a federal agency dedicated to protecting whistleblowers.

Began firing of FAA air traffic controllers.

Sent officials to meet with Russia in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to discuss ending the war in Ukraine without Ukrainian representatives.

Signed executive order to explore making IVF more affordable.

Accidentally fired staff at the USDA working on bird flu.

Blamed the invasion of Ukraine by Russian on Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Stated Zelenskyy needed to “move fast for peace or he won’t have a country left.” Also referred to Zelenskyy as a “dictator without elections”.

Established a White House Faith Office.

Signed executive order stating that the President and Attorney General will interpret the law for the executive branch and not the courts.

Announced the cancellation of congestion pricing in New York City.

The official White House account posted memes of President Trump wearing a crown and calling himself king.

The DOJ erased a report on violence against Native American women from its website. The report laid out recommendations for tackling the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

Ordered the DOJ to terminate all Biden-era US attorneys.

Stated that federal government should “take over DC”.

An FDA memo banned the words “woman” and “disabled”.

IRS is expected to fire 6,700 employees.

Announced the US will not co-sponsor UN motion backing Ukraine.

DOJ broadening January 6th pardons to include separate gun and drug-related charges.

Elon Musk announces desire to send every American a check for $5,000 from DOGE savings.

Pulled the US out of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change meeting in Hangzhou, China to plan the seventh global climate assessment.

The Associated Press sued 3 Trump administration officials on the basis of free speech after being barred from White House briefings for refusing to use “Gulf of America”.

Exempted security funds from aid freeze but left many humanitarian program funds frozen.

The CDC reported five fold increase in weekly measles cases as Texas outbreak grows.

US Forrest Service workers fired by Trump administration warn that their dismissal raises the risk of catastrophic wildfires.

The Supreme Court will not allow President Trump to immediately fire the head of the whistleblower office.

Elon Musk joyfully wielded a chainsaw that was gifted to him at the CPAC convention. Steve Bannon at the same event stated that they wanted “Trump in 2028” before giving a Nazi salute to the audience.

Fired Air Force general CQ Brown as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, vice chief of the Air Force Gen. James Stifle, and chief of the Navy Admiral Lisa Franchetti (who Pete Hegseth referred to as a DEI hire). The Pentagon also announced it is looking to fire 5,400 workers and Hegseth announced a request for nominations for the Judge Advocates General for the Army, Navy, and Air Force hinting they will be replaced. Hegseth later stated that Trump will install new military attorney who “won’t be roadblocks to anything.”

A federal judge blocked Trump’s executive order ending federal support for DEI programs.

Hired retired three star Air Force general Dan “Razin” Caine as new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff despite a requirement of the position being having four star general status.

Elon Musk warned that any federal worker who didn’t send an email sending what they accomplished last week risks being terminated. As of Saturday, February 22nd emails were sent to employees at the Securities and Exchange Commission, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Center for Disease Control. Some agencies told employees to respond to the email by Monday, February 24th while others told them to ignore the directive. A lawsuit was later filed against Musk claiming that this request violated the law.

Launched ICE effort to deport unaccompanied migrant children.

Ordered the spending of $200 million on a DHS add campaign thanking him for all he has done so far according to Kristi Noem.

Newly confirmed Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Kash Patel named right-wing podcast host Dan Bongino to be Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

A federal judge blocked Elon Musk and DOGE’s access to sensitive data maintained by the Department of Education and the Office of Personnel Management.

Former KGB officer Alnur Mussayev claims that President Trump has been a Russian asset for 40 years, secretly operating under the code name “Krasnov”. There is no evidence to support this claim.

Proposing banning those on food stamps from purchasing junk food.

The United States joined Russia in voting against the UN resolution condemning Russia’s war against Ukraine. The Trump administration offered a different resolution that didn’t mention Russian aggression.

The televisions at the Department of Housing and Urban Development were hacked and played an AI created video of President Trump sucking Elon Musk’s toes.

Twenty-one employee resigned from DOGE stating that they refuse to take part in the dismantling of critical public services.

Announced that the White House would be deciding which news outlets have access to President Trump going forward rather than having a traditional independently chosen press pool.

Announced a plan for a pathway to citizenship for the wealthy he called a “gold card” that would be sold for $5 million.

Posted an AI created video to Truth Social regarding the future of Gaza depicting a Trump themed resort area.

Announced 90% of the USAID foreign contracts are being eliminated.

The FAA is close to canceling a 2.4 billion contract with Verizon to overhaul a communications system and awarding the contract to Elon Musk’s Starlink instead.

Announced 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada will begin on March 4th.

Elon Musk admitted that eliminating USAID services temporarily ended Ebola prevention efforts.

Pentagon announced transgender troops would be removed from the military.

Announced plans to sign an executive order making English the official language of the

Cancelled an FDA vaccine advisory meeting to pick the strain for next year’s flu vaccine.

Cut short Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy regarding proposed minerals deal. Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance berated Zelenskyy for seeking more security support from the United States. Zelenskyy was kicked out of The White House after refusing to back down to Trump attempting to paint Ukraine as the aggressors in the war in Ukraine. Trump later said he wanted an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine but doubted Zelenskyy wants peace.

Every Friday I will continue to review the events of the week so that we can keep track of the doings of this administration as well as any reactions/resistance to it.