Donald Trump returned to the White House as the 47th President of the United States on Monday and has already signed a string of controversial executive orders.
After less than 24 hours in office, Trump has signed dozens of executive orders affecting a range of policy areas.
The US has begun its withdrawal from the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. Having already quit the landmark climate agreement once during Trump's first presidential term, this second exit will take effect in one year.
The President also declared an energy emergency, repeating the catchphrase "drill, baby, drill" in an affront to efforts to favour green energy over oil.
The US will also withdraw from the World Health Organisation (WHO). "WHO swindled us," Trump accused the international UN health body, claiming that the US contribution to the international organisation was significantly larger than that of China.
Despite Trump's threats to impose import tariffs and additional taxes on numerous countries, he has held off on announcing any concrete trade measures for the moment.
Borders
In his inauguration speech, Trump promised to deport all "illegal" migrants. With this in mind, he declared a state of emergency at the southern border with Mexico as well as plans to deploy army troops in order to stop the "invasion" of the country.
In addition, the asylum-seeking platform launched by former President Joe Biden is no longer working, with the message "existing appointments have been cancelled" displayed on the site.
Trump has also already pardoned 1,500 people who were involved in the storming of the Capitol on 6 January 2021. "We hope they get out tonight," he said on Monday. In the meantime, the first two people – brothers Andrew and Matthew Valentin – were released from a Washington DC prison on the night of Monday to Tuesday, a White House spokesperson confirmed to US media.
Donald Trump also claimed during his inaugural speech that Americans would "plant" the American flag "on the planet Mars," but did not mention the scheduled return of NASA's American astronauts to the Moon, raising doubts about his space programme.
TikTok, terrorists and the death penalty
Trump also issued an order allowing the Chinese social media platform TikTok to remain operational in the US for an additional 75 days. On Sunday, the app "went dark" for its 170 million US users after a law came into force banning the app.
He also signed an executive order overturning Biden's decision to remove Cuba from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism. The country came on the terrorism list four years ago for allegedly providing sanctuary to terrorists.
Additionally, Trump designated Mexican drug cartels as terror organisations in an executive order. The measure gives the US judiciary more freedom to fight Mexican crime organisations and opens up the possibility of military operations by the US military on Mexican soil.
Another executive order ensures that the death penalty can be carried out more often. The Justice Department will be mandated to seek the death penalty for very serious crimes where a government official has been killed or the defendant is a person residing in the US without proper residency documents, the Washington Post reports.
The Gulf of America, no X on passports
In another executive order, Trump changed the name of 'Gulf of Mexico' to the 'Gulf of America'. Mount Denali in Alaska, America's highest mountain, will also be renamed Mount McKinley again.
"It is in the national interest to promote our nation's extraordinary heritage, and ensure that future generations of American citizens celebrate the legacy of our American heroes," the text of the Presidential Decree reads.
The mountain's name was changed under Barack Obama in 2015, who considered the new name as a reference to the indigenous people of the region. For Trump, however, it is "an insult to the life, achievements and sacrifice of President McKinley."
Meanwhile, another one of Trump's executive orders on Monday stated that only men and women will be recognised as biological sexes in the United States from now on. Choosing a neutral option, such as X, will no longer be possible when applying for passports, for example.
Trump also expressed doubts on Monday about the stability of the Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. When questioned by a journalist on his way back to the White House, Trump responded, "I'm not sure." He mentioned that the war-torn Palestinian territory could undergo a "fantastic" reconstruction if the ceasefire terms are fully adhered to. "I looked at a picture of Gaza. Gaza looks like a demolition site."
He also overturned sanctions by Joe Biden in February 2024 against Israeli illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, the White House announced. The extremist settlers are accused of violence against Palestinians. UN Security Council resolution 2334 stipulates that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law and an obstacle to the two-state solution.
