Donald Trump Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! == Presidency (2017–2021) == {{Main|Presidency of Donald Trump}} {{For timeline|Timeline of the Donald Trump presidency}} === Early actions === {{See also|Presidential transition of Donald Trump|First 100 days of Donald Trump's presidency}} [[File:Donald Trump swearing in ceremony.jpg|thumb|Trump is [[Inauguration of Donald Trump|sworn in]] as president by Chief Justice [[John Roberts]].|alt=Trump, with his family watching, raises his right hand and places his left hand on the Bible as he takes the oath of office. Roberts stands opposite him administering the oath.]] [[Inauguration of Donald Trump|Trump was inaugurated]] on January 20, 2017. During his first week in office, he signed [[List of executive actions by Donald Trump#Executive orders|six executive orders]], which authorized: interim procedures in anticipation of repealing the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare"), withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, reinstatement of the [[Mexico City policy]], advancement of the [[Keystone Pipeline|Keystone XL]] and [[Dakota Access Pipeline]] construction projects, reinforcement of border security, and a planning and design process to construct a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.<ref>{{cite news|last=Quigley|first=Aidan|title=All of Trump's executive actions so far|url=https://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2017/01/all-trump-executive-actions-000288|access-date=January 28, 2017|work=[[Politico]]|date=January 25, 2017}}</ref> Trump's daughter Ivanka and son-in-law [[Jared Kushner]] became his [[Assistant to the President|assistant]] and [[Senior Advisor to the President of the United States|senior advisor]], respectively.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2017/03/family-affair|author=V.V.B|title=Ivanka Trump's new job|date=March 31, 2017|access-date=April 3, 2017|newspaper=[[The Economist]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first1=Michael S.|last1=Schmidt|author-link1=Michael S. Schmidt|first2=Eric|last2=Lipton|author-link2=Eric Lipton|first3=Charlie|last3=Savage|author-link3=Charlie Savage (author)|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/21/us/politics/donald-trump-jared-kushner-justice-department.html|title=Jared Kushner, Trump's Son-in-Law, Is Cleared to Serve as Adviser|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 21, 2017|access-date=May 7, 2017}}</ref> === Conflicts of interest === Before being inaugurated, Trump moved his businesses into a [[revocable trust]] run by his sons, Eric and Donald Jr., and a business associate.<ref>{{cite news|first=Marilyn|last=Geewax|title=Trump Has Revealed Assumptions About Handling Presidential Wealth, Businesses|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/01/20/576871315/trump-has-revealed-assumptions-about-handling-presidential-wealth-businesses|work=[[NPR]]|date=January 20, 2018|access-date=October 2, 2021}}</ref><ref name="BBC041817">{{cite news|title=Donald Trump: A list of potential conflicts of interest|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38069298|work=[[BBC]]|date=April 18, 2017|access-date=October 2, 2021}}</ref> Though he said he would eschew "new foreign deals", the Trump Organization pursued expansions of its operations in Dubai, Scotland, and the Dominican Republic. Trump continued to profit from his businesses and to know how his administration's policies affected his businesses.<ref name="BBC041817"/><ref name="Venook">{{cite news|last=Venook|first=Jeremy|title=Trump's Interests vs. America's, Dubai Edition|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/08/donald-trump-conflicts-of-interests/508382/|work=[[The Atlantic]]|date=August 9, 2017|access-date=October 2, 2021}}</ref> He was sued for violating the [[Domestic Emoluments Clause|Domestic]] and [[Foreign Emoluments Clause]]s of the [[U.S. Constitution]], marking the first time that the clauses had been substantively litigated.<ref name=CRSRpt>{{cite report|title=In Focus: The Emoluments Clauses of the U.S. Constitution|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/IF11086.pdf|date=August 19, 2020|access-date=October 2, 2021|publisher=[[Congressional Research Service]]}}</ref> One case was dismissed in lower court.<ref>{{cite news|last=LaFraniere|first=Sharon|author-link=Sharon LaFraniere|title=Lawsuit on Trump Emoluments Violations Gains Traction in Court|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/25/us/politics/trump-emoluments-lawsuit.html|date=January 25, 2018|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=January 25, 2018}}</ref> Two were dismissed by the U.S. Supreme Court as moot after the end of Trump's term.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://cnn.com/2021/01/25/politics/emoluments-supreme-court-donald-trump-case/|title=Supreme Court dismisses emoluments cases against Trump|first1=Ariane|last1=de Vogue|first2=Devan|last2=Cole|work=[[CNN]]|date=January 25, 2021|access-date=September 14, 2022}}</ref> Trump visited a Trump Organization property every 3.4 days.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bump|first=Philip|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/01/20/trumps-presidency-ends-where-so-much-it-was-spent-trump-organization-property/|title=Trump's presidency ends where so much of it was spent: A Trump Organization property|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=January 20, 2021|access-date=January 27, 2022}}</ref> === Domestic policy === ==== Economy ==== {{Main|Economic policy of the Donald Trump administration}} Trump took office at the height of the longest [[economic expansion]] in American history,<ref name=VanDam>{{cite news|first=Andrew |last=Van Dam|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/01/08/trump-jobs-record/|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|title=Trump will have the worst jobs record in modern U.S. history. It's not just the pandemic.|date=January 8, 2021|access-date=October 2, 2021}}</ref> which began in June 2009 and continued until February 2020, when the [[COVID-19 recession]] began.<ref>{{cite news|last=Smialek|first=Jeanna|date=June 8, 2020|title=The U.S. Entered a Recession in February|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/08/business/economy/us-economy-recession-2020.html|access-date=June 10, 2020}}</ref> In December 2017, Trump signed the [[Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017]]. The bill had been passed by Congress without any Democratic votes. It reduced tax rates for businesses and individuals, with business tax cuts to be permanent and individual tax cuts set to expire after 2025, and set the penalty associated with [[Affordable Care Act]]'s individual mandate to $0.<ref>{{cite news|last=Long|first=Heather|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/12/15/the-final-gop-tax-bill-is-complete-heres-what-is-in-it/|title=The final GOP tax bill is complete. Here's what is in it.|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=December 15, 2017 |access-date=July 31, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/12/15/us/politics/final-republican-tax-bill-cuts.html|title=What's in the Final Republican Tax Bill|work=[[The New York Times]]|first1=Wilson|last1=Andrews|first2=Alicia|last2=Parlapiano|date=December 15, 2017|access-date=December 22, 2017}}</ref> The Trump administration claimed that the act would not decrease government revenue, but revenues in 2018 were 7.6 percent lower than projected.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gale|first=William G.|url=https://www.brookings.edu/policy2020/votervital/did-the-2017-tax-cut-the-tax-cuts-and-jobs-act-pay-for-itself/|title=Did the 2017 tax cut—the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act—pay for itself?|work=[[Brookings Institution]]|date=February 14, 2020 |access-date=July 31, 2021}}</ref> Despite a campaign promise to eliminate the national debt in eight years, Trump approved large increases in government spending and the 2017 tax cut. As a result, the federal budget deficit increased by almost 50 percent, to nearly $1 trillion in 2019.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Long|first1=Heather|last2=Stein|first2=Jeff|title=The U.S. deficit hit $984 billion in 2019, soaring during Trump era|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/10/25/us-deficit-hit-billion-marking-nearly-percent-increase-during-trump-era/|access-date=June 10, 2020|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=October 25, 2019}}</ref> Under Trump, the [[U.S. national debt]] increased by 39 percent, reaching $27.75{{nbsp}}trillion by the end of his term, and the U.S. [[debt-to-GDP ratio]] hit a post-World War II high.<ref>{{cite web|first1=Allan|last1=Sloan|first2=Cezary|last2=Podkul|url=https://www.propublica.org/article/national-debt-trump|work=[[ProPublica]]|title=Donald Trump Built a National Debt So Big (Even Before the Pandemic) That It'll Weigh Down the Economy for Years|date=January 14, 2021|access-date=October 3, 2021}}</ref> Trump also failed to deliver the $1 trillion infrastructure spending plan on which he had campaigned.<ref>{{cite web|last=Bliss|first=Laura|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-16/what-did-all-those-infrastructure-weeks-add-up-to|title=How Trump's $1 Trillion Infrastructure Pledge Added Up|work=[[Bloomberg News]]|date=November 16, 2020 |access-date=December 29, 2021}}</ref> Trump is the only modern U.S. president to leave office with a smaller workforce than when he took office, by 3 million people.<ref name=VanDam/> ==== Climate change, environment, and energy ==== {{Main|Environmental policy of the Donald Trump administration}} Trump rejects the [[scientific consensus on climate change]].<ref>{{cite web|first1=Ashley|last1=Parker|author-link1=Ashley Parker|first2=Coral|last2=Davenport|title=Donald Trump's Energy Plan: More Fossil Fuels and Fewer Rules|date=May 26, 2016|access-date=October 3, 2021|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/27/us/politics/donald-trump-global-warming-energy-policy.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Jason|last=Samenow|author-link=Jason Samenow|title=Donald Trump's unsettling nonsense on weather and climate|date=March 22, 2016|access-date=October 3, 2021|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2016/03/22/donald-trumps-unsettling-nonsense-on-weather-and-climate}}</ref> He reduced the budget for renewable energy research by 40 percent and reversed Obama-era policies directed at curbing climate change.<ref>{{cite web|title=Trump proposes cuts to climate and clean-energy programs|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/how-trump-is-changing-science-environment|date=May 3, 2019|work=[[National Geographic Society]]|access-date=November 24, 2023}}</ref> In June 2017, Trump announced the [[withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Agreement|U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement]], making the U.S. the only nation to not ratify the agreement.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dennis|first=Brady|title=As Syria embraces Paris climate deal, it's the United States against the world|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/11/07/as-syria-embraces-paris-climate-deal-its-the-united-states-against-the-world|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=November 7, 2017|access-date=May 28, 2018}}</ref> Trump aimed to boost the production and exports of [[fossil fuel]]s.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gardner|first=Timothy|title=Senate confirms Brouillette, former Ford lobbyist, as energy secretary|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-energy-brouillette/senate-confirms-brouillette-former-ford-lobbyist-as-energy-secretary-idUSKBN1Y62E6|access-date=December 15, 2019|work=[[Reuters]]|date=December 3, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/mt-state-wire-climate-ap-top-news-climate-change-ca-state-wire-2b44ced0e892d7e988e40a486d875b5d|work=[[Associated Press]]|title=Trump's fossil fuel agenda gets pushback from federal judges|first=Matthew|last=Brown|date=September 15, 2020|access-date=October 3, 2021}}</ref> Natural gas expanded under Trump, but coal continued to decline.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/05/us/politics/trump-coal-industry.html|title='The Coal Industry Is Back,' Trump Proclaimed. It Wasn't.|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=October 5, 2020|access-date=October 3, 2021|first=Eric|last=Lipton}}</ref><ref name=Subramaniam>{{cite web|first=Tara|last=Subramaniam|url=https://cnn.com/2021/01/30/politics/trump-broken-promises/|title=From building the wall to bringing back coal: Some of Trump's more notable broken promises|work=[[CNN]]|date=January 30, 2021|access-date=October 3, 2021}}</ref> Trump rolled back more than 100 federal environmental regulations, including those that curbed [[greenhouse gas emissions]], air and water pollution, and the use of toxic substances. He weakened protections for animals and environmental standards for federal infrastructure projects, and expanded permitted areas for drilling and resource extraction, such as allowing [[Arctic Refuge drilling controversy|drilling in the Arctic Refuge]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Popovich|first1=Nadja|last2=Albeck-Ripka|first2=Livia|last3=Pierre-Louis|first3=Kendra|title=The Trump Administration Rolled Back More Than 100 Environmental Rules. Here's the Full List.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/climate/trump-environment-rollbacks-list.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 20, 2021|access-date=December 21, 2023}}</ref> ==== Deregulation ==== In January 2017, Trump signed [[Executive Order 13771]], which directed that, for every new regulation, federal agencies "identify" two existing regulations for elimination, though it did not require elimination.<ref>{{cite web|last=Plumer|first=Brad|url=https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/1/30/14441430/trump-executive-order-regulations|title=Trump wants to kill two old regulations for every new one issued. Sort of.|work=[[Vox (website)|Vox]]|date=January 30, 2017|access-date=March 11, 2023}}</ref> He dismantled many federal regulations on health,<ref>{{cite web|last=Thompson|first=Frank W.|url=https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2020/10/09/six-ways-trump-has-sabotaged-the-affordable-care-act/|title=Six ways Trump has sabotaged the Affordable Care Act|publisher=[[Brookings Institution]]|date=October 9, 2020|access-date=January 3, 2022}}</ref><ref name="midnight">{{cite web|last1=Arnsdorf|first1=Isaac|last2=DePillis|first2=Lydia|last3=Lind|first3=Dara|last4=Song|first4=Lisa|last5=Syed|first5=Moiz|last6=Osei|first6=Zipporah|url=https://projects.propublica.org/trump-midnight-regulations/|title=Tracking the Trump Administration's "Midnight Regulations"|publisher=[[ProPublica]]|date=November 25, 2020|access-date=January 3, 2022}}</ref> labor,<ref>{{cite web|last=Poydock|first=Margaret|url=https://www.epi.org/blog/president-trump-has-attacked-workers-safety-wages-and-rights-since-day-one/|title=President Trump has attacked workers' safety, wages, and rights since Day One|publisher=[[Economic Policy Institute]]|date=September 17, 2020|access-date=January 3, 2022}}</ref><ref name="midnight"/> and the environment,<ref>{{cite web|last=Baker|first=Cayli|url=https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/12/15/the-trump-administrations-major-environmental-deregulations/|date=December 15, 2020|access-date=January 29, 2022|title=The Trump administration's major environmental deregulations|publisher=[[Brookings Institution]]}}</ref><ref name="midnight"/> among other topics. Trump signed 14 [[Congressional Review Act]] resolutions repealing federal regulations, including a bill that made it easier for severely mentally ill persons to buy guns.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Grunwald|first=Michael|title=Trump's Secret Weapon Against Obama's Legacy|url=https://www.natlawreview.com/article/president-trump-signs-first-congressional-review-act-disapproval-resolution-16-years|magazine=[[Politico#Politico Magazine|Politico Magazine]]|date=April 10, 2017|access-date=January 29, 2022}}</ref> During his first six weeks in office, he delayed, suspended, or reversed ninety federal regulations,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Lipton|first1=Eric|last2=Appelbaum|first2=Binyamin|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/05/us/politics/trump-deregulation-guns-wall-st-climate.html|title=Leashes Come Off Wall Street, Gun Sellers, Polluters and More|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=March 5, 2017|access-date=January 29, 2022}}</ref> often "after requests by the regulated industries".<ref>{{cite web|title=Trump-Era Trend: Industries Protest. Regulations Rolled Back. A Dozen Examples|url=https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3480299-10-Examples-Industries-Push-Followed-by-Trump.html#document/p60/a341284|work=[[The New York Times]]|via=[[DocumentCloud]]|access-date=January 29, 2022|date=March 5, 2017}}</ref> The [[Institute for Policy Integrity]] found that 78 percent of Trump's proposals were blocked by courts or did not prevail over litigation.<ref>{{cite web|title=Roundup: Trump-Era Agency Policy in the Courts|url=https://policyintegrity.org/trump-court-roundup|publisher=[[Institute for Policy Integrity]]|date=April 25, 2022|access-date=January 8, 2022}}</ref> ==== Health care ==== During his campaign, Trump vowed to repeal and replace the [[Affordable Care Act]] (ACA).<ref>{{cite web|last=Kodjak|first=Alison|author-link=Alison Kodjak|title=Trump Can Kill Obamacare With Or Without Help From Congress|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/11/09/501203831/trump-can-kill-obamacare-with-or-without-help-from-congress|access-date=January 12, 2017|work=[[NPR]]|date=November 9, 2016}}</ref> In office, he scaled back the Act's implementation through executive orders [[Executive Order 13765|13765]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/20/us/politics/trump-executive-order-obamacare.html|title=Trump Issues Executive Order Scaling Back Parts of Obamacare|last1=Davis|first1=Julie Hirschfeld|author-link1=Julie Hirschfeld Davis|last2=Pear|first2=Robert|author-link2=Robert Pear|date=January 20, 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=January 23, 2017}}</ref> and [[Executive Order 13813|13813]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://money.cnn.com/2017/10/12/news/economy/trump-health-care-executive-order/index.html|title=What's in Trump's health care executive order?|first=Tami|last=Luhby|work=[[CNN]]|date=October 13, 2017|access-date=October 14, 2017}}</ref> Trump expressed a desire to "let Obamacare fail"; his administration cut the ACA [[Annual enrollment|enrollment period]] in half and drastically reduced funding for enrollment promotion.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/18/trump-tweet-obamacare-repeal-failure-240664|title=Trump says he plans to 'let Obamacare fail'|last=Nelson|first=Louis|date=July 18, 2017|work=[[Politico]]|access-date=September 29, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/trump-obamacare-sabotage-enrollment-cuts_us_59a87bffe4b0b5e530fd5751|title=Trump Ramps Up Obamacare Sabotage With Huge Cuts To Enrollment Programs|last=Young|first=Jeffrey|date=August 31, 2017|work=[[HuffPost]]|access-date=September 29, 2017}}</ref> In June 2018, the Trump administration [[California v. Texas|joined 18 Republican-led states in arguing before the Supreme Court]] that the elimination of the financial penalties associated with the individual mandate had rendered the ACA unconstitutional.<ref name=StolbergACA>{{cite news|first=Sheryl Gay|last=Stolberg|title=Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Strike Down Affordable Care Act|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/26/us/politics/obamacare-trump-administration-supreme-court.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 26, 2020|access-date=October 3, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Obamacare Must 'Fall,' Trump Administration Tells Supreme Court|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/06/26/883819835/obamacare-must-fall-trump-administration-tells-supreme-court|work=[[NPR]]|first=Mark|last=Katkov|date=June 26, 2020|access-date=September 29, 2021}}</ref> Their pleading was unsuccessful; had it succeeded, it would have eliminated [[Health insurance coverage in the United States|health insurance coverage]] for up to 23 million Americans.<ref name=StolbergACA /> During the 2016 campaign, Trump promised to protect funding for Medicare and other social safety-net programs, but in January 2020, he suggested he was willing to consider cuts to such programs.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/22/us/politics/medicare-trump.html|title=Trump Opens Door to Cuts to Medicare and Other Entitlement Programs|first1=Alan|last1=Rappeport|author-link1=Alan Rappeport|first2=Maggie|last2=Haberman|author-link2=Maggie Haberman|date=January 22, 2020|access-date=January 24, 2020|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> In response to the opioid epidemic, Trump signed legislation in 2018 to increase funding for drug treatments but was widely criticized for failing to make a concrete strategy. U.S. opioid overdose deaths declined slightly in 2018 but surged to a record 50,052 deaths in 2019.<ref>{{cite news|last=Mann|first=Brian|date=October 29, 2020|title=Opioid Crisis: Critics Say Trump Fumbled Response To Another Deadly Epidemic|work=[[NPR]]|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/10/29/927859091/opioid-crisis-critics-say-trump-fumbled-response-to-another-deadly-epidemic|access-date=December 13, 2020}}</ref> ==== Social issues ==== {{Main|Social policy of Donald Trump}} Trump barred organizations that provide abortions or abortion referrals from receiving federal funds.<ref>{{cite web|title=Abortion: How do Trump and Biden's policies compare?|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54003808 |work=[[BBC News]]|access-date=July 17, 2023|date=September 9, 2020}}</ref> He said he supported "traditional marriage" but considered the [[Same-sex marriage in the United States|nationwide legality]] of [[same-sex marriage]] a "settled" issue.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://cnn.com/2016/11/14/politics/trump-gay-marriage-abortion-supreme-court/|title=Trump: Same-sex marriage is 'settled', but Roe v Wade can be changed|work=[[CNN]]|first=Ariane|last=de Vogue|date=November 15, 2016|access-date=November 30, 2016}}</ref> In March 2017, his administration rolled back key components of the Obama administration's workplace protections against [[Discrimination against LGBT people|discrimination of LGBT people]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/lgbtq-advocates-say-trump-s-news-executive-order-makes-them-n740301|title=LGBTQ Advocates Say Trump's New Executive Order Makes Them Vulnerable to Discrimination|work=[[NBC News]]|first=Mary Emily|last=O'Hara|date=March 30, 2017|access-date=July 30, 2017}}</ref> Trump's attempted rollback of anti-discrimination protections for [[transgender]] patients in August 2020 was halted by a federal judge after the Supreme Court's ruling in July had extended employees' civil rights protections to [[gender identity]] and sexual orientation.<ref>{{cite news|last=Luthi|first=Susannah|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/17/judge-trump-rollback-transgender-health-397332|title=Judge halts Trump's rollback of transgender health protections|work=[[Politico]]|date=August 17, 2020|access-date=November 8, 2023}}</ref> Trump has said he is [[Gun politics in the United States|opposed]] to [[gun control]] in general, although his views have shifted over time.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cnn.com/2016/06/20/politics/donald-trump-gun-positions-nra-orlando/|title=The times Trump changed his positions on guns|work=[[CNN]]|date=June 20, 2016|access-date=October 3, 2021|first=Gregory|last=Krieg}}</ref> After several [[mass shootings in the United States|mass shootings]] during his term, he said he would propose legislation related to guns, but he abandoned that effort in November 2019.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-quietly-abandons-proposing-ideas-to-curb-gun-violence-after-saying-he-would-following-mass-shootings/2019/10/31/8bca030c-fa6e-11e9-9534-e0dbcc9f5683_story.html|title=Trump abandons proposing ideas to curb gun violence after saying he would following mass shootings|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|first=Josh|last=Dawsey|author-link=Josh Dawsey|date=November 1, 2019|access-date=October 3, 2021}}</ref> His administration took an [[Cannabis policy of the Donald Trump administration|anti-marijuana position]], revoking [[Cole Memorandum|Obama-era policies]] that provided protections for states that legalized marijuana.<ref>{{cite web|last=Bures|first=Brendan|date=February 21, 2020|access-date=October 3, 2021|title=Trump administration doubles down on anti-marijuana position|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/marijuana/sns-tft-trump-anti-marijuana-stance-20200221-jfdx4urbb5bhrf6ldtfpxleopi-story.html}}</ref> Trump is a long-time advocate of capital punishment.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wolf|first=Zachary B.|title=Trump returns to the death penalty as Democrats turn against it|url=https://cnn.com/2019/07/27/politics/death-penalty-trump-democrats/|work=[[CNN]]|access-date=September 18, 2022|date=July 27, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Honderich|first=Holly|title=In Trump's final days, a rush of federal executions|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55236260|work=[[BBC]]|date=January 16, 2021|access-date=September 18, 2022}}</ref> Under his administration, the [[Capital punishment by the United States federal government|federal government executed]] 13 prisoners, more than in the previous 56 years combined and after a 17-year moratorium.<ref>{{cite web|first1=Michael|last1=Tarm|first2=Michael|last2=Kunzelman|title=Trump administration carries out 13th and final execution|url=https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-wildlife-coronavirus-pandemic-crime-terre-haute-28e44cc5c026dc16472751bbde0ead50|work=[[Associated Press]]|date=January 15, 2021|access-date=January 30, 2022}}</ref> In 2016, Trump said he supported the use of interrogation torture methods such as [[waterboarding]]<ref>{{cite web|last=McCarthy|first=Tom|title=Donald Trump: I'd bring back 'a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/06/donald-trump-waterboarding-republican-debate-torture|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=February 7, 2016|access-date=February 8, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Ted Cruz, Donald Trump Advocate Bringing Back Waterboarding|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/ted-cruz-donald-trump-advocate-bringing-back-waterboarding-36764410|work=[[ABC News]]|date=February 6, 2016|access-date=February 9, 2016}}</ref> but later appeared to recant this due to the opposition of Defense Secretary [[James Mattis]].<ref>{{cite journal|first=Ron E.|last=Hassner|title=What Do We Know about Interrogational Torture?|journal=[[International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence]]|volume=33|issue=1|year=2020|pages=4–42|doi=10.1080/08850607.2019.1660951}}</ref> === Pardons and commutations === {{Further|List of people granted executive clemency by Donald Trump}} Trump granted 237 requests for clemency, third fewest of presidents since 1900.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gramlich|first=John|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/01/22/trump-used-his-clemency-power-sparingly-despite-a-raft-of-late-pardons-and-commutations/|title=Trump used his clemency power sparingly despite a raft of late pardons and commutations|work=[[Pew Research Center]]|date=January 22, 2021|access-date=July 23, 2023}}</ref> Only 25 of them had been vetted by the Justice Department's [[Office of the Pardon Attorney]]; the others were granted to people with personal or political connections to him, his family, and his allies, or recommended by celebrities.<ref>{{cite web|last=Vogel|first=Kenneth P.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/27/us/politics/trump-pardons.html|title=The Road to Clemency From Trump Was Closed to Most Who Sought It|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=March 21, 2021|access-date=July 23, 2023}}</ref><ref name="OloDaw">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-pardon-power-russia-probe-mueller/2020/12/24/c55000c8-45fd-11eb-b0e4-0f182923a025_story.html|date=December 24, 2020|access-date=October 3, 2021|title=Trump wields pardon power as political weapon, rewarding loyalists and undermining prosecutors|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|first1=Toluse|last1=Olorunnipa|first2=Josh|last2=Dawsey|author-link2=Josh Dawsey}}</ref> In his last full day in office, Trump granted 73 pardons and commuted 70 sentences.<ref>{{cite web|first1=Kevin|last1=Johnson|first2=David|last2=Jackson|first3=Dennis|last3=Wagner|url=https://usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/01/19/donald-trump-pardons-steve-bannon-white-house/4209763001/|title=Donald Trump grants clemency to 144 people (not himself or family members) in final hours|date=January 19, 2021|work=[[USA Today]]|access-date=July 23, 2023}}</ref> === Lafayette Square protester removal and photo op === {{Main|Donald Trump photo op at St. John's Church}} [[File:President Trump Visits St. John's Episcopal Church (49964153176).jpg|thumb|Trump and group of officials and advisors on the way from White House complex to St. John's Church]] On June 1, 2020, during the [[George Floyd protests]], federal law-enforcement officials used [[less lethal]] weapons to remove a largely peaceful crowd of protesters from [[Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C.|Lafayette Square]], outside the [[White House]].<ref name="wb">{{cite news|last1=Leonnig|first1=Carol D.|author-link1=Carol D. Leonnig|last2=Zapotosky|first2=Matt|last3=Dawsey|first3=Josh|author-link3=Josh Dawsey|last4=Tan|first4=Rebecca|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/barr-personally-ordered-removal-of-protesters-near-white-house-leading-to-use-of-force-against-largely-peaceful-crowd/2020/06/02/0ca2417c-a4d5-11ea-b473-04905b1af82b_story.html|title=Barr personally ordered removal of protesters near White House, leading to use of force against largely peaceful crowd|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=June 2, 2020|access-date=June 3, 2020}}</ref><ref name="bumpline">{{cite news|last=Bump|first=Philip|date=June 2, 2020|title=Timeline: The clearing of Lafayette Square|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/06/02/timeline-clearing-lafayette-square/|access-date=June 6, 2020}}</ref> Trump then walked to [[St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square|St. John's Episcopal Church]], where protesters had set a small fire the night before; he posed for photographs holding a Bible, with senior administration officials later joining him in photos.<ref name="wb" /><ref>{{cite web|last1=Gittleson|first1=Ben|last2=Phelps|first2=Jordyn|title=Police use munitions to forcibly push back peaceful protesters for Trump church visit|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/national-guard-troops-deployed-white-house-trump-calls/story?id=71004151 |access-date=June 29, 2021|work=[[ABC News]]|date=June 3, 2020}}</ref> Religious leaders condemned the treatment of protesters and the photo opportunity itself.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Stableford|first1=Dylan|last2=Wilson|first2=Christopher|title=Religious leaders condemn teargassing protesters to clear street for Trump|url=https://news.yahoo.com/religious-leaders-condemn-gassing-protesters-to-clear-street-for-trump-192800782.html|access-date=June 8, 2020|work=[[Yahoo! News]]|date=June 3, 2020}}</ref> Many retired military leaders and defense officials condemned Trump's proposal to use the U.S. military against anti-police-brutality protesters.<ref>{{cite web|title=Scores of retired military leaders publicly denounce Trump|url=https://apnews.com/article/252914f8a989a740544be6d4992d044c|access-date=June 8, 2020|work=[[AP News]]|date=June 6, 2020}}</ref> === Immigration === {{Main|Immigration policy of Donald Trump}} Trump's proposed immigration policies were a topic of bitter debate during the campaign. He promised to build [[Trump wall|a wall]] on the [[Mexico–U.S. border]] to restrict illegal movement and vowed Mexico would pay for it.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37243269|title=Donald Trump's Mexico wall: Who is going to pay for it?|date=February 6, 2017|work=[[BBC]]|access-date=December 9, 2017}}</ref> He pledged to deport millions of [[Illegal immigrant population of the United States|illegal immigrants residing in the U.S.]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Donald Trump emphasizes plans to build 'real' wall at Mexico border|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/donald-trump-emphasizes-plans-to-build-real-wall-at-mexico-border-1.3196807|work=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]]|access-date=September 29, 2015|date=August 19, 2015}}</ref> and criticized [[Birthright citizenship in the United States|birthright citizenship]] for incentivizing "[[anchor babies]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2015/08/donald-trump-has-some-thoughts-about-the-constitution|title=Donald Trump: The 14th Amendment is Unconstitutional|work=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]|date=August 19, 2015|access-date=November 22, 2015|first=Inae|last=Oh}}</ref> As president, he frequently described illegal immigration as an "invasion" and conflated immigrants with the criminal gang [[MS-13]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2019/08/08/trump-immigrants-rhetoric-criticized-el-paso-dayton-shootings/1936742001/|title=A USA Today analysis found Trump used words like 'invasion' and 'killer' at rallies more than 500 times since 2017|last=Fritze|first=John|work=[[USA Today]]|access-date=August 9, 2019|date=August 8, 2019}}</ref> though available research shows [[Undocumented immigrant population of the United States|undocumented immigrants]] have a lower crime rate than native-born Americans.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gomez|first=Alan|date=January 31, 2018|title=Trump painted a dark picture of immigrants, despite the facts|work=[[USA Today]]|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/01/31/trump-painted-dark-picture-immigrants-despite-facts/1081208001/ |access-date=February 1, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Haslett|first=Cheyenne|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/fact-check-trumps-claims-illegal-immigrant-crime-rates/story?id=60311860|title=Fact Check: Trump's claims on undocumented immigrant crime rates. Here's what the numbers show.|work=[[ABC News]]|date=January 15, 2019 |access-date=July 10, 2022}}</ref> Trump attempted to drastically escalate immigration enforcement, including implementing harsher immigration enforcement policies against asylum seekers from Central America than any modern U.S. president.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Johnson|first=Kevin R.|title=Immigration and civil rights in the Trump administration: Law and policy making by executive order|journal=[[Santa Clara Law Review]]|year=2017|volume=57|issue=3|pages=611–665|url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/saclr57&div=21&id=&page=|access-date=June 1, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Johnson|first1=Kevin R.|last2=Cuison-Villazor|first2=Rose|title=The Trump Administration and the War on Immigration Diversity|journal=[[Wake Forest Law Review]]|date=May 2, 2019|url=https://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/wflr54§ion=21|access-date=June 1, 2020|pages=575–616|volume=54|issue=2}}</ref> From 2018 onward, Trump [[Operation Faithful Patriot|deployed nearly 6,000 troops to the U.S.–Mexico border]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Mitchell|first=Ellen|title=Pentagon to send a 'few thousand' more troops to southern border|url=https://thehill.com/policy/defense/427519-pentagon-to-send-a-few-thousand-more-troops-to-southern-border|access-date=June 4, 2020|work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|date=January 29, 2019}}</ref> to stop most Central American migrants from seeking U.S. asylum. In 2020, his administration widened the [[public charge rule]] to further restrict immigrants who might use government benefits from getting permanent residency via [[green card]]s.<ref>{{cite web|last=Snow|first=Anita|title=Crackdown on immigrants who use public benefits takes effect|url=https://apnews.com/article/e069e5a84057752a8535b1abe5d2ba6d|access-date=June 4, 2020|work=[[AP News]]|date=February 25, 2020}}</ref> Trump reduced the number of [[United States Refugee Admissions Program|refugees admitted]] into the U.S. to record lows. When Trump took office, the annual limit was 110,000; Trump set a limit of 18,000 in the 2020 fiscal year and 15,000 in the 2021 fiscal year.<ref>{{cite news|title=Donald Trump has cut refugee admissions to America to a record low|url=https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2019/11/04/donald-trump-has-cut-refugee-admissions-to-america-to-a-record-low|access-date=June 25, 2020|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|date=November 4, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Trump Virtually Cuts Off Refugees as He Unleashes a Tirade on Immigrants|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/01/us/politics/trump-refugees.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=October 1, 2020|access-date=September 30, 2021|first1=Zolan|last1=Kanno-Youngs|author-link1=Zolan Kanno-Youngs|first2=Michael D.|last2=Shear|author-link2=Michael D. Shear}}</ref> Additional restrictions implemented by the Trump administration caused significant bottlenecks in processing refugee applications, resulting in fewer refugees accepted than the allowed limits.<ref>{{cite web|last=Hesson|first=Ted|title=Trump ending U.S. role as worldwide leader on refugees|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/11/trump-refugee-decrease-immigration-044186|access-date=June 25, 2020|work=[[Politico]]|date=October 11, 2019}}</ref> ==== Travel ban ==== {{Main|Trump travel ban}} {{Further|Executive Order 13769|Executive Order 13780}} Following the [[2015 San Bernardino attack]], Trump proposed to ban [[Muslims|Muslim]] foreigners from entering the U.S. until stronger vetting systems could be implemented.<ref>{{cite web|last=Pilkington|first=Ed|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/dec/07/donald-trump-ban-all-muslims-entering-us-san-bernardino-shooting|title=Donald Trump: ban all Muslims entering US|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=December 8, 2015|access-date=October 10, 2020}}</ref> He later reframed the proposed ban to apply to countries with a "proven history of terrorism".<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=June 25, 2016|access-date=October 3, 2021|first=Jenna|last=Johnson|title=Trump now proposes only Muslims from terrorism-heavy countries would be banned from U.S.|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/06/25/trump-now-says-muslim-ban-only-applies-to-those-from-terrorism-heavy-countries/}}</ref> On January 27, 2017, Trump signed [[Executive Order 13769]], which suspended admission of refugees for 120 days and denied entry to citizens of Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen for 90 days, citing security concerns. The order took effect immediately and without warning, causing confusion and chaos at airports.<ref name="frontline">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/28/airports-us-immigration-ban-muslim-countries-trump|title=US airports on frontline as Donald Trump's travel ban causes chaos and protests|date=January 28, 2017|work=[[The Guardian]]|first1=Joanna|last1=Walters|first2=Edward|last2=Helmore|first3=Saeed Kamali|last3=Dehghan|access-date=July 19, 2017}}</ref><ref name="airport">{{cite web|title=Protests erupt at airports nationwide over immigration action|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/protests-airports-immigration-action-president-trump/|work=[[CBS News]]|date=January 28, 2017 |access-date=March 22, 2021}}</ref> [[Protests against Executive Order 13769|Protests against the ban]] began at airports the next day.<ref name="frontline"/><ref name="airport"/> [[Legal challenges to the Trump travel ban|Legal challenges]] to the order resulted in [[National injunctions|nationwide preliminary injunctions]].<ref>{{cite web|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=February 4, 2017|access-date=October 3, 2021|first1=Devlin|last1=Barrett|first2=Dan|last2=Frosch|title=Federal Judge Temporarily Halts Trump Order on Immigration, Refugees|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/legal-feud-over-trump-immigration-order-turns-to-visa-revocations-1486153216}}</ref> A March 6 [[Executive Order 13780|revised order]], which excluded Iraq and gave other exemptions, again was blocked by federal judges in three states.<ref>{{cite web|work=[[Reuters]]|date=March 15, 2017|access-date=October 3, 2021|first1=Dan|last1=Levine|first2=Mica|last2=Rosenberg|title=Hawaii judge halts Trump's new travel ban before it can go into effect|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-court-idUSKBN16M17N}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Trump signs new travel ban directive|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-39183153|access-date=March 18, 2017|work=[[BBC News]]|date=March 6, 2017}}</ref> In a [[Int'l Refugee Assistance Project v. Trump|decision in June 2017]], the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] ruled that the ban could be enforced on visitors who lack a "credible claim of a ''bona fide'' relationship with a person or entity in the United States".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-travel-ban-supreme-court-20170626-story.html|title=Limited version of Trump's travel ban to take effect Thursday|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|first=Mark|last=Sherman|agency=[[Associated Press]]|date=June 26, 2017|access-date=August 5, 2017}}</ref> The temporary order was replaced by [[Presidential Proclamation 9645]] on September 24, 2017, which restricted travel from the originally targeted countries except Iraq and Sudan, and further banned travelers from North Korea and Chad, along with certain Venezuelan officials.<ref>{{cite web|last=Laughland|first=Oliver|date=September 25, 2017|title=Trump travel ban extended to blocks on North Korea, Venezuela and Chad|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/25/trump-travel-ban-extended-to-blocks-on-north-korea-and-venezuela|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=October 13, 2017}}</ref> After lower courts partially blocked the new restrictions, the Supreme Court allowed the September version to go into full effect on December 4, 2017,<ref>{{cite web|title=Supreme Court lets Trump's latest travel ban go into full effect|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-immigration/supreme-court-lets-trumps-latest-travel-ban-go-into-full-effect-idUSKBN1DY2NY|first=Lawrence|last=Hurley|date=December 4, 2017|access-date=October 3, 2021|work=[[Reuters]]}}</ref> and ultimately upheld the travel ban in a June 2019 ruling.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Wagner|first1=Meg|last2=Ries|first2=Brian|last3=Rocha|first3=Veronica|url=https://cnn.com/politics/live-news/supreme-court-travel-ban/|title=Supreme Court upholds travel ban|work=[[CNN]]|date=June 26, 2018|access-date=June 26, 2018}}</ref> ==== Family separation at border ==== {{Main|Trump administration family separation policy}} {{multiple image | direction = vertical | width = 220 | image1 = Ursula (detention center) 1.png | alt1 = Children sitting within a wire mesh compartment | image2 = Ursula (detention center) 2.jpg | alt2 = Children and juveniles in a wire mesh compartment, showing sleeping mats and thermal blankets on floor | footer = Children sitting within a wire mesh compartment in the [[Ursula (detention center)|Ursula detention facility]] in [[McAllen, Texas]], June 2018 }} The Trump administration separated more than 5,400 children of migrant families from their parents at the U.S.–Mexico border, a sharp increase in the number of family separations at the border starting from the summer of 2017.<ref>{{cite web|last=Pearle|first=Lauren|title=Trump administration admits thousands more migrant families may have been separated than estimated|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-administration-unsure-thousands-migrant-families-separated-originally/story?id=60797633|access-date=May 30, 2020|work=[[ABC News]]|date=February 5, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Spagat">{{cite web|last=Spagat|first=Elliot|date=October 25, 2019|title=Tally of children split at border tops 5,400 in new count|work=[[AP News]]|url=https://apnews.com/article/c654e652a4674cf19304a4a4ff599feb|access-date=May 30, 2020}}</ref> In April 2018, the Trump administration announced a "[[Trump administration family separation policy|zero tolerance]]" policy whereby every adult suspected of [[illegal entry]] would be criminally prosecuted.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Davis|first1=Julie Hirschfeld|author-link1=Julie Hirschfeld Davis|last2=Shear|first2=Michael D.|author-link2=Michael D. Shear|title=How Trump Came to Enforce a Practice of Separating Migrant Families|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/16/us/politics/family-separation-trump.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=May 30, 2020|date=June 16, 2018}}</ref> This resulted in family separations, as the migrant adults were put in criminal detention for prosecution, while their children were separated as unaccompanied alien minors.<ref>{{cite web|last=Savage|first=Charlie|author-link=Charlie Savage (author)|title=Explaining Trump's Executive Order on Family Separation|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/20/us/politics/family-separation-executive-order.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=May 30, 2020|date=June 20, 2018}}</ref> Administration officials described the policy as a way to deter illegal immigration.<ref name="Domonoske">{{cite web|last1=Domonoske|first1=Camila|last2=Gonzales|first2=Richard|date=June 19, 2018|title=What We Know: Family Separation And 'Zero Tolerance' At The Border|work=[[NPR]]|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/06/19/621065383/what-we-know-family-separation-and-zero-tolerance-at-the-border|access-date=May 30, 2020}}</ref> The policy of family separations was unprecedented in previous administrations and sparked public outrage.<ref name="Domonoske" /><ref>{{cite web|last=Epstein|first=Jennifer|title=Donald Trump's family separations bedevil GOP as public outrage grows|url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/donald-trump-s-family-separations-bedevil-gop-as-public-outrage-grows-20180618-p4zm9h.html |access-date=May 30, 2020|via=''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]''|work=[[Bloomberg News]]|date=June 18, 2018}}</ref> Trump falsely asserted that his administration was merely following the law, blaming Democrats, despite the separations being his administration's policy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/15/us/politics/trump-immigration-separation-border.html|title=Separated at the Border From Their Parents: In Six Weeks, 1,995 Children|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 15, 2018|access-date=June 18, 2018|last=Davis|first=Julie Hirschfeld|author-link=Julie Hirschfeld Davis}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/immigration-border-crisis/despite-claims-gop-immigration-bill-would-not-end-family-separation-n883701|title=Despite claims, GOP immigration bill would not end family separation, experts say|work=[[NBC News]]|date=June 15, 2018|access-date=June 18, 2018|last=Sarlin|first=Benjy}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Davis|first1=Julie Hirschfeld|author-link1=Julie Hirschfeld Davis|last2=Nixon|first2=Ron|author-link2=Ron Nixon|date=May 29, 2018|title=Trump Officials, Moving to Break Up Migrant Families, Blame Democrats|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/29/us/politics/trump-democrats-immigrant-families.html|access-date=December 29, 2020}}</ref> Although Trump originally argued that the separations could not be stopped by an executive order, he acceded to intense public objection and signed an executive order on June 20, 2018, mandating that migrant families be detained together unless "there is a concern" doing so would pose a risk to the child.<ref>{{cite web|last=Beckwith|first=Ryan Teague|title=Here's What President Trump's Immigration Order Actually Does|url=https://time.com/5317703/trump-family-separation-policy-executive-order/|access-date=May 30, 2020|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=June 20, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 20, 2018|first1=Michael D.|last1=Shear|author-link1=Michael D. Shear|first2=Abby|last2=Goodnough|first3=Maggie|last3=Haberman|author-link3=Maggie Haberman|title=Trump Retreats on Separating Families, but Thousands May Remain Apart|access-date=June 20, 2018|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/20/us/politics/trump-immigration-children-executive-order.html}}</ref> On June 26, 2018, Judge [[Dana Sabraw]] concluded that the Trump administration had "no system in place to keep track of" the separated children, nor any effective measures for family communication and reunification;<ref>{{cite web|last=Hansler|first=Jennifer|title=Judge says government does a better job of tracking 'personal property' than separated kids|url=https://cnn.com/2018/06/27/politics/family-separation-federal-judge-personal-property-comment/|access-date=May 30, 2020|work=[[CNN]]|date=June 27, 2018}}</ref> Sabraw ordered for the families to be reunited and family separations stopped except in limited circumstances.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jun/27/us-immigration-must-reunite-families-separated-at-border-federal-judge-rules|title=Judge orders US to reunite families separated at border within 30 days|last=Walters|first=Joanna|date=June 27, 2018|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=May 30, 2020}}</ref> After the federal-court order, the Trump administration separated more than a thousand migrant children from their families; the [[ACLU]] contended that the Trump administration had abused its discretion and asked Sabraw to more narrowly define the circumstances warranting separation.<ref name="Spagat" /> ==== Trump wall and government shutdown ==== {{Main|Trump wall|2018–2019 United States federal government shutdown}} [[File:Donald Trump visits San Diego border wall prototypes.jpg|thumb|Trump examines border wall prototypes in [[Otay Mesa, California]].|alt=Trump speaks with U.S. Border Patrol agents. Behind him are black SUVs, four short border wall prototype designs, and the current border wall in the background]] One of Trump's central campaign promises was to build a {{convert|1,000|mi|km|adj=on}} border wall to Mexico and have Mexico pay for it.<ref name="timm">{{cite web|last=Timm|first=Jane C.|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/fact-check-mexico-never-paid-it-what-about-trump-s-n1253983|title=Fact check: Mexico never paid for it. But what about Trump's other border wall promises?|work=[[NBC News]]|date=January 13, 2021 |access-date=December 21, 2021}}</ref> By the end of his term, the U.S. had built "{{convert|40|mi|km|disp=sqbr}} of new primary wall and {{convert|33|mi|km|disp=sqbr}} of secondary wall" in locations where there had been no barriers and {{convert|365|mi|km}} of primary or secondary border fencing replacing dilapidated or outdated barriers.<ref>{{cite web|last=Farley|first=Robert|url=https://www.factcheck.org/2020/12/trumps-border-wall-where-does-it-stand/|title=Trump's Border Wall: Where Does It Stand?|work=[[FactCheck.org]]|date=February 16, 2021 |access-date=December 21, 2021}}</ref> In 2018, Trump refused to sign any [[appropriations bill]] from Congress unless it allocated $5.6 billion in funds for the border wall,<ref>{{cite web|first1=Julie Hirschfeld|last1=Davis|author-link1=Julie Hirschfeld Davis|first2=Michael|last2=Tackett|author-link2=Michael Tackett|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/02/us/politics/trump-congress-shutdown.html|title=Trump and Democrats Dig in After Talks to Reopen Government Go Nowhere|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 2, 2019|access-date=January 3, 2019}}</ref> resulting in the federal government partially shutting down for 35 days from December 2018 to January 2019, the [[List of United States federal funding gaps|longest U.S. government shutdown in history]].<ref name=Gambino>{{cite web|last1=Gambino|first1=Lauren|last2=Walters|first2=Joanna|title=Trump signs bill to end $6bn shutdown and temporarily reopen government|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/25/shutdown-latest-news-trump-reopens-government-deal-democrats|access-date=May 31, 2020|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=January 26, 2019|agency=[[Reuters]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Pramuk|first=Jacob|title=Trump signs bill to temporarily reopen government after longest shutdown in history|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/25/senate-votes-to-reopen-government-and-end-shutdown-without-border-wall.html|access-date=May 31, 2020|work=[[CNBC]]|date=January 25, 2019}}</ref> Around 800,000 government employees were [[furlough]]ed or worked without pay.<ref>{{cite news|last=Fritze|first=John|title=By the numbers: How the government shutdown is affecting the US|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/01/24/government-shutdown-has-wide-impact-numbers/2666872002/|access-date=May 31, 2020|work=[[USA Today]]|date=January 24, 2019}}</ref> Trump and Congress ended the shutdown by approving temporary funding that provided delayed payments to government workers but no funds for the wall.<ref name=Gambino /> The shutdown resulted in an estimated permanent loss of $3 billion to the economy, according to the [[Congressional Budget Office]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/28/government-shutdown-cost-the-economy-11-billion-cbo.html|title=Government shutdown cost the economy $11 billion: CBO|last=Mui|first=Ylan|date=January 28, 2019|work=[[CNBC]]|access-date=May 31, 2020}}</ref> About half of those polled blamed Trump for the shutdown, and Trump's approval ratings dropped.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bacon|first=Perry Jr.|title=Why Trump Blinked|url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/government-shutdown-ends/|work=[[FiveThirtyEight]]|date=January 25, 2019|access-date=October 3, 2021}}</ref> To prevent another imminent shutdown in February 2019, Congress passed and Trump signed a funding bill that included $1.375 billion for {{convert|55|mi|km}} of bollard border fencing.<ref name=Wilkie>{{cite web|last1=Pramuk|first1=Jacob|last2=Wilkie|first2=Christina|title=Trump declares national emergency to build border wall, setting up massive legal fight|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/15/trump-national-emergency-declaration-border-wall-spending-bill.html|access-date=May 31, 2020|work=[[CNBC]]|date=February 15, 2019}}</ref> Trump also declared a [[National Emergency Concerning the Southern Border of the United States|national emergency on the southern border]], intending to divert $6.1 billion of funds Congress had allocated to other purposes.<ref name=Wilkie /> Trump [[Veto power in the United States#In federal government|vetoed]] a [[joint resolution]] to overturn the declaration, and the Senate voted against a [[veto override]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Carney|first=Jordain|title=Senate fails to override Trump veto over emergency declaration|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/466313-senate-fails-to-override-trumps-emergency-declaration-veto|access-date=May 31, 2020|work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|date=October 17, 2019}}</ref> Legal challenges to the diversion of $2.5 billion originally meant for the [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]]'s drug interdiction efforts<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/supreme-court-allows-trump-to-use-military-funds-for-border-wall-construction/|title=Supreme Court allows Trump to use military funds for border wall construction|first=Melissa|last=Quinn|date=December 11, 2019|work=[[CBS News]]|access-date=September 19, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{ussc|name=Trump v. Sierra Club|docket=19A60|volume=588|year=2019|el=no}}</ref> and $3.6 billion originally meant for military construction<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/01/09/794969121/appeals-court-allows-trump-to-divert-3-6-billion-in-military-funds-for-border-wa|title=Appeals Court Allows Trump To Divert $3.6 Billion In Military Funds For Border Wall|first=Bobby|last=Allyn|date=January 9, 2020|access-date=September 19, 2022|work=[[NPR]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite court|litigants=El Paso Cty. v. Trump|vol=982|reporter=F.3d|opinion=332|court=5th Cir.|date=December 4, 2020|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/USCOURTS-ca5-19-51144/USCOURTS-ca5-19-51144-0 |access-date=September 19, 2022}}</ref> were unsuccessful. === Foreign policy === {{Main|Foreign policy of the Donald Trump administration}} {{See also|List of international presidential trips made by Donald Trump}} [[File:-G7Biarritz (48616362963).jpg|thumb|Trump with the other [[Group of Seven|G7]] leaders at the [[45th G7 summit|45th summit]] in France, 2019|alt=Trump and other G7 leaders sit at a conference table]] Trump described himself as a "nationalist"<ref>{{cite web|first=William|last=Cummings|title='I am a nationalist': Trump's embrace of controversial label sparks uproar|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/10/24/trump-says-hes-nationalist-what-means-why-its-controversial/1748521002/|work=[[USA Today]]|date=October 24, 2018|access-date=August 24, 2021}}</ref> and his foreign policy as "[[America First (policy)|America First]]".<ref name=Bennhold>{{cite web|first=Katrin|last=Bennhold|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/06/world/europe/germany-troop-withdrawal-america.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=Has 'America First' Become 'Trump First'? Germans Wonder|date=June 6, 2020|access-date=August 24, 2021}}</ref> His foreign policy was marked by praise and support of [[Populism|populist]], [[Neo-nationalism|neo-nationalist]], and authoritarian governments.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://carnegieendowment.org/2018/10/01/can-u.s.-democracy-policy-survive-trump-pub-77381|title=Can U.S. Democracy Policy Survive Trump?|last1=Carothers|first1=Thomas|last2=Brown|first2=Frances Z.|date=October 1, 2018|website=[[Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]]|access-date=October 19, 2019}}</ref> Hallmarks of foreign relations during Trump's tenure included unpredictability and uncertainty,<ref name=Bennhold /> a lack of consistent policy,<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/iran/2020-01-22/cost-incoherent-foreign-policy|title=The Cost of an Incoherent Foreign Policy: Trump's Iran Imbroglio Undermines U.S. Priorities Everywhere Else|first=Brett|last=McGurk|author-link=Brett McGurk|journal=[[Foreign Affairs]]|date=January 22, 2020|access-date=August 24, 2021}}</ref> and strained and sometimes antagonistic relationships with European allies.<ref>{{cite web|first=Ana|last=Swanson|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/business/economy/trump-european-union-trade.html|title=Trump Administration Escalates Tensions With Europe as Crisis Looms|date=March 12, 2020|access-date=October 4, 2021|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> He criticized [[Member states of NATO|NATO allies]] and privately suggested on multiple occasions that the U.S. should [[Withdrawal from NATO#United States|withdraw from NATO]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Baker|first=Peter |author-link=Peter Baker (journalist)|date=May 26, 2017 |access-date=October 4, 2021|title=Trump Says NATO Allies Don't Pay Their Share. Is That True?|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/26/world/europe/nato-trump-spending.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Barnes|first1=Julian E.|last2=Cooper|first2=Helene|author-link2=Helene Cooper|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/14/us/politics/nato-president-trump.html|title=Trump Discussed Pulling U.S. From NATO, Aides Say Amid New Concerns Over Russia|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 14, 2019 |access-date=April 5, 2021}}</ref> ==== Trade ==== {{See also|Trump tariffs}} Trump withdrew the U.S. from the [[Trans-Pacific Partnership]] (TPP) negotiations,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cnn.com/2017/01/23/politics/trump-tpp-things-to-know/|title=Trump's TPP withdrawal: 5 things to know|last=Bradner|first=Eric|date=January 23, 2017|work=[[CNN]]|access-date=March 12, 2018}}</ref> imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/mar/10/war-over-steel-trump-tips-global-trade-turmoil-tariffs|title=The war over steel: Trump tips global trade into new turmoil|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=March 10, 2018|access-date=March 15, 2018|last=Inman|first=Phillip}}</ref> and launched a [[China–United States trade war|trade war with China]] by sharply increasing tariffs on 818 categories (worth $50 billion) of Chinese goods imported into the U.S.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-china-ministry/trump-sets-tariffs-on-50-billion-in-chinese-goods-beijing-strikes-back-idUSKBN1JB0KC|title=Trump sets tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese goods; Beijing strikes back|date=June 15, 2018|access-date=October 3, 2021|work=[[Reuters]]|first1=David|last1=Lawder|first2=Ben|last2=Blanchard}}</ref> While Trump said that import tariffs are paid by China into the [[U.S. Treasury]], they are paid by American companies that import goods from China.<ref>{{cite web|last=Singh|first=Rajesh Kumar|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-china-tariffs-explainer-idUSKCN1UR5YZ|title=Explainer: Trump's China tariffs – Paid by U.S. importers, not by China|work=[[Reuters]]|date=August 2, 2019|access-date=November 27, 2022}}</ref> Although he pledged during the campaign to significantly reduce the U.S.'s large [[trade deficits]], the trade deficit in July 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, "was the largest monthly deficit since July 2008".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/dd93ecd3cafc5df88a8f9f4a61693b07|work=[[AP News]]|title=US trade deficit surges in July to highest in 12 years|date=September 3, 2020|access-date=October 3, 2021|first=Martin|last=Crutsinger}}</ref> Following a 2017–2018 renegotiation, the [[United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement]] (USMCA) became effective in July 2020 as the successor to NAFTA.<ref>{{cite web|last=Rodriguez|first=Sabrina|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/24/north-american-trade-deal-to-take-effect-on-july-1-207402|title=North American trade deal to take effect on July 1|date=April 24, 2020|access-date=January 31, 2022|work=[[Politico]]}}</ref> ==== Russia ==== [[File:President Trump at the G20 (48144047611).jpg|thumb|Putin and Trump shaking hands at the [[2019 G20 Osaka summit|G20 Osaka summit]], June 2019|alt=Trump and Putin, both seated, lean over and shake hands]] The Trump administration, according to ''Reuters'', "water[ed] down the toughest penalties the U.S. had imposed on Russian entities" after its [[2014 annexation of Crimea]].<ref>{{cite web|first=Patricia|last=Zengerle|title=Bid to keep U.S. sanctions on Russia's Rusal fails in Senate|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-russia-sanctions/bid-to-keep-u-s-sanctions-on-russias-rusal-fails-in-senate-idUSKCN1PA2JB|work=[[Reuters]]|date=January 16, 2019|access-date=October 5, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Jeanne|last=Whalen|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/01/16/rare-rebuke-trump-administration-some-gop-lawmakers-advance-measure-oppose-lifting-russian-sanctions/|title=In rare rebuke of Trump administration, some GOP lawmakers advance measure to oppose lifting Russian sanctions|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=January 15, 2019|access-date=October 5, 2021}}</ref> Trump withdrew the U.S. from the [[Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty]], citing alleged Russian non-compliance,<ref>{{cite web|first=Shannon|last=Bugos|title=U.S. Completes INF Treaty Withdrawal|url=https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2019-09/news/us-completes-inf-treaty-withdrawal|website=[[Arms Control Association]]|date=September 2019|access-date=October 5, 2021}}</ref> and supported a potential return of Russia to the [[G7]].<ref name="G8">{{cite web|last=Panetta|first=Grace|date=June 14, 2018|title=Trump reportedly claimed to leaders at the G7 that Crimea is part of Russia because everyone there speaks Russian|work=[[Business Insider]]|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-claims-crimea-is-part-of-russia-since-people-speak-russian-g7-summit-2018-6|access-date=February 13, 2020}}</ref> Trump repeatedly praised and rarely criticized Russian president [[Vladimir Putin]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Baker|first=Peter|author-link=Peter Baker (journalist)|date=August 10, 2017|title=Trump Praises Putin Instead of Critiquing Cuts to U.S. Embassy Staff|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/10/world/europe/putin-trump-embassy-russia.html|access-date=June 7, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Nussbaum|first=Matthew|date=April 8, 2018|access-date=October 5, 2021|title=Trump blames Putin for backing 'Animal Assad'|work=[[Politico]]|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2018/04/08/trump-putin-syria-attack-508223}}</ref> but opposed some actions of the Russian government.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nord Stream 2: Trump approves sanctions on Russia gas pipeline|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50875935|work=[[BBC News]]|date=December 21, 2019|access-date=October 5, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Trump expelling 60 Russian diplomats in wake of UK nerve agent attack|url=https://cnn.com/2018/03/26/politics/us-expel-russian-diplomats/|work=[[CNN]]|first1=Jeremy|last1=Diamond|author-link1=Jeremy Diamond|first2=Allie|last2=Malloy|first3=Angela|last3=Dewan|date=March 26, 2018|access-date=October 5, 2021}}</ref> After he met Putin at the [[2018 Russia–United States summit|Helsinki Summit]] in 2018, Trump drew bipartisan criticism for accepting Putin's denial of [[Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election]], rather than accepting the findings of U.S. intelligence agencies.<ref>{{cite web|last=Zurcher|first=Anthony|title=Trump-Putin summit: After Helsinki, the fallout at home|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44830012|access-date=July 18, 2018|work=[[BBC]]|date=July 16, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/07/trump-putin/565238/|title=Trump Sides With the Kremlin, Against the U.S. Government|last=Calamur|first=Krishnadev|date=July 16, 2018|work=[[The Atlantic]]|access-date=July 18, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://cnn.com/2018/07/16/politics/congress-reaction-trump-putin-comments/|title=Top Republicans in Congress break with Trump over Putin comments|last=Fox|first=Lauren|date=July 16, 2018|work=[[CNN]]|access-date=July 18, 2018}}</ref> Trump did not discuss alleged [[Russian bounty program|Russian bounties]] offered to [[Taliban]] fighters for attacking American soldiers in [[Afghanistan]] with Putin, saying both that he doubted the intelligence and that he was not briefed on it.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Savage|first1=Charlie|author-link1=Charlie Savage (author)|last2=Schmitt|first2=Eric|author-link2=Eric P. Schmitt|last3=Schwirtz|first3=Michael|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/07/us/politics/russian-bounties-nsc.html|title=Russian Spy Team Left Traces That Bolstered C.I.A.'s Bounty Judgment|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=May 17, 2021 |access-date=March 4, 2022}}</ref> ==== China ==== Before and during his presidency, Trump repeatedly accused China of taking unfair advantage of the U.S.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-china-idUSKCN1UX1WO|title=Trump says China is 'killing us with unfair trade deals'|date=August 7, 2019|work=[[Reuters]]|access-date=August 24, 2019|first1=Nandita|last1=Bose|first2=Andrea|last2=Shalal}}</ref> As president, Trump [[China–United States trade war|launched a trade war against China]] that was widely characterized as a failure,<ref>{{cite web|title=More pain than gain: How the US-China trade war hurt America|last1=Hass|first1=Ryan|last2=Denmark|first2=Abraham|url=https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2020/08/07/more-pain-than-gain-how-the-us-china-trade-war-hurt-america/|publisher=[[Brookings Institution]]|date=August 7, 2020 |access-date=October 4, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=How China Won Trump's Trade War and Got Americans to Foot the Bill|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-11/how-china-won-trump-s-good-and-easy-to-win-trade-war|work=[[Bloomberg News]]|date=January 11, 2021 |access-date=October 4, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Disis|first=Jill|url=https://cnn.com/2020/10/24/economy/us-china-trade-war-intl-hnk/|title=Trump promised to win the trade war with China. He failed|work=[[CNN]]|date=October 25, 2020|access-date=October 3, 2022}}</ref> sanctioned [[Huawei]] for alleged ties to Iran,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2019/05/21/huawei-why-facing-sanctions-and-who-get-hurt-most/3750738002/|title=Huawei sanctions: Who gets hurt in dispute?|work=[[USA Today]]|date=May 21, 2019|access-date=August 24, 2019|first1=Frank|last1=Bajak|first2=Michael|last2=Liedtke}}</ref> significantly increased visa restrictions on Chinese students and scholars,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://time.com/5600299/donald-trump-china-trade-war-students/|title=Trump's Trade War Targets Chinese Students at Elite U.S. Schools|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=June 3, 2019|access-date=August 24, 2019}}</ref> and classified China as a [[currency manipulator]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/06/trade-war-china-responds-to-us-after-claim-of-being-a-currency-manipulator.html|title=China responds to US after Treasury designates Beijing a 'currency manipulator'|last=Meredith|first=Sam|date=August 6, 2019|work=[[CNBC]]|access-date=August 6, 2019}}</ref> Trump also juxtaposed verbal attacks on China with praise of [[Chinese Communist Party]] leader [[Xi Jinping]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Sink|first=Justin|date=April 11, 2018|access-date=October 5, 2021|title=Trump Praises China's Xi's Trade Speech, Easing Tariff Tensions|work=[[IndustryWeek]]|url=https://www.industryweek.com/the-economy/article/22025453/trump-praises-chinas-xis-trade-speech-easing-tariff-tensions}}</ref> which was attributed to trade war negotiations.<ref>{{cite news|last=Nakamura|first=David|author-link=David Nakamura|date=August 23, 2019|title=Amid trade war, Trump drops pretense of friendship with China's Xi Jinping, calls him an 'enemy'|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/amid-trade-war-trump-drops-pretense-of-friendship-with-chinas-xi-jinping-calls-him-an-enemy/2019/08/23/2063e80e-c5bb-11e9-b5e4-54aa56d5b7ce_story.html|access-date=October 25, 2020}}</ref> After initially praising China for [[Chinese government response to COVID-19|its handling of COVID-19]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Ward|first=Myah|date=April 15, 2020|access-date=October 5, 2021|title=15 times Trump praised China as coronavirus was spreading across the globe|work=[[Politico]]|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/15/trump-china-coronavirus-188736}}</ref> he began a campaign of criticism starting in March 2020.<ref>{{cite web|first1=Jeff|last1=Mason|first2=Matt|last2=Spetalnick|first3=Alexandra|last3=Alper|date=March 18, 2020|title=Trump ratchets up criticism of China over coronavirus|work=[[Reuters]]|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-trump-china-idUSKBN2153N5|access-date=October 25, 2020}}</ref> Trump said he resisted punishing China for [[Human rights in China|its human rights abuses]] against ethnic minorities in the [[Xinjiang]] region for fear of jeopardizing trade negotiations.<ref>{{cite web|title=Trump held off sanctioning Chinese over Uighurs to pursue trade deal|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53138833|work=[[BBC News]]|date=June 22, 2020|access-date=October 5, 2021}}</ref> In July 2020, [[United States sanctions|the Trump administration imposed sanctions]] and visa restrictions against senior Chinese officials, in response to expanded mass [[Xinjiang re-education camps|detention camps]] holding more than a million of the country's [[Uyghurs|Uyghur]] minority.<ref>{{cite web|title=U.S. Imposes Sanctions on Chinese Officials Over Mass Detention of Muslims|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/09/world/asia/trump-china-sanctions-uighurs.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=July 9, 2020|access-date=October 5, 2021|first1=Pranshu|last1=Verma|first2=Edward|last2=Wong|author-link2=Edward Wong}}</ref> ==== North Korea ==== {{See also|2018–19 Korean peace process}} [[File:Kim and Trump shaking hands at the red carpet during the DPRK–USA Singapore Summit.jpg|thumb|Trump meets [[Kim Jong Un]] at [[2018 North Korea–United States Singapore Summit|the Singapore summit]], June 2018.|alt=Trump and Kim shake hands on a stage with U.S. and North Korean flags in the background]] In 2017, when [[North Korea's nuclear weapons]] were increasingly seen as a serious threat,<ref>{{cite news|last1=Taylor|first1=Adam|last2=Meko|first2=Tim|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/12/21/what-made-north-koreas-weapons-programs-so-much-scarier-in-2017/|title=What made North Korea's weapons programs so much scarier in 2017|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=December 21, 2017|access-date=July 5, 2019}}</ref> Trump escalated his rhetoric, warning that North Korean aggression would be met with "fire and fury like the world has never seen".<ref name=Windrem>{{cite web|last1=Windrem|first1=Robert|last2=Siemaszko|first2=Corky|last3=Arkin|first3=Daniel|date=May 2, 2017|title=North Korea crisis: How events have unfolded under Trump|work=[[NBC News]]|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/north-korea-crisis-how-events-have-unfolded-under-trump-n753996|access-date=June 8, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Borger|first=Julian|author-link=Julian Borger|title=Donald Trump threatens to 'totally destroy' North Korea in UN speech|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/19/donald-trump-threatens-totally-destroy-north-korea-un-speech|access-date=June 8, 2020|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=September 19, 2017}}</ref> In 2017, Trump declared that he wanted North Korea's "complete denuclearization", and engaged in [[name-calling]] with leader [[Kim Jong Un]].<ref name=Windrem/><ref>{{cite web|last=McCausland|first=Phil|title=Kim Jong Un Calls President Trump 'Dotard' and 'Frightened Dog'|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/north-korea-s-kim-jong-un-calls-president-trump-frightened-n803631|access-date=June 8, 2020|work=[[NBC News]]|date=September 22, 2017}}</ref> After this period of tension, Trump and Kim exchanged at least 27 letters in which the two men described a warm personal friendship.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cnn.com/2020/09/09/politics/transcripts-kim-jong-un-letters-trump/|work=[[CNN]]|date=September 9, 2020|access-date=October 5, 2021|title=Transcript: Kim Jong Un's letters to President Trump}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title='A magical force': New Trump-Kim letters provide window into their 'special friendship'|date=September 9, 2020|access-date=October 5, 2021|first1=Jamie|last1=Gangel|author-link1=Jamie Gangel|first2=Jeremy|last2=Herb|work=[[CNN]]|url=https://cnn.com/2020/09/09/politics/kim-jong-un-trump-letters-rage-book/}}</ref> Trump met Kim three times: [[2018 North Korea–United States Singapore Summit|in Singapore]] in 2018, [[2019 North Korea–United States Hanoi Summit|in Hanoi]] in 2019, and [[2019 Koreas–United States DMZ Summit|in the Korean Demilitarized Zone]] in 2019.<ref name=StepsInto>{{cite web|first1=Peter|last1=Baker|author-link1=Peter Baker (journalist)|first2=Michael|last2=Crowley|author-link2=Michael Crowley (journalist)|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/30/world/asia/trump-north-korea-dmz.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 30, 2019|access-date=October 5, 2021|title=Trump Steps Into North Korea and Agrees With Kim Jong-un to Resume Talks}}</ref> Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to meet a North Korean leader or set foot on North Korean soil.<ref name=StepsInto /> Trump also lifted some U.S. [[sanctions against North Korea]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/22/world/asia/north-korea-sanctions.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=March 22, 2019|access-date=September 30, 2021|title=Trump Overrules Own Experts on Sanctions, in Favor to North Korea|first=Alan|last=Rappeport|author-link=Alan Rappeport}}</ref> However, no [[denuclearization]] agreement was reached,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/12/world/asia/korea-nuclear-trump-kim.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 12, 2020|access-date=October 5, 2021|title=Two Years After Trump-Kim Meeting, Little to Show for Personal Diplomacy|first1=David E.|last1=Sanger|author-link1=David E. Sanger|first2=Choe|last2=Sang-Hun|author-link2=Choe Sang-hun}}</ref> and talks in October 2019 broke down after one day.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-us-news-ap-top-news-north-korea-vietnam-c66474b67b3e41cdad6d21ba3385ddc2|title=North Korea Says Nuclear Talks Break Down While U.S. Says They Were 'Good'|first1=Jari|last1=Tanner|first2=Matthew|last2=Lee|work=[[Associated Press]]|date=October 5, 2019 |access-date=July 21, 2021}}</ref> While conducting no nuclear tests since 2017, North Korea continued to build up its arsenal of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kim Jong Un's Nuclear Weapons Got More Dangerous Under Trump|first=Jon|last=Herskovitz|work=[[Bloomberg News]]|date=December 28, 2020|access-date=October 5, 2021|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-28/four-ways-kim-jong-un-got-more-dangerous-under-trump-sanctions}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/trump-kim-north-korea-nuclear/2020/09/30/2b7305c8-032b-11eb-b7ed-141dd88560ea_story.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=October 5, 2021|date=September 30, 2020|title=As Kim wooed Trump with 'love letters', he kept building his nuclear capability, intelligence shows|last1=Warrick|first1=Joby|author-link1=Joby Warrick|last2=Denyer|first2=Simon|author-link2=Simon Denyer}}</ref> ==== Afghanistan ==== [[File:Secretary Pompeo Meets With the Taliban Delegation (50333305012).jpg|thumb|U.S. Secretary of State [[Mike Pompeo]] meeting with Taliban delegation in [[Qatar]] in September 2020|alt=U.S. and Taliban officials stand spaced apart in a formal room]] U.S. troop numbers in [[Afghanistan]] increased from 8,500 in January 2017 to 14,000 a year later,<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jaffe|first1=Greg|last2=Ryan|first2=Missy|date=January 21, 2018|access-date=October 4, 2021|title=Up to 1,000 more U.S. troops could be headed to Afghanistan this spring|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/up-to-1000-more-us-troops-could-be-headed-to-afghanistan-this-spring/2018/01/21/153930b6-fd1b-11e7-a46b-a3614530bd87_story.html|author-link2=Missy Ryan}}</ref> reversing Trump's pre-election position critical of further involvement in Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gordon|first1=Michael R.|last2=Schmitt|first2=Eric|last3=Haberman|first3=Maggie|date=August 20, 2017|access-date=October 4, 2021|title=Trump Settles on Afghan Strategy Expected to Raise Troop Levels|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/20/world/asia/trump-afghanistan-strategy-mattis.html|author-link1=Michael R. Gordon|author-link2=Eric P. Schmitt|author-link3=Maggie Haberman}}</ref> In February 2020, the Trump administration signed a conditional [[Afghan peace process|peace agreement with the Taliban]], which called for the [[Withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan (2021)|withdrawal of foreign troops]] in 14 months "contingent on a guarantee from the Taliban that Afghan soil will not be used by terrorists with aims to attack the United States or its allies" and for the U.S. to seek the release of 5,000 [[Taliban]] imprisoned by the Afghan government.<ref>{{cite news|last1=George|first1=Susannah|last2=Dadouch|first2=Sarah|last3=Lamothe|first3=Dan|date=February 29, 2020|access-date=October 4, 2021|title=U.S. signs peace deal with Taliban agreeing to full withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/afghanistan-us-taliban-peace-deal-signing/2020/02/29/b952fb04-5a67-11ea-8efd-0f904bdd8057_story.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Mashal|first=Mujib|date=February 29, 2020|title=Taliban and U.S. Strike Deal to Withdraw American Troops From Afghanistan|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/29/world/asia/us-taliban-deal.html|access-date=December 29, 2020}}</ref><ref name="5,000">{{cite web|last1=Kiely|first1=Eugene|last2=Farley|first2=Robert|url=https://www.factcheck.org/2021/08/timeline-of-u-s-withdrawal-from-afghanistan/|title=Timeline of U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan|work=[[FactCheck.org]]|date=August 17, 2021 |access-date=August 31, 2021}}</ref> By the end of Trump's term, 5,000 Taliban had been released, and, despite the Taliban continuing attacks on Afghan forces and integrating [[Al-Qaeda]] members into its leadership, U.S. troops had been reduced to 2,500.<ref name="5,000" /> ==== Israel ==== Trump supported many of the policies of Israeli Prime Minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Sommer|first=Allison Kaplan|date=July 25, 2019|title=How Trump and Netanyahu Became Each Other's Most Effective Political Weapon|work=[[Haaretz]]|url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-how-trump-and-netanyahu-became-each-other-s-most-effective-political-weapon-1.7569757|access-date=August 2, 2019}}</ref> Under Trump, the U.S. [[United States recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel|recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel]]<ref>{{cite web|last1=Nelson|first1=Louis|last2=Nussbaum|first2=Matthew|date=December 6, 2017|title=Trump says U.S. recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital, despite global condemnation|work=[[Politico]]|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2017/12/06/trump-move-embassy-jerusalem-israel-reaction-281973|access-date=December 6, 2017}}</ref> and [[United States recognition of the Golan Heights as part of Israel|Israeli sovereignty]] over the [[Golan Heights]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Romo|first=Vanessa|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/03/25/706588932/trump-formally-recognizes-israeli-sovereignty-over-golan-heights?t=1617622343037|title=Trump Formally Recognizes Israeli Sovereignty Over Golan Heights|work=[[NPR]]|date=March 25, 2019 |access-date=April 5, 2021}}</ref> leading to international condemnation including from the [[United Nations General Assembly]], the [[European Union]], and the [[Arab League]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gladstone|first1=Rick|last2=Landler|first2=Mark|author-link2=Mark Landler|date=December 21, 2017|title=Defying Trump, U.N. General Assembly Condemns U.S. Decree on Jerusalem|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/21/world/middleeast/trump-jerusalem-united-nations.html|access-date=December 21, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Huet|first=Natalie|date=March 22, 2019|access-date=October 4, 2021|title=Outcry as Trump backs Israeli sovereignty over Golan Heights|work=[[Euronews]]|agency=[[Reuters]]|url=https://www.euronews.com/2019/03/22/outcry-as-trump-backs-israeli-sovereignty-over-golan-heights}}</ref> In 2020, the White House hosted the signing of the [[Abraham Accords]], normalizing the foreign relations of Israel with the [[United Arab Emirates]] and [[Bahrain]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Crowley|first=Michael|author-link=Michael Crowley (journalist)|date=September 15, 2020|title=Israel, U.A.E. and Bahrain Sign Accords, With an Eager Trump Playing Host|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/15/us/politics/trump-israel-peace-emirates-bahrain.html|access-date=February 9, 2024}}</ref> ==== Saudi Arabia ==== [[File:Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, King Salman of Saudi Arabia, Melania Trump, and Donald Trump, May 2017.jpg|thumb|Trump, King [[Salman of Saudi Arabia]], and Egyptian president [[Abdel Fattah el-Sisi]] at the [[2017 Riyadh summit]] in Saudi Arabia|alt=Trump, King Salman of Saudi Arabia, and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi place their hands on a glowing white orb light at waist level]] Trump actively supported the [[Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen]] against the [[Houthis]] and in 2017 signed a $110 billion agreement to sell arms to [[Saudi Arabia]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Phelps|first1=Jordyn|last2=Struyk|first2=Ryan|date=May 20, 2017|title=Trump signs $110 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia on 'a tremendous day'|work=[[ABC News]]|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-signs-110-billion-arms-deal-saudi-arabia/story?id=47531180|access-date=July 6, 2018}}</ref> In 2018, the U.S. provided limited intelligence and logistical support for the intervention.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Holland|first1=Steve|last2=Bayoumy|first2=Yara|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-saudi-idUSKBN1GW2CA|title=Trump praises U.S. military sales to Saudi as he welcomes crown prince|work=[[Reuters]]|date=March 20, 2018|access-date=June 2, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-saudi-whitehouse-idUSKBN1GX1PP/|first1=Doina|last1=Chiacu|first2=Idrees|last2=Ali|title=Trump, Saudi leader discuss Houthi 'threat' in Yemen: White House|work=[[Reuters]]|date=March 21, 2018|access-date=June 2, 2021}}</ref> Following the [[Abqaiq–Khurais attack|2019 attack on Saudi oil facilities]], which the U.S. and Saudi Arabia blamed on [[Iran]], Trump approved the deployment of 3,000 additional U.S. troops, including fighter squadrons, two [[MIM-104 Patriot|Patriot batteries]], and a [[Terminal High Altitude Area Defense]] system, to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Stewart|first1=Phil|last2=Ali|first2=Idrees|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-aramco-attacks-exclusive-idUSKBN1WQ21Z/ |title=U.S. says deploying more forces to Saudi Arabia to counter Iran threat|work=[[Reuters]]|date=October 11, 2019 |access-date=October 4, 2021}}</ref> ==== Syria ==== [[File:President Trump and President Erdoğan joint statement in the Roosevelt Room, May 16, 2017.jpg|thumb|Trump and Turkish president [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] at the White House in May 2017]] Trump ordered [[2017 Shayrat missile strike|missile strikes in April 2017]] and [[2018 missile strikes against Syria|April 2018]] against the Assad regime in Syria, in retaliation for the [[Khan Shaykhun chemical attack|Khan Shaykhun]] and [[Douma chemical attack]]s, respectively.<ref>{{cite web|title=Syria war: Trump's missile strike attracts US praise – and barbs|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-39529605|access-date=April 8, 2017|work=[[BBC News]]|date=April 7, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/us-strikes-syria-after-suspected-chemical-attack-by-assad-regime|first=Kathleen|last=Joyce|title=US strikes Syria after suspected chemical attack by Assad regime|date=April 14, 2018|work=[[Fox News]] |access-date=April 14, 2018}}</ref> In December 2018, Trump declared "we have won against ISIS", contradicting Department of Defense assessments, and ordered the withdrawal of all troops from Syria.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/19/us/politics/trump-syria-turkey-troop-withdrawal.html|title=Trump withdraws U.S. Forces From Syria, Declaring 'We Have Won Against ISIS'|first1=Mark|last1=Landler|author-link1=Mark Landler|first2=Helene|last2=Cooper|author-link2=Helene Cooper|first3=Eric|last3=Schmitt|author-link3=Eric P. Schmitt|date=December 19, 2018|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=December 31, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Borger|first1=Julian|author-link1=Julian Borger|last2=Chulov|first2=Martin|title=Trump shocks allies and advisers with plan to pull US troops out of Syria|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/dec/19/us-troops-syria-withdrawal-trump|access-date=December 20, 2018|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=December 20, 2018}}</ref> The next day, Mattis resigned in protest, calling his decision an abandonment of the U.S.'s [[Rojava|Kurdish allies]] who played a key role in fighting ISIS.<ref>{{cite web|last=Cooper|first=Helene|author-link=Helene Cooper|title=Jim Mattis, Defense Secretary, Resigns in Rebuke of Trump's Worldview|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/20/us/politics/jim-mattis-defense-secretary-trump.html|access-date=December 21, 2018|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=December 20, 2018}}</ref> In October 2019, after Trump spoke to Turkish president [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]], [[American-led intervention in the Syrian Civil War|U.S. troops in northern Syria]] were withdrawn from the area and Turkey [[2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria|invaded northern Syria]], attacking and [[Forced displacement|displacing]] American-allied [[Kurds in Syria|Kurds]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=McKernan|first1=Bethan|last2=Borger|first2=Julian|last3=Sabbagh|first3=Dan|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/09/turkey-launches-military-operation-in-northern-syria-erdogan|title=Turkey launches military operation in northern Syria|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=October 9, 2019 |access-date=September 28, 2021}}</ref> Later that month, the U.S. House of Representatives, in a rare bipartisan vote of 354 to 60, condemned Trump's withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria, for "abandoning U.S. allies, undermining the struggle against ISIS, and spurring a humanitarian catastrophe".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/16/house-condemns-trumps-syria-pull-out-000286|title=House condemns Trump's Syria withdrawal|last=O'Brien|first=Connor|date=October 16, 2019|work=[[Politico]]|access-date=October 17, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/16/us/politics/house-vote-trump-syria.html|title=In Bipartisan Rebuke, House Majority Condemns Trump for Syria Withdrawal|last=Edmondson|first=Catie|date=October 16, 2019|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=October 17, 2019}}</ref> ==== Iran ==== In May 2018, Trump [[United States withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action|withdrew the U.S.]] from the [[Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action]], the 2015 agreement that lifted most economic sanctions against Iran in return for Iran agreeing to restrictions on its nuclear program.<ref name="AP180508">{{cite web|last1=Lederman|first1=Josh|last2=Lucey|first2=Catherine|date=May 8, 2018|title=Trump declares US leaving 'horrible' Iran nuclear accord|work=[[Associated Press]]|url=https://apnews.com/article/cead755353a1455bbef08ef289448994/Trump-decides-to-exit-nuclear-accord-with-Iran|access-date=May 8, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/08/world/middleeast/trump-iran-nuclear-deal.html|title=Trump Abandons Iran Nuclear Deal He Long Scorned|first=Mark|last=Landler|author-link=Mark Landler|date=May 8, 2018|access-date=October 4, 2021|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> In August 2020, the Trump administration unsuccessfully attempted to use a section of the nuclear deal to have the UN reimpose sanctions against Iran.<ref>{{cite web|last=Nichols|first=Michelle|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-nuclear-un-idUSKBN2AI2Y9|title=U.S. rescinds Trump White House claim that all U.N. sanctions had been reimposed on Iran|work=[[Reuters]]|date=February 18, 2021 |access-date=December 14, 2021}}</ref> Analysts determined that, after the U.S. withdrawal, Iran moved closer to developing a nuclear weapon.<ref name="close">{{cite web|last=Hennigan|first=W.J.|title='They're Very Close.' U.S. General Says Iran Is Nearly Able to Build a Nuclear Weapon|url=https://time.com/6123380/iran-near-nuclear-weapon-capability/|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=November 24, 2021 |access-date=December 18, 2021}}</ref> On January 1, 2020, Trump ordered [[Assassination of Qasem Soleimani|a U.S. airstrike]] that killed Iranian general [[Qasem Soleimani]], who had planned nearly every significant operation by Iranian forces over the past two decades.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/02/world/middleeast/qassem-soleimani-iraq-iran-attack.html|title=U.S. Strike in Iraq Kills Qassim Suleimani, Commander of Iranian Forces|last1=Crowley|first1=Michael|author-link1=Michael Crowley (journalist)|last2=Hassan|first2=Falih|last3=Schmitt|first3=Eric|author-link3=Eric P. Schmitt|date=January 2, 2020|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=January 3, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Baker|first1=Peter|author-link1=Peter Baker (journalist)|last2=Bergman|first2=Ronen|author-link2=Ronen Bergman|last3=Kirkpatrick|first3=David D.|author-link3=David D. Kirkpatrick|last4=Barnes|first4=Julian E.|last5=Rubin|first5=Alissa J.|author-link5=Alissa J. Rubin|date=January 11, 2020|title=Seven Days in January: How Trump Pushed U.S. and Iran to the Brink of War|website=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/11/us/politics/iran-trump.html |access-date=November 8, 2022}}</ref> Trump threatened to hit 52 Iranian sites if Iran retaliated.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Daniel|first1=Douglas K.|last2=Lemire|first2=Jonathan|url=https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-donald-trump-nancy-pelosi-ap-top-news-international-news-75944e42ccc66ac08ee5122e080d7f33|title=Trump says 52 targets already lined up if Iran retaliates|work=[[Associated Press]]|date=January 5, 2020 |access-date=November 3, 2022}}</ref> On January 8, Iran retaliated with [[Operation Martyr Soleimani|ballistic missile strikes against two U.S. airbases]] in Iraq. Dozens of soldiers sustained traumatic brain injuries. Their injuries were downplayed by Trump, and they were initially denied [[Purple Heart]]s and the special benefits accorded to its recipients.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Horton|first1=Alex|last2=Lamothe|first2=Dan|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2021/12/08/purple-heart-iran-missile-attack/|title=Army awards more Purple Hearts for troops hurt in Iranian attack that Trump downplayed|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=December 8, 2021|access-date=November 8, 2021}}</ref><ref name="close"/> On the same day, amid the heightened tensions between the United States and Iran, Iran accidentally shot down [[Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752]] after takeoff from Tehran airport.<ref>{{cite web|last=Ward|first=Alex|title=Evidence is mounting that Iran accidentally shot down the Ukraine flight|website=[[Vox (website)|Vox]]|date=January 9, 2020|url=https://www.vox.com/2020/1/9/21059004/iran-plane-crash-missile-video-trump-ukraine|access-date=November 8, 2022}}</ref>{{relevance inline|date=March 2024}} === Personnel === {{Main|Political appointments by Donald Trump|Cabinet of Donald Trump}} The Trump administration had a high turnover of personnel, particularly among White House staff. By the end of Trump's first year in office, 34 percent of his original staff had resigned, been fired, or been reassigned.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2017-12-28/trumps-white-house-has-highest-turnover-rate-in-40-years|title=Trump White House Has Highest Turnover in 40 Years|last=Trimble|first=Megan|date=December 28, 2017|work=[[U.S. News & World Report]]|access-date=March 16, 2018}}</ref> {{As of|2018|7|pre=early}}, 61 percent of Trump's senior aides had left<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/395222-ap-trump-admin-sets-record-for-white-house-turnover|title=AP: Trump admin sets record for White House turnover|work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|date=July 2, 2018|access-date=July 3, 2018|last=Wise|first=Justin}}</ref> and 141 staffers had left in the previous year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-white-house-sets-turnover-records-analysis-shows-n888396|title=Trump White House sets turnover records, analysis shows|work=[[NBC News]]|date=July 2, 2018|access-date=July 3, 2018|agency=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref> Both figures set a record for recent presidents—more change in the first 13 months than his four immediate predecessors saw in their first two years.<ref name="Keith">{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/03/07/591372397/white-house-staff-turnover-was-already-record-setting-then-more-advisers-left|title=White House Staff Turnover Was Already Record-Setting. Then More Advisers Left|last=Keith|first=Tamara|work=[[NPR]]|date=March 7, 2018|access-date=March 16, 2018}}</ref> Notable early departures included National Security Advisor Flynn (after just 25 days), and Press Secretary [[Sean Spicer]].<ref name="Keith" /> Close personal aides to Trump including Bannon, [[Hope Hicks]], [[John McEntee (political aide)|John McEntee]], and [[Keith Schiller]] quit or were forced out.<ref name=Brookings>{{cite web|first1=Kathryn Dunn|last1=Tenpas|first2=Elaine|last2=Kamarck|first3=Nicholas W.|last3=Zeppos|url=https://www.brookings.edu/research/tracking-turnover-in-the-trump-administration/|title=Tracking Turnover in the Trump Administration|date=March 16, 2018|website=[[Brookings Institution]]|access-date=March 16, 2018}}</ref> Some later returned in different posts.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Rogers|first1=Katie|last2=Karni|first2=Annie|author-link2=Annie Karni|title=Home Alone at the White House: A Sour President, With TV His Constant Companion|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/23/us/politics/coronavirus-trump.html|access-date=May 5, 2020|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=April 23, 2020}}</ref> Trump publicly disparaged several of his former top officials, calling them incompetent, stupid, or crazy.<ref>{{cite web|last=Cillizza|first=Chris|author-link=Chris Cillizza|title=Donald Trump makes terrible hires, according to Donald Trump|url=https://cnn.com/2020/06/19/politics/trump-mulvaney-bolton-hiring/|access-date=June 24, 2020|work=[[CNN]]|date=June 19, 2020}}</ref> Trump had four [[White House chiefs of staff]], marginalizing or pushing out several.<ref name=Keither>{{cite web|last=Keith|first=Tamara|date=March 6, 2020|access-date=October 5, 2021|title=Mick Mulvaney Out, Mark Meadows in As White House Chief Of Staff|work=[[NPR]]|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/03/06/766025774/mick-mulvaney-out-as-white-house-chief-of-staff}}</ref> [[Reince Priebus]] was replaced after seven months by retired Marine general [[John F. Kelly]].<ref>{{cite web|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/28/us/politics/reince-priebus-white-house-trump.html|title=Reince Priebus Pushed Out After Rocky Tenure as Trump Chief of Staff|first1=Peter|last1=Baker|author-link1=Peter Baker (journalist)|first2=Maggie|last2=Haberman|author-link2=Maggie Haberman|date=July 28, 2017|access-date=October 6, 2021}}</ref> Kelly resigned in December 2018 after a tumultuous tenure in which his influence waned, and Trump subsequently disparaged him.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Fritze|first1=John|last2=Subramanian|first2=Courtney|last3=Collins|first3=Michael|date=September 4, 2020|access-date=October 6, 2021|title=Trump says former chief of staff Gen. John Kelly couldn't 'handle the pressure' of the job|work=[[USA Today]]|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/09/04/trump-gen-john-kelly-couldnt-handle-pressure-chief-staff/5720974002/}}</ref> Kelly was succeeded by [[Mick Mulvaney]] as acting chief of staff; he was replaced in March 2020 by [[Mark Meadows]].<ref name=Keither /> On May 9, 2017, Trump [[Dismissal of James Comey|dismissed FBI director James Comey]]. While initially attributing this action to Comey's conduct in the investigation about [[Hillary Clinton email controversy#October 2016 – Additional investigation|Hillary Clinton's emails]], Trump said a few days later that he was concerned with Comey's roles in the ongoing Trump-Russia investigations, and that he had intended to fire Comey earlier.<ref>{{cite web|last=Stanek|first=Becca|date=May 11, 2017|title=President Trump just completely contradicted the official White House account of the Comey firing|work=[[The Week]]|url=https://theweek.com/speedreads/698368/president-trump-just-completely-contradicted-official-white-house-account-comey-firing|access-date=May 11, 2017}}</ref> At a private conversation in February, Trump said he hoped Comey would drop the investigation into Flynn.<ref name="cloud">{{cite web|last1=Schmidt|first1=Michael S.|author-link1=Michael S. Schmidt|last2=Apuzzo|first2=Matt|author-link2=Matt Apuzzo|date=June 7, 2017|title=Comey Says Trump Pressured Him to 'Lift the Cloud' of Inquiry|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/07/us/politics/james-comey-statement-testimony.html|access-date=November 2, 2021}}</ref> In March and April, Trump asked Comey to "lift the cloud impairing his ability to act" by saying publicly that the FBI was not investigating him.<ref name="cloud" /><ref>{{cite web|date=June 8, 2017|title=Statement for the Record Senate Select Committee on Intelligence James B. Comey|url=https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/documents/os-jcomey-060817.pdf|access-date=November 2, 2021|website=[[United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence]]|publisher=[[United States Government]]|page=7}}</ref> Trump lost three of his 15 original cabinet members within his first year.<ref name="538 Cabinet">{{cite web|url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-incredibly-and-historically-unstable-first-year-of-trumps-cabinet/|title=The Incredibly And Historically Unstable First Year Of Trump's Cabinet|last=Jones-Rooy|first=Andrea|date=November 29, 2017|work=[[FiveThirtyEight]]|access-date=March 16, 2018}}</ref> Health and Human Services secretary [[Tom Price (American politician)|Tom Price]] was forced to resign in September 2017 due to excessive use of private charter jets and military aircraft.<ref name="538 Cabinet"/><ref name=Brookings /> Environmental Protection Agency administrator [[Scott Pruitt]] resigned in 2018 and Secretary of the Interior [[Ryan Zinke]] in January 2019 amid multiple investigations into their conduct.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/07/05/594078923/scott-pruitt-out-at-epa|title=Scott Pruitt Out at EPA|work=[[NPR]]|date=July 5, 2018|access-date=July 5, 2018|first1=Rebecca|last1=Hersher|first2=Brett|last2=Neely}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-ryan-zinke-resigns-interior-secretary-20181215-story.html|title=Ryan Zinke resigns as interior secretary amid multiple investigations|first1=Juliet|last1=Eilperin|first2=Josh|last2=Dawsey|author-link2=Josh Dawsey|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=December 15, 2018|access-date=January 3, 2019}}</ref> Trump was slow to appoint second-tier officials in the executive branch, saying many of the positions are unnecessary. In October 2017, there were still hundreds of sub-cabinet positions without a nominee.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2017/10/12/557122200/trump-leaves-top-administration-positions-unfilled-says-hollow-government-by-des|title=Trump Leaves Top Administration Positions Unfilled, Says Hollow Government By Design|last=Keith|first=Tamara|date=October 12, 2017|work=[[NPR]]|access-date=March 16, 2018}}</ref> By January 8, 2019, of 706 key positions, 433 had been filled (61 percent) and Trump had no nominee for 264 (37 percent).<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=January 8, 2019|access-date=October 6, 2021|title=Tracking how many key positions Trump has filled so far|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-administration-appointee-tracker/database/}}</ref> === Judiciary === {{Further|List of federal judges appointed by Donald Trump|Donald Trump judicial appointment controversies}} [[File:President Trump Nominates Judge Amy Coney Barrett for Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (50397882607).jpg|thumb|Trump and his third Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett|alt=Donald Trump and Amy Coney Barrett walk side by side along the West Wing Colonnade; American flags hang between the columns to their right]] Trump appointed 226 [[United States federal judge|Article III judges]], including 54 to the [[United States courts of appeals|courts of appeals]] and [[Donald Trump Supreme Court candidates|three]] to the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]]: [[Neil Gorsuch]], [[Brett Kavanaugh]], and [[Amy Coney Barrett]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Gramlich|first=John|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/01/13/how-trump-compares-with-other-recent-presidents-in-appointing-federal-judges/|title=How Trump compares with other recent presidents in appointing federal judges|work=[[Pew Research Center]]|date=January 13, 2021 |access-date=May 30, 2021}}</ref> His Supreme Court nominees were noted as having politically shifted the Court to the right.<ref>{{cite web|work=[[Politico]]|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/26/trump-legacy-supreme-court-422058|title=Trump's legacy is now the Supreme Court|first=Anita|last=Kumar|date=September 26, 2020|quote=[Trump's justices] will likely outlive Trump. They will likely ensure a conservative tilt for decades to come. And they will likely mark one of the most dramatic ideological turnarounds the court has seen in such a short timespan in generations.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|work=[[Voice of America]]|title=Trump's Lasting Legacy: Conservative Supermajority on Supreme Court|first=Masood|last=Farivar|date=December 24, 2020|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/usa_trumps-lasting-legacy-conservative-supermajority-supreme-court/6199935.html|access-date=December 21, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The data behind the Supreme Court's shift to the right|date=May 28, 2023|first=Dante|last=Chinni|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/data-download/data-supreme-courts-shift-right-rcna86244|work=[[NBC News]]|access-date=December 21, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Nine Black Robes: Inside the Supreme Court's Drive to the Right and Its Historic Consequences|first=Joan|last=Biskupic|author-link=Joan Biskupic|url=https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2023/06/02/nine-black-robes-supreme-court|year=2023|publisher=[[Harper Collins]]|access-date=December 21, 2023}}</ref> In the 2016 campaign, he pledged that ''Roe v. Wade'' would be overturned "automatically" if he were elected and provided the opportunity to appoint two or three pro-life justices. He later took credit when ''Roe'' was overturned in ''[[Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization]]''; all three of his Supreme Court nominees voted with the majority.<ref>{{cite web|magazine=[[The Week]]|title=Trump takes credit for Dobbs decision but worries it 'won't help him in the future'|first=Grayson|last=Quay|date=June 25, 2022 |url=https://theweek.com/donald-trump/1014657/trump-takes-credit-for-dobbs-decision-but-worries-it-wont-help-him-in-the |access-date=October 2, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=In 6-to-3 Ruling, Supreme Court Ends Nearly 50 Years of Abortion Rights|first=Adam|last=Liptak|date=June 24, 2022|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/24/us/roe-wade-overturned-supreme-court.html|access-date=December 21, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|work=[[NBC News]]|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-was-able-kill-roe-v-wade-rcna84897|first=Sahil|last=Kapur|title=Trump: 'I was able to kill Roe v. Wade'|date=May 17, 2023|access-date=December 21, 2023}}</ref> Trump disparaged courts and judges he disagreed with, often in personal terms, and questioned the judiciary's constitutional authority. His attacks on the courts drew rebukes from observers, including sitting federal judges, concerned about the effect of his statements on the [[judicial independence]] and public confidence in the judiciary.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Abby|last1=Phillip|first2=Robert|last2=Barnes|first3=Ed|last3=O'Keefe|title=Supreme Court nominee Gorsuch says Trump's attacks on judiciary are 'demoralizing'|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/supreme-court-nominee-gorsuch-says-trumps-attacks-on-judiciary-are-demoralizing/2017/02/08/64e03fe2-ee3f-11e6-9662-6eedf1627882_story.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=February 8, 2017|access-date=October 6, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite report|title=In His Own Words: The President's Attacks on the Courts|url=https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/his-own-words-presidents-attacks-courts|publisher=[[Brennan Center for Justice]]|date=June 5, 2017|access-date=October 6, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Katie|last=Shepherd|title=Trump 'violates all recognized democratic norms,' federal judge says in biting speech on judicial independence|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/11/08/judge-says-trump-violates-democratic-norms-judiciary-speech/|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=November 8, 2019|access-date=October 6, 2021}}</ref> === COVID-19 pandemic === {{Main|COVID-19 pandemic|COVID-19 pandemic in the United States}} {{Further|U.S. federal government response to the COVID-19 pandemic|Communication of the Trump administration during the COVID-19 pandemic}} {{See also|Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States}} ==== Initial response ==== In December 2019, [[coronavirus disease 2019|COVID-19]] erupted in [[Wuhan]], China, and spread worldwide within weeks.<ref name="WHOpandemic2">{{cite web|url=https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020|title=WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 – 11 March 2020|date=March 11, 2020|publisher=[[World Health Organization]]|access-date=March 11, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Coronavirus disease 2019|url=https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019|publisher=[[World Health Organization]]|access-date=March 15, 2020}}</ref> The first confirmed case in the U.S. was reported on January 20, 2020.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Holshue|first=Michelle L.|display-authors=etal|date=March 5, 2020|title=First Case of 2019 Novel Coronavirus in the United States|journal=[[The New England Journal of Medicine]]|volume=382|issue=10|pages=929–936|doi=10.1056/NEJMoa2001191|pmid=32004427|pmc=7092802}}</ref> The outbreak was officially declared a public health emergency by [[United States Secretary of Health and Human Services|Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary]] [[Alex Azar]] on January 31, 2020.<ref>{{cite web|last=Hein|first=Alexandria|date=January 31, 2020|title=Coronavirus declared public health emergency in US|url=https://www.foxnews.com/health/coronavirus-declared-public-health-emergency-in-us|access-date=October 2, 2020|work=[[Fox News]]}}</ref> Trump initially ignored persistent public health warnings and calls for action from health officials within his administration and Secretary Azar.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-04-19/coronavirus-outbreak-president-trump-slow-response|title=How Trump let the U.S. fall behind the curve on coronavirus threat|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=April 19, 2020|access-date=April 21, 2020|first1=David S.|last1=Cloud|first2=Paul|last2=Pringle|author-link2=Paul Pringle|first3=Eli|last3=Stokols|author-link3=Eli Stokols}}</ref><ref name="NYT 4 11 20">{{cite web|first1=Eric|last1=Lipton|author1link=Eric Lipton|first2=David E.|last2=Sanger|author-link2=David E. Sanger|first3=Maggie|last3=Haberman|author-link3=Maggie Haberman|first4=Michael D.|last4=Shear|author-link4=Michael D. Shear|first5=Mark|last5=Mazzetti|author-link5=Mark Mazzetti|first6=Julian E.|last6=Barnes|title=He Could Have Seen What Was Coming: Behind Trump's Failure on the Virus|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/11/us/politics/coronavirus-trump-response.html|access-date=April 11, 2020|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=April 11, 2020}}</ref> Throughout January and February he focused on economic and political considerations of the outbreak.<ref>{{cite news|last=Kelly|first=Caroline|date=March 21, 2020|title=Washington Post: US intelligence warned Trump in January and February as he dismissed coronavirus threat|work=[[CNN]]|url=https://cnn.com/2020/03/20/politics/us-intelligence-reports-trump-coronavirus/|access-date=April 21, 2020}}</ref> In February 2020 Trump publicly asserted that the outbreak in the U.S. was less deadly than influenza, was "very much under control", and would soon be over.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/timeline-president-donald-trump-changing-statements-on-coronavirus/|title=A timeline of what Trump has said on coronavirus|last=Watson|first=Kathryn|date=April 3, 2020|work=[[CBS News]]|access-date=January 27, 2021}}</ref> On March 19, 2020, Trump privately told [[Bob Woodward]] that he was deliberately "playing it down, because I don't want to create a panic".<ref>{{cite web|date=September 10, 2020|title=Trump deliberately played down virus, Woodward book says|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54094559|access-date=September 18, 2020|work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first1=Jamie|last1=Gangel|first2=Jeremy|last2=Herb|first3=Elizabeth|last3=Stuart|date=September 9, 2020|title='Play it down': Trump admits to concealing the true threat of coronavirus in new Woodward book|url=https://cnn.com/2020/09/09/politics/bob-woodward-rage-book-trump-coronavirus|access-date=September 14, 2022|work=[[CNN]]}}</ref> By mid-March, most global financial markets had [[2020 stock market crash|severely contracted]] in response to the emerging pandemic.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Partington|first1=Richard|last2=Wearden|first2=Graeme|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/mar/09/global-stock-markets-post-biggest-falls-since-2008-financial-crisis|title=Global stock markets post biggest falls since 2008 financial crisis|date=March 9, 2020|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=March 15, 2020}}</ref> On March 6, Trump signed the [[Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act]], which provided $8.3 billion in emergency funding for federal agencies.<ref>{{cite web|title=Trump signs emergency coronavirus package, injecting $8.3 billion into efforts to fight the outbreak|url=https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/trump-signs-billion-emergency-funding-package-fight-coronavirus-legislation-covid19-020-3-1028972206|work=[[Business Insider]]|first=Gina|last=Heeb|date=March 6, 2020|access-date=October 6, 2021}}</ref> On March 11, the [[World Health Organization]] (WHO) recognized COVID-19 as a [[pandemic]],<ref name="WHOpandemic2" /> and Trump announced partial travel restrictions for most of Europe, effective March 13.<ref>{{cite web|title=Coronavirus: What you need to know about Trump's Europe travel ban|url=https://www.thelocal.dk/20200312/trump-imposes-travel-ban-from-europe-over-coronavirus-outbreak|work=[[The Local]]|date=March 12, 2020|access-date=October 6, 2021}}</ref> That same day, he gave his first serious assessment of the virus in a nationwide Oval Office address, calling the outbreak "horrible" but "a temporary moment" and saying there was no financial crisis.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-address.html|title=In Rare Oval Office Speech, Trump Voices New Concerns and Old Themes|last1=Karni|first1=Annie|author-link1=Annie Karni|last2=Haberman|first2=Maggie|author-link2=Maggie Haberman|date=March 12, 2020|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=March 18, 2020}}</ref> On March 13, he declared a [[state of emergency|national emergency]], freeing up federal resources.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cnn.com/2020/03/13/politics/donald-trump-emergency/|title=Trump declares national emergency – and denies responsibility for coronavirus testing failures|last=Liptak|first=Kevin|date=March 13, 2020|work=[[CNN]]|access-date=March 18, 2020}}</ref> Trump falsely claimed that "anybody that wants a test can get a test", despite test availability being severely limited.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://khn.org/news/donald-trumps-wrong-claim-that-anybody-can-get-tested-for-coronavirus/|title=Donald Trump's Wrong Claim That 'Anybody' Can Get Tested For Coronavirus|last=Valverde|first=Miriam|date=March 12, 2020|work=[[Kaiser Health News]]|access-date=March 18, 2020}}</ref> On April 22, Trump signed an executive order restricting some forms of immigration.<ref>{{cite web|title=Trump's immigration executive order: What you need to know|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/trump-immigration-executive-order-200423185402661.html|work=[[Al Jazeera English|Al Jazeera]]|date=April 23, 2020|access-date=October 6, 2021}}</ref> In late spring and early summer, with infections and deaths continuing to rise, he adopted a strategy of blaming the states rather than accepting that his initial assessments of the pandemic were overly optimistic or his failure to provide presidential leadership.<ref>{{cite web|first1=Michael D.|last1=Shear|author-link1=Michael D. Shear|first2=Noah|last2=Weiland|first3=Eric|last3=Lipton|author-link3=Eric Lipton|first4=Maggie|last4=Haberman|author-link4=Maggie Haberman|first5=David E.|last5=Sanger|author-link5=David E. Sanger|title=Inside Trump's Failure: The Rush to Abandon Leadership Role on the Virus|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/18/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-response-failure-leadership.html|access-date=July 19, 2020|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=July 18, 2020}}</ref> ==== White House Coronavirus Task Force ==== [[File:White House Press Briefing (49666120807).jpg|thumb|right|Trump conducts a COVID-19 press briefing with members of the [[White House Coronavirus Task Force]] on March 15, 2020.|alt=Trump speaks in the West Wing briefing room with various officials standing behind him, all in formal attire and without face masks]] Trump established the [[White House Coronavirus Task Force]] on January 29, 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-outbreak-task-force-created-by-trump-to-lead-us-government-response-to-wuhan-virus/|title=Trump creates task force to lead U.S. coronavirus response|work=[[CBS News]]|date=January 30, 2020|access-date=October 10, 2020}}</ref> Beginning in mid-March, Trump held a daily task force press conference, joined by medical experts and other administration officials,<ref name=Karni>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/23/us/politics/coronavirus-trump-briefing.html|title=In Daily Coronavirus Briefing, Trump Tries to Redefine Himself|last=Karni|first=Annie|author-link=Annie Karni|date=March 23, 2020|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=April 8, 2020}}</ref> sometimes disagreeing with them by promoting unproven treatments.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/06/us/politics/coronavirus-trump-malaria-drug.html|title=Trump's Aggressive Advocacy of Malaria Drug for Treating Coronavirus Divides Medical Community|first1=Peter|last1=Baker|author-link1=Peter Baker (journalist)|first2=Katie|last2=Rogers|first3=David|last3=Enrich|author-link3=David Enrich|first4=Maggie|last4=Haberman|author-link4=Maggie Haberman|date=April 6, 2020|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=April 8, 2020}}</ref> Trump was the main speaker at the briefings, where he praised his own response to the pandemic, frequently criticized rival presidential candidate Joe Biden, and denounced the press.<ref name=Karni /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://time.com/5812588/donald-trump-coronavirus-briefings-message-campaign/|title='He's Walking the Tightrope.' How Donald Trump Is Getting Out His Message on Coronavirus|last=Berenson|first=Tessa|date=March 30, 2020|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=April 8, 2020}}</ref> On March 16, he acknowledged for the first time that the pandemic was not under control and that months of disruption to daily lives and a recession might occur.<ref>{{cite web|last=Dale|first=Daniel|author-link=Daniel Dale|title=Fact check: Trump tries to erase the memory of him downplaying the coronavirus|url=https://cnn.com/2020/03/17/politics/fact-check-trump-always-knew-pandemic-coronavirus/|access-date=March 19, 2020|work=[[CNN]]|date=March 17, 2020}}</ref> His repeated use of "Chinese virus" and "China virus" to describe COVID-19 drew criticism from health experts.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/2020/3/18/21185478/coronavirus-usa-trump-chinese-virus|title=Trump's new fixation on using a racist name for the coronavirus is dangerous|last=Scott|first=Dylan|access-date=March 19, 2020|date=March 18, 2020|work=[[Vox (website)|Vox]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/who-langauge-stigmatizing-coronavirus-trump-chinese-1493172|title=WHO expert condemns language stigmatizing coronavirus after Trump repeatedly calls it the "Chinese virus"|date=March 19, 2020|access-date=March 19, 2020|last=Georgiou|first=Aristos|work=[[Newsweek]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/488311-us-china-relationship-worsens-over-coronavirus|title=US-China relationship worsens over coronavirus|last=Beavers|first=Olivia|work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|date=March 19, 2020|access-date=March 19, 2020}}</ref> By early April, as the pandemic worsened and amid criticism of his administration's response, Trump refused to admit any mistakes in his handling of the outbreak, instead blaming the media, Democratic state governors, the previous administration, China, and the WHO.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lemire|first=Jonathan|title=As pandemic deepens, Trump cycles through targets to blame|url=https://apnews.com/article/58f1b869354970689d55ccae37c540f3|access-date=May 5, 2020|work=[[AP News]]|date=April 9, 2020}}</ref> The daily coronavirus task force briefings ended in late April, after a briefing at which Trump suggested the dangerous idea of injecting a disinfectant to treat COVID-19;<ref>{{cite web|title=Coronavirus: Outcry after Trump suggests injecting disinfectant as treatment|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52407177|access-date=August 11, 2020|work=[[BBC News]]|date=April 24, 2020}}</ref> the comment was widely condemned by medical professionals.<ref>{{cite web|last=Aratani|first=Lauren|title=Why is the White House winding down the coronavirus taskforce?|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/05/white-house-coronavirus-taskforce-winding-down-why|access-date=June 8, 2020|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=May 5, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Coronavirus: Trump says virus task force to focus on reopening economy|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52563577|access-date=June 8, 2020|work=[[BBC News]]|date=May 6, 2020}}</ref> In early May, Trump proposed the phase-out of the coronavirus task force and its replacement with another group centered on reopening the economy. Amid a backlash, Trump said the task force would "indefinitely" continue.<ref>{{cite web|last=Liptak|first=Kevin|title=In reversal, Trump says task force will continue 'indefinitely' – eyes vaccine czar|url=https://cnn.com/2020/05/06/politics/trump-task-force-vaccine/|access-date=June 8, 2020|work=[[CNN]]|date=May 6, 2020}}</ref> By the end of May, the coronavirus task force's meetings were sharply reduced.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Acosta|first1=Jim|author-link1=Jim Acosta|last2=Liptak|first2=Kevin|last3=Westwood|first3=Sarah|title=As US deaths top 100,000, Trump's coronavirus task force is curtailed|url=https://cnn.com/2020/05/28/politics/donald-trump-coronavirus-task-force/|access-date=June 8, 2020|work=[[CNN]]|date=May 29, 2020}}</ref> ==== World Health Organization ==== Prior to the pandemic, Trump criticized the WHO and other international bodies, which he asserted were taking advantage of U.S. aid.<ref name="Politico_WHO">{{cite web|last=Ollstein|first=Alice Miranda|title=Trump halts funding to World Health Organization|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/14/trump-world-health-organization-funding-186786|access-date=September 7, 2020|work=[[Politico]]|date=April 14, 2020}}</ref> His administration's proposed 2021 federal budget, released in February, proposed reducing WHO funding by more than half.<ref name="Politico_WHO" /> In May and April, Trump accused the WHO of "severely mismanaging" COVID-19, alleged without evidence that the organization was under Chinese control and had enabled the Chinese government's concealment of the pandemic's origins,<ref name="Politico_WHO" /><ref name="CNN_WHO">{{cite web|last1=Cohen|first1=Zachary|last2=Hansler|first2=Jennifer|last3=Atwood|first3=Kylie|last4=Salama|first4=Vivian|last5=Murray|first5=Sara|author-link5=Sara Murray (journalist)|title=Trump administration begins formal withdrawal from World Health Organization|url=https://cnn.com/2020/07/07/politics/us-withdrawing-world-health-organization/|access-date=July 19, 2020|work=[[CNN]]|date=July 7, 2020}}</ref><ref name="BBC_WHO">{{cite web|title=Coronavirus: Trump moves to pull US out of World Health Organization|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53327906|access-date=August 11, 2020|work=[[BBC News]]|date=July 7, 2020}}</ref> and announced that he was withdrawing funding for the organization.<ref name="Politico_WHO" /> These were seen as attempts to distract from his own mishandling of the pandemic.<ref name="Politico_WHO" /><ref>{{cite web|last=Wood|first=Graeme|author-link=Graeme Wood (journalist)|title=The WHO Defunding Move Isn't What It Seems|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/04/trump-threatens-defund-world-health-organization/610030/|access-date=September 7, 2020|work=[[The Atlantic]]|date=April 15, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Phillips|first=Amber|title=Why exactly is Trump lashing out at the World Health Organization?|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/04/08/why-exactly-is-president-trump-lashing-out-world-health-organization/|access-date=September 8, 2020|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=April 8, 2020}}</ref> In July 2020, Trump announced the formal withdrawal of the U.S. from the WHO effective July 2021.<ref name="CNN_WHO" /><ref name="BBC_WHO" /> The decision was widely condemned by health and government officials as "short-sighted", "senseless", and "dangerous".<ref name="CNN_WHO" /><ref name="BBC_WHO" /> ==== Pressure to abandon pandemic mitigation measures ==== {{Further|COVID-19 testing in the United States}} In April 2020, Republican-connected groups organized [[Protests in the United States over responses to the COVID-19 pandemic|anti-lockdown protests]] against the measures state governments were taking to combat the pandemic;<ref>{{cite web|last=Wilson|first=Jason|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/17/far-right-coronavirus-protests-restrictions|title=The rightwing groups behind wave of protests against Covid-19 restrictions|date=April 17, 2020|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=April 18, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Andone|first=Dakin|url=https://cnn.com/2020/04/16/us/protests-coronavirus-stay-home-orders/|title=Protests Are Popping Up Across the US over Stay-at-Home Restrictions|date=April 16, 2020|access-date=October 7, 2021|work=[[CNN]]}}</ref> Trump encouraged the protests on Twitter,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Shear|first1=Michael D.|author-link1=Michael D. Shear|last2=Mervosh|first2=Sarah|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/17/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-governors.html|title=Trump Encourages Protest Against Governors Who Have Imposed Virus Restrictions|date=April 17, 2020|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=April 19, 2020}}</ref> even though the targeted states did not meet the Trump administration's guidelines for reopening.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/493701-trump-support-for-protests-threatens-to-undermine-social-distancing|title=Trump support for protests threatens to undermine social distancing rules|last1=Chalfant|first1=Morgan|last2=Samuels|first2=Brett|date=April 20, 2020|work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|access-date=July 10, 2020}}</ref> In April 2020, he first supported, then later criticized, [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] Governor [[Brian Kemp]]'s plan to reopen some nonessential businesses.<ref>{{cite web|title=Trump approved of Georgia's plan to reopen before bashing it|url=https://apnews.com/article/a031d395d414ffa655fdc65e6760d6a0|work=[[AP News]]|access-date=April 28, 2020|date=April 24, 2020|first1=Jonathan|last1=Lemire|first2=Ben|last2=Nadler}}</ref> Throughout the spring he increasingly pushed for ending the restrictions to reverse the damage to the country's economy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/18/trump-reopening-economy-193885|title=Trump's unspoken factor on reopening the economy: Politics|last=Kumar|first=Anita|date=April 18, 2020|work=[[Politico]]|access-date=July 10, 2020}}</ref> Trump often refused to [[Face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic|mask]] at public events, contrary to his administration's April 2020 guidance to wear masks in public<ref name=99days>{{cite web|last=Danner|first=Chas|title=99 Days Later, Trump Finally Wears a Face Mask in Public|url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/07/trump-finally-wears-a-face-mask-in-public-covid-19.html|access-date=July 12, 2020|work=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]|date=July 11, 2020}}</ref> and despite nearly unanimous medical consensus that masks are important to preventing spread of the virus.<ref name="WAPost_Mask">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/06/25/trumps-dumbfounding-refusal-encourage-wearing-masks/|title=Trump's dumbfounding refusal to encourage wearing masks|last=Blake|first=Aaron|date=June 25, 2020|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=July 10, 2020}}</ref> By June, Trump had said masks were a "double-edged sword"; ridiculed Biden for wearing masks; continually emphasized that mask-wearing was optional; and suggested that wearing a mask was a political statement against him personally.<ref name="WAPost_Mask" /> Trump's contradiction of medical recommendations weakened national efforts to mitigate the pandemic.<ref name=99days /><ref name="WAPost_Mask" /> In June and July, Trump said several times that the U.S. would have fewer cases of coronavirus if it did less testing, that having a large number of reported cases "makes us look bad".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/14/trump-says-us-would-have-half-the-number-of-coronavirus-cases-if-it-did-half-the-testing.html|title=Trump says U.S. would have half the number of coronavirus cases if it did half the testing|last=Higgins-Dunn|first=Noah|date=July 14, 2020|work=[[CNBC]]|access-date=August 26, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/07/23/trumps-right-that-with-less-testing-we-record-fewer-cases-fact-thats-already-happening/|title=Trump is right that with lower testing, we record fewer cases. That's already happening.|last=Bump|first=Philip|date=July 23, 2020|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=August 26, 2020}}</ref> The CDC guideline at the time was that any person exposed to the virus should be "quickly identified and tested" even if they are not showing symptoms, because asymptomatic people can still spread the virus.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/26/cdc-quietly-revises-coronavirus-guidance-to-downplay-importance-of-testing-for-asymptomatic-people.html|title=CDC quietly revises coronavirus guidance to downplay importance of testing for asymptomatic people|last=Feuer|first=Will|date=August 26, 2020|work=[[CNBC]]|access-date=August 26, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/25/world/covid-19-coronavirus.html|title=The C.D.C. changes testing guidelines to exclude those exposed to virus who don't exhibit symptoms.|date=August 26, 2020|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=August 26, 2020}}</ref> In August 2020 the CDC quietly lowered its recommendation for testing, advising that people who have been exposed to the virus, but are not showing symptoms, "do not necessarily need a test". The change in guidelines was made by HHS political appointees under Trump administration pressure, against the wishes of CDC scientists.<ref name="CNN-testing-pressure">{{cite web|url=https://cnn.com/2020/08/26/politics/cdc-coronavirus-testing-guidance/|title=CDC was pressured 'from the top down' to change coronavirus testing guidance, official says|date=August 26, 2020|work=[[CNN]]|first1=Nick|last1=Valencia|first2=Sara|last2=Murray|author-link2=Sara Murray (journalist)|first3=Kristen|last3=Holmes|access-date=August 26, 2020}}</ref><ref name=Gumbrecht>{{cite web|url=https://cnn.com/2020/09/18/health/covid-19-testing-guidance-cdc-hhs/|title=Controversial coronavirus testing guidance came from HHS and didn't go through CDC scientific review, sources say|date=September 18, 2020|work=[[CNN]]|first1=Jamie|last1=Gumbrecht|first2=Sanjay|last2=Gupta|author-link2=Sanjay Gupta|first3=Nick|last3=Valencia|access-date=September 18, 2020}}</ref> The day after this [[Trump administration political interference with science agencies|political interference]] was reported, the testing guideline was changed back to its original recommendation.<ref name=Gumbrecht /> Despite record numbers of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. from mid-June onward and an increasing percentage of positive test results, Trump largely continued to downplay the pandemic, including his false claim in early July 2020 that 99 percent of COVID-19 cases are "totally harmless".<ref>{{cite news|last=Blake|first=Aaron|title=President Trump, coronavirus truther|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/07/06/trump-throws-caution-wind-coronavirus/|access-date=July 11, 2020|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=July 6, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/05/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-factcheck.html|title=Trump Falsely Claims '99 Percent' of Virus Cases Are 'Totally Harmless'|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=July 5, 2020|access-date=October 7, 2021|first1=Roni Caryn|last1=Rabin|first2=Chris|last2=Cameron}}</ref> He began insisting that all states should resume in-person education in the fall despite a July spike in reported cases.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/07/07/888157257/white-house-pushes-to-reopen-schools-despite-a-surge-in-coronavirus-cases|title=Trump Pledges To 'Pressure' Governors To Reopen Schools Despite Health Concerns|last=Sprunt|first=Barbara|date=July 7, 2020|work=[[NPR]]|access-date=July 10, 2020}}</ref> ==== Political pressure on health agencies ==== {{Main|Trump administration political interference with science agencies}} Trump repeatedly pressured federal health agencies to take actions he favored,<ref name="CNN-testing-pressure" /> such as approving unproven treatments<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/06/15/hydroxychloroquine-authorization-revoked-coronavirus/|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=June 15, 2020|access-date=October 7, 2021|title=FDA pulls emergency approval for antimalarial drugs touted by Trump as covid-19 treatment|first1=Laurie|last1=McGinley|first2=Carolyn Y.|last2=Johnson}}</ref><ref name=pressed>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/12/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-treatment-vaccine.html|title=Trump Pressed for Plasma Therapy. Officials Worry, Is an Unvetted Vaccine Next?|date=September 12, 2020|work=[[The New York Times]]|first1=Sharon|last1=LaFraniere|author-link1=Sharon LaFraniere|first2=Noah|last2=Weiland|first3=Michael D.|last3=Shear|author-link3=Michael D. Shear|access-date=September 13, 2020}}</ref> or speeding up vaccine approvals.<ref name=pressed /> Trump administration political appointees at HHS sought to control CDC communications to the public that undermined Trump's claims that the pandemic was under control. CDC resisted many of the changes, but increasingly allowed HHS personnel to review articles and suggest changes before publication.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/11/exclusive-trump-officials-interfered-with-cdc-reports-on-covid-19-412809|title=Trump officials interfered with CDC reports on Covid-19|last=Diamond|first=Dan|date=September 11, 2020|work=[[Politico]]|access-date=September 14, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/09/12/trump-control-over-cdc-reports/|title=Trump officials seek greater control over CDC reports on coronavirus|last=Sun|first=Lena H.|date=September 12, 2020|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=September 14, 2020}}</ref> Trump alleged without evidence that FDA scientists were part of a "[[deep state]]" opposing him and delaying approval of vaccines and treatments to hurt him politically.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Laurie|last1=McGinley|first2=Carolyn Y.|last2=Johnson|first3=Josh|last3=Dawsey|author-link3=Josh Dawsey|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/08/22/trump-without-evidence-accuses-deep-state-fda-slow-walking-coronavirus-vaccines-treatments/|title=Trump without evidence accuses 'deep state' at FDA of slow-walking coronavirus vaccines and treatments|date=August 22, 2020|access-date=October 7, 2021|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> ==== Outbreak at the White House ==== {{Main|White House COVID-19 outbreak}} [[File:President Trump Boards Marine One (50436803733).jpg|thumb|upright=1.05|Trump boards [[Marine One]] for COVID-19 treatment on October 2, 2020.|alt=Donald Trump, wearing a black face mask, boards Marine One, a large green helicopter, from the White House lawn]] On October 2, 2020, Trump tweeted that he had tested positive for [[Coronavirus disease 2019|COVID-19]],<ref>{{cite web|last1=Liptak|first1=Kevin|last2=Klein|first2=Betsy|date=October 5, 2020|title=A timeline of Trump and those in his orbit during a week of coronavirus developments|url=https://cnn.com/2020/10/02/politics/timeline-trump-coronavirus/|access-date=October 3, 2020|work=[[CNN]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Ballhaus|first1=Rebecca|author-link1=Rebecca Ballhaus|last2=Bender|first2=Michael C.|author-link2=Michael C. Bender|title=Trump Didn't Disclose First Positive Covid-19 Test While Awaiting a Second Test on Thursday|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-didnt-disclose-first-positive-covid-19-test-while-awaiting-a-second-test-on-thursday-11601844813|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=October 4, 2020 |access-date=February 19, 2021 |archive-date=October 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201004210646/https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-didnt-disclose-first-positive-covid-19-test-while-awaiting-a-second-test-on-thursday-11601844813 |url-status=live}}</ref> part of a White House outbreak.<ref name="downplay">{{cite news|last1=Olorunnipa|first1=Toluse|author-link1=Toluse Olorunnipa|last2=Dawsey|first2=Josh|author-link2=Josh Dawsey|title=Trump returns to White House, downplaying virus that hospitalized him and turned West Wing into a 'ghost town'|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-walter-reed-discharge-mask/2020/10/05/91edbe9a-071a-11eb-859b-f9c27abe638d_story.html|access-date=October 5, 2020|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=October 5, 2020}}</ref><ref name="drug" /> Later that day [[Donald Trump's COVID-19 infection|Trump was hospitalized]] at [[Walter Reed National Military Medical Center]], reportedly due to fever and labored breathing. He was treated with antiviral and experimental antibody drugs and a steroid. He returned to the White House on October 5, still infectious and unwell.<ref name="downplay"/><ref name="sicker">{{cite web|last1=Weiland|first1=Noah|last2=Haberman|first2=Maggie|last3=Mazzetti|first3=Mark|last4=Karni|first4=Annie |author-link2=Maggie Haberman |author-link3=Mark Mazzetti |author-link4=Annie Karni|date=February 11, 2021|title=Trump Was Sicker Than Acknowledged With Covid-19|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/11/us/politics/trump-coronavirus.html |access-date=February 16, 2021}}</ref> During and after his treatment he continued to downplay the virus.<ref name="downplay"/> In 2021, it was revealed that his condition had been far more serious; he had dangerously low blood oxygen levels, a high fever, and lung infiltrates, indicating a severe case.<ref name="drug">{{cite web|last1=Thomas|first1=Katie|last2=Kolata|first2=Gina|author-link2=Gina Kolata|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/02/health/trump-antibody-treatment.html|title=President Trump Received Experimental Antibody Treatment|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=October 2, 2020|access-date=October 6, 2020}}</ref> ==== Effects on the 2020 presidential campaign ==== By July 2020, Trump's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic had become a major issue in the presidential election.<ref name="Election_NBCNews">{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/warning-signs-flash-trump-wisconsin-pandemic-response-fuels-disapproval-n1232646|title=Warning signs flash for Trump in Wisconsin as pandemic response fuels disapproval|date=July 5, 2020|work=[[NBC News]]|first=Adam|last=Edelman|access-date=September 14, 2020}}</ref> Biden sought to make the pandemic the central issue.<ref>{{cite web|last=Strauss|first=Daniel|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/14/joe-biden-donald-trump-coronavirus-covid-19|title=Biden aims to make election about Covid-19 as Trump steers focus elsewhere|date=September 7, 2020|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=November 4, 2021}}</ref> Polls suggested voters blamed Trump for his pandemic response<ref name="Election_NBCNews" /> and disbelieved his rhetoric concerning the virus, with an [[Ipsos]]/[[ABC News]] poll indicating 65 percent of respondents disapproved of his pandemic response.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/deep-skepticism-trumps-coronavirus-response-endures-poll/story?id=72974847|title=Deep skepticism for Trump's coronavirus response endures: POLL|date=September 13, 2020|work=[[ABC News]]|first=Kendall|last=Karson|access-date=September 14, 2020}}</ref> In the final months of the campaign, Trump repeatedly claimed that the U.S. was "rounding the turn" in managing the pandemic, despite increasing cases and deaths.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-us-rounding-turn-covid-trump-claims-1542145|title=Fact Check: Is U.S. 'Rounding the Turn' On COVID, as Trump Claims?|date=October 26, 2020|work=[[Newsweek]]|first=Matthew|last=Impelli|access-date=October 31, 2020}}</ref> A few days before the November 3 election, the U.S. reported more than 100,000 cases in a single day for the first time.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-record/u-s-reports-world-record-of-more-than-100000-covid-19-cases-in-single-day-idUSKBN27G07S|title=U.S. reports world record of more than 100,000 COVID-19 cases in single day|date=October 31, 2020|work=[[Reuters]]|first=Anurag|last=Maan|access-date=October 31, 2020}}</ref> === Investigations === After he assumed office, Trump was the subject of increasing Justice Department and congressional scrutiny, with investigations covering his election campaign, transition, and inauguration, actions taken during his presidency, along with his [[The Trump Organization|private businesses]], personal taxes, and [[Donald J. Trump Foundation|charitable foundation]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Woodward|first1=Calvin|last2=Pace|first2=Julie|title=Scope of investigations into Trump has shaped his presidency|url=https://apnews.com/article/6d6361fdf19846cb9eb020d9c6fbfa5a|access-date=December 19, 2018|work=[[AP News]]|date=December 16, 2018}}</ref> There were 30 investigations of Trump, including ten federal criminal investigations, eight state and local investigations, and twelve congressional investigations.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Buchanan|first1=Larry|last2=Yourish|first2=Karen|title=Tracking 30 Investigations Related to Trump|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/05/13/us/politics/trump-investigations.html|access-date=October 4, 2020|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=September 25, 2019}}</ref> In April 2019, the [[House Oversight Committee]] issued [[subpoena]]s seeking financial details from Trump's banks, Deutsche Bank and [[Capital One]], and his accounting firm, [[Mazars USA]]. Trump then sued the banks, Mazars, and committee chair [[Elijah Cummings]] to prevent the disclosures.<ref>{{cite news|date=April 22, 2019|last1=Fahrenthold|first1=David A.|author-link1=David Fahrenthold|last2=Bade|first2=Rachael|last3=Wagner|first3=John|title=Trump sues in bid to block congressional subpoena of financial records|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-sues-in-bid-to-block-congressional-subpoena-of-financial-records/2019/04/22/a98de3d0-6500-11e9-82ba-fcfeff232e8f_story.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=May 1, 2019}}</ref> In May, [[United States District Court for the District of Columbia|DC District Court]] judge [[Amit Mehta]] ruled that Mazars must comply with the subpoena,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/20/us/politics/trump-financial-records.html|title=Accountants Must Turn Over Trump's Financial Records, Lower-Court Judge Rules|first=Charlie|last=Savage|author-link=Charlie Savage (author)|date=May 20, 2019|access-date=September 30, 2021|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> and judge [[Edgardo Ramos]] of the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of New York|Southern District Court of New York]] ruled that the banks must also comply.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/judge-rejects-trumps-request-to-halt-congressional-subpoenas-for-his-banking-records/2019/05/22/28f9b93a-7ccd-11e9-8bb7-0fc796cf2ec0_story.html|title=Judge rejects Trump's request to halt congressional subpoenas for his banking records|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=May 22, 2019|access-date=September 30, 2021|first1=Renae|last1=Merle|first2=Michael|last2=Kranish|author-link2=Michael Kranish|first3=Felicia|last3=Sonmez|author-link3=Felicia Sonmez}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/22/business/deutsche-bank-trump-subpoena.html|title=Trump's Financial Secrets Move Closer to Disclosure|first1=Emily|last1=Flitter|first2=Jesse|last2=McKinley|first3=David|last3=Enrich|author-link3=David Enrich|first4=Nicholas|last4=Fandos|author-link4=Nicholas Fandos|date=May 22, 2019|access-date=September 30, 2021|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> Trump's attorneys appealed the rulings.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/trump-subpoena-appeal-merrick-garland-court-1431543|title=Donald Trump's Subpoena Appeals Now Head to Merrick Garland's Court|date=May 21, 2019|access-date=August 24, 2021|work=[[Newsweek]]|first=Alexandra|last=Hutzler}}</ref> In September 2022, the committee and Trump agreed to a settlement about Mazars, and the accounting firm began turning over documents.<ref>{{cite web|last=Broadwater|first=Luke|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/17/us/politics/mazars-accounting-trump-documents.html|title=Trump's Former Accounting Firm Begins Turning Over Documents to Congress|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=September 17, 2022 |access-date=January 28, 2023}}</ref> ==== Hush money payments ==== {{Main|Stormy Daniels–Donald Trump scandal}} {{See also|Personal and business legal affairs of Donald Trump#Payments related to alleged affairs|Karen McDougal#Alleged affair with Donald Trump|Prosecution of Donald Trump in New York#Hush money payments}} During the 2016 presidential election campaign, [[American Media, Inc.]] (AMI), the parent company of the ''[[National Enquirer]]'',<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ellison|first1=Sarah|author-link1=Sarah Ellison|last2=Farhi|first2=Paul|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/publisher-of-the-national-enquirer-admits-to-hush-money-payments-made-on-trumps-behalf/2018/12/12/ebf24b76-fe49-11e8-83c0-b06139e540e5_story.html|title=Publisher of the National Enquirer admits to hush-money payments made on Trump's behalf|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=December 12, 2018|access-date=January 17, 2021}}</ref> and a company set up by Cohen paid ''[[Playboy]]'' model [[Karen McDougal]] and [[Pornographic film actor|adult film actress]] [[Stormy Daniels]] for keeping silent about their alleged affairs with Trump between 2006 and 2007.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/08/21/how-the-campaign-finance-charges-against-michael-cohen-may-implicate-trump|title=How the campaign finance charges against Michael Cohen implicate Trump|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|first=Philip|last=Bump|date=August 21, 2018|access-date=July 25, 2019}}</ref> Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to breaking campaign finance laws, saying he had arranged both payments at the direction of Trump to influence the presidential election.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/74aaf72511d64fceb1d64529207bde64|title=Cohen pleads guilty, implicates Trump in hush-money scheme|last1=Neumeister|first1=Larry|last2=Hays|first2=Tom|date=August 22, 2018|access-date=October 7, 2021|work=[[AP News]]}}</ref> Trump denied the affairs and claimed he was not aware of Cohen's payment to Daniels, but he reimbursed him in 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/07/trump-stormy-daniels-payment-444133|title=White House on Stormy Daniels: Trump 'denied all these allegations'|last=Nelson|first=Louis|date=March 7, 2018|work=[[Politico]]|access-date=March 16, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/08/22/trump-insists-learned-michael-cohen-payments-later-on-in-fox-friends-exclusive.html|title=Trump insists he learned of Michael Cohen payments 'later on', in 'Fox & Friends' exclusive|last=Singman|first=Brooke|access-date=August 23, 2018|work=[[Fox News]]|date=August 22, 2018}}</ref> Federal prosecutors asserted that Trump had been involved in discussions regarding non-disclosure payments as early as 2014.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/federal-prosecutors-recommend-substantial-prison-term-for-former-trump-lawyer-michael-cohen/2018/12/07/e144f248-f7f3-11e8-8c9a-860ce2a8148f_story.html|title=Court filings directly implicate Trump in efforts to buy women's silence, reveal new contact between inner circle and Russian|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|last1=Barrett|first1=Devlin|last2=Zapotosky|first2=Matt|date=December 7, 2018|access-date=December 7, 2018}}</ref> Court documents showed that the FBI believed Trump was directly involved in the payment to Daniels, based on calls he had with Cohen in October 2016.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-cohen/documents-detail-trump-teams-efforts-to-arrange-payment-to-porn-star-idUSKCN1UD18D|title=FBI documents point to Trump role in hush money for porn star Daniels|last1=Allen|first1=Jonathan|last2=Stempel|first2=Jonathan|work=[[Reuters]]|date=July 18, 2019|access-date=July 22, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/2d4138abfd0b4e71a63c94d3203e435a|title=Records detail frenetic effort to bury stories about Trump|last=Mustian|first=Jim|work=[[AP News]]|date=July 19, 2019|access-date=July 22, 2019}}</ref> Federal prosecutors closed the investigation in 2019,<ref>{{cite web|work=[[AP News]]|date=July 19, 2019|access-date=October 7, 2021|first=Jim|last=Mustian|title=Why no hush-money charges against Trump? Feds are silent|url=https://apnews.com/article/0543a381b39a42d09c27567274477983}}</ref> but the [[Manhattan District Attorney]] subpoenaed the Trump Organization and AMI for records related to the payments<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/01/nyregion/trump-cohen-stormy-daniels-vance.html|title=Manhattan D.A. Subpoenas Trump Organization Over Stormy Daniels Hush Money|first1=Ben|last1=Protess|first2=William K.|last2=Rashbaum|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=August 1, 2019|access-date=August 2, 2019}}</ref> and Trump and the Trump Organization for eight years of tax returns.<ref>{{cite web|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=September 16, 2019|first1=William K.|last1=Rashbaum|first2=Ben|last2=Protess|title=8 Years of Trump Tax Returns Are Subpoenaed by Manhattan D.A.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/16/nyregion/trump-tax-returns-cy-vance.html|access-date=October 7, 2021}}</ref> In November 2022, ''The New York Times'' reported that Manhattan prosecutors were "newly optimistic about building a case" against Trump.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Bromwich|first1=Jonah E.|last2=Protess|first2=Ben|last3=Rashbaum|first3=William K.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/21/nyregion/trump-bragg-stormy-daniels.html|title=Manhattan Prosecutors Move to Jump-Start Criminal Inquiry Into Trump|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=November 21, 2022|access-date=November 26, 2022}}</ref> ==== Russian election interference ==== {{Main|Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections|Timelines related to Donald Trump and Russian interference in United States elections}} {{See also|Senate Intelligence Committee report on Russian interference in the 2016 United States presidential election|Steele dossier}} In January 2017, American intelligence agencies—the [[CIA]], the [[FBI]], and the [[NSA]], represented by the [[Director of National Intelligence]]—jointly stated with "[[Analytic confidence#Levels of analytic confidence in national security reports|high confidence]]" that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election to favor the election of Trump.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/06/us/politics/trump-russia-intelligence-agencies-cia-fbi-nsa.html|title=Trump Misleads on Russian Meddling: Why 17 Intelligence Agencies Don't Need to Agree|last=Rosenberg|first=Matthew|author-link=Matthew Rosenberg|date=July 6, 2017|access-date=October 7, 2021|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Sanger|first=David E.|author-link=David E. Sanger|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/06/us/politics/russia-hack-report.html|title=Putin Ordered 'Influence Campaign' Aimed at U.S. Election, Report Says|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 6, 2017 |access-date=October 4, 2021}}</ref> In March 2017, FBI Director [[James Comey]] told Congress, "[T]he FBI, as part of our counterintelligence mission, is investigating the Russian government's efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. That includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government, and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia's efforts."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/03/its-official-the-fbi-is-investigating-trumps-links-to-russia/520134/|title=It's Official: The FBI Is Investigating Trump's Links to Russia|last=Berman|first=Russell|date=March 20, 2017|work=[[The Atlantic]]|access-date=June 7, 2017}}</ref> Many suspicious<ref>{{cite web|last=Harding|first=Luke|title=How Trump walked into Putin's web|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=November 15, 2017|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/nov/15/how-trump-walked-into-putins-web-luke|access-date=May 22, 2019}}</ref> [[links between Trump associates and Russian officials and spies]] were discovered and the relationships between Russians and "team Trump" were widely reported by the press.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/13/donald-trump-russia-vladimir-putin-us-election-hack|title=Trump's relationship with Russia – what we know and what comes next|last=McCarthy|first=Tom|date=December 13, 2016|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=March 11, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/03/03/the-web-of-relationships-between-team-trump-and-russia/|title=The web of relationships between Team Trump and Russia|last=Bump|first=Philip|date=March 3, 2017|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=March 11, 2017}}</ref> Manafort, one of Trump's campaign managers, worked from December 2004 to February 2010 to help pro-Russian politician [[Viktor Yanukovych]] win the Ukrainian presidency.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/08/19/paul-manaforts-complicated-ties-to-ukraine-explained/|title=Paul Manafort's complicated ties to Ukraine, explained|last=Phillips|first=Amber|date=August 19, 2016|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=June 14, 2017}}</ref> Other Trump associates, including Flynn and Stone, were connected to Russian officials.<ref>{{cite web|last=Risen|first=James|title=Roger Stone Made His Name as a Dirty Trickster, but the Trump-Russia Cover-Up May Finally Bring Him Down|url=https://theintercept.com/2019/01/26/roger-stone-made-his-name-as-a-dirty-trickster-but-the-trump-russia-coverup-may-finally-bring-him-down/|work=[[The Intercept]]|date=January 26, 2019|access-date=October 7, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://time.com/4433880/donald-trump-ties-to-russia/|title=Donald Trump's Many, Many, Many, Many Ties to Russia|last=Nesbit|first=Jeff|date=August 2, 2016|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=February 28, 2017}}</ref> Russian agents were overheard during the campaign saying they could use Manafort and Flynn to influence Trump.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/335035-nyt-russians-discussed-using-manafort-flynn-to-influence-trump|title=NYT: Russians discussed using Manafort, Flynn to influence Trump|last=Williams|first=Katie Bo|date=May 24, 2017|work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|access-date=May 28, 2017}}</ref> Members of Trump's campaign and later his White House staff, particularly Flynn, were in contact with Russian officials both before and after the November election.<ref>{{cite web|title=We Still Don't Know What Happened Between Trump and Russia|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/11/we-still-dont-know-what-happened-between-trump-and-russia/602116/|work=[[The Atlantic]]|date=November 15, 2019|access-date=October 7, 2021|first=David A.|last=Graham}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-contacts-idUSKCN18E106|title=Exclusive: Trump campaign had at least 18 undisclosed contacts with Russians: sources|last1=Parker|first1=Ned|last2=Landay|first2=Jonathan|last3=Strobel|first3=Warren|date=May 18, 2017|access-date=May 19, 2017|work=[[Reuters]]}}</ref> On December 29, 2016, Flynn talked with Russian Ambassador [[Sergey Kislyak]] about sanctions that were imposed that same day; Flynn later resigned in the midst of controversy over whether he misled Pence.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cnn.com/2017/02/13/politics/michael-flynn-white-house-national-security-adviser/|title=Flynn resigns amid controversy over Russia contacts|last1=Murray|first1=Sara|author-link1=Sara Murray (journalist)|last2=Borger|first2=Gloria|author-link2=Gloria Borger|last3=Diamond|first3=Jeremy|author-link3=Jeremy Diamond (journalist)|date=February 14, 2017|access-date=March 2, 2017|work=[[CNN]]}}</ref> Trump told Kislyak and [[Sergei Lavrov]] in May 2017 he was unconcerned about Russian interference in U.S. elections.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/trump-told-russian-officials-in-2017-he-wasnt-concerned-about-moscows-interference-in-us-election/2019/09/27/b20a8bc8-e159-11e9-b199-f638bf2c340f_story.html|title=Trump told Russian officials in 2017 he wasn't concerned about Moscow's interference in U.S. election|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=September 27, 2019|access-date=October 8, 2021|first1=Shane|last1=Harris|author-link1=Shane Harris|first2=Josh|last2=Dawsey|author-link2=Josh Dawsey|first3=Ellen|last3=Nakashima|author-link3=Ellen Nakashima}}</ref> Trump and his allies promoted [[Conspiracy theories related to the Trump–Ukraine scandal|a conspiracy theory]] that Ukraine, rather than Russia, interfered in the 2016 election—which was also promoted by Russia to [[Frameup|frame]] Ukraine.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/22/us/politics/ukraine-russia-interference.html|title=Charges of Ukrainian Meddling? A Russian Operation, U.S. Intelligence Says|first1=Julian E.|last1=Barnes|first2=Matthew|last2=Rosenberg|author-link2=Matthew Rosenberg|date=November 22, 2019|access-date=October 8, 2021|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> After the [[Democratic National Committee]] was hacked, Trump first claimed it withheld "its server" from the FBI (in actuality there were more than 140 servers, of which digital copies were given to the FBI); second, that [[CrowdStrike]], the company that investigated the servers, was Ukraine-based and Ukrainian-owned (in actuality, CrowdStrike is U.S.-based, with the largest owners being American companies); and third that "the server" was hidden in Ukraine. Members of the Trump administration spoke out against the conspiracy theories.<ref>{{cite web|last=Pelley|first=Scott|author-link=Scott Pelley|title=Why President Trump asked Ukraine to look into a DNC "server" and CrowdStrike|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-crowdstrike-ukraine-server-conspiracy-theory-60-minutes-2020-02-16/|access-date=February 18, 2020|work=[[CBS News]]|date=February 16, 2020}}</ref> ==== FBI Crossfire Hurricane and 2017 counterintelligence investigations ==== In July 2016, the FBI launched an investigation, codenamed [[Crossfire Hurricane (FBI investigation)|Crossfire Hurricane]], into possible links between Russia and the Trump campaign.<ref>{{cite web|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=Code Name Crossfire Hurricane: The Secret Origins of the Trump Investigation|date=May 16, 2018|access-date=December 21, 2023|first1=Matt|last1=Apuzzo|author-link1=Matt Apuzzo|first2=Adam|last2=Goldman|author-link2=Adam Goldman|first3=Nicholas|last3=Fandos|author-link3=Nicholas Fandos|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/16/us/politics/crossfire-hurricane-trump-russia-fbi-mueller-investigation.html}}</ref> After Trump fired FBI director James Comey in May 2017, the FBI opened a counterintelligence investigation into Trump's personal and [[Business projects of Donald Trump in Russia|business dealings with Russia]].<ref>{{cite web|work=[[NBC News]]|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/fbi-agent-who-helped-launch-russia-investigation-says-trump-was-n1239442|title=FBI agent who helped launch Russia investigation says Trump was 'compromised'|access-date=December 21, 2023|first=Ken|last=Dilanian|date=September 7, 2020}}</ref> Crossfire Hurricane was transferred to the Mueller investigation,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.9news.com.au/world/crossfire-hurricane-trump-russia-investigation-started-with-alexander-downer-interview/16121e23-bdfc-4f32-9822-e4a7f841e3e4|work=[[Nine News]]|title=Crossfire Hurricane: Trump Russia investigation started with Alexander Downer interview|first=Nick|last=Pearson|date=May 17, 2018|access-date=December 21, 2023}}</ref> but deputy attorney general [[Rod Rosenstein]] ended the investigation into Trump's direct ties to Russia while giving the bureau the false impression that Mueller would pursue the matter.<ref name="never">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/30/us/politics/trump-russia-justice-department.html|title=Justice Dept. Never Fully Examined Trump's Ties to Russia, Ex-Officials Say|first=Michael S.|last=Schmidt|author-link=Michael S. Schmidt|date=August 30, 2020|access-date=October 8, 2021|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-rosenstein-idUSKBN23330H|title=Rosenstein to testify in Senate on Trump-Russia probe|work=[[Reuters]]|date=May 27, 2020|access-date=October 19, 2021}}</ref> ==== Mueller investigation ==== {{Main|Mueller special counsel investigation|Mueller report|Criminal charges brought in the Mueller special counsel investigation}} In May 2017, [[United States Deputy Attorney General|Deputy Attorney General]] Rod Rosenstein appointed [[Robert Mueller]], a former [[director of the FBI]], [[special counsel]] for the [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]] (DOJ), ordering him to "examine 'any links and/or coordination between the Russian government' and the Trump campaign". He privately told Mueller to restrict the investigation to criminal matters "in connection with Russia's 2016 election interference".<ref name="never"/> The special counsel also investigated whether Trump's [[dismissal of James Comey]] as FBI director constituted obstruction of justice<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/06/15/the-president-is-under-investigation-for-obstruction-of-justice-how-did-we-get-here/|title=Trump Is Officially under Investigation. How Did We Get Here?|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|last=Vitkovskaya|first=Julie|date=June 16, 2017|access-date=June 16, 2017}}</ref> and the Trump campaign's possible ties to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, [[Turkey]], [[Qatar]], Israel, and China.<ref>{{cite web|first=Joshua|last=Keating|author-link=Joshua Keating|title=It's Not Just a "Russia" Investigation Anymore|url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/03/mueller-investigation-spreads-to-qatar-israel-uae-china-turkey.html|work=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|date=March 8, 2018|access-date=October 8, 2021}}</ref> Trump sought to fire Mueller and shut down the investigation multiple times but backed down after his staff objected or after changing his mind.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Haberman|first1=Maggie|author-link1=Maggie Haberman|last2=Schmidt|first2=Michael S.|author-link2=Michael S. Schmidt|title=Trump Sought to Fire Mueller in December|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/10/us/politics/trump-sought-to-fire-mueller-in-december.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=April 10, 2018|access-date=October 8, 2021}}</ref> In March 2019, Mueller concluded his investigation and gave [[Mueller report|his report]] to Attorney General [[William Barr]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/22/robert-mueller-submits-special-counsels-russia-probe-report-to-attorney-general-william-barr.html|title=Mueller probe ends: Special counsel submits Russia report to Attorney General William Barr|last=Breuninger|first=Kevin|date=March 22, 2019|work=[[CNBC]]|access-date=March 22, 2019}}</ref> Two days later, Barr [[Barr letter|sent a letter to Congress]] purporting to summarize the report's main conclusions. A federal court, as well as Mueller himself, said Barr mischaracterized the investigation's conclusions and, in so doing, confused the public.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/mueller-complained-that-barrs-letter-did-not-capture-context-of-trump-probe/2019/04/30/d3c8fdb6-6b7b-11e9-a66d-a82d3f3d96d5_story.html|title=Mueller complained that Barr's letter did not capture 'context' of Trump probe|first1=Devlin|last1=Barrett|first2=Matt|last2=Zapotosky|date=April 30, 2019|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=May 30, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/mueller-report-attorney-general-william-barr/2020/03/05/3fa7afce-5f2c-11ea-b29b-9db42f7803a7_story.html|title=Judge cites Barr's 'misleading' statements in ordering review of Mueller report redactions|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|first1=Spencer S.|last1=Hsu|first2=Devlin|last2=Barrett|date=March 5, 2020|access-date=October 8, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/05/us/politics/mueller-report-barr-judge-walton.html|title=Judge Calls Barr's Handling of Mueller Report 'Distorted' and 'Misleading'|first=Charlie|last=Savage|author-link=Charlie Savage (author)|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=March 5, 2020|access-date=October 8, 2021}}</ref> Trump repeatedly and falsely claimed that the investigation exonerated him; the Mueller report expressly stated that it did not exonerate him.<ref>{{cite web|first1=Hope|last1=Yen|first2=Calvin|last2=Woodward|title=AP FACT CHECK: Trump falsely claims Mueller exonerated him|url=https://apnews.com/article/130932b573664ea5a4d186f752bb8d50|date=July 24, 2019|access-date=October 8, 2021|work=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref> A redacted version of the report was publicly released in April 2019. It found that Russia interfered in 2016 to favor Trump's candidacy and hinder Clinton's.<ref>{{cite web|title=Main points of Mueller report|date=January 16, 2012 |url=https://www.afp.com/en/news/15/main-points-mueller-report-doc-1fr5vv1|publisher=[[Agence France-Presse]]|access-date=April 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420143436/https://www.afp.com/en/news/15/main-points-mueller-report-doc-1fr5vv1|archive-date=April 20, 2019}}</ref> Despite "numerous links between the Russian government and the Trump campaign", the report found that the prevailing evidence "did not establish" that Trump campaign members conspired or coordinated with Russian interference.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Ostriker|first1=Rebecca|last2=Puzzanghera|first2=Jim|last3=Finucane|first3=Martin|last4=Datar|first4=Saurabh|last5=Uraizee|first5=Irfan|last6=Garvin|first6=Patrick|title=What the Mueller report says about Trump and more|url=https://apps.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/graphics/2019/03/mueller-report/|work=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=April 18, 2019|access-date=April 22, 2019}}</ref><ref name="takeaways">{{cite web|last=Law|first=Tara|title=Here Are the Biggest Takeaways From the Mueller Report|date=April 18, 2019|url=http://time.com/5567077/mueller-report-release/|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=April 22, 2019}}</ref> The report revealed sweeping Russian interference<ref name="takeaways" /> and detailed how Trump and his campaign welcomed and encouraged it, believing "[they] would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Lynch|first1=Sarah N.|last2=Sullivan|first2=Andy|date=April 18, 2018|title=In unflattering detail, Mueller report reveals Trump actions to impede inquiry|work=[[Reuters]]|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-idUSKCN1RU0DN |access-date=July 10, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=July 24, 2019|first=Mark|last=Mazzetti|author-link=Mark Mazzetti|title=Mueller Warns of Russian Sabotage and Rejects Trump's 'Witch Hunt' Claims|access-date=March 4, 2020|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/24/us/politics/trump-mueller-testimony.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=May 30, 2019|last=Bump|first=Philip|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/05/30/trump-briefly-acknowledges-that-russia-aided-his-election-falsely-says-he-didnt-help-effort/|access-date=March 5, 2020|title=Trump briefly acknowledges that Russia aided his election – and falsely says he didn't help the effort}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Polantz|first1=Katelyn|last2=Kaufman|first2=Ellie|last3=Murray|first3=Sara|url=https://cnn.com/2020/06/19/politics/mueller-report-rerelease-fewer-redactions/|title=Mueller raised possibility Trump lied to him, newly unsealed report reveals|work=[[CNN]]|date=June 19, 2020|access-date=October 30, 2022}}</ref> The report also detailed multiple acts of potential obstruction of justice by Trump but did not make a "traditional prosecutorial judgment" on whether Trump broke the law, suggesting that Congress should make such a determination.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Barrett|first1=Devlin|last2=Zapotosky|first2=Matt|title=Mueller report lays out obstruction evidence against the president|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/attorney-general-to-provide-overview-of-mueller-report-at-news-conference-before-its-release/2019/04/17/8dcc9440-54b9-11e9-814f-e2f46684196e_story.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=April 17, 2019|access-date=April 20, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.factcheck.org/2019/04/what-the-mueller-report-says-about-obstruction/|title=What the Mueller Report Says About Obstruction|last1=Farley|first1=Robert|last2=Robertson|first2=Lori|last3=Gore|first3=D'Angelo|last4=Spencer|first4=Saranac Hale|last5=Fichera|first5=Angelo|last6=McDonald|first6=Jessica|date=April 18, 2019|work=[[FactCheck.org]]|access-date=April 22, 2019}}</ref> Investigators decided they could not "apply an approach that could potentially result in a judgment that the President committed crimes" as an [[Office of Legal Counsel]] opinion stated that a sitting president could not be indicted,<ref name="LM">{{cite web|last=Mascaro|first=Lisa|title=Mueller drops obstruction dilemma on Congress|url=https://apnews.com/article/35829a2b010248f193d1efd00c4de7e5|work=[[AP News]]|date=April 18, 2019|access-date=April 20, 2019}}</ref> and investigators would not accuse him of a crime when he cannot clear his name in court.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/live-news/robert-mueller-statement-today-report-investigation-trump-2016-election-live-updates-2019-05/|title=Mueller: If it were clear president committed no crime, "we would have said so"|last=Segers|first=Grace|date=May 29, 2019|work=[[CBS News]]|access-date=June 2, 2019}}</ref> The report concluded that Congress, having the authority to take action against a president for wrongdoing, "may apply the obstruction laws".<ref name="LM"/> The House of Representatives subsequently launched an [[Impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump|impeachment inquiry]] following the [[Trump–Ukraine scandal]], but did not pursue an article of impeachment related to the Mueller investigation.<ref>{{cite web|title=Why Democrats sidelined Mueller in impeachment articles|first1=Kyle|last1=Cheney|first2=Heather|last2=Caygle|first3=John|last3=Bresnahan|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2019/12/10/democrats-sidelined-mueller-trump-impeachment-080910|work=[[Politico]]|date=December 10, 2019|access-date=October 8, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/12/10/democrats-ditch-bribery-mueller-trump-impeachment-articles-is-that-smart-play/|title=Democrats ditch 'bribery' and Mueller in Trump impeachment articles. But is that the smart play?|first=Aaron|last=Blake|date=December 10, 2019|access-date=October 8, 2021|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> Several Trump associates pleaded guilty or were convicted in connection with Mueller's investigation and related cases, including Manafort, [[Trials of Paul Manafort|convicted on eight felony counts]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/manafort-jury-suggests-it-cannot-come-to-a-consensus-on-a-single-count/2018/08/21/a2478ac0-a559-11e8-a656-943eefab5daf_story.html|title=Manafort convicted on 8 counts; mistrial declared on 10 others|last1=Zapotosky|first1=Matt|last2=Bui|first2=Lynh|last3=Jackman|first3=Tom|last4=Barrett|first4=Devlin|date=August 21, 2018|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=August 21, 2018}}</ref> deputy campaign manager [[Rick Gates (political consultant)|Rick Gates]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/dec/17/trump-russia-rick-gates-45-days-prison-fbi|title=Rick Gates: ex-Trump aide sentenced to 45 days in prison for lying to FBI|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=December 17, 2019|access-date=October 5, 2021}}</ref> foreign policy advisor Papadopoulos,<ref>{{cite web|last=Polantz|first=Katelyn|url=https://cnn.com/2018/11/26/politics/george-papadopoulos-prison/|title=George Papadopoulos to start 14-day prison sentence Monday|work=[[CNN]]|date=November 26, 2018|access-date=October 6, 2021}}</ref> and Flynn.<ref>{{cite web|last=Mangan|first=Dan|title=Trump and Giuliani are right that 'collusion is not a crime.' But that doesn't matter for Mueller's probe|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/30/giuliani-is-right-collusion-isnt-a-crime-but-that-wont-help-trump.html|work=[[CNBC]]|date=July 30, 2018|access-date=October 8, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Mueller investigation: No jail time sought for Trump ex-adviser Michael Flynn|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46449950|work=[[BBC]]|date=December 5, 2018|access-date=October 8, 2021}}</ref> Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about Trump's 2016 attempts to reach a deal with Russia to build [[Trump Tower Moscow|a Trump Tower in Moscow]]. Cohen said he had made the false statements on behalf of Trump, who was identified as "Individual-1" in the court documents.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/michael-cohen-trumps-former-lawyer-pleads-guilty-to-lying-to-congress/2018/11/29/5fac986a-f3e0-11e8-bc79-68604ed88993_story.html|title=Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer, pleads guilty to lying to Congress about Moscow project|date=November 29, 2018|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|first1=Devlin|last1=Barrett|first2=Matt|last2=Zapotosky|first3=Rosalind S.|last3=Helderman|author-link3=Rosalind S. Helderman|access-date=December 12, 2018}}</ref> In February 2020, Stone was sentenced to 40 months in prison for lying to Congress and witness tampering regarding his attempts to learn more about hacked Democratic emails during the 2016 election. The sentencing judge said Stone "was prosecuted for covering up for the president".<ref>{{cite news|first1=Rachel|last1=Weiner|first2=Matt|last2=Zapotosky|first3=Tom|last3=Jackman|first4=Devlin|last4=Barrett|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/roger-stone-sentence-due-thursday-in-federal-court/2020/02/19/2e01bfc8-4c38-11ea-9b5c-eac5b16dafaa_story.html|title=Roger Stone sentenced to three years and four months in prison, as Trump predicts 'exoneration' for his friend|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=February 20, 2020|access-date=March 3, 2020}}</ref> === First impeachment === {{Main|First impeachment of Donald Trump|Trump–Ukraine scandal}} [[File:House of Representatives Votes to Adopt the Articles of Impeachment Against Donald Trump.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Members of House of Representatives vote on two [[articles of impeachment]] <span class="nowrap">({{USBill|116|H. Res.|755}})</span>, December 18, 2019.|alt=Nancy Pelosi presides over a crowded House of Representatives chamber floor during the impeachment vote]] In August 2019, a [[Whistleblower protection in the United States|whistleblower]] filed a complaint with the [[Inspector General of the Intelligence Community]] about a July 25 phone call between Trump and President of Ukraine [[Volodymyr Zelenskyy]], during which Trump had pressured Zelenskyy to investigate CrowdStrike and Democratic presidential candidate Biden and his son [[Hunter Biden|Hunter]].<ref name="undermine">{{cite news|last=Bump|first=Philip|title=Trump wanted Russia's main geopolitical adversary to help undermine the Russian interference story|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/09/25/trump-wanted-russias-main-geopolitical-adversary-help-him-undermine-russian-interference-story/|access-date=October 1, 2019|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=September 25, 2019}}</ref> The whistleblower said that the White House had attempted to cover up the incident and that the call was part of a wider campaign by the Trump administration and Trump attorney [[Rudy Giuliani]] that may have included withholding financial aid from Ukraine in July 2019 and canceling Pence's May 2019 Ukraine trip.<ref name="abuse">{{cite web|last1=Cohen|first1=Marshall|last2=Polantz|first2=Katelyn|last3=Shortell|first3=David|last4=Kupperman|first4=Tammy|last5=Callahan|first5=Michael|url=https://cnn.com/2019/09/26/politics/whistleblower-complaint-released/|title=Whistleblower says White House tried to cover up Trump's abuse of power|work=[[CNN]]|date=September 26, 2019|access-date=October 4, 2022}}</ref> House Speaker [[Nancy Pelosi]] initiated [[Impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump|a formal impeachment inquiry]] on September 24.<ref>{{cite web|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=September 24, 2019|access-date=October 8, 2021|first=Nicholas|last=Fandos|author-link=Nicholas Fandos|title=Nancy Pelosi Announces Formal Impeachment Inquiry of Trump|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/24/us/politics/democrats-impeachment-trump.html}}</ref> Trump then confirmed that he withheld military aid from Ukraine, offering contradictory reasons for the decision.<ref>{{cite web|last=Forgey|first=Quint|title=Trump changes story on withholding Ukraine aid|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/24/donald-trump-ukraine-military-aid-1509070|access-date=October 1, 2019|work=[[Politico]]|date=September 24, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=David A.|last=Graham|access-date=July 7, 2021|title=Trump's Incriminating Conversation With the Ukrainian President|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/09/what-the-transcript-of-trumps-insane-call-with-the-ukrainian-president-showed/598780/|date=September 25, 2019|work=[[The Atlantic]]}}</ref> On September 25, the Trump administration released a memorandum of the phone call which confirmed that, after Zelenskyy mentioned purchasing American anti-tank missiles, Trump asked him to discuss investigating Biden and his son with Giuliani and Barr.<ref name="undermine"/><ref>{{cite web|last1=Santucci|first1=John|last2=Mallin|first2=Alexander|last3=Thomas|first3=Pierre|author-link3=Pierre Thomas (journalist)|last4=Faulders|first4=Katherine|title=Trump urged Ukraine to work with Barr and Giuliani to probe Biden: Call transcript|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/transcript-trump-call-ukraine-includes-talk-giuliani-barr/story?id=65848768|access-date=October 1, 2019|work=[[ABC News]]|date=September 25, 2019}}</ref> The testimony of multiple administration officials and former officials confirmed that this was part of a broader effort to further Trump's personal interests by giving him an advantage in the upcoming presidential election.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2019/09/24/whistleblower-complaint/assets/amp.html|title=Document: Read the Whistle-Blower Complaint|date=September 24, 2019|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=October 2, 2019}}</ref> In October, [[William B. Taylor Jr.]], the [[List of ambassadors of the United States to Ukraine|chargé d'affaires for Ukraine]], testified before congressional committees that soon after arriving in Ukraine in June 2019, he found that Zelenskyy was being subjected to pressure directed by Trump and led by Giuliani. According to Taylor and others, the goal was to coerce Zelenskyy into making a public commitment investigating the company that employed Hunter Biden, as well as rumors about Ukrainian involvement in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/22/us/trump-impeachment-ukraine.html|title=Ukraine Envoy Testifies Trump Linked Military Aid to Investigations, Lawmaker Says|last1=Shear|first1=Michael D.|author-link1=Michael D. Shear|last2=Fandos|first2=Nicholas|author-link2=Nicholas Fandos|date=October 22, 2019|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=October 22, 2019}}</ref> He said it was made clear that until Zelenskyy made such an announcement, the administration would not release scheduled military aid for Ukraine and not invite Zelenskyy to the White House.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/22/us/politics/william-taylor-testimony.html|title=6 Key Revelations of Taylor's Opening Statement to Impeachment Investigators|last=LaFraniere|first=Sharon|author-link=Sharon LaFraniere|date=October 22, 2019|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=October 23, 2019}}</ref> On December 13, the [[House Judiciary Committee]] voted along party lines to pass two articles of impeachment: one for [[abuse of power]] and one for [[obstruction of Congress]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/house-judiciary-committee-set-vote-trump-impeachment-articles/story?id=67706093|last1=Siegel|first1=Benjamin|last2=Faulders|first2=Katherine|last3=Pecorin|first3=Allison|title=House Judiciary Committee passes articles of impeachment against President Trump|date=December 13, 2019|work=[[ABC News]]|access-date=December 13, 2019}}</ref> After debate, the House of Representatives [[Impeachment in the United States|impeached]] Trump on both articles on December 18.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gregorian|first=Dareh|title=Trump impeached by the House for abuse of power, obstruction of Congress|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-impeachment-inquiry/trump-impeached-house-abuse-power-n1104196|access-date=December 18, 2019|work=[[NBC News]]|date=December 18, 2019}}</ref> ==== Impeachment trial in the Senate ==== {{Main|First impeachment trial of Donald Trump}} During the trial in January 2020, the House impeachment managers presented their case for three days. They cited evidence to support charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress and asserted that Trump's actions were exactly what the founding fathers had in mind when they created the Constitution's impeachment process.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/democrats-detail-abuse-of-power-charge-against-trump-as-republicans-complain-of-repetitive-arguments/2020/01/23/3fb149b4-3e05-11ea-8872-5df698785a4e_story.html|title=Democrats detail abuse-of-power charge against Trump as Republicans complain of repetitive arguments|date=January 23, 2020|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=January 27, 2020|first1=Seung Min|last1=Kim|author-link1=Seung Min Kim|first2=John|last2=Wagner|first3=Karoun|last3=Demirjian|author-link3=Karoun Demirjian}}</ref> [[File:President Trump Delivers Remarks (49498772251).jpg|thumb|Trump displaying the headline "Trump acquitted"|alt=Trump displaying the front page of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' reporting his acquittal by the Senate]] Responding over the next three days, Trump's lawyers did not deny the facts as presented in the charges but said Trump had not broken any laws or obstructed Congress.<ref name="brazen">{{cite web|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 18, 2020|first1=Michael D.|last1=Shear|author-link1=Michael D. Shear|first2=Nicholas|last2=Fandos|author-link2=Nicholas Fandos|title=Trump's Defense Team Calls Impeachment Charges 'Brazen' as Democrats Make Legal Case|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/18/us/politics/house-trump-impeachment.html|access-date=January 30, 2020}}</ref> They argued that the impeachment was "constitutionally and legally invalid" because Trump was not charged with a crime and that abuse of power is not an impeachable offense.<ref name="brazen" /> On January 31, the Senate voted against allowing subpoenas for witnesses or documents; 51 Republicans formed the majority for this vote.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Herb|first1=Jeremy|last2=Mattingly|first2=Phil|last3=Raju|first3=Manu|author-link3=Manu Raju|last4=Fox|first4=Lauren|title=Senate impeachment trial: Wednesday acquittal vote scheduled after effort to have witnesses fails|url=https://cnn.com/2020/01/31/politics/senate-impeachment-trial-last-day/|access-date=February 2, 2020|work=[[CNN]]|date=January 31, 2020}}</ref> The impeachment trial was the first in U.S. history without witness testimony.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bookbinder|first=Noah|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/01/09/senate-has-conducted-15-impeachment-trials-it-heard-witnesses-every-one/|title=The Senate has conducted 15 impeachment trials. It heard witnesses in every one.|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=January 9, 2020|access-date=February 8, 2020}}</ref> Trump was acquitted of both charges by the Republican majority, 52–48 on abuse of power and 53–47 on obstruction of Congress. Senator [[Mitt Romney]] was the only Republican who voted to convict Trump on one charge, the abuse of power.<ref>{{cite web|work=[[CNBC]]|date=February 5, 2020|title=Trump acquitted of both charges in Senate impeachment trial|last1=Wilkie|first1=Christina|last2=Breuninger|first2=Kevin|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/05/trump-acquitted-in-impeachment-trial.html|access-date=February 2, 2021}}</ref> Following his acquittal, Trump fired impeachment witnesses and other political appointees and career officials he deemed insufficiently loyal.<ref>{{cite web|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=February 22, 2020|first=Peter|last=Baker|author-link=Peter Baker (journalist)|title=Trump's Efforts to Remove the Disloyal Heightens Unease Across His Administration|access-date=February 22, 2020|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/22/us/politics/trump-disloyalty-turnover.html}}</ref> === 2020 presidential campaign === [[File:Donald Trump (50548265318).jpg|thumb|Trump at a 2020 campaign rally in [[Arizona]]|alt=Trump points his finger at a campaign rally, with crowds behind him]] {{Main|Donald Trump 2020 presidential campaign}} {{See also|2020 United States presidential debates}} Breaking with precedent, Trump filed to run for a second term with the FEC within a few hours of assuming the presidency.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.azfamily.com/story/34380443/trump-breaks-precedent-files-on-first-day-as-candidate-for-re-election|title=Trump breaks precedent, files as candidate for re-election on first day|work=[[KTVK]]|first=Lee|last=Morehouse|date=January 31, 2017|access-date=February 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202210255/http://www.azfamily.com/story/34380443/trump-breaks-precedent-files-on-first-day-as-candidate-for-re-election|archive-date=February 2, 2017}}</ref> He held his first reelection rally less than a month after taking office<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/02/trump-kicks-off-his-2020-reelection-campaign-on-saturday/516909/|title=Trump Kicks Off His 2020 Reelection Campaign on Saturday|last=Graham|first=David A.|work=[[The Atlantic]]|date=February 15, 2017|access-date=February 19, 2017}}</ref> and officially became the [[2020 Republican Party presidential primaries|Republican nominee]] in August 2020.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Martin|first1=Jonathan|author-link1=Jonathan Martin (journalist)|last2=Burns|first2=Alexander|author-link2=Alex Burns (journalist)|last3=Karni|first3=Annie|author-link3=Annie Karni|title=Nominating Trump, Republicans Rewrite His Record|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/24/us/politics/republican-convention-recap.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=August 24, 2020|access-date=August 25, 2020}}</ref> In his first two years in office, Trump's reelection committee reported raising $67.5 million and began 2019 with $19.3 million in cash.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://publicintegrity.org/politics/donald-trump-money-campaign-2020/|publisher=[[Center for Public Integrity]]|date=February 1, 2019|access-date=October 8, 2021|first1=Ashley|last1=Balcerzak|first2=Dave|last2=Levinthal|first3=Carrie|last3=Levine|first4=Sarah|last4=Kleiner|first5=Lateshia|last5=Beachum|title=Donald Trump's campaign cash machine: big, brawny and burning money}}</ref> By July 2020, the Trump campaign and the Republican Party had raised $1.1 billion and spent $800 million, losing their cash advantage over Biden.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/07/us/politics/trump-election-campaign-fundraising.html|title=How Trump's Billion-Dollar Campaign Lost Its Cash Advantage|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=September 7, 2020|access-date=October 8, 2021|first1=Shane|last1=Goldmacher|first2=Maggie|last2=Haberman|author-link2=Maggie Haberman}}</ref> The cash shortage forced the campaign to scale back advertising spending.<ref>{{cite web|first1=Misyrlena|last1=Egkolfopoulou|first2=Bill|last2=Allison|first3=Gregory|last3=Korte|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-14/trump-campaign-slashes-ad-spending-in-key-states-in-cash-crunch|work=[[Bloomberg News]]|date=September 14, 2020|access-date=October 8, 2021|title=Trump Campaign Slashes Ad Spending in Key States in Cash Crunch}}</ref> Trump campaign advertisements focused on crime, claiming that cities would descend into lawlessness if Biden won the presidency.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/21/us/politics/trump-portland-federal-agents.html|title=As Trump Pushes into Portland, His Campaign Ads Turn Darker|date=July 21, 2020|work=[[The New York Times]]|first1=Maggie|last1=Haberman|author-link1=Maggie Haberman|first2=Nick|last2=Corasaniti|first3=Annie|last3=Karni|author-link3=Annie Karni|access-date=July 25, 2020}}</ref> Trump repeatedly misrepresented Biden's positions<ref>{{cite news|first=Philip|last=Bump|title=Nearly every claim Trump made about Biden's positions was false|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/08/28/nearly-every-claim-trump-made-about-bidens-positions-was-false/|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=August 28, 2020|access-date=October 9, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first1=Daniel|last1=Dale|author-link1=Daniel Dale|first2=Tara|last2=Subramaniam|first3=Holmes|last3=Lybrand|title=Fact check: Trump makes more false claims about Biden and protests|url=https://cnn.com/2020/08/31/politics/trump-kenosha-briefing-fact-check/|work=[[CNN]]|date=August 31, 2020|access-date=October 9, 2021}}</ref> and shifted to appeals to racism.<ref>{{cite web|last=Hopkins|first=Dan|url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-trumps-racist-appeals-might-be-less-effective-in-2020-than-they-were-in-2016|work=[[FiveThirtyEight]]|title=Why Trump's Racist Appeals Might Be Less Effective In 2020 Than They Were In 2016|date=August 27, 2020 |access-date=May 28, 2021}}</ref> === 2020 presidential election === {{Main|2020 United States presidential election}} {{See also|2020 United States Postal Service crisis}} Starting in spring 2020, Trump began to sow doubts about the election, claiming without evidence that the election would be rigged and that the expected widespread use of mail balloting would produce massive election fraud.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/08/trump-wants-to-cut-mail-in-voting-the-republican-machine-is-helping-him-392428|title=Trump aides exploring executive actions to curb voting by mail|last=Kumar|first=Anita|date=August 8, 2020|work=[[Politico]]|access-date=August 15, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/article/mail-in-voting-explained.html|title=Trump Is Pushing a False Argument on Vote-by-Mail Fraud. Here Are the Facts.|first1=Stephanie|last1=Saul|author-link1=Stephanie Saul|first2=Reid J.|last2=Epstein|date=August 31, 2020|access-date=October 8, 2021|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> When, in August, the House of Representatives voted for a $25 billion grant to the U.S. Postal Service for the expected surge in mail voting, Trump blocked funding, saying he wanted to prevent any increase in voting by mail.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/08/12/postal-service-ballots-dejoy/|title=Trump says Postal Service needs money for mail-in voting, but he'll keep blocking funding|last=Bogage|first=Jacob|date=August 12, 2020|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=August 14, 2020}}</ref> He repeatedly refused to say whether he would accept the results if he lost and commit to a [[peaceful transition of power]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-declines-to-say-whether-he-will-accept-november-election-results/2020/07/19/40009804-c9c7-11ea-91f1-28aca4d833a0_story.html|title=Trump declines to say whether he will accept November election results|last=Sonmez|first=Felicia|author-link=Felicia Sonmez|date=July 19, 2020|access-date=October 8, 2021|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first1=Ryan|last1=Browne|first2=Barbara|last2=Starr|author-link2=Barbara Starr|url=https://cnn.com/2020/09/25/politics/pentagon-election-insurrection-act/|title=As Trump refuses to commit to a peaceful transition, Pentagon stresses it will play no role in the election|work=[[CNN]]|date=September 25, 2020|access-date=October 8, 2021}}</ref> Biden won the election on November 3, receiving 81.3 million votes (51.3 percent) to Trump's 74.2 million (46.8 percent)<ref name="vote1">{{cite web|title=Presidential Election Results: Biden Wins|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/11/03/us/elections/results-president.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=December 11, 2020|access-date=December 11, 2020}}</ref><ref name="vote2">{{cite web|title=2020 US Presidential Election Results: Live Map|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Elections/2020-us-presidential-election-results-live-map|work=[[ABC News]]|date=December 10, 2020|access-date=December 11, 2020}}</ref> and 306 [[United States Electoral College|Electoral College]] votes to Trump's 232.<ref name="formalize">{{cite web|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=December 14, 2020|access-date=October 9, 2021|first1=Josh|last1=Holder|first2=Trip|last2=Gabriel|author-link2=Trip Gabriel|first3=Isabella Grullón|last3=Paz|title=Biden's 306 Electoral College Votes Make His Victory Official|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/12/14/us/elections/electoral-college-results.html}}</ref> ==== False claims of voting fraud, attempt to prevent presidential transition ==== {{Further|Big lie#Donald Trump's false claims of a stolen election|Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election|2020–21 United States election protests|Election denial movement in the United States}} [[File:ElectoralCollege2020 with results.svg|thumb|upright=1.3|2020 Electoral College results; Trump lost 232–306.|alt=Electoral college map, depicting Trump winning many states in the South and Rocky Mountains and Biden winning many states in the Northeast, Midwest, and Pacific West]] At 2 a.m. the morning after the election, with the results still unclear, Trump declared victory.<ref>{{cite web|title=With results from key states unclear, Trump declares victory|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-election-trump-statement/with-results-from-key-states-unclear-trump-declares-victory-idUKKBN27K0U3|access-date=November 10, 2020|work=[[Reuters]]|date=November 4, 2020}}</ref> After Biden was projected the winner days later, Trump stated that "this election is far from over" and baselessly alleged election fraud.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/11/07/joe-biden-victory-president-trump-claims-election-far-over/6202892002/|title=Trump revives baseless claims of election fraud after Biden wins presidential race|last=King|first=Ledyard|date=November 7, 2020|work=[[USA Today]]|access-date=November 7, 2020}}</ref> Trump and his allies filed many [[Post-election lawsuits related to the 2020 United States presidential election|legal challenges to the results]], which were rejected by at least 86 judges in both the [[State court (United States)|state]] and [[United States federal courts|federal courts]], including by federal judges appointed by Trump himself, finding no factual or legal basis.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/judges-trump-election-lawsuits/2020/12/12/e3a57224-3a72-11eb-98c4-25dc9f4987e8_story.html|date=December 12, 2020|access-date=October 9, 2021|title='The last wall': How dozens of judges across the political spectrum rejected Trump's efforts to overturn the election|first1=Rosalind S.|last1=Helderman|author-link1=Rosalind S. Helderman|first2=Elise|last2=Viebeck|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Aaron|last=Blake|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/12/14/most-remarkable-rebukes-trumps-legal-case-judges-he-hand-picked/|title=The most remarkable rebukes of Trump's legal case: From the judges he hand-picked|date=December 14, 2020|access-date=October 9, 2021|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> Trump's allegations were also refuted by state election officials.<ref>{{cite web|last=Woodward|first=Calvin|title=AP Fact Check: Trump conclusively lost, denies the evidence|url=https://apnews.com/article/ap-fact-check-trump-conclusively-lost-bbb9d8c808021ed65d91aee003a7bc64|access-date=November 17, 2020|work=[[AP News]]|date=November 16, 2020}}</ref> After [[Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency]] director [[Chris Krebs]] contradicted Trump's fraud allegations, Trump dismissed him on November 17.<ref name="BBC_election">{{cite web|date=November 18, 2020|title=Trump fires election security official who contradicted him|work=[[BBC News]]|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54982360|access-date=November 18, 2020}}</ref> On December 11, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear [[Texas v. Pennsylvania|a case from the Texas attorney general]] that asked the court to overturn the election results in four states won by Biden.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/11/us/politics/supreme-court-election-texas.html|title=Supreme Court Rejects Texas Suit Seeking to Subvert Election|first=Adam|last=Liptak|author-link=Adam Liptak|date=December 11, 2020|access-date=October 9, 2021|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> Trump withdrew from public activities in the weeks following the election.<ref>{{cite web|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=November 21, 2020|access-date=October 9, 2021|first=David|last=Smith|title=Trump's monumental sulk: president retreats from public eye as Covid ravages US|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/nov/21/trump-monumental-sulk-president-retreats-from-public-eye-covid-ravages-us}}</ref> He initially blocked government officials from cooperating in [[presidential transition of Joe Biden|Biden's presidential transition]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Lamire|first1=Jonathan|last2=Miller|first2=Zeke|title=Refusing to concede, Trump blocks cooperation on transition|url=https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-donald-trump-virus-outbreak-elections-voting-fraud-and-irregularities-2d39186996f69de245e59c966d4d140f|work=[[AP News]]|access-date=November 10, 2020|date=November 9, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Timm|first1=Jane C.|last2=Smith|first2=Allan|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/trump-stonewalling-biden-s-transition-here-s-why-it-matters-n1247768|title=Trump is stonewalling Biden's transition. Here's why it matters.|work=[[NBC News]]|date=November 14, 2020|access-date=November 26, 2020}}</ref> After three weeks, the administrator of the [[General Services Administration]] declared Biden the "apparent winner" of the election, allowing the disbursement of transition resources to his team.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rein|first=Lisa|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gsa-emily-murphy-transition-biden/2020/11/23/c0f43e84-2de0-11eb-96c2-aac3f162215d_story.html|title=Under pressure, Trump appointee Emily Murphy approves transition in unusually personal letter to Biden|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=November 23, 2020|access-date=November 24, 2020}}</ref> Trump still did not formally concede while claiming he recommended the GSA begin transition protocols.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Naylor|first1=Brian|last2=Wise|first2=Alana|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/biden-transition-updates/2020/11/23/937956178/trump-administration-to-begin-biden-transition-protocols|title=President-Elect Biden To Begin Formal Transition Process After Agency OK|work=[[NPR]]|date=November 23, 2020|access-date=December 11, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Ordoñez|first1=Franco|last2=Rampton|first2=Roberta|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/biden-transition-updates/2020/11/26/939386434/trump-is-in-no-mood-to-concede-but-says-will-leave-white-house|title=Trump Is In No Mood To Concede, But Says Will Leave White House|work=[[NPR]]|date=November 26, 2020|access-date=December 11, 2020}}</ref> The Electoral College formalized Biden's victory on December 14.<ref name="formalize" /> From November to January, Trump repeatedly sought help to [[Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election|overturn the results]], personally pressuring Republican local and state office-holders,<ref>{{cite news|last=Gardner|first=Amy|title='I just want to find 11,780 votes': In extraordinary hour-long call, Trump pressures Georgia secretary of state to recalculate the vote in his favor|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-raffensperger-call-georgia-vote/2021/01/03/d45acb92-4dc4-11eb-bda4-615aaefd0555_story.html|access-date=January 20, 2021|date=January 3, 2021}}</ref> Republican state and federal legislators,<ref name="pressure">{{cite web|last1=Kumar|first1=Anita|last2=Orr|first2=Gabby|last3=McGraw|first3=Meridith|title=Inside Trump's pressure campaign to overturn the election|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/21/trump-pressure-campaign-overturn-election-449486 |access-date=December 22, 2020|work=[[Politico]]|date=December 21, 2020}}</ref> the Justice Department,<ref>{{cite web|last=Cohen|first=Marshall|title=Timeline of the coup: How Trump tried to weaponize the Justice Department to overturn the 2020 election|url=https://cnn.com/2021/11/05/politics/january-6-timeline-trump-coup/|access-date=November 6, 2021|work=[[CNN]]|date=November 5, 2021}}</ref> and Vice President Pence,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Haberman|first1=Maggie|authorlink1=Maggie Haberman|last2=Karni|first2=Annie|title=Pence Said to Have Told Trump He Lacks Power to Change Election Result|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/05/us/politics/pence-trump-election-results.html |access-date=January 7, 2021|date=January 5, 2021|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> urging various actions such as [[Trump fake electors plot|replacing presidential electors]], or a request for Georgia officials to "find" votes and announce a "recalculated" result.<ref name="pressure" /> On February 10, 2021, Georgia prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into Trump's efforts to subvert the election in Georgia.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Fausset|first1=Richard|last2=Hakim|first2=Danny|title=Georgia Prosecutors Open Criminal Inquiry Into Trump's Efforts to Subvert Election|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/10/us/politics/trump-georgia-investigation.html|date=February 10, 2021 |access-date=February 11, 2021|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> Trump did not attend Biden's inauguration.<ref>{{cite web|last=Haberman|first=Maggie|authorlink=Maggie Haberman|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/20/us/politics/trump-presidency.html|title=Trump Departs Vowing, 'We Will Be Back in Some Form'|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 20, 2021|access-date=January 25, 2021}}</ref> ==== Concern about a possible coup attempt or military action ==== In December 2020, ''[[Newsweek]]'' reported [[the Pentagon]] was on red alert, and ranking officers had discussed what to do if Trump declared [[martial law]]. The Pentagon responded with quotes from defense leaders that the military has no role in the outcome of elections.<ref>{{cite web|last=Arkin|first=William M.|url=https://www.newsweek.com/exclusive-donald-trumps-martial-law-talk-has-military-red-alert-1557056|title=Exclusive: Donald Trump's martial-law talk has military on red alert|date=December 24, 2020 |access-date=September 15, 2021|work=[[Newsweek]]}}</ref> When Trump moved supporters into positions of power at the Pentagon after the November 2020 election, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff [[Mark Milley]] and CIA director [[Gina Haspel]] became concerned about the threat of a possible [[Self-coup|coup]] attempt or military action against China or Iran.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gangel|first1=Jamie|last2=Herb|first2=Jeremy|last3=Cohen|first3=Marshall|last4=Stuart|first4=Elizabeth|last5=Starr|first5=Barbara|author-link5=Barbara Starr|title='They're not going to f**king succeed': Top generals feared Trump would attempt a coup after election, according to new book|url=https://cnn.com/2021/07/14/politics/donald-trump-election-coup-new-book-excerpt/|date=July 14, 2021 |access-date=September 15, 2021|work=[[CNN]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Breuninger|first=Kevin|date=July 15, 2021|title=Top U.S. Gen. Mark Milley feared Trump would attempt a coup after his loss to Biden, new book says|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/15/mark-milley-feared-coup-after-trump-lost-to-biden-book.html |access-date=September 15, 2021|work=[[CNBC]]}}</ref> Milley insisted that he should be consulted about any military orders from Trump, including the use of nuclear weapons, and he instructed Haspel and NSA director [[Paul Nakasone]] to monitor developments closely.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gangel|first1=Jamie|last2=Herb|first2=Jeremy|last3=Stuart|first3=Elizabeth|title=Woodward/Costa book: Worried Trump could 'go rogue,' Milley took top-secret action to protect nuclear weapons|url=https://cnn.com/2021/09/14/politics/woodward-book-trump-nuclear/|work=[[CNN]]|date=September 14, 2021 |access-date=September 15, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Schmidt|first=Michael S.|date=September 14, 2021|title=Fears That Trump Might Launch a Strike Prompted General to Reassure China, Book Says|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/14/us/politics/peril-woodward-book-trump.html|work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=September 15, 2021}}</ref> ==== January 6 Capitol attack ==== {{Main|January 6 United States Capitol attack}} {{For timeline|Timeline of the January 6 United States Capitol attack}} On January 6, 2021, while [[2021 United States Electoral College vote count|congressional certification of the presidential election results]] was taking place in the U.S. Capitol, Trump held a noon rally at [[the Ellipse]], Washington, D.C.. He called for the election result to be overturned and urged his supporters to "take back our country" by marching to the Capitol to "fight like hell".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/10/us/trump-speech-riot.html|title=Incitement to Riot? What Trump Told Supporters Before Mob Stormed Capitol|first=Charlie|last=Savage|author-link=Charlie Savage (author)|date=January 10, 2021|access-date=January 11, 2021|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Donald Trump Speech "Save America" Rally Transcript January 6|url=https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/donald-trump-speech-save-america-rally-transcript-january-6|date=January 6, 2021|access-date=January 8, 2021|website=[[Rev (company)|Rev]]}}</ref> Many supporters did, joining a crowd already there. The mob broke into the building, disrupting certification and causing the evacuation of Congress.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Tan|first1=Shelley|last2=Shin|first2=Youjin|last3=Rindler|first3=Danielle|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/interactive/2021/capitol-insurrection-visual-timeline/|title=How one of America's ugliest days unraveled inside and outside the Capitol|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=January 9, 2021 |access-date=May 2, 2021}}</ref> During the violence, Trump posted messages on [[Twitter]] without asking the rioters to disperse. At 6{{Nbsp}}p.m., Trump tweeted that the rioters should "go home with love & in peace", calling them "great patriots" and repeating that the election was stolen.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Panetta|first1=Grace|last2=Lahut|first2=Jake|last3=Zavarise|first3=Isabella|last4=Frias|first4=Lauren|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/timeline-what-trump-was-doing-as-his-mob-attacked-the-capitol-on-jan-6-2022-7|title=A timeline of what Trump was doing as his MAGA mob attacked the US Capitol on Jan. 6|work=[[Business Insider]]|date=December 21, 2022|access-date=June 1, 2023}}</ref> After the mob was removed, Congress reconvened and confirmed Biden's win in the early hours of the following morning.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/congress-begin-electoral-vote-count-amid-protests-inside-outside-capitol-n1253013|title=Congress confirms Biden's win after pro-Trump mob's assault on Capitol|first1=Dareh|last1=Gregorian|first2=Ginger|last2=Gibson|first3=Sahil|last3=Kapur|first4=Phil|last4=Helsel|date=January 6, 2021 |access-date=January 8, 2021|work=[[NBC News]]}}</ref> According to the Department of Justice, more than 140 police officers were injured, and five people died.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Rubin|first1=Olivia|last2=Mallin|first2=Alexander|last3=Steakin|first3=Will|title=By the numbers: How the Jan. 6 investigation is shaping up 1 year later|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/numbers-jan-investigation-shaping-year/story?id=82057743|work=[[ABC News]]|access-date=June 4, 2023|date=January 4, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Cameron|first=Chris|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/05/us/politics/jan-6-capitol-deaths.html|title=These Are the People Who Died in Connection With the Capitol Riot|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 5, 2022|access-date=January 29, 2022}}</ref> In March 2023, Trump collaborated with incarcerated rioters on a [[Justice for All (song)|song to benefit the prisoners]], and, in June, he said that, if elected, he would pardon many of them.<ref>{{cite news|last=Terkel|first=Amanda|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-says-pardon-large-portion-jan-6-rioters-rcna83873|title=Trump says he would pardon a 'large portion' of Jan. 6 rioters|work=[[NBC]]|date=May 11, 2023|access-date=June 3, 2023}}</ref> ==== Second impeachment ==== {{Main|Second impeachment of Donald Trump|Second impeachment trial of Donald Trump}} [[File:Pelosi Signing Second Trump Impeachment.png|thumb|upright=1.35|alt=Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi seated at a table and surrounded by public officials. She is signing the second impeachment of Trump.|Speaker of the House [[Nancy Pelosi]] signing the second impeachment of Trump]] On January 11, 2021, an article of impeachment charging Trump with [[incitement of insurrection]] against the U.S. government was introduced to the House.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/trump-impeachment-effort-live-updates/2021/01/11/955631105/impeachment-resolution-cites-trumps-incitement-of-capitol-insurrection|title=Impeachment Resolution Cites Trump's 'Incitement' of Capitol Insurrection|first=Brian|last=Naylor|work=[[NPR]]|date=January 11, 2021|access-date=January 11, 2021}}</ref> The House voted 232–197 to impeach Trump on January 13, making him the first U.S. president to be impeached twice.<ref name=SecondImpeachment>{{cite news|last=Fandos|first=Nicholas|author-link=Nicholas Fandos|title=Trump Impeached for Inciting Insurrection|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/13/us/politics/trump-impeached.html|access-date=January 14, 2021|date=January 13, 2021}}</ref> Ten Republicans voted for the impeachment—the most members of a party ever to vote to impeach a president of their own party.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/01/13/trumps-second-impeachment-is-most-bipartisan-one-history/|title=Trump's second impeachment is the most bipartisan one in history|last=Blake|first=Aaron|date=January 13, 2021|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=January 19, 2021}}</ref> On February 13, following a [[Second impeachment trial of Donald Trump|five-day Senate trial]], Trump was acquitted when the Senate vote fell ten votes short of the two-thirds majority required to convict; seven Republicans joined every Democrat in voting to convict, the most bipartisan support in any Senate impeachment trial of a president or former president.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Levine|first1=Sam|last2=Gambino|first2=Lauren|date=February 13, 2021|title=Donald Trump acquitted in impeachment trial|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/13/donald-trump-acquitted-impeachment-trial|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=February 13, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Fandos|first=Nicholas|author-link=Nicholas Fandos|date=February 13, 2021|title=Trump Acquitted of Inciting Insurrection, Even as Bipartisan Majority Votes 'Guilty'|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/13/us/politics/trump-impeachment.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=February 14, 2021}}</ref> Most Republicans voted to acquit Trump, although some held him responsible but felt the Senate did not have jurisdiction over former presidents (Trump had left office on January 20; the Senate voted 56–44 that the trial was constitutional).<ref>{{cite news|last1=Watson|first1=Kathryn|last2=Quinn|first2=Melissa|last3=Segers|first3=Grace|last4=Becket|first4=Stefan|date=February 10, 2021|title=Senate finds Trump impeachment trial constitutional on first day of proceedings|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/trump-impeachment-trial-senate-constitutional-day-1/|work=[[CBS News]]|access-date=February 18, 2021}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page