During a White House briefing on January 30, President Donald Trump began with a moment of silence for the victims of a crash at Reagan National Airport but quickly shifted to blaming diversity hiring for the incident, despite lacking evidence. He suggested that previous leadership had deemed the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) workforce “too white” and implied that hiring standards had been lowered under President Biden, though he did not provide proof.
Trump also blamed various figures, including the pilot, air traffic controllers, Biden, and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, whom he called a “disaster.” Buttigieg responded by calling Trump “despicable.” When pressed by reporters, Trump did not directly link diversity hiring to the crash but insisted that air traffic controllers should be selected based on intelligence and psychological fitness, suggesting that Biden’s policies undermined these qualifications. He didn't mention that he had fired many FAA employees and cut funding not long ago.
Donald Trump made history on January 20, 2025, for many reasons, but one of the more shocking ones was when he seemingly forgot to place his hand on the Bible for the oath of office. His wife, Melania, held two Bibles, surprisingly not Trump's infamous "God Bless the U.S.A." Bible.
From the very first moment of Trump's presidency, he violated tradition and the Constitution. Article VI states that "all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."
Conviced January 6 rioter Pamel a Hemphill refused Trumps pardon for everyone at the Capitol that day, saying, "We were wrong that day. Accepting a pardon would only insult the Capitol police officers, rule of law, and, of course, our nation. " Hemphill pled guild and was sentenced to 60 days in prison, telling the BBC that everyone should be charged.
"... we broke the law - there should be no pardons," she continued to BBC. "I pleaded guilty because I was guilty, and accepting a pardon also would serve to contribute to their gaslighting and false narrative."
Episcopalian priest Mariann Budde poked the bear during the inaugural sermon by simply asking Trump to have mercy on minorities. She pleaded, "I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now. There are [LGBTQ] children in Democratic, Republican, and independent families, some who fear for their lives,” adding that “the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals,” but “good neighbors” and “faithful members."
Trump took to his favorite platform, Truth Social, to disparage the soft-spoken priest, dubbing her a "so-called Bishop," a "Radical Left hard line Trump hater," "nasty in tone," "not compelling or smart," and "not very good at her job!” He continued: “She and her church owe the public an apology!” Budde refuses to apologize, telling the Associated Pres, “I don’t agree with many of his values. ... But I believe we can disagree respectfully.”
One of the first major controversies of Trump's second term happened at the inauguration. His new head of the Department of Government Efficiency is tech billionaire Elon Musk. During a speech, Musk made two "straight-arm" gestures that resembled a highly controversial WWII German salute.
After tons of people criticized the gesture, Musk laughed off the incident, posing a series of puns on X. Conservatives claim it was "stemming" because he's autistic, while others claimed it was merely a "Roman salute." Where did the Germans get the idea for their infamous salute? Oh, right! The Romans! In fact, a right-wing priest was fired from their church after imitating the gesture... Seems like Musk isn't held to the same standard.
The long-awaited TikTok ban finally took affect in early January 2025, but it was barely 12 hours before it was restored, with the "Welcome Back" message personally thanking "President Trump" (note: he was not the president at this time) for bringing it back. In fact, Trump was the one who wanted to "ban" it in the first place.
“TikTok’s early shutdown either came down to corporate incompetence or a deliberate PR stunt to encourage a manufactured sense of panic,” said Joel Thayer lawyer and president of the Digital Progress Institute said. “Given it’s waffling, I’m assuming it’s the latter.”
One of Trump's most socially-damaging executive orders from day one declared that the Federal Government will only recognize two genders, claiming it will "defend women’s rights and protect freedom of conscience by using clear and accurate language and policies that recognize women are biologically female, and men are biologically male."
Unfortunately, a public post made it clear that his administration doesn't know basic biology, claiming that everyone should be their designated gender "at conception." In reality, all embryos have the same set of genes and develop female reproductive organs during early embryonic stages, including a uterus, ovaries, and clitoris. It takes six weeks before the Y chromosome is activated" and makes someone male. The order also denies the existence of inter. people, who are nearly 2% of the population.
An eagle-eyed viewer of PBS noticed that Trump specifically avoided signing an MLK proclamation while cameras rolled in the Oval Office as he signed over 40 executive orders and proclamations. Trump was handed an "MLK Jr. Day Proclamation," but merely held it and ushered viewers to leave the room.
YouTube creator Leo comments on the situation and includes video evidence. PBS continued recording after every other media outlet shut their cameras. Trump's assistant repeatedly reminded him of what the order was and ushered him to sign, but Trump intentionally waited for everyone to leave the room. The "MLK Jr Day Proclamation" was not signed and a government page related to MLK was also removed.
BBC reports that Trump's "meme coin" is a "mockery" of the crypto world. Ahead of his second inauguration, President Donald Trump launched a meme-based cryptocurrency called TRUMP, despite admitting he "doesn't know much" about crypto. The coin quickly surged in value, reaching $75 per token before dropping to $39.
Industry insiders criticized the move, calling it a stunt. Danny Scott, CEO of CoinCorner, argued that Trump’s lack of knowledge about the coin undermined the legitimacy of the cryptocurrency industry. The controversy deepened when Trump dismissed concerns, downplaying the billions earned by the coin during the first few hours as "peanuts" compared to the wealth of tech billionaires in his corner.
Despite hundreds of public ticket holders who would have loved to attend Trump's inauguration, one group was prioritized over the rest, including all of Trump's cabinet and advisors. Because the service was held indoors, limited space was available, but who was sat front-and-center? Tech billionaires, of course!
AP News reports, "Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, stand beside Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and his fiancee, Lauren Sánchez, along with Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Elon Musk, one of Trump’s closest advisers. The world’s wealthiest person, Musk also runs Tesla, SpaceX and the social platform X. Also at the Capitol for the day’s events were Apple CEO Tim Cook and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew."
Just after President Trump announced his plans to dump $500 billion into A..I and Stargate technology, China announced their latest models that blow America's ChatGPT out of the water. Chinese A.I. firm DeepSeek has disrupted global markets with claims that its new AI model, R1, rivals those of OpenAI while using less advanced chips and consuming less energy.
China is aggressively investing in AI, recently launching an $8.2 billion A.I. fund to boost its industry. Meanwhile, Beijing is strengthening its semiconductor sector, offering subsidies, talent programs, and integrating A.I. education into schools. China also enforces A.I. regulations, ensuring models align with government-approved narratives. DeepSeek’s rapid progress rattled investors, contributing to a market downturn.
During an interview with NBC before his inauguration, Trump confirmed that he "absolutely" would end birthright citizenship because "it's ridiculous." It's also a Constitutional right listed in the 14th Amendment. His executive order states that people don't have a right to birthright citizenship if 1) the mother does not have legal immigration status or is in the country... temporarily, and 2) the father is not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. He even attempts to deny Native Americans this right, which is completely unhinged.
This order is already tied up in the federal courts, and 22 states have submitted 5 lawsuits addressing the order. “I’ve been on the bench for over four decades. I can’t remember another case where the question presented was as clear as this one is,” U.S. District Judge John Coughenour said, reported by AP News. “This is a blatantly unconstitutional order.”
Trump caused nationwide confusion by freezing and then unfreezing $3 trillion in federal grants and loans on late in the night on Monday, January 27. The freeze disrupted funding for hospitals, schools, nonprofits, police departments, and Medicaid. By Tuesday, a federal judge blocked the order after attorneys general from 22 states and Washington, D.C., fought against the freeze.
By Wednesday, budgeting director Matthew Vaeth rescinded the order, but the chaos had already spread. Trump has also blocked spending on diversity and equity programs and imposed a 90-day freeze on foreign aid, affecting military assistance to Ukraine and global health initiatives. These actions violate the Constitution’s requirement that Congress controls federal spending. Look up the 1974 Impoundment Control Act!
Mexico temporarily denied a U.S. military plane access to land on Thursday, disrupting the Trump administration’s deportation plans, according to U.S. defense officials. Two Air Force C-17s carrying about 80 deportees each flew to Guatemala, but a third flight destined for Mexico was blocked. Trump has threatened tariffs on Mexico over border crossings but has yet to enforce them.
A White House official downplayed the issue, calling it an “administrative” matter that was quickly resolved. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government opposes Trump’s unilateral immigration policies, including reinstating the "Remain in Mexico" policy. Mexico’s Foreign Ministry reaffirmed its cooperation with the U.S. but emphasized respect for sovereignty.
President Trump ordered immigrant enforcement operations in multiple U.S. cities across the country after his inauguration, but many Chicagoans refuse to comply. Hundreds of arrests did occur, but many "sensitive locations," like hospitals, schools, and churches, refuse to allow ICE entry. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker told CNN that the state will only assist law enforcement to apprehend those accused of violent crimes, but promised to "defend 'law-abiding' citizens."
ICE reinforced that they'd take "legal action against state and local officials who 'obstruct' investigations," specifically those "sanctuary" jurisdictions like Chicago. Pritzker doubles down, saying that ICE just wants him to "let (federal officials) do whatever they want" but "what (our law) requires is our local officials will not coordinate with federal officials on the arrests when they don’t have a warrant associated with them.”
After Trump's executive order targeting DEI programs in Federal workplaces, Costco didn't follow suit. Costco shareholders overwhelmingly rejected an anti-DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) proposal, despite some major corporations like Walmart, McDonald's, and Ford recently scaling back their DEI programs. The proposal, put forth by the conservative National Center for Public Policy Research, claimed DEI policies could create legal, reputational, and financial risks for the company by prioritizing diversity over merit.
Costco’s board of directors opposed the proposal, arguing that DEI fosters innovation and customer satisfaction while maintaining merit-based hiring and promotions. The board’s stance aligns with its strong financial performance, as Costco’s sales and stock price have been outperforming the market.
Hundreds of META users on Instagram noticed a weird system after Trump's inauguration. Once Biden and Harris's accounts were archived, they were made to automatically follow the new POTUS and VP accounts for Trump and Vance. That's a bit weird, but not too weird if they already followed the other accounts before the inauguration. But here's where it gets suspicious...
Even after unfollowing and outright blocking these accounts, many users report that they woke up the next to discover that they were magically following those accounts again. META spokesperson Andy Stone claimed it's "the same procedure we followed during the last presidential transition" and "may take some time for follow and unfollow requests to go through as these accounts change hands."
The last time an inauguration was held inside was in 1985 for Ronald Regan's second term. Trump posted on Truth Social, "It is my obligation to protect the People of our Country but, before we even begin, we have to think of the Inauguration itself. The weather forecast for Washington, D.C., with the windchill factor, could take temperatures into severe record lows. ... (In any event, if you decide to come, dress warmly!).”
Thousands of ticket holders were denied access to the event, and many had to abandon their belongings to view Trump's post-inauguration speech. Some speculate, however, that he actually held the ceremony indoors to avoid the ire of assassins after two failed attempts last year.
