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Something has changed. When Donald Trump won in 2016, America shocked itself.

Even those who chose him back then weren’t wholly convinced he’d do it.

The Washington establishment – Democrat and Republican – had not expected a President Trump.

And beyond that, in 2016, there was a reluctance to admit you were for Trump.

Not anymore. Beyond his base – the country-wide grassroots faithful once dismissed by Hillary Clinton as the “deplorables”, there has been a truly fascinating cultural shift in America. And it’s been quick.

The hostility to Trump’s MAGA movement has gone. Part of it is a resignation; the resistance has gone, but it’s much more than that.

From the Silicon Valley tech billionaires, to significant corners of Hollywood, and in the business community, it is no longer toxic to be associated with Donald Trump.

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And across Washington over the past 48 hours that shift has been so starkly clear.

Sections of society that wouldn’t or couldn’t put their name to Trump are now proudly hopeful of his chances to “Make America Great Again”. The MAGA cap is a red carpet fashion accessory, not a hillbilly hat.

All over town there have been glitzy inauguration parties in the city’s finest restaurants and clubs. And it’s not just West Palm Beach and Silicon Valley that’s descended on DC.

It would have been inconceivable in 2016 that I could have attended a lunch full of wealthy Arab-Americans for Trump. Yet this weekend the city’s swanky Ilili restaurant was buzzing with optimism drawn from across the country.

And that optimism was all around in spades last night for Donald Trump’s final victory rally.

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What can we expect from Trump’s first term?

In the city’s Capital One Arena on the eve of completing such a remarkable comeback, 20,000 gathered for the victory lap.

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His opening words, to roars: “We won, we won.”

Written off, prosecuted, convicted, nearly assassinated, twice. I wanted a penny for his inner thoughts at that moment.

Instead we got the familiar rhetorical bullet points.

“I will end the war in Ukraine. I will stop the chaos in the Middle East. And I will prevent World War three from happening… we will end the wokeness. We will get critical race theory and transgender insanity the hell out of our schools.”

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What has Trump done since winning?

Of course this time it may not be rhetoric. He has the presidential power now to deliver his way, and he says he will, with an unprecedented number of executive orders on day one.

“We have to set our country on the proper course by the time the sun sets tomorrow evening. The invasion of our borders will have come to a halt.”

Speaking to Sky News, senior advisor to Mr Trump Jason Miller said things would change with prescient breaking speed.

“I think he will see some immediate action there inside the Rotunda before the president heads over [to the White House]…”

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What do Texans want from Trump?

It was striking that the person invited on stage, during the victory speech, was not his vice president, but the man they are calling his “co-president”, Elon Musk.

The world’s richest man, with his son in tow, carried an awkward authenticity with him.

Mr Musk now leads a band of America’s top tech execs – from Meta, to Amazon, to TikTok – all locked in behind Trump.

Outgoing president Joe Biden says they are the billionaires who represent an oligarchy close to the heart of government. Or are they, instead, reflective of American success?

It’s always been possible to make assumptions about America: its direction, its priorities, its focus. A linear thread has run through the presidency.

It feels now that that’s been severed. It feels like we are set for profound change.

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Trump shows off his YMCA moves

The show ended with the Village People on stage with YMCA, a song that became the accidental anthem of his movement.

And yet the Village People had wanted Kamala Harris to win. That Mr Trump had them here, and that they wanted to be here, is a reflection of an upbeat unity that America will need in the days and four years ahead.

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Judge pauses Donald Trump’s plan to put thousands of USAID workers on leave

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Judge pauses Donald Trump's plan to put thousands of USAID workers on leave

A federal court has paused aspects of a plan by Donald Trump to dismantle the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and put roughly 2,700 of its staff on leave.

District judge Carl Nichols, who was nominated by the US president during his first term, agreed with legal arguments from the largest government workers’ union and an association of foreign service workers.

They sued to stop Mr Trump’s administration attempting to close USAID, which distributes billions of dollars of humanitarian aid around the world.

Justice department official Brett Shumate told Judge Nichols that about 2,200 USAID employees would be put on paid leave under the administration’s plans.

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What is USAID?

“The president has decided there is corruption and fraud at USAID,” said Mr Shumate.

It echoes comments President Trump made on Friday in a post on Truth Social accusing USAID – without evidence – of corruption and spending money fraudulently.

But Karla Gilbride, a lawyer for the unions, argued the plans were unlawful: “The major reduction in force, as well as the closure of offices, the forced relocation of these individuals were all done in excess of the executive’s authority in violation of the separation of powers.”

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Judge Nichols’s order, which is in effect until 14 February, blocks Mr Trump’s administration from implementing plans to place the 2,200 USAID workers on paid leave from Saturday.

It also reinstates some 500 employees who had already been furloughed.

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And there will be a ban on relocating USAID humanitarian workers stationed outside the US, after overseas staff were ordered to return home within 30 days.

Judge Nichols will consider a request for a longer-term pause at a hearing scheduled for next week.

But he rejected other requests from the unions to reopen USAID buildings and restore funding for agency grants and contracts.

Soon after being inaugurated, Mr Trump ordered all US foreign aid be paused to ensure it is aligned with his “America First” policy.

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The dismantling of USAID has largely been overseen by Elon Musk, who is spearheading the president’s effort to cut costs and bureaucracy.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio insists the government will continue providing foreign aid, “but it is going to be foreign aid that makes sense and is aligned with our national interest”.

Friday’s ruling is the latest setback in the courts for the Trump administration.

Judges have temporarily paused other controversial policies, including one offering financial incentives for federal workers to resign and another ending American citizenship for anyone born in the US if their parents are in the country illegally.

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Day 20: Inside Trump’s White House

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Day 20: Inside Trump's White House

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Twenty days into Donald Trump’s second term, US correspondents James Matthews and Mark Stone are joined by Washington DC cameramen Ed Young and Michael Herd to take a step back and discuss what it’s like covering the White House under President Trump compared to President Biden.

They also share some of the moments they got close (perhaps too close) to the most powerful man in the world.

You can email James, Martha and Mark on trump100@sky.uk

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Wreckage found in Alaska for missing Bering Air plane carrying 10 people

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Wreckage found in Alaska for missing Bering Air plane carrying 10 people

A small plane which crashed in western Alaska with 10 people on board has been found and the US Coast Guard (USCG) says there were no survivors.

The Bering Air flight left Unalakleet at 2.38pm on Thursday but contact was lost less than an hour later, the firm’s operations director David Olson said.

On Saturday, in a post on X, the coastguard said: “USCG has ended its search for the missing plane after the aircraft was located approx 34 miles southeast of Nome. 3 individuals were found inside and reported to be deceased.

“The remaining 7 people are believed to be inside the aircraft but are currently inaccessible due to the condition of the plane. Our heartfelt condolences are with those affected by this tragic incident.”

The Cessna 208B Grand Caravan – carrying a pilot and nine adult passengers – was flying across Norton Sound when tracking site Flightradar24 reported it at 5,300ft before contact was lost.

It was travelling from Unalakleet, a community of about 690 people in western Alaska, to Nome, a gold rush town just south of the Arctic Circle.

The flight time is normally just under an hour.

Mike Salerno, a spokesperson for the US Coast Guard, said rescuers were searching the aircraft’s last known location by helicopter when they spotted the wreckage. They lowered two rescue swimmers to investigate.

Nome in Alaska.
Pic: AP
Image:
The plane was heading to Nome, just south of the Arctic Circle. Pic: AP

In a post on Facebook, Nome’s fire department issued an update: “The Nome Search and Rescue Team is spooling up with assistance from the Alaska Air National Guard with recovery efforts.

“From reports we have received, the crash was not survivable. Our thoughts are with the families at this time.”

On Friday, Lieutenant Benjamin McIntyre-Coble, from the Alaskan coastguard, explained that the plane suffered a rapid loss of altitude and speed, according to radar data, but did not expand on the potential cause.

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Weather in Unalakleet at take-off time was -8.3C (17F) with fog and light snow, according to the US National Weather Service.

Bering Air serves 32 villages in western Alaska and air travel is often the only option of travelling long distances in rural parts of the US state, especially in winter.

It comes soon after two major air accidents in the US in recent weeks.

Sixty-seven people were killed when a jet and helicopter collided in Washington DC and seven died when a medical plane crashed in Philadelphia.

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