In the 50 days since Donald Trump entered the White House, there have been announcements and headlines almost every day.
Here’s an A-Z of the last 50 days under Trump 2.0.
A is for Associated Press, banned from White House events for still using “Gulf of Mexico” rather than Trump’s Gulf of America rebrand. It’s one of a number of changes in media access to government that favours Trump-friendly outlets.
Image: Donald Trump signed a proclamation declaring 9 February 2025 as the ‘Gulf of America Day’. Pic: Reuters
B is for bromance. French President Emmanuel Macron re-affirmed the thigh-patting friendship with Trump when both men leaned in for the tickle in an Oval Office encounter that laid bare the pair’s mutual affection. Macron addressed him as “Dear Donald” in a meeting that had Ukraine as its focus.
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0:46
Is Trump and Macron’s bromance still intact?
C is for the US Constitution, which many see as challenged by Trump 2.0. It divides power equally between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. Trump appears to be expanding the executive power of the president in a way that undermines the ‘checks and balances’ structure of government to suit his political will. This is being contested in a number of legal challenges.
Image: Protesters in Washington DC in January. File pic: Reuters
E is for Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and ‘First Buddy’ in the White House, who is in charge of DOGE. Questions persist around the extent of his unchecked authority and conflict of interest as well as access, through DOGE, to government and personal information.
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Image: Elon Musk holds a chainsaw during the Conservative Political Action Conference. File pic: Reuters
G is for Greenland, the mineral-rich Arctic territory belonging to Denmark which Donald Trump wants to acquire. Of the self-governing island, he told a recent joint address to Congress: One way or the other, we’re going to get it.” Denmark and the Greenlandic government say it’s not for sale.
Image: Icebergs float near Sermitsiaq Island, Greenland. File pic: Reuters
H is for how on earth did that happen? The question could apply to a number of things – let’s settle here for the AI video of a re-imagined Gaza as a luxury resort, variously populated by bearded belly dancers, a gold statue of Trump, and the president himself sat sipping cocktails with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
Notably, it was shared on social media by President Trump, who has spoken of his wish to “own” the Gaza Strip.
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0:35
President shares ‘Trump Gaza’ AI video
I is for Indian PM Narendra Modi, who met Trump in DC but not before sitting down with Elon Musk and his children. Musk wants access to India for his Starlink internet service and Tesla vehicles. Critics say the meeting raises questions about him using his Trump-adjacent position to benefit his global business.
Image: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi points at Donald Trump during a press conference at the White House on 13 February. File pic: Reuters
J is for Justice, as in Department of. Long-serving officials at the DoJ have been removed, creating vacancies in traditionally non-partisan roles that opponents say Trump will fill with people who share his ideology. The president has claimed the DoJ has previously weaponised the law against him. Critics say he will do the same, against his opponents.
Image: File pic: Reuters
K is for Kash Patel, newly appointed director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Controversially, he once amplified Donald Trump’s threats to see retribution against political opponents, saying: “We will go out and find the conspirators not just in government, but in the media.”
L is for a list of other controversial appointments, including:
Image: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. arrives for his confirmation hearing. File pic: AP
Pete Hegseth, defence secretary, who faced allegations of alcohol abuse, sexual misconduct, and concerns about his qualifications.
Tulsi Gabbard, director of National Intelligence, who held a 2017 meeting with Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad. Following the invasion of Ukraine, she shared claims that were widely debunked and identified as Russian propaganda.
M is for Moscow. Donald Trump has been on the phone to the Russian capital several times as he resets US relations with Vladimir Putin. He wants Russia back in the G8 and the US is contemplating lifting sanctions as it seeks to improve economic and diplomatic relations.
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0:56
Are there similarities between Trump and Putin?
N is for nervousness created by the on-off tariff saga. President Trump has partially paused 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico after falls in the stock markets. Tariffs on China and other countries (TBC) remain on the agenda, in spite of trade war fears and economists’ concerns about business uncertainty, low consumer confidence and the effect on prices.
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3:27
Why are tariffs such a big deal?
O is for order, as in changing world order. Trump’s strategy challenges the geopolitics that have cemented the United States and its allies and secured peace since the Second World War. His warmth towards traditional adversaries like Russia and China suggests he’s prepared to change the political paradigm and realign a more insular America according to self-interest.
P is for Panama Canal. President Trump says he would consider using military force to seize it from Panama, one of Washington’s closest allies in Latin America. He claims, without evidence, that it’s controlled by China.
Image: A cargo ship sails towards the entrance to the Panama Canal. File pic: Reuters
Q is for quarterback Patrick Mahomes, of the Kansas City Chiefs. Trump watched him at American football’s ‘Superbowl’ in February, the first sitting president ever to attend. He praised Mahomes’ wife for her vocal support of him but there were no words for the partner of team-mate Travis Kelce. She is, of course, the singer Taylor Swift – no fan of Donald Trump.
Image: Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. File pic: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images/Reuters
R is for Rubio. Marco Rubio, secretary of state, was among cabinet secretaries who rowed with Elon Musk in a meeting over his department cuts. Trump intervened to say he still supported the DOGE mission but department secretaries would be in charge from now on. It’s the first real sign of Trump placing limits on Musk.
S is for special relationship. “We like each other, frankly, and we like each other’s country,” said Trump of UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. At a White House meeting, the PM delivered an invitation for a state visit from King Charles. The pair talked Ukraine but Starmer will have liked hearing Trump say there was “a very good chance” of a trade deal “where tariffs wouldn’t be necessary”.
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2:11
What happened when Starmer met Trump?
T is for Trudeau, as in Justin Trudeau. The departing Canadian prime minister has been a target of Trump as has Canada itself, which Donald Trump wants to make the 51st state of the US. He has insisted on referring to its PM as “Governor” and placed Canada, along with Mexico, at the front of the queue for US tariffs.
Image: Justin Trudeau holds a news conference on imposed US tariffs. Pic: The Canadian Press/AP
U is for USAID. The work of the Agency for International Development has been dismantled. More than 10,000 people have lost their jobs at the agency which spends billions on programmes worldwide, including to ease poverty, treat disease and promote democracy. It is widely viewed as a valuable ‘soft power’ tool for the US but Elon Musk has called it a “criminal organisation” and Donald Trump said it was “run by a bunch of radical lunatics”.
V is for Vance, as in JD Vance. The vice president is viewed as the right-hand man who can articulate Trump policy in a way that Trump himself can’t. His speech to the Munich security conference reflected a reshaping of transatlantic relations, stunning the room by accusing allies of ignoring their own voter concerns about free speech and migration.
Separately, he caused offence in the UK when he said a US mineral deal in Ukraine was a better security guarantee than troops from “some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years”. He later insisted he hadn’t specified a particular country, adding that British – and French – troops had fought bravely alongside the US.
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1:27
Did JD Vance insult British troops?
W is for ‘wokeism’. Ending it is at the heart of the Trump agenda. He has limited diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) recruitment policies across the federal government and military. It included the firing of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Charles Q Brown. Previously, defence secretary Pete Hegseth had questioned whether he had been made chairman because he was black.
X is for X, full name X Æ A-Xii. He’s the four-year-old son of Elon Musk who, during an Oval Office news conference, wiped a bogie – or ‘booger’ – on the Resolute desk. Donald Trump, a self-described germaphobe, sent the desk to be cleaned afterwards.
Image: Donald Trump and X Æ A-12 in the Oval Office on 11 February. File pic: Reuters
Y is for Yosemite, the national park where DOGE cuts hit in an unexpected way. Some rangers and staff were let go as part of a 1,000-strong reduction in the National Park Service by Elon Musk’s agency, raising questions about what kind of efficiencies Musk is seeking.
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1:45
‘Why me?’ Musk’s DOGE department cuts national park jobs
Z is for Zelenskyy. An Oval Office news conference with the Ukrainian president ended in extraordinary, unforgettable scenes of shouting and finger-pointing when Trump and his vice president rounded on their guest. Zelenskyy was criticised for not wearing a suit and not expressing thanks during the meeting. Zelenskyy is dealing with a president who called him a dictator and claimed Ukraine started the war. It’s awkward.
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Former US vice president Dick Cheney has died from complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease, his family has said.
In a statement, his family said the 84-year-old was surrounded by his wife Lynne, daughters Liz and Mary, and other family members.
The Republican was one of the most polarising vice presidents in US history under George W Bush from 2001 to 2009, and was a leading advocate of the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Image: Dick Cheney with George W Bush. Pic: Reuters
In later life, he became a target of Donald Trump, especially after his daughter, Liz Cheney, became the leading Republican critic and examiner of Mr Trump’s actions surrounding the January 6 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol.
“In our nation’s 246-year history, there has never been an individual who was a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump,” Mr Cheney said in a TV advert for his daughter.
“He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him. He is a coward.”
Image: Dick Cheney looks on as his daughter Liz Cheney takes the oath of office in 2017. Pic: AP
Last year he said he was voting for Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, to be president against Mr Trump.
Mr Cheney survived five heart attacks and declared in 2013 he woke up each morning “with a smile on my face, thankful for the gift of another day”.
Image: Pic: Reuters
His family’s statement said: “For decades, Dick Cheney served our nation, including as White House Chief of Staff, Wyoming’s Congressman, Secretary of Defense, and Vice President of the United States.
“Dick Cheney was a great and good man who taught his children and grandchildren to love our country, and to live lives of courage, honor, love, kindness, and fly fishing.
“We are grateful beyond measure for all Dick Cheney did for our country.
“And we are blessed beyond measure to have loved and been loved by this noble giant of a man.”
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Zohran Mamdani calls himself “Donald Trump’s worst nightmare”. They are the words of a man living the dream.
It’s because the 34-year-old is the headline act in Tuesday’s referendum on Trump 2.0. A statement night in US politics, as Americans – some, at least – deliver a verdict on what they’ve seen so far.
Of four electoral contests across the US – including in California, New Jersey and Virginia – the race to be New York mayor is the most compulsive and consequential.
The polls have Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, as the frontrunner. If he wins, it would signify big change in the Big Apple.
Born in Uganda to Indian parents (he moved to the US aged seven), Mamdani would become New York’s first Muslim mayor.
He is a democratic socialist whose supporters will see victory as laying down a template for taking on Trump, even if the party’s old guard is sceptical.
An effective campaign has focused on the costs and quality of life in New York, promising universal childcare, a rent freeze, free bus travel and grocery shops run by the city.
Image: Progressives Bernie Sanders and Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez have endorsed Mamdani. Pic: Andrea Renault/STAR MAX/IPx/AP
So why is he controversial?
The message has resonated with New Yorkers squeezed on affordability, but his payment plan is open to question.
Mamdani plans to raise $9bn by raising taxes on the wealthy and on corporations, but he would face a struggle to gain the necessary consent of the New York State legislature and governor.
Mamdani’s politics are pegged to the “progressive” left wing of his party, and his campaign success plays into the Democrats’ quandary around a longer-term comeback strategy.
The politics that succeed in New York don’t necessarily resonate nationwide, and a party establishment has been reluctant to embrace Mamdani.
Democrat Chuck Schumer, Senate minority leader, has declined to endorse him at all.
Party management aside, he won’t have been impressed when Mamdani was arrested outside Schumer’s Brooklyn home as part of a 2023 protest calling for a ceasefire following Hamas’ October 7th attack on Israel.
Mamdani has been a staunch critic of Israel and, in the past, has advocated defunding the police, decriminalising prostitution and closing New York City jails.
Image: Mamdani was at the White House to announce a hunger strike demanding a permanent ceasefire between Israel and Gaza in November 2023. Pic: AP
His background and Islamic faith are threaded through opposition attacks. He has been criticised for refusing to denounce the phrase “globalise the intifada”, used by pro-Palestinian activists.
Subsequently, he said he would “discourage” the term and would combat antisemitism through actions as well as words.
It hasn’t stopped his Republican rival, Curtis Sliwa, claiming Mamdani supported “global jihad”.
Andrew Cuomo, running as an independent after losing the Democratic primary to Mamdani, has labelled him “the most divisive candidate I have ever experienced in New York”.
The president, who falsely labels Mamdani a communist, said on Truth Social on the eve of the election: “Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice.
“You must vote for him, and hope he does a fantastic job. He is capable of it, Mamdani is not!”
At a rally the same night, Mamdani fired back to say: “The MAGA movement’s embrace of Andrew Cuomo is reflective of Donald Trump’s understanding that this would be the best mayor for him.
“Not the best mayor for New York City, not the best mayor for New Yorkers, but the best mayor for Donald Trump and his administration.”
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The Republican spin on the prospect of a Mamdani victory is that it would reflect a move towards radical extremism by the Democratic Party.
Trump has even suggested he may withhold federal funds from New York if Mamdani wins.
In time, Democrats would need to interpret and apply the lessons of a Mamdani victory. But more than anything else, they need a win to feel a pulse in a party undergoing an identity crisis.
Image: During the primaries, Mamdani held a news conference outside Cuomo’s apartment in March. Pic: zz/Andrea Renault/STAR MAX/IPx
One battle after another
The same applies to Tuesday contests for governor in New Jersey and Virginia, fascinating in terms of the vote winners and vote breakdown.
What will be the verdict, nine months in, of people who turned to Trump at the last election? Will he hold onto the Latino vote, given his immigration policy, ICE raids, and other orders?
In California, Tuesday sees a redistricting vote to counter Republican gerrymandering elsewhere. If backed by the public, the plan will increase the number of winnable Democratic seats in the House of Representatives.
Donald Trump sits down for an interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes – the programme he sued successfully for $16m just four months ago.
All the while, his poll numbers are at an all-time low due to the government shutdown, as hundreds of thousands of federal workers remain unpaid and food benefits for millions of people run out.
And is this the week the real Democrats stand up? Their favourability numbers are also dire, but will the emergence of a firebrand left-wing mayor in New York City, in the shape of Zohran Mamdani, and a handful of positive off-year election results on Tuesday be the spark they desperately need to counter Trump’s MAGA agenda?