It's been two and a half days since President Trump took office, but the news cycle continues unabated.
The president tried to end birthright citizenship with the stroke of a Sharpie. The defendants in the January 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol were released. He withdrew from the World Health Organization and the Paris Climate Accord. He began cracking down on immigration.
He is already changing the country, and the country's politics will change with it, but we don't yet know how.
As the second Trump era begins, I'd like to take a step back from the news and lay out the major political stories that my colleagues and I will be watching over the coming year.
They are:
Are the people behind President Trump's far-reaching policies?
Despite his relatively narrow victory, Trump has insisted on an electoral mandate, and the early days of his presidency showed how aggressively he intended to enact policy and test the limits of his power in the process. It showed that there is. This could be good politics in a country accustomed to and tired of gridlock in Washington. But some of his far-reaching actions, such as his January 6 pardons for some 1,600 defendants and his efforts to end birthright citizenship, are deeply unpopular. We will be watching to see what this means for his new coalition government.
the still Economy, idiot.
About Trump's coalition: The president is younger and younger than previous Republicans, in part because he promised a second term would bring the economic prosperity that working-class Americans feel is missing post-pandemic. It garnered support from a diverse coalition of governments. But the president's plan to impose high new tariffs and deport large numbers of illegal immigrants could raise prices rather than lower them. Will it further stoke economic dissatisfaction among the population, and who will voters blame?
The new politics of immigration.
Trump believes he won the election on immigration, not the economy, and the crackdown has begun. In 2017, Democrats fought his immigration policies at every turn, but this time their approach is different. On Monday, 12 Senate Democrats, most of them from purple states like Nevada and Georgia, joined Republicans in voting for Laken's plan to strengthen deportations for undocumented immigrants who are in the country illegally due to criminal charges.ăƒ»Passed Riley's Law. We're going to pay close attention to how Democrats talk about this issue in the coming years, especially when they're on the ballot in 2026.
And the evolution of President Trump's policies will test how much the country's views on immigration have actually shifted in his direction, especially when it comes to children, families and legal immigration. In this issue, details matter.
The Democratic Party is trying to find a way to deal with Trump and return to power.
Democrats are locked out of power in the White House and Congress. There is no clear leader. There is no common diagnosis of what went wrong in November. And the only thing Democrats know for sure at this point is that President Trump's strategy of opposition and impeachment during the insurrection didn't work — and that's why they were met with silence in the early days of the Democratic administration. It may be an explanation. We'll be keeping an eye on the new messages Democrats are trying, both in Washington and abroad, as they aim to regain some of the power in 2026, and which messengers are finding an audience.
Can the fractured Republican Party quell dissent?
When Trump took office in 2017, there were Trump Republicans and old-school conservatives. Trump's party is now being remade in his image, but it's not exactly one big happy family. Republicans are divided over tariffs, immigration, abortion, Mr. Trump's endorsement of tech billionaires and his plan to cut taxes that will widen the budget deficit. But the question is whether Republicans actually intend to jeopardize his policies by straying from his legislative priorities or rejecting his nominees. President Trump's allies are already targeting Republican lawmakers who show even the slightest intention of carrying out coordinated and well-funded attacks.
What Trump 2.0 means for American life.
It's still too early to know how the new administration will reshape American life, but we do know what President Trump has promised: massive immigration raids. The end of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Tax reduction. Eliminating entire government agencies like the Department of Education, which play an important but unseen role in communities across the country. In an era of deep political polarization, these changes may do little to change the way people think about politics. But we're going to hear if they do.
Is this country, and the world, turning red?
Was the Republican Party's gains in November (from President Trump's victory in the popular vote to victories in key statehouses) a cyclical response to post-pandemic economic discontent, or was the Was it a sign of change? It was not only in the United States that liberals struggled. Last year, while far-right parties rose to prominence in countries including France, Germany and Austria, Canada's Justin Trudeau, long a symbol of international resistance to Trump, succumbed to the anger of angry voters and agreed to resign.
This is one of the important questions to consider this year, and one that is best answered at home, not in Washington. A series of elections this year offer some insight, but we also want to take a look at the policies that are gaining traction as both parties test their messages in the lead-up to the 2026 midterm elections.
2028.
Is it too early? Understood. We just finished a tough election cycle and don't want to think about the next one. But those who want power in America definitely do. No one has made any clear moves yet, but a low-profile fight could begin in the coming months.
According to the Constitution, Trump is a one-term president, and Republicans are monitoring his every move, even though Vice President J.D. Vance appears to be Trump's most obvious successor at this point. Despite this, he secretly speculates that the pool of potential successors could grow. That lens. The race for the next Democratic Party candidate is widening. We do not know whose political fortunes will rise or fall by 2028. Remember in 2016 when it seemed like Jeb Bush was going to win?—but we know that what happens over the next year will shape the political battles going forward.
