WASHINGTON – America is different now.
In just a few months, President Donald Trump has instituted a series of policies that have been stunning in scope. He ordered the arrest and deportation of thousands of undocumented immigrants, sent the National Guard into the streets of some of the nation’s largest cities, and directed the military to blow up boats at sea that his administration suspected of smuggling drugs into the country.
He gave tax breaks to the wealthy and cut food stamps and other safety-net programs for the poor, neutered the Department of Education, touched off trade wars with Canada, China and the European Union, and publicly urged the Justice Department to prosecute adversaries like former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Trump’s influence on politics is undeniable.The MAGA movement that propelled him to office twice has reshaped the Republican Party. Trump’s re-election last year momentarily deflated Democrats. But just a few months into his second term, his policies re-energized the party’s progressive left wing, including the election of Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, as New York City mayor in November.
Trump, who in his life before politics was a real-estate titan, has even altered the face of government itself, especially the White House. He paved over the Rose Garden and replaced it with a new patio, complete with new outdoor furniture and umbrellas. He ripped off the historic East Wing to make room for a $250 million, 90,000-square-foot gilded ballroom.
