While Trumpās second four-year term is only 26% complete, we are already seeing the effects of decades of American political polarisation under centralised governments.Ā
From the kidnapping of the Venezuelan president to ICE raids, Trumpās return to the Oval Office has set off a whirlwind of policy changes that have resulted in a drastic change in the day-to-day lives of Americans.Ā
Itās no surprise that Trumpās net approval rating has been going down. As The Economist reports, the Presidentās rating dropped to -18 at the beginning of February, āthe lowest it has been this termā and the lowest for any American president in at least half a century. According to The Angus Reid Instituteās data, the only two policies that Americans are pleased with include Trumpās efforts to strengthen the USāMexican border and the āLiberation Dayā tariffs that triggered stock volatility. Yet, the rest of Trumpās strategies have induced negative reactions across the board.Ā
Trump began 2026 by launching an attack on Venezuela and ordering a military operation that resulted in the capture of Nicolas Maduro, which the White House framed as a necessary step toward justice and a bid to āfreeā the country from what he called a ācorrupt, illegitimate governmentā. Later, Donald Trump actually declared himself āActing President of Venezuelaā on Truth, a social media platform launched in February 2022 by Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG).Ā
While the Greenland crisis has calmed down due to a āframework of a future dealā being reached during a meeting with NATOās Mark Rutte in Davos, there are ten other territories Trump has suggested he might invade and/or take over next, including the Gaza Strip, Canada, the Panama Canal, Colombia, and others. At the same time, ironically, he wants to be remembered as āthe peacemakerā and treats the Nobel Prize as a personal entitlement, reacting angrily when it didnāt materialise. D.J. Trump attests that he has settled eight warsāin reality, the number of wars that he has brought to an end is zero.
The most destabilising force of Trumpās term has been the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids. Based on The Guardian‘s analysis, there have been 32 reported deaths in ICE custody in 2025 and at least eight to nine deaths tied to immigration enforcement in early 2026. As per a ProPublica study, there have been more than 170 reported cases in which U.S. citizens were detained by federal immigration agents in 2025, including the deportation of at least 3 children, one of whom was a four-year-old with stage 4 cancer. The situation has noticeably worsened as of the beginning of this year: according to the American Immigration Council, the number of people detained by ICE has shot up by over 75% since 2025, with a record 73,000 people detained as of mid-January. This has prompted the establishment of an ICE Activity Tracker (iceinmyarea.org) and similar tools that allow for community-based, real-time reporting of ICE presence to warn and protect your neighbours.Ā
Trumpās hypocrisy is harder to ignore than ever. On his first day back in office, Donald Trump granted sweeping clemency to more than 1,500 people convicted of assaulting law enforcement during the January 6 Capitol attack. In parallel, after federal agents shot and killed an American citizen, Alex Pretti, Trump publicly named him an āagitator and, perhaps, insurrectionistā, maintaining that he posed a threat to the officers, as stated by NBC News. Although he later said he wanted to āde-escalateā the situation in Minnesota and called Prettiās death a āvery unfortunateā incident, the weight of his initial statement lingered: Trump excuses police brutality when it suits his politics.Ā
Finally, one of the most controversial threads in Donald Trumpās political story is the renewed scrutiny of his past association with Jeffrey Epstein, an American financier, child sex offender, serial rapist, and human trafficker. The DOJ (Department of Justice) recently published over 3 million more pages of records related to Jeffrey Epstein following the signing of a bill requiring their release.Ā
According to the New York Times, Trumpās name is mentioned in the files over 5,300 times.Ā
Taking into account the fact that less than 1% to about half of the Epstein files have been released, this is particularly alarming, as it makes us wonder what still remains hidden in the rest. Trump has emerged from the storm with no apparent damage for now, as there is no direct evidence of him or his influential inner circle participating in sex trafficking or sexual abuse in the available files. Nevertheless, Democrats allege that the DOJ is withholding incriminating documents, and Epsteinās victims call for further investigation and prosecution. In this regard, Trumpās infuriated remarks about the lack of his connection to Epstein and his repeated insistence that everyone āmove onā have fuelled further questions and deepened doubts, instigating a discussion about when impunity for the powerful becomes intolerable.
āUnprecedentedā felt like a word people werenāt ready to use to refer to Trumpās presidency earlier. However, the longer this goes on, the more it fits.Ā
Donald Trump isnāt the cause of the current issues in the USAāheās a symptom. As we go into the second year of Trumpās presidency, both his supporters and opponents in the United States begin to share similar concerns, while the rest of the world observes in fear.
Editor: Neva Lynch