Trump comes out swinging in fast start to presidency

Immigration was a major issue that helped propel Trump to the White House, but in terms of voter concerns it was still dwarfed by worries about the economy and inflation.

So far the president has focused on energy policy – tying it directly to the high prices that millions of Americans have struggled with.

“When energy comes down, the prices of food and the prices of everything else come down,” Trump said on Tuesday evening. “Energy is the big baby.”

To that end, Trump declared a “national energy emergency” and rescinded Biden-era protections for fossil fuel extraction in Alaska and in American coastal waters. He also started the process of withdrawing the US from the Paris climate agreement, which commits nations to slashing emissions to try to avoid the most extreme effects of climate change.

Even optimistic estimates suggest these moves will take time to show any results, but Aziz Wehbey, a Syrian-American Republican voter in Allentown, Pennsylvania, said he was pleased by what he had seen so far.

“That’s a good sign for the economy, and for those of us who run businesses,” he said. “The economy is starting to move and not be frozen. Everyone will notice that.”

One topic that Trump has mentioned, but hasn’t acted on yet, is tariffs. He had pledged to slap them on some of America’s biggest trade partners on day one to protect American industries and generate new revenue to fund his favoured government programmes.

Economists, including some in the Trump administration, have cautioned that tariffs could drive up consumer costs and hurt American businesses that rely on imports in their supply chain. It could be a reason why Trump, with his eye on the stock market and economic growth, is treading more carefully when it comes to trade.

Many of President Trump’s other early executive actions focused on reshaping the vast federal workforce.

He has reinstated rules that allow him to fire senior-level civil servants, suspended new regulations and hiring, and ordered all federal employees involved in DEI – diversity, equity and inclusion – programmes to be put on paid leave.

He also renamed the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America and instructed the US government to only recognise two sexes, male and female, in all official documents and forms. The changes, while controversial, have also been extremely popular with Trump’s base – a sign that the president will continue to lean in to contentious cultural issues.

Trump’s second term is just getting started. He promises more significant presidential actions in the days ahead – moves that will almost certainly test the limits of presidential power.

But the big splash, the noise, the drama, says former adviser Lanza, isn’t a problem for the president. It’s his strength.

“Where we are in modern politics today, which people haven’t figured out, is that from our standpoint, to communicate to voters are supportive of our issues, controversy enhances the message,” he said.

How do you get your message heard amid the overwhelming din of modern politics?

“It’s the controversy.”

Understand that, and the strategy behind Trump’s frenetic first days in office begins to come into focus.

With additional reporting from Bernd Debusmann Jr and Madeline Halpert