The U.S. president is using his second term not to restore order, but to redefine America—breaking norms and raising global risks in the process.
(By Adrien Jaulmes, U.S. Correspondent for Le Figaro)
What many hoped would be a return has become a revolution. In his first 100 days back in office, Donald Trump has upended American institutions more drastically than any of his predecessors. While his first term convinced even some skeptics that Trump was more bluster than bite, his second term has shattered those assumptions. He is no longer just a provocateur—he is a transformational figure, for better or worse, ushering in a volatile new era with global implications.
Trump hasn’t changed—but he has learned. Especially about Washington. He discovered that the apparent stability of American institutions largely relies on consensus and inertia—two forces he’s been dismantling with zeal. His unlikely political resurrection—from facing criminal trials to reclaiming the Oval Office—has given him an extraordinary second chance. This time, he’s wasting no time.
Armed with experience and a deeper understanding of presidential powers, Trump is pushing boundaries. Invoking national emergencies to bypass legal limits on immigration and the economy, he has steadily eroded legislative and judicial checks. His grip over Republican lawmakers has grown tighter, while Democrats—now in the minority—struggle to respond to a president who seems immune to political convention. Even judicial rulings are often ignored.
Since his inauguration on January 20, Trump has signed more than 139 executive orders. Every sector—immigration, economy, defense, education, media, energy, healthcare—has been impacted by his sweeping drive for change.
Many of these actions constitute a fierce anti-“woke” counter-revolution. He has dismantled diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, banned the promotion of LGBTQ+ topics in schools, and cracked down on critical race theory. To supporters, this is a course correction; to critics, a dangerous rollback of civil rights.
Elite universities and DEI-driven institutions are now under scrutiny. Trump has ordered them to return to what he calls their “original mission,” threatening funding and autonomy. In immigration, he’s taken aggressive steps to halt illegal border crossings—not by building new walls, but by forcefully applying existing laws, bringing illegal crossings close to zero and curbing asylum claims from economic migrants.
But the backlash is mounting. The DEI rollback has also led to unjust firings. Government oversight of universities is raising constitutional concerns. Deportations have allegedly violated due process and international standards. Rather than ending the cultural wars, Trump has ignited new ones.
His primary enemy? The very institutions of the federal government. The Pentagon, which resisted deploying troops against BLM protesters. The justice system, which investigated him post-2020. The FBI, which raided Mar-a-Lago. Congress, which twice tried to impeach him. And the bureaucrats, who slowed or blocked many of his first-term reforms.
This time, Trump isn’t alone. No longer reliant on the Republican establishment, he has returned to Washington with an aggressive new coalition:
- The MAGA base – Populist, anti-establishment warriors aiming to drain the “swamp.”
- New Right intellectuals – Led by figures like Russell Vought and Kevin Roberts, who’ve drafted Project 2025: a political blueprint for a post-liberal state.
- Tech-libertarian allies – Most notably Elon Musk, who has provided the tools and digital muscle to execute this revolution efficiently and ruthlessly.
Instead of storming Capitol windows like on January 6, 2021, Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is storming government agencies—replacing civil servants, freezing budgets, and leveraging Silicon Valley’s digital strategies to seize control.
This is a war for the soul of the American state. With Congress sidelined through emergency declarations, and federal power rapidly consolidated in the executive branch, Trump is shaping the U.S. presidency into something more unilateral—and potentially irreversible.
