Here’s How President Trump Shifted Policy in His First Week

President Trump’s blunt message after a whirlwind week of executive orders and presidential proclamations may boil down to this: Take me at my word. During four years in political exile after his first term, President Trump vowed to radically reshape American life, culture and politics if he got another chance. His first week has demonstrated that he will seek to do just that — and fast — as he races to make good on the promises that vaulted him back into power. After declaring in his inaugural address that he would usher in a “colorblind” and “merit-based” society, President Trump ordered federal agencies to immediately purge the concepts of diversity, equity and inclusion — or D.E.I. — from the federal government’s policies, programs and practices and targeted civil rights protections for government contractors. Right after he was sworn into office, President Trump rescinded a 2023 executive order that established guardrails around artificial intelligence. On Jan 23, President Trump issued an executive order directing his staff to come up with a plan to pursue policy that would “sustain and enhance America’s global A.I. dominance.” The president also issued an executive order to establish a group that would come up with policy proposals related to cryptocurrency, an industry President Trump has personal investments in. President Trump intervened in the battle over the future of TikTok. Officials in Washington fear that the immensely popular video app could pose a national security threat. Congress passed a law last year that forces TikTok’s owner ByteDance to sell the app or face a ban from working with app stores and cloud providers.