His ally Elon Musk welcomed the “return of the king”, Donald Trump regained power at a dizzying pace, and in a very methodical manner.
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His swearing-in had the feel of a coronation on Monday under the dome of the Capitol – the ceremony traditionally takes place outdoors, but had to be brought indoors due to the freezing cold.
In this cathedral setting, the 47th president invoked a form of divine anointing, saying: “God saved me (from an assassination attempt last summer) so that I could make America great again. .”
A scene well summarizing the first week of Trump’s second term took place Monday evening in the Oval Office.
In front of journalists, the Republican signed decrees with thick black markers, one of which concerns the fight against illegal immigration.
A journalist questions the Republican about a possible blocking of the measures by the courts, he says: “I don’t believe they can.”
Then the former television host asks a photographer to change position and angle of view: “Go and stand over there.”
“Transparency”
In just a few minutes, Donald Trump showed his desire to expand presidential power; illustrated the formidable degree of preparation for this return to the White House, with a mountain of decrees and circulars already printed; and recalled its ability to saturate the media space while controlling its image.
Live on the tarmac of an airport or at the White House, in videoconference with the big bosses of Davos or in an interview on Fox News, dancing in a tuxedo with a sword in hand on inauguration night: since Monday, Donald Trump occupies television screens, everywhere, all the time.
Where his predecessor Joe Biden avoided the press, the Republican has already answered dozens, if not hundreds, of questions.
“Welcome to the White House, where truth and transparency matter!” declared its spokesperson Karoline Leavitt.
However, it has not resumed the practice of daily briefings with accredited journalists.
It is therefore difficult to glean details on Donald Trump’s first decisions.
-All aim to establish its authority: in front of judges, in front of Congress, in front of the powerful American States, in front of the rest of the world.
“Not a king”
In a decree, he called into question the right to land, guaranteed by the Constitution, immediately triggering a burst of legal action.
“The president has power, but is not a king,” protested Matthew J. Platkin, a New Jersey prosecutor quoted by the New York Times.
Donald Trump also threatened to eliminate aid paid to California, a Democratic stronghold, to fight against the fires in Los Angeles.
He ignored the reluctance of certain conservative elected officials to grant clemency to some 1,600 attackers of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, including the most violent.
He forcefully pushed through the Senate the nomination of his Defense Minister, Pete Hegseth, despite the reluctance of Republican leaders.
And he sent the big bosses gathered in Davos a clear message: produce in America or prepare to pay customs duties.
His first mandate left an impression of permanent improvisation.
This time, his team is taking control of the state apparatus in a relentless and meticulous manner.
A Democratic senator, Elizabeth Warren, denounced a “purge” when she learned in the press of the dismissal of numerous inspectors general, independent civil servants responsible for fighting corruption within the administration.
At the top
There haven’t been many discordant notes of this type since Monday, or rather they have been drowned out in the incessant din of declarations and announcements.
One voice resonated, however, that of the Episcopalian bishop of Washington, Mariann Budde.
During a church service Donald Trump attended on Tuesday, she urged him to show “mercy” for migrants and transgender children.
The Republican ruled angrily, speaking of a “pseudo-bishop” who would be a “left-wing extremist.”
