Donald Trump has been president for just one week. Here's everything that's happened so far.
It’s been one week since Donald Trump took the oath of office and became the 45th president of the United States, and in just seven short days we’ve gone from wondering what his inaugural speech would entail to wondering whether we’re all going to die in an atomic mushroom cloud.
To give President Trump credit, he has been very, very busy. The problem, however, is with what he’s actually been busy with. For those of you wondering how the hell we’re get through the next four years, here’s a sobering look back at what we’ve already experienced. There’s some good news, too: the resistance to Trump is growing stronger every day.
Day 1:
Donald Trump takes the oath of office, and gives a horrifying speech invoking images of “American carnage” and “the blood of patriots.
Day 2:
Hundreds of thousands of people participate in the Women’s March on Washington, dwarfing the turnout for President Trump’s inaugural ceremony. In response, both President Trump and White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer spend their first full day in office obsessing over crowd sizes and tweets comparing the two events.
Day 3:
President Trump is trolled by a professional hockey team over his boastful claims that a million and a half people attended his inauguration. It’s only Sunday.
Day 4:
President Trump tells congressional Republicans that millions of illegal voters likely cost him the popular vote—a baseless claim for which he offers zero evidence. He also signs a “global gag rule” banning all government funding for international nongovernmental organizations that provide, or even mention the word “abortion.”
At the same time, Spicer spends “working day one” (whatever that means) complaining about media coverage of his earlier, disastrous press conference. He also promises that President Trump plans immediate action to restart construction on the Dakota Access and Keystone oil pipelines.
Meanwhile, the Spanish language section of the White House’s official website goes conspicuously missing, as does former Secretary of State John Kerry’s State Department apology to LGBTQ employees.
Day 5:
As promised, Trump signs executive actions to push ahead with construction on the Dakota Access and Keystone oil pipelines. He also tweets a threat to “send in the feds” in response to Chicago’s ongoing “carnage.” (He got the idea from watching Bill O’Reilly. Seriously.)
Sean Spicer spends his third White House press briefing defending Trump’s illegal voter claims—again, without any supporting evidence.
Day 6:
Trump moves forward with his campaign promise of building a wall between the U.S. and Mexico—an initiative he now admits will initially be covered by American taxpayers.
In addition to closing America’s borders, Trump also announces plans to target sanctuary cities that do not cooperate with federal efforts to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants. As part of that plan, Trump states the government will publish a list of crimes committed by undocumented immigrants in these cities.
In response, city and state officials around the nation rally against the attack on sanctuary cities, as do activists, who stage protests across the country.
There are widespread reports that the administration also plans far reaching executive actions banning entry into the United States by nationals from seven predominantly Muslim countries, as well as temporarily shutting down the entire refugee program.
A group of seven Greenpeace protesters scale a 270 foot construction crane near the White House grounds, where they suspend a massive banner reading “RESIST” from its arm. They are arrested shortly thereafter.
That evening, Trump sits down for an hourlong interview with ABC News, in which he expands upon his claim that this past election saw “millions of illegal votes” for Hillary Clinton, and promises to launch an investigation into voter fraud. When faced with evidence that no such fraud took place, Trump dismisses the author of a Pew Research study he’d initially cited to back up his claims as simply “groveling” for press attention.
During the same interview, Trump offers a vague and largely incomprehensible plan to replace President Obama’s affordable care act.
In Philadelphia, protesters take to the streets outside the GOP congressional retreat, where LGBTQ rights activists host a massive “queer rager” ahead of Donald Trump’s scheduled keynote address.
Day Seven:
One week ahead of a planned summit between the Presidents of the United States and Mexico, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto abruptly cancels his visit to the United States, and reiterates his commitment that Mexico will not pay for any border wall construction. In response, Trump announces his intent to raise a 20 percent tax on all Mexican imports into the country. Administration officials walk back the tax plan shortly thereafter.
So that’s President Trump’s first week in office.
One down, 207 to go…