The Policy pursued by the Trump administration at the beginning of the second presidency. First quarter of 2025

 

The Policy pursued by the Trump administration at the beginning of the second presidency. First quarter of 2025. 

By: Nika Chitadze. Professor of the International Black Sea University

The paper discusses all the important domestic and foreign policy priorities that the newly elected US President, Donald Trump, has pursued or his future goals during the first months of his presidency.

 

As is known, the future development of the world largely depends on the policy pursued by the only superpower on our planet, the United States.

 

Keywords: Donald Trump, Presidency, USA, Internal Policy, Foreign Policy, National

Security

 

Introduction 

 

As is well known, the second presidency of the 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump, began on January 20, 2025, following his inauguration (The White House, 2025). Trump assumed office following the 2024 presidential election, in which he defeated the Democratic Party candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris.

 

Trump entered office with an ambitious foreign policy program based on the isolationist principle of "America First" and political realism (The White House, 2025). Trump's foreign policy is characterized by a reconsideration of the post-World War II multilateralism and transatlanticism, as well as the active use of economic pressure to achieve foreign policy goals. As part of this strategy, the United States again withdrew from the World Health Organization and the Paris Climate Agreement and initiated trade wars by imposing tariffs on goods from all countries. Trump became the oldest president, taking office at age 78, several months ahead of the previous president, Joe Biden. Trump became the second president in U.S. history (after Grover Cleveland) whose second term began with a gap between his first term (Nelson, 2003). Trump's running mate, J.D. Vance, became one of the youngest vice presidents and the first vice president from the millennial generation. Because Trump served as president from 2017 to 2021, he will not be able to run for president in 2028, as the 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits one person from serving more than two terms (Constitution Annotated, 2025).

 

2024 Presidential Election

 

Donald Trump, who served as President of the United States from 2017 to 2021, announced his candidacy for the Republican Party nomination in the upcoming presidential election on November 15, 2022 (The White House, 2025). This followed the midterm congressional elections, which resulted in a less favorable outcome for the Republicans than expected.

Trump's campaign was complicated by four criminal charges filed in 2023, including falsifying financial records of The Trump Organization to conceal hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels through his lawyer, Michael Cohen; mishandling classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago estate and obstructing their recovery; The storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters and attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election nationwide and in Georgia, where Trump's lead over his rival, Joe Biden, was minimal (Chitadze, 2025). The former president faced a total of over 700 years in prison, but the Supreme Court, after reviewing the charges, recognized Trump's partial immunity for actions he committed while president. This decision allowed Trump to participate in the Republican Party primaries and presidential elections in all states, including Illinois, Colorado, and Maine, where he was initially barred. Despite this, on May 30, 2024, Trump was found guilty of all charges in the Stormy Daniels case, becoming the first president in U.S. history to be convicted of a crime (Chitadze, 2025).

 

During the primaries, Donald Trump faced opposition from several former members of his administration who expressed disagreement with his policies. Among them were Vice President Mike Pence, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who was initially seen as an alternative to Trump. Trump maintained a lead in the polls throughout the race, leading the primaries to be often referred to as a "race to second place," implying Trump's expected victory. Having won the June 2024 primary, Trump became the Republican nominee and chose Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate (BBC, 2024).

 

During the campaign, Trump suffered two assassination attempts: on July 13, 2024, at a rally in Pennsylvania, in which he was shot in the ear, and on September 15, 2024, at his golf club in Florida.

 

Trump's opponent, the Democratic Party nominee and incumbent President Joe Biden, initially sought reelection, as he had in 2020, and won the primaries comfortably with little opposition from his fellow party members. However, after unsuccessful debates with Trump, Biden withdrew his candidacy and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as his replacement. In August 2024, Harris became the Democratic Party nominee (BBC, 2024).

 

On November 5, 2024, Donald Trump won the presidential election, receiving 312 electoral votes (versus Kamala Harris's 226). In the popular vote, Trump received 49.8% (77.3 million) of the vote, while Harris received 48.3% (75 million) (Presidency, 2024). Trump won all the swing states (Arizona, Wisconsin, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina), improving on his previous performance in every state except Washington, D.C., and Utah. Congressional elections were held concurrently with the presidential election, in which Republicans retained a narrow majority in the House of Representatives and gained control of the Senate, handing Trump a significant advantage (Presidency, 2024).

 

Transition and Inauguration

 

Donald Trump's transition period began on November 6, 2024, after Kamala Harris conceded her defeat. During the transition, Trump announced cabinet nominations and ambassadorial appointments. On November 13, Donald Trump and President Joe Biden met at the White House, where Biden promised his recent rival that he expected a peaceful transfer of power (The New York Times, 2024).

 

On December 17, the Electoral College certified the election results, and on January 6, 2025, the Senate declared Trump's victory (The New York Times, 2024).

 

The inauguration of Donald Trump, the 47th President of the United States, took place on January 20, 2025, in the Capitol Rotunda. Upon taking office, Trump signed a record 42 executive orders and made 115 personnel decisions. With his first order, Trump rescinded 78 "harmful" executive orders and memoranda of former President Joe Biden, 17 of which he had signed in January 2025 (in particular, the order removing Cuba from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism). Trump signed the order. Among the documents signed on the first day were an order resuming the United States' withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement (Biden returned the country to the agreement in 2021) (Chitadze, 2025) and an executive order directing all federal employees to immediately return to their offices, ending the work-from-home policy actively implemented by the previous administration during the COVID-19 pandemic. That same day, Trump signed executive orders withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization, suspending all U.S. development assistance programs to other countries for 90 days (to ensure that such assistance is consistent with the new administration's policy objectives), and postponing the ban of TikTok in the United States for at least 75 days (Chitadze, 2025).

 

Cabinet

 

Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, author of the bestseller "Hillby Elegies," became Vice President. Vance had previously criticized Trump's policies, but subsequently reconsidered his views and became a key supporter during his presidential campaign. Marco Rubio, Trump's opponent in the 2016 Republican primaries, was appointed Secretary of State. In Trump's first cabinet, Rubio served as a key informal foreign policy adviser, lobbying to maintain the trade embargo against Cuba and supporting Juan Guaidó as Venezuela's "interim president," earning him the nickname "Secretary of State for Latin America." Pete Hegseth (Presidency, 2024), a veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and Fox News host, became Secretary of Defense.

 

Several members of the second cabinet hail from the Democratic Party: Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy Jr. (a Democrat for over 50 years, leaving the party in 2023 and becoming independent) and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard (elected as a Democrat in the House of Representatives, leaving the party in 2022 and joining the Republican Party in 2024). Attorney General Pam Bondi is also a former Democrat, but switched party affiliations in 2000, joining the Republican Party. Congressman Matt Gaetz was originally slated to be appointed Attorney General, but his nomination was withdrawn due to reputational risks and a sexual misconduct scandal (Presidency, 2024).

 

Trump's cabinet became the richest in modern history: it included 13 billionaires, whose combined net worth was estimated at nearly $500 billion. Despite lacking a formal position, the richest man in the cabinet, Elon Musk, wielded significant influence in the cabinet as head of the Department of Government Effectiveness. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, former head of Cantor Fitzgerald, also joined the cabinet. Other wealthy cabinet members include Scott Bessent, founder of Key Square Group and economic adviser to Trump's presidential campaign (Treasury Secretary); Kelly Loeffler, former senator from Georgia and co-owner of the Atlanta Dream women's basketball team (Small Business Administration Administrator); and Doug Burgum, former governor of North Dakota and one of Trump's rivals in the 2024 primaries (Interior Secretary) (Chitadze, 2025).

 

Domestic Politics

Military

Pentagon Purge

 

After winning the presidential election, President-elect Donald Trump's team, as part of a plan to reorganize the Department of Defense, began creating lists of officers to be removed. These officers were associated with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Mark Milley, who, upon his appointment in 2019, repeatedly publicly criticized President Trump, calling him, among other things, "the most dangerous man alive" and "a fascist to the core" (Chitadze, 2025).

 

Trump's team considered creating a "war council" of retired military personnel to purge the armed forces of "war generals," who, in Trump's view, were "more focused on political correctness than on fighting America's enemies." In February 2025, Donald Trump carried out an unprecedented reshuffle within the Department of Defense, dismissing five generals and admirals, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Charles Brown, who had been appointed to the position by President Joe Biden in 2023. The early dismissal of Brown, who reportedly lacked the trust of the Trump administration, broke the tradition of retaining the position of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff across successive administrations, regardless of the president's political affiliation. Furthermore, the first female Secretary of the Navy, Lisa Franchetti, the Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and the heads of the legal services of the Army, Navy, and Air Force were also dismissed (Chitadze, 2025).

 

Artificial Intelligence

 

On January 21, 2025, Trump, along with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, and Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, announced the creation of The Stargate Project. Three companies will invest US$100 billion in the project, with investments expected to increase to US$500 billion by 2029, creating 100,000 new jobs (Chitadze, 2024).

 

Immigration Policy

 

During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump repeatedly advocated for stricter immigration policies and promised to carry out the largest expulsion of undocumented immigrants in the country's history. He noted that the "overly lenient" policies of the Joe Biden administration had led to the United States becoming a Third World country.

 

On January 20, 2025, on his first day in office, Trump declared a state of emergency at the US-Mexico border due to the migrant crisis and restricted birthright citizenship.

 

On January 29, 2025, President Trump signed the Laken Riley Act, which requires federal law enforcement to detain undocumented immigrants suspected of theft and violent crimes, and ordered the preparation of the Guantanamo Bay military base in Cuba to house 30,000 of the worst undocumented immigrants (Mtavari Arkhi, 2025).

 

In early February 2025, El Salvador agreed to accept "undesirable" migrants deported from the United States. To hold the "most dangerous" deportees, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele proposed the "mega-prison" CECOT (Terrorist Detention Center), which opened in 2023 and can accommodate approximately 40,000 inmates. According to the Associated Press, under this agreement, the United States is to pay El Salvador $6 million for the detention of 300 prisoners for one year (Mtavari arkhi, 2025).

 

In February 2025, the US State Department designated the Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua (TdA) as a terrorist organization, citing its involvement in kidnappings, corporate raids, and attacks on US law enforcement. On March 15, 2025, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order expediting deportation of suspected TdA members from the US, citing the group's "engagement in hostile acts" against the United States "at the direction" of the Venezuelan government and the use of the Resident Enemy Nationals Act of 1798 (which has only been used three times in US history, specifically during World War I and World War II), which allows authorities to deport migrants without going through standard procedures (Chitadze, 2025).

 

On the same day, March 15, 2025, 137 Venezuelan citizens subject to special deportation procedures, 101 individuals subject to standard deportation procedures, and 23 Salvadoran citizens suspected of involvement with the MS-13 criminal group were expelled from the US to El Salvador. Upon arrival in El Salvador, these 238 Venezuelans were detained in a terrorist detention center for one year (with the possibility of extension). However, just before their deportation, on March 15, the same day, Chief Justice James Boasberg of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued a ruling prohibiting their deportation (the presidential order permitting the application of the Enemy Nationals Act during peacetime was challenged in court, and its application was prohibited for 14 days as a precautionary measure) (Mtavari Arkhi, 2025).

 

According to official US data, a total of 142,000 foreigners were deported from the country between January 20 and April 29, 2025. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated that the mass deportation of foreigners from the United States, particularly to countries other than their countries of origin, is a matter of grave concern. Mass detentions and deportations of undocumented immigrants sparked widespread protests, particularly in June 2025, leading to mass protests and riots in Los Angeles (Mtavari Arkhi, 205).

 

Social Policy

 

Donald Trump eliminated all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in the federal government. He declared a need to overhaul personnel policies, emphasizing that individual initiative, skill, productivity, and hard work should be rewarded, without regard for DEI programs. Trump enshrined in law the permanent existence of two genders—male and female—banned transgender women from competing on women's sports teams, and reinstated the ban on transgender people serving in the military. The dismantling of DEI programs in the federal government has had an impact on the corporate sector, with major US companies such as McDonald's, Meta, Walmart, Harley-Davidson, John Deere, Lowe's, and Google, which had previously stated commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion, watering down or abandoning their commitments in this area.

 

Judicial System

 

On January 20, 2025, Trump signed an executive order establishing the death penalty and supplying states with execution drugs. The document directs the Attorney General to seek death sentences for particularly serious crimes, including the murder of law enforcement officers and serious crimes committed by undocumented immigrants. On the same day, Trump granted full pardons to more than 1,500 people convicted of storming the Capitol in 2021 (Chitadze, 2025).

On January 23, 2025, Trump ordered the declassification of all documents on the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King (Chitadze, 2025).

 

Economy

 

Trump took office during a period of economic recovery in the US following the coronavirus recession, with relatively low unemployment and declining inflation. Despite this, many Americans were still feeling the effects of a sharp spike in inflation in 2021–2023, which, incidentally, partly contributed to Trump's reelection.

 

Trade Wars

 

On January 26, 2025, Trump imposed a 25% tariff on all goods shipped to the United States from Colombia after the country refused to accept deportation flights for illegal immigrants (York, Duranter, 2025). That same day, Colombian President Gustavo Petro agreed to accept deportees and even dispatched his personal presidential jet to pick them up "to ensure the dignified return of Colombian citizens scheduled to arrive in the country this morning following deportation flights."

 

Tariffs against Colombia were suspended. On February 1, 2025, Trump imposed tariffs of 25% on Canada and Mexico (excluding Canadian crude oil and energy imports, which are subject to a 10% tariff) and 10% on China (York, Duranter, 2025). On February 3, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum agreed to immediately deploy 10,000 National Guard troops to guard the Mexican-American border to prevent the trafficking of fentanyl and other drugs from Mexico to the United States in exchange for Trump suspending tariffs on Mexican goods for one month. A similar deal was reached with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau regarding increased border security. On April 2, 2025, Trump declared a national emergency in the United States due to a "trade imbalance that threatens national security" and announced the decision to impose import duties of 10% on imports from 185 countries, as well as increased "mirror" duties on supplies from countries that applied asymmetric trade restrictions in trade with the United States (Cambodia - 49%, Vietnam - 46%, Sri Lanka - 44%, Bangladesh - 37%, Thailand - 36%, China - 34%, Taiwan - 32%, Indonesia - 32%, Switzerland - 31%, South Africa - 30%, South Korea - 25%, Japan - 24%, Malaysia - 24%, the EU - 20%, Israel - 17%). These duties not only affect imported goods that are critical to US production and national security. Separate tariffs of 25% were imposed on all foreign automobiles imported into the United States on April 3. The imposition of the tariffs triggered a stock market crash and increased the likelihood of a recession in the United States. On April 9, Trump postponed the imposition of tariffs for 90 days for more than 75 countries that had expressed a desire to discuss the introduction of trade barriers (York, Duranter, 2025). Meanwhile, all previously imposed tariffs on China were retained.

 

Federal Government

 

Massive Layoffs of Federal Employees

 

Immediately after taking office, Trump initiated massive layoffs of federal government employees

to cut costs: by April 1, 2025, approximately 60,000 people had been laid off (Chitadze, 2025).

Suspension of Funding for Various Programs

 

The Donald Trump administration suspended both domestic and international aid programs pending a review of their compliance with the president's policies. On January 28, 2025, Trump ordered a freeze on domestic and foreign federal aid, with the exception of Social Security and Medicare, as well as emergency food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt. The freeze also affected one of the world's largest aid providers, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Elon Musk, who oversees the Department of Government Effectiveness, declared USAID a "criminal organization beyond repair," adding that it was a "viper's nest of radical left-wing Marxists who hated America." On February 1, USAID's official website and its X social media account were shut down. Effective February 7, USAID placed directly employed employees from all offices and representative offices on administrative leave. Exceptions were made for employees responsible for critical functions, as well as key management and staff of designated programs. According to Reuters, the Trump administration intends to lay off 97% of USAID staff, leaving only 294 of its 10,000 employees (Chitadze, 2025).

 

Foreign Policy

 

The foreign policy of Donald Trump's second administration is characterized by expansionism. Historians compare it to the foreign policy of the 25th President, William McKinley (1897–1901), who initiated US expansion beyond North America into the Eastern Hemisphere. Trump himself expressed admiration for McKinley, describing him as a "great but greatly underappreciated" president (American Progress, 2025).

 

The core principles of the Trump administration's policies were presented in the "Project 2025" report, published in 2023. Although Trump's team has repeatedly denied any involvement in the report, more than half of the executive orders issued at the beginning of his second presidency fully or partially reflected proposals from "Project 2025" (American Progress, 2025).

 

Expansionism

 

Greenland

 

In 2019, Donald Trump, under the influence of his close friend Ronald Lauder, began considering purchasing the Danish autonomous region of Greenland, considering it strategically important to the United States. The Danish government abruptly rejected the offer, leading to the cancellation of Trump's planned visit to Copenhagen and a deterioration in bilateral relations (American Progress, 2025).

 

In late 2024, after winning the presidential election, Trump again expressed interest in purchasing Greenland. Experts attribute the purchase of Greenland to the prospects for developing its rich deposits of rare earth minerals, which are critical to the United States. Seeking to reduce dependence on China, the world's leading producer of these elements, Trump sees the acquisition of Greenland as an opportunity to strengthen the United States' position and prevent China from becoming a partner in Greenland's resource development. Greenland's annexation is also of interest to the United States because of the potential new trade routes opened by melting Arctic ice. Trump stated that it was "absolutely essential" for the United States to own Greenland to "ensure national security and freedom throughout the world." However, when asked by a reporter whether the United States would use military force against Panama or Greenland for its own purposes, Trump replied that he "cannot guarantee that" (American Progress, 2025).

 

In response to Trump's statements about Greenland, Denmark increased its defense budget, expressing a willingness to engage in dialogue on cooperation but rejecting the possibility of annexing the island.

 

Panama Canal

 

Trump criticizes the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, which ceded the Panama Canal to Panama. In his inaugural address, Trump described the treaties as a "foolish gift that should never have been given" and promised to "take back" the canal from the United States. Trump accused Panama of charging the United States "exorbitant fees" for using the canal and hinted at China's growing influence in this vital waterway. In early February 2025, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio toured Latin America, including Panama (American Progress, 2025). In a meeting with President José Raúl Mulino, Rubio warned him that the current state of the trade route was "unacceptable" and that Panama would need to "immediately change" the US approach to the canal. Following talks with Rubio, Mulino announced that Panama's broad agreement to support China's Belt and Road Initiative would not be renewed and could be terminated early (American Progress, 2025).

 

Russia-Ukraine War

 

From the very beginning of the Russia-Ukraine War in 2022, Donald Trump called on the parties to the conflict to seek a peaceful resolution. If he won the presidential election, he proposed organizing direct negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv that would "produce results within 24 hours" (Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2023). Trump believed that Ukraine would have to cede its claims to Crimea and Donbas to end the conflict. Trump repeatedly criticized his predecessor, Joe Biden, for providing military aid to Ukraine and believed that "the failed withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan pushed [Russian President] Vladimir Putin to launch military action in Ukraine." According to Trump, Biden, by supporting Ukraine, was "systematically, but perhaps unconsciously" pushing the world toward World War III (Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2023).

 

On February 12, 2025, amidst intense diplomatic activity surrounding the Russia-Ukraine conflict, several important events took place. The first meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group since Trump's inauguration took place in Brussels. For the first time, the United Kingdom, rather than the United States, chaired the group. At the contact group meeting, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that returning Ukraine to its pre-2014 borders was an "unrealistic goal" for a peace settlement, adding that any attempt to retake the entire territory "will only prolong the war and cause more suffering" (BBC, 2025). Hegseth called on European countries to "step into the arena" and assume greater responsibility for the continent's security, emphasizing that the United States would not be able to send troops to Ukraine as peacekeepers. Concurrently, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent arrived in Kyiv to present the Ukrainian side with a draft agreement on rare earth metals, according to which Ukraine agrees to transfer access to metals worth $500 billion to Washington. That same day, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin held their first public telephone conversation.

 

In April 2025, Russia-US-Ukraine negotiations reached an impasse. The US proposed a plan that included recognition of Crimea and part of the Donbas region as Russian territory, Ukraine's refusal to join NATO, and the conclusion of economic agreements between Moscow and Washington. Ukraine rejected these conditions, claiming they contradicted the country's Constitution and amounted to capitulation. Trump expressed disappointment with Zelenskyy's position and threatened to cut off military aid to Ukraine unless progress was made in the negotiations. This again fueled tensions in US-Ukraine relations (RBC, 2025).

 

Russia

 

On February 12, 2025, President Trump held his first telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The 90-minute conversation was described by both parties as "lengthy and very productive." During the talks, the leaders discussed a number of issues, centered on the situation surrounding Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the current nature of the conflict. Following the conversation, President Trump announced his agreement to begin immediate negotiations to end hostilities in Ukraine. Both sides expressed their intention to work "very closely" to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict (TASS, 2025).

 

Shortly after the president's phone call, negotiations between the two countries' delegations took place in Saudi Arabia on February 18. The American side was represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, and Special Presidential Envoy for Russia Steve Witkoff. The Russian side was represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov, and RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev. Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and National Security Advisor Musaad bin Mohammed Al Aiban also attended the meeting as mediators. One of the key achievements of the negotiations was the agreement to restore the full functioning of diplomatic missions.

 

The two sides also agreed to establish high-level teams for negotiations on the Russian-Ukrainian war (Politico, 2025).

 

The exclusion of Ukraine from the US-Russian talks was a sharp departure from the Biden administration's foreign policy principle of "nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine." President Zelenskyy, who had planned to visit Saudi Arabia just after the Russian-US talks, canceled the visit to avoid "legitimizing" the negotiations (Politico, 2025).

 

For the first time since 2022, the US did not co-sponsor a UN General Assembly resolution condemning Russia's actions on the third anniversary of the invasion. Instead, it proposed its own version, "Path to Peace," with softer language. The document expressed sorrow over the "tragic loss of life in the conflict" and emphasized the role of the UN in maintaining international peace and the peaceful resolution of disputes. Ukraine introduced its own resolution condemning Russia's actions, calling for an end to the conflict by 2025, and the protection of its territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders. The United States explained its position by arguing that adopting a resolution hostile to one of the parties to the conflict would not contribute to a peaceful settlement (Politico, 2025). However, after European countries amended the American draft, the United States abstained from voting.

 

As negotiations progressed, the Trump administration became increasingly divided over negotiations with Russia, creating two opposing poles. Retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, who served as special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, supported Donald Trump's desire to end the war in Ukraine but took a more critical stance toward Russia than other administration officials. Kellogg stated that Ukraine was not prepared to unilaterally recognize Russia's sovereignty over the four regions annexed in 2022. In February 2025, Kellogg lost the White House's trust because he hired Heather Nauert, a Ukrainian-friendly adviser, as his adviser and because he tolerated Ukrainian government criticism of the Trump administration (Politico, 2025). Russian negotiators also believed Kellogg was "overly sympathetic" to Kyiv. In March 2025, Kellogg was removed from negotiations with Russia, relegated to serving as special envoy for Ukraine.

 

Special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, who was tasked with negotiating with Russian President Vladimir Putin, took a position opposite Kellogg's. Witkoff, who played a central role in the presidential administration's foreign policy and earned Donald Trump's trust by securing a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip before Trump took office, expressed greater optimism about negotiations with Moscow and assured Trump of Russia's readiness for a peaceful settlement. According to Witkoff, the fastest way to achieve a ceasefire would be to recognize Russian sovereignty over four Ukrainian regions, which effectively reflected one of Russia's demands on Ukraine. Furthermore, Witkoff, in support of his claims, stated that the populations of the annexed regions, having voted in referendums unrecognized by the US in September 2022, voted for continued Russian rule. Although Witkoff received support from Republican Party skeptics of Ukraine's support, his proposals sparked outrage among other Republicans, who believed the Trump administration had turned too sharply toward Russia. Witkoff met with Putin on numerous occasions and later spoke favorably of him, calling him "very smart" and "a great guy" (Interfax, 2025).

 

Ukraine

 

In February 2025, relations between the United States and Ukraine sharply deteriorated. After Ukraine expressed dissatisfaction with its exclusion from US-Russian negotiations, President Trump claimed that Kyiv had the opportunity to conclude a peace agreement with Russia in 2022 on more favorable terms. Trump also criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, questioning his popularity and calling him a "dictator without elections." Trump claimed that Zelenskyy "did a terrible job" of preventing a Russian invasion and accused him of "persuading the United States to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on a war that cannot be won." Trump urged the Ukrainian president to hold presidential elections, effectively calling his legitimacy into question. In response to the accusations, Zelenskyy claimed that Trump was living in a "web of disinformation created by Russia" (Chitadze, 2025). Also in February 2025, President Trump expressed interest in acquiring Ukrainian rare earth metals in exchange for US aid. He proposed a $500 billion deal with Ukraine, under which Ukraine would provide the US with access to 50% of its rare earth reserves (Chitadze, 2025). Joint development of rare earth minerals with the US was one of the points in the "Victory Plan" presented in September 2024 by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. The plan, in particular, included a proposal to "jointly protect the country's critical resources" and jointly invest, which attracted Trump's attention. On February 12, 2025, nine days after Trump announced the possibility of a deal, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent arrived in Kyiv with a completed version of the agreement. The text was handed over to the Ukrainian side only three hours before the meeting with Zelenskyy, and during the negotiations, Bessent insisted on the immediate signing of the document. The Ukrainian President categorically refused to sign the document, citing its lack of security guarantees, and stated his readiness to work on a "serious document" containing such guarantees. Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine does not intend to hand over its natural resources for free, but is willing to consider options for joint development with the United States. The signing of the agreement was postponed until the Munich Security Conference, held on February 14-16, where Ukraine submitted its amendments to the agreement to the United States, further delaying its signing (Chitadze, 2025). As a result of the revisions, the document included a commitment by the American side to "support the country's efforts to obtain security guarantees for building a lasting peace."

 

On February 28, 2025, the first meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Donald Trump took place in Washington, D.C., during which an agreement on the development of Ukrainian rare earth metals was planned to be signed. However, the meeting in the Oval Office of the White House was marked by an unprecedented public spat between Zelenskyy, Trump, and Vice President J.D. Vance. Before the talks began, Trump expressed hope for a peace agreement, adding that he maintains "excellent" relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the negotiators had already begun discussing the parameters of a future agreement on Ukraine. The open spat between the presidents began after Trump stated that Zelenskyy would have to compromise, while Vance called on the Ukrainian president to reach a diplomatic solution with President Putin to end hostilities. In response, Zelenskyy demanded security guarantees for Kyiv, included Ukraine in the negotiation process to resolve the conflict with Russia, accused Moscow of reneging on past agreements, and questioned the possibility of diplomacy under the current circumstances. Vance, for his part, accused Zelenskyy of ingratitude and pointed to Ukraine's problems with mobilization (Chitadze, 2025). Trump, joining the dispute, also accused the Ukrainian leader of disrespect and emphasized Ukraine's dependence on American aid, raising his voice and threatening to withdraw support if he failed to cooperate with US efforts to resolve the conflict. Zelenskyy publicly rejected the possibility of concessions and demanded continued military support. After the meeting escalated into open conflict, US officials asked the Ukrainian delegation led by Zelenskyy to leave the White House, leading to the cancellation of a planned lunch, press conference, and the signing of an agreement on rare earth metals. Following the meeting, Trump declared Zelenskyy unwilling to accept peace but allowed for the possibility of returning to negotiations in the future.

 

On March 3, 2025, Donald Trump ordered an indefinite suspension of all US military aid to Ukraine, citing dissatisfaction with President Zelenskyy's commitment to peace talks with Russia (Chitadze, 2025). The suspension also included arms and ammunition deliveries that were already in transit or prepared for shipment to Ukraine when the decree came into effect. Furthermore, the United States partially halted the transfer of sensitive intelligence information to Ukraine. In response to the suspension of American aid, Zelenskyy expressed regret over the White House meeting, calling it "regrettable" and stating that it "did not go as expected." He reaffirmed Ukraine's readiness to engage in peace negotiations and emphasized his desire for "constructive cooperation" with the United States. Zelenskyy also stated that Ukraine remains ready to sign a mineral resource agreement with the United States "at any time and in any convenient format."

 

Gaza War

 

Donald Trump wanted to secure a deal between Israel and Hamas before his inauguration to avoid inheriting a war in Gaza. He warned that if the hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip were not released by January 20, "all hell would break loose in the Middle East." Prior to this, the Biden administration had been unsuccessfully trying to broker a ceasefire in Gaza for over a year. The first ceasefire, a few weeks after the October 7 attack, resulted in the release of dozens of hostages, but subsequent efforts to end the fighting and secure the release of additional hostages failed. On January 15, 2025, just days before Trump was officially inaugurated, Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire agreement. Biden and Trump took credit for the agreement, while several media sources placed responsibility for the peace deal on Trump and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, reporting that the president-elect's team had "aggressively pressured" Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept the agreement.

 

On February 4, 2025, Trump and Netanyahu held their first meeting at the White House. At a press conference following the talks, Trump stated that the United States would "take control of the Gaza Strip" and seek to transform it into the "Riviera of the Middle East" (Journal of Humanities, 2025). Trump emphasized, however, that he did not believe Palestinian refugees should return to the Gaza Strip. Instead, he proposed developing territories in neighboring Arab countries that would eventually be occupied by the 1.8 million Palestinians living in Gaza. Transatlantic Relations

During the election campaign, Trump claimed that the European Union (EU) was created to harm the United States and that Europe "treats us worse than our enemies." He repeatedly questioned the wisdom of US spending on NATO, arguing that while Americans protect the alliance's members, they "don't protect us." Trump consistently pushed for an increase in NATO defense spending—first to 2%, then to 5% of GDP—and warned that he would allow Russia to do "whatever it wants" to NATO member states that had not reached that figure (Journal of Humanities, 2025).

 

The rise of Donald Trump was marked by a significant deterioration in relations between the US and the EU. The Trump administration refused to uphold the post-World War II order of interaction with Europe, leading to growing estrangement between the US and Europe. The crisis was particularly acute in the approach to resolving the Russian-Ukrainian war. The crisis in US-Europe relations has also acquired a pronounced ideological dimension. The Trump administration has openly criticized Europe not only on issues of collective defense, but also on trade, migration policy, freedom of speech, and culture. A landmark moment in the ideological clashes between the Trump administration and the EU leadership was US Vice President J.D. Vance's speech at the Munich Security Conference on February 14, 2025. Vance criticized the domestic policies of European countries, declaring Europe's retreat from the fundamental values ​​it shares with the United States (Chitadze, 2025). The US Vice President's speech was characterized as "a declaration of ideological and cultural war on Europe," reinforcing the perception in the EU of Vance as an "anti-European politician" more radical than Trump.

 

Trump's foreign policy has sparked concern and discontent among EU leaders. In response to US actions, the European Union began to reassess its strategy and role in the world, seeking greater autonomy in defense and foreign policy. The crisis in relations with the US also contributed to the rapprochement between the UK and the EU after Brexit.

 

Conclusion

 

How Donald Trump's second term as president will affect the world agenda - statements made during the campaign and after his historic victory in the elections raise expectations of global changes.

 

Particular attention was paid to the declared priorities of foreign policy and the message of ending the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

 

Even during the election race, Trump saw the shadowy representatives of the government and bureaucrats behind the problems in the country and the wrong foreign policy. The so-called Deep State, he saw traces and promised to end it. Overall, many experts consider the inauguration of the new US president a turning point in the formation of a new world order.

 

References:

The White House, 2025. The Inaugural Address. Retrieved from: https://www.whitehouse.gov/remarks/2025/01/the-inaugural-address/

 

Nelson, Julie. 2003. American Presidents Year by Year. Routledge. p. 334. ISBN 978-0-7656-8046-4.

 

Constitution Annotated, 2025. Constitution of the United States. Twenty-Second Amendment. Retrieved from:

https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-22/

 

Chitadze, 2025. Journal of Humanities

 

BBC, 2024. US presidential election results 2024. Retrieved from:       https://www.bbc.com/news/election/2024/us/results

 

Presidency, 2024. The American Presidency Project. Retrieved from: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/statistics/elections/2024

 

The New York Times, 2024. Presidential Election Results: Trump Wins. Retrieved from:  https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/11/05/us/elections/results-president.html

 

 

https://mtavari.tv/news/175686-trampis-saemigratsio-politika-ra-bedi-elit

 

York, E. Duranter, A. 2025. Trump Tariffs: Tracking the Economic Impact of the Trump Trade War. Tax Foundation. Retrieved from: https://taxfoundation.org/research/all/federal/trump-tariffs-trade-war/

 

American Progress, 2025. 100 Days of the Trump Administration’s Foreign Policy: Global Chaos, American Weakness, and Human Suffering. Retrieved from: https://www.americanprogress.org/article/100-days-of-the-trump-administrations-foreign-policy-global-chaos-american-weakness-and-human-suffering/

 

GLOBAL RESEARCHER VIEW. 2023. The Ukraine Crisis as a US-Russia Security Dilemma and Contours of the New World Order. An International Peer Reviewed Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities. January-June, 2023/Vol. 11(6)/biannual. Pp. 5-13. Dehli, India. file:///D:/nchitadze/Downloads/GRV%2011(6)%20Jan-June%202023%20English.pdf

 

RBC, 2025. Bloomberg раскрыл предложения США по миру на Украине. Retrieved from: https://www.rbc.ru/politics/18/04/2025/680251b19a79474fafa14027

 

Journal in Humanities, 2025. Donald Trump's new presidential term and the main foreign economic and geoeconomic priorities of the United States. Vol. 14 No. 1. International Black Sea University. June, 2025.   Retrieved from: https://jh.ibsu.edu.ge/jms/index.php/SJH/issue/view/53

 

https://jh.ibsu.edu.ge/jms/index.php/SJH/article/view/550