Trump's Transformative Presidency: A Shift in Global Order

Wed Jan 21 2026 05:32:08 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

As Trump marks one year since his second inauguration, concerns grow over his unpredictable actions and their implications for international relations. Analysts warn of the potential for a world without rules as the former president expresses ambitions that challenge established political norms.

In his one-year anniversary of taking office for a second term, President Trump has polarized global perspectives on US leadership. His actions hint at an erosion of international norms, as he vocalizes aspirations to seize Greenland, posing a threat to long-standing alliances. Detractors caution of an era devoid of rules, epitomized by the stark warnings from world leaders like Emmanuel Macron at the Davos Economic Forum. Despite the controversy, Trump's supporters applaud his 'America First' agenda, indicating a significant transformation in American foreign policy.

On day one, he put the world on notice. Nothing will stand in our way, President Donald Trump declared, to thunderous applause, as he ended his inauguration speech in a cold Washington winter on this day last year, at the start of his second term.

Tucked into his speech was a mention of the 19th Century doctrine of 'manifest destiny' – the idea that the US was divinely ordained to expand its territory across the continent, spreading American ideals.

Now that same declaration, expressed with absolute resolve, is directed at Greenland. We have to have it, is the new mantra. It's a rude awakening in a moment fraught with grave risk.

US history is littered with consequential and controversial American invasions, occupations, and covert operations to topple rulers and regimes. But, in the past century, no American president has threatened to seize the land of a longtime ally and rule it against their people's will.

Trump is now being described as possibly the US's most transformative president - cheered by supporters at home and abroad, alarm among others in capitals the world over, and a watchful silence in Moscow and Beijing.

As world leaders respond to Trump's aggressive rhetoric and actions, concerns grow over potential trade wars and the future of alliances like NATO. Trump's supporters remain steadfast, but the global political landscape is increasingly volatile as unsettling questions about the foundations of international law and diplomacy arise.