What does a TRUMP presidency look like?

[Admiral Yi]

Trump is saying the Canal is controlled by the Chinese.

[Zoupa]

Trump says Spain is part of BRICS. This is gonna be a long 4 years.

[Grey Fox]

Trump is saying the Canal is controlled by the Chinese.

In typical Trump fashion, it's kind of right.

[Admiral Yi]

In typical Trump fashion, it's kind of right.

Please elaborate.

[Valmy]

Trump says Spain is part of BRICS. This is gonna be a long 4 years.

BRICS is bullshit anyway. Should just be IC.

[Grey Fox]

In typical Trump fashion, it's kind of right.

Please elaborate.

Chinese companies operate ports at both end. Chinese companies built bridges and other canal infrastructures over the years. Like in Africa, Belt and Roads initiative.

[PRC]

The US sends over 70% of the traffic through the Panama Canal.  China accounts for a large 20-plus% but nothing like the US.

[Syt]

Overview of Day 1 Executive Orders:

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/20/politics/executive-actions-trump-day-1/index.html

January 6 pardons, commutations
One of the first acts Trump announced during his second term was a pardon for most of those who have been charged in the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.

In the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said his pardons would cover "approximately 1,500 for a pardon – full pardon."

Prosecutors charged more than 1,580 people for alleged January 6-related actions and secured roughly 1,270 convictions. That means Trump said nearly everyone who has been charged with a crime related to the attack will be pardoned, essentially ending all January 6 cases.

Fourteen people, including high profile leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers who were convicted for their roles in the attack, had their sentences commuted to time served.

Trump's order was the fulfillment of a promise he repeatedly made on the campaign trail and as recently as a few hours before he signed the full pardons. But Trump never gave a hint to the extraordinary scale of the pardons he was envisioning.

Speaking at Capital One Arena on Monday night, Trump said he would be signing pardons for the "J6 hostages."

"Tonight I'm going to be signing on the J6 hostages, pardons, and as soon as I leave, I'm going to the Oval Office, and we'll be signing pardons for a lot of people," Trump said at the post-inauguration rally.

Trump made that remark while he was standing in front of a large group of relatives of Israelis who were taken hostage by Hamas during the militant group's October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

Delay TikTok ban
As he promised the day before retaking office, Trump on Monday signed an executive action that extended the deadline for TikTok's parent company to find a new owner or face a ban in the US.

The action directs the US Justice Department not to enforce the Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which passed with broad bipartisan support in Congress and was signed in April by former President Joe Biden. That law required TikTok be banned in the United States by January 19 unless it sells to a buyer from the United States or one of its allies.

Just before that deadline, TikTok briefly went offline for its 170 million American users. But it later came back online after Trump on Sunday morning promised to find a way to bring it back.

But TikTok's ultimate fate in the US remains in doubt. It's unclear whether TikTok's China-based owner, ByteDance, would want to sell to a buyer, even if it were a deal brokered by Trump.

Trump's action extends TikTok's deadline by 75 days.

Reversing Biden-era orders
Trump rescinded 78 Biden-era executive actions, many of which Joe Biden signed on the first day of his administration. Link: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/initial-rescissions-of-harmful-executive-orders-and-actions/

The revoked policies include: an executive order that required federal agencies to extend prohibitions on sex discrimination to include sexual orientation and gender identity; an order that required executive branch appointees to sign an ethics pledge; an order that allowed transgender people to serve in the US military; and an order that banned the renewal of private prison contracts.

Other Biden-era orders revoked by Trump on Monday included actions that withdrew Cuba's designation as a state sponsor of terror, applied sanctions on Jewish settlers in the West Bank and sought to reduce the risks of artificial intelligence.

Biden only recently removed Cuba from the terror list. The list of revoked orders Trump signed Monday did not specify individual reasons for reversing the Biden moves.

Biden applied the sanctions on certain Jewish settlers accused of fomenting violence in the West Bank in February 2024.

And his 2023 AI order aimed to monitor and regulate the risks of artificial intelligence.

Trump also sought to reverse Biden-era efforts to broaden gender identity designations, including on passports. Another order signed by Trump on Monday requires federal agencies to treat biological men and women as separate sexes, halt promoting "gender ideology" and require certain agencies to revert to recognizing only "male" and "female" on forms.

Immigration
Much of Trump's first-day agenda dealt with immigration, a topic that has long been central to his political identity.

During his inaugural speech, Trump announced he was going to declare a national emergency on the southern border. Trump signed that order in the Oval Office on Monday night, triggering the use of Pentagon resources and personnel that will be deployed and used to build the border wall.

In its opening minutes, the Trump administration ended use of an app that allows migrants to notify US Customs and Border Protection that they intend to enter the United States and enables them to schedule appointments to claim asylum with border authorities.

Trump also signed an order that sought to redefine birthright citizenship, the process through which all people born in the United States are automatically granted American citizenship.

Trump's order prohibits federal agencies from issuing certain documents that would normally be provided to a US citizen, according to a fact sheet obtained by CNN.

The order, which applies to children born after 30 days of the measure, applies in circumstances where parents are unlawfully present in the US, and in situations where the mother is temporarily in the US, like on a visa, and the father is a noncitizen.

The order hinges on the phrase "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" in the 14th Amendment. Some immigration hardliners have argued that children of undocumented immigrants are not "subject to the jurisdiction" of the US and shouldn't be considered citizens under the Constitution.

Legal experts previously told CNN they were skeptical such an argument would fly in court, arguing that the relevant language was aimed at children of foreign diplomats who were subject to US laws, and at situations where a foreign nation has invaded and is occupying part of the country.

Trump allies and officials are keenly aware that the action will likely face legal challenges and eventually land before the Supreme Court.

Trump also signed an action that declared two major drug cartels as terrorist organizations – an act that could preface the use of American military force on Mexican soil.

Trump's initial moves on immigration come as border crossings have been on a steady decline, plummeting last year after Biden took executive action to restrict asylum claims.

Trump enters his second term inheriting a border that is experiencing fewer crossings than it was when he left office.

US withdrawal from WHO
Trump announced Monday he is withdrawing the US from the World Health Organization, a significant move cutting ties with the UN's public health agency.

Trump has long been critical of the WHO, and his administration announced in July 2020 that it would withdraw from the organization as the Covid-19 pandemic continued to spread. Biden ultimately halted that move with his own executive action.

The executive order cites the "organization's mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, and other global health crises, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states," as reasons for the US withdrawal.

"That's a big one," Trump told an aide as he began to sign the executive order, pointing to his 2020 decision and his belief that the US was paying too much money to the organization compared to other countries.

The order also says that the WHO "continues to demand unfairly onerous payments" from the US.

CNN has reached out to the WHO for comment.

Federal workforce
Trump signed an action enacting a hiring freeze for federal government employees through the executive branch.

"As part of this freeze, no Federal civilian position that is vacant at noon on January 20, 2025, may be filled, and no new position may be created except as otherwise provided for in this memorandum or other applicable law," reads a memorandum from the White House. The action exempts positions in the military and "related to immigration enforcement, national security, or public safety."

The action directs the director of the Office of Management and Budget, in consultation with Trump's new Department of Government Efficiency, to submit a plan within 90 days to reduce the size of the federal government's workforce "through efficiency improvements and attrition."

Another action signed by Trump on Monday requires all federal departments and agencies to "take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis, provided that the department and agency heads shall make exemptions they deem necessary."

Trump also signed an executive order aimed at giving him more control over the federal workforce.

The new order revives an executive order Trump signed shortly before the 2020 election to create a category for federal employees involved in policy – known as Schedule F – that would make those workers easier to fire. Biden had quickly reversed that order and then last year finalized a new rule that further bolstered protections for career federal workers. However, Trump's latest executive order directs the Office of Personnel Management to rescind any changes made by the rule that would impede or affect the implementation of Trump's 2020 directive.

Like the 2020 executive order, Trump's new directive is expected to swiftly wind up in co�urt. Traditionally, undoing or revising a rule requires a new rule, a process that can take months, and cannot be done by executive order, experts said.

Trump also formally established the new Department of Government Efficiency as an entity within the federal government in an executive action.

The order temporarily renames the United States Digital Service as the United States DOGE Service for 18 months and directs the entity to overhaul the software used at federal agencies as part of a "Software Modernization Initiative" in order to "maximize governmental efficiency and productivity." However, the executive order does not include references to slashing the federal budget, workforce or regulations, which Trump touted were DOGE's prime directives when he announced the initiative in November. Further executive orders could still address those objectives.

Making DOGE a part of the executive branch is a new development in recent days, according to two sources familiar with the DOGE plans. The move raises questions about how Elon Musk, who had been tapped to lead DOGE and whose companies have billions of dollars in federal contracts, will fit into the structure.

Broad internal investigations into Biden administration
Hours after taking office, Trump issued two executive orders directing his Department of Justice and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to open broad investigations into Biden administration "censorship of free speech" or "weaponization" of law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

Taken together, the two executive orders reflect Trump's repeated promise during his campaign to go after what he viewed as improper Biden administration efforts to criminally pursue his allies or other conservatives. But Trump himself has pledged to seek retribution on his own political opponents – and his pick for some top administration jobs signals that he plans to keep that a priority.

"The American people have witnessed the previous administration engage in a systematic campaign against its perceived political opponents, weaponizing the legal force of numerous Federal law enforcement agencies and the Intelligence Community against those perceived political opponents in the form of investigations, prosecutions, civil enforcement actions, and other related actions," one of the executive orders read.

The president also signed an executive order Monday revoking the security clearance of 51 former intelligence officials who signed a 2020 letter arguing that emails from a laptop belonging to Hunter Biden carried "all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation" and that of his former national security adviser John Bolton.

Many of the former officials are long retired and no longer hold active clearances — meaning that the move may have limited practical impact on their careers — but the order nevertheless suggests that Trump intends to act on threats he's made to penalize national security and intelligence professionals whom he deems to be his enemies.

In the four years since the letter was written, its authors have become a key target for Republican lawmakers and Trump's allies. Bolton, meanwhile, has drawn Trump's ire for a memoir about his time at the National Security Council that was deeply critical of the president.

CNN has reached out to Bolton for comment.

Renaming US landmarks
Trump took executive action Monday on the names of US landmarks – including renaming Denali and the Gulf of Mexico – a move that his White House said will "honor American greatness."

"It is in the national interest to promote the extraordinary heritage of our Nation and ensure future generations of American citizens celebrate the legacy of our American heroes," the executive order says.

The order specifically calls for the renaming of the nation's highest peak, Alaska's Denali, which then-President Barack Obama renamed in 2015 from Mount McKinley as a nod to the region's native population.

The order calls Obama's decision "an affront to President McKinley's life, his achievements, and his sacrifice." Drawing parallels to Trump, the order notes that McKinley "championed tariffs" and was assassinated "in an attack on our Nation's values and our success."

It also calls on the secretary of the interior to "work with Alaska Native entities and state and local organizations to adopt names for landmarks to honor the history and culture of the Alaskan people."

And in a nod to the Gulf of Mexico's contributions to the US economy, Trump is "directing that it officially be renamed the Gulf of America." The executive order calls for all federal government maps and documents to "reflect its renaming."

The order also takes aim at existing members of the US Board on Geographic Names, which falls under the US Geological Survey and establishes uniform names around geographic features, directing government agency heads to name members to the existing to review the board's existing members, and to "consider replacing those appointees."

Environment and energy
Trump on Monday signed an action withdrawing the US again from the Paris climate accord, the emission-lowering agreement that predates his first term in which nearly 200 nations pledged to keep global warming below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and, if possible, below 1.5 degrees.

Trump pulled out of the agreement during his first term, and one of Biden's first actions as president was rejoining it. Trump said Monday he would be withdrawing from the agreement, which he called "one-sided," yet again.

Trump vowed in his inaugural speech to declare a "national energy emergency," and streamline environmental permitting and review processes that his administration says "impose undue burdens on energy production and use."

His remarks come in spite of the fact that the US is currently producing more oil than any other country in the history of the world.

Now, when you have a change of government it's quite common that the new government will want to undo (some of) the policies of their opopnents. However, the US seems kind of unique among democracies in how it flip-flops through executive orders of the President (in parliamentary systems you would have to amend/repeal laws through parliament process which is often more difficult and may require more compromise).

Especially with joining/leaving international agreements I think it can seriously harm trust in the US as a reliable member of those structures. "We're in!" "We're out!" "We're in again!"

[HVC]

This was not the new gulf war I imagined

[celedhring]

Overview of Day 1 Executive Orders:

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/20/politics/executive-actions-trump-day-1/index.html

January 6 pardons, commutations
One of the first acts Trump announced during his second term was a pardon for most of those who have been charged in the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.

In the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said his pardons would cover "approximately 1,500 for a pardon – full pardon."

Prosecutors charged more than 1,580 people for alleged January 6-related actions and secured roughly 1,270 convictions. That means Trump said nearly everyone who has been charged with a crime related to the attack will be pardoned, essentially ending all January 6 cases.

Fourteen people, including high profile leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers who were convicted for their roles in the attack, had their sentences commuted to time served.

Trump's order was the fulfillment of a promise he repeatedly made on the campaign trail and as recently as a few hours before he signed the full pardons. But Trump never gave a hint to the extraordinary scale of the pardons he was envisioning.

Speaking at Capital One Arena on Monday night, Trump said he would be signing pardons for the "J6 hostages."

"Tonight I'm going to be signing on the J6 hostages, pardons, and as soon as I leave, I'm going to the Oval Office, and we'll be signing pardons for a lot of people," Trump said at the post-inauguration rally.

Trump made that remark while he was standing in front of a large group of relatives of Israelis who were taken hostage by Hamas during the militant group's October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

Delay TikTok ban
As he promised the day before retaking office, Trump on Monday signed an executive action that extended the deadline for TikTok's parent company to find a new owner or face a ban in the US.

The action directs the US Justice Department not to enforce the Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which passed with broad bipartisan support in Congress and was signed in April by former President Joe Biden. That law required TikTok be banned in the United States by January 19 unless it sells to a buyer from the United States or one of its allies.

Just before that deadline, TikTok briefly went offline for its 170 million American users. But it later came back online after Trump on Sunday morning promised to find a way to bring it back.

But TikTok's ultimate fate in the US remains in doubt. It's unclear whether TikTok's China-based owner, ByteDance, would want to sell to a buyer, even if it were a deal brokered by Trump.

Trump's action extends TikTok's deadline by 75 days.

Reversing Biden-era orders
Trump rescinded 78 Biden-era executive actions, many of which Joe Biden signed on the first day of his administration. Link: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/initial-rescissions-of-harmful-executive-orders-and-actions/

The revoked policies include: an executive order that required federal agencies to extend prohibitions on sex discrimination to include sexual orientation and gender identity; an order that required executive branch appointees to sign an ethics pledge; an order that allowed transgender people to serve in the US military; and an order that banned the renewal of private prison contracts.

Other Biden-era orders revoked by Trump on Monday included actions that withdrew Cuba's designation as a state sponsor of terror, applied sanctions on Jewish settlers in the West Bank and sought to reduce the risks of artificial intelligence.

Biden only recently removed Cuba from the terror list. The list of revoked orders Trump signed Monday did not specify individual reasons for reversing the Biden moves.

Biden applied the sanctions on certain Jewish settlers accused of fomenting violence in the West Bank in February 2024.

And his 2023 AI order aimed to monitor and regulate the risks of artificial intelligence.

Trump also sought to reverse Biden-era efforts to broaden gender identity designations, including on passports. Another order signed by Trump on Monday requires federal agencies to treat biological men and women as separate sexes, halt promoting "gender ideology" and require certain agencies to revert to recognizing only "male" and "female" on forms.

Immigration
Much of Trump's first-day agenda dealt with immigration, a topic that has long been central to his political identity.

During his inaugural speech, Trump announced he was going to declare a national emergency on the southern border. Trump signed that order in the Oval Office on Monday night, triggering the use of Pentagon resources and personnel that will be deployed and used to build the border wall.

In its opening minutes, the Trump administration ended use of an app that allows migrants to notify US Customs and Border Protection that they intend to enter the United States and enables them to schedule appointments to claim asylum with border authorities.

Trump also signed an order that sought to redefine birthright citizenship, the process through which all people born in the United States are automatically granted American citizenship.

Trump's order prohibits federal agencies from issuing certain documents that would normally be provided to a US citizen, according to a fact sheet obtained by CNN.

The order, which applies to children born after 30 days of the measure, applies in circumstances where parents are unlawfully present in the US, and in situations where the mother is temporarily in the US, like on a visa, and the father is a noncitizen.

The order hinges on the phrase "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" in the 14th Amendment. Some immigration hardliners have argued that children of undocumented immigrants are not "subject to the jurisdiction" of the US and shouldn't be considered citizens under the Constitution.

Legal experts previously told CNN they were skeptical such an argument would fly in court, arguing that the relevant language was aimed at children of foreign diplomats who were subject to US laws, and at situations where a foreign nation has invaded and is occupying part of the country.

Trump allies and officials are keenly aware that the action will likely face legal challenges and eventually land before the Supreme Court.

Trump also signed an action that declared two major drug cartels as terrorist organizations – an act that could preface the use of American military force on Mexican soil.

Trump's initial moves on immigration come as border crossings have been on a steady decline, plummeting last year after Biden took executive action to restrict asylum claims.

Trump enters his second term inheriting a border that is experiencing fewer crossings than it was when he left office.

US withdrawal from WHO
Trump announced Monday he is withdrawing the US from the World Health Organization, a significant move cutting ties with the UN's public health agency.

Trump has long been critical of the WHO, and his administration announced in July 2020 that it would withdraw from the organization as the Covid-19 pandemic continued to spread. Biden ultimately halted that move with his own executive action.

The executive order cites the "organization's mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, and other global health crises, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states," as reasons for the US withdrawal.

"That's a big one," Trump told an aide as he began to sign the executive order, pointing to his 2020 decision and his belief that the US was paying too much money to the organization compared to other countries.

The order also says that the WHO "continues to demand unfairly onerous payments" from the US.

CNN has reached out to the WHO for comment.

Federal workforce
Trump signed an action enacting a hiring freeze for federal government employees through the executive branch.

"As part of this freeze, no Federal civilian position that is vacant at noon on January 20, 2025, may be filled, and no new position may be created except as otherwise provided for in this memorandum or other applicable law," reads a memorandum from the White House. The action exempts positions in the military and "related to immigration enforcement, national security, or public safety."

The action directs the director of the Office of Management and Budget, in consultation with Trump's new Department of Government Efficiency, to submit a plan within 90 days to reduce the size of the federal government's workforce "through efficiency improvements and attrition."

Another action signed by Trump on Monday requires all federal departments and agencies to "take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis, provided that the department and agency heads shall make exemptions they deem necessary."

Trump also signed an executive order aimed at giving him more control over the federal workforce.

The new order revives an executive order Trump signed shortly before the 2020 election to create a category for federal employees involved in policy – known as Schedule F – that would make those workers easier to fire. Biden had quickly reversed that order and then last year finalized a new rule that further bolstered protections for career federal workers. However, Trump's latest executive order directs the Office of Personnel Management to rescind any changes made by the rule that would impede or affect the implementation of Trump's 2020 directive.

Like the 2020 executive order, Trump's new directive is expected to swiftly wind up in co�urt. Traditionally, undoing or revising a rule requires a new rule, a process that can take months, and cannot be done by executive order, experts said.

Trump also formally established the new Department of Government Efficiency as an entity within the federal government in an executive action.

The order temporarily renames the United States Digital Service as the United States DOGE Service for 18 months and directs the entity to overhaul the software used at federal agencies as part of a "Software Modernization Initiative" in order to "maximize governmental efficiency and productivity." However, the executive order does not include references to slashing the federal budget, workforce or regulations, which Trump touted were DOGE's prime directives when he announced the initiative in November. Further executive orders could still address those objectives.

Making DOGE a part of the executive branch is a new development in recent days, according to two sources familiar with the DOGE plans. The move raises questions about how Elon Musk, who had been tapped to lead DOGE and whose companies have billions of dollars in federal contracts, will fit into the structure.

Broad internal investigations into Biden administration
Hours after taking office, Trump issued two executive orders directing his Department of Justice and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to open broad investigations into Biden administration "censorship of free speech" or "weaponization" of law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

Taken together, the two executive orders reflect Trump's repeated promise during his campaign to go after what he viewed as improper Biden administration efforts to criminally pursue his allies or other conservatives. But Trump himself has pledged to seek retribution on his own political opponents – and his pick for some top administration jobs signals that he plans to keep that a priority.

"The American people have witnessed the previous administration engage in a systematic campaign against its perceived political opponents, weaponizing the legal force of numerous Federal law enforcement agencies and the Intelligence Community against those perceived political opponents in the form of investigations, prosecutions, civil enforcement actions, and other related actions," one of the executive orders read.

The president also signed an executive order Monday revoking the security clearance of 51 former intelligence officials who signed a 2020 letter arguing that emails from a laptop belonging to Hunter Biden carried "all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation" and that of his former national security adviser John Bolton.

Many of the former officials are long retired and no longer hold active clearances — meaning that the move may have limited practical impact on their careers — but the order nevertheless suggests that Trump intends to act on threats he's made to penalize national security and intelligence professionals whom he deems to be his enemies.

In the four years since the letter was written, its authors have become a key target for Republican lawmakers and Trump's allies. Bolton, meanwhile, has drawn Trump's ire for a memoir about his time at the National Security Council that was deeply critical of the president.

CNN has reached out to Bolton for comment.

Renaming US landmarks
Trump took executive action Monday on the names of US landmarks – including renaming Denali and the Gulf of Mexico – a move that his White House said will "honor American greatness."

"It is in the national interest to promote the extraordinary heritage of our Nation and ensure future generations of American citizens celebrate the legacy of our American heroes," the executive order says.

The order specifically calls for the renaming of the nation's highest peak, Alaska's Denali, which then-President Barack Obama renamed in 2015 from Mount McKinley as a nod to the region's native population.

The order calls Obama's decision "an affront to President McKinley's life, his achievements, and his sacrifice." Drawing parallels to Trump, the order notes that McKinley "championed tariffs" and was assassinated "in an attack on our Nation's values and our success."

It also calls on the secretary of the interior to "work with Alaska Native entities and state and local organizations to adopt names for landmarks to honor the history and culture of the Alaskan people."

And in a nod to the Gulf of Mexico's contributions to the US economy, Trump is "directing that it officially be renamed the Gulf of America." The executive order calls for all federal government maps and documents to "reflect its renaming."

The order also takes aim at existing members of the US Board on Geographic Names, which falls under the US Geological Survey and establishes uniform names around geographic features, directing government agency heads to name members to the existing to review the board's existing members, and to "consider replacing those appointees."

Environment and energy
Trump on Monday signed an action withdrawing the US again from the Paris climate accord, the emission-lowering agreement that predates his first term in which nearly 200 nations pledged to keep global warming below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and, if possible, below 1.5 degrees.

Trump pulled out of the agreement during his first term, and one of Biden's first actions as president was rejoining it. Trump said Monday he would be withdrawing from the agreement, which he called "one-sided," yet again.

Trump vowed in his inaugural speech to declare a "national energy emergency," and streamline environmental permitting and review processes that his administration says "impose undue burdens on energy production and use."

His remarks come in spite of the fact that the US is currently producing more oil than any other country in the history of the world.

Now, when you have a change of government it's quite common that the new government will want to undo (some of) the policies of their opopnents. However, the US seems kind of unique among democracies in how it flip-flops through executive orders of the President (in parliamentary systems you would have to amend/repeal laws through parliament process which is often more difficult and may require more compromise).

Especially with joining/leaving international agreements I think it can seriously harm trust in the US as a reliable member of those structures. "We're in!" "We're out!" "We're in again!"

Yeah, most of this stuff would require parlamentary action over here. Foreign treaties of any kind - including our BRICS Paris/WHO membership - are codified into law.

But the US seems to be going through an executive takeover phase. Probably in part because of party politics breaking down and the executive having to plug in the gaps - with the result that changes in the executive bring complete 180º in a lot of policy.