A year in images: Donald Trump’s return to the White House 

On January 20, 2025, Donald Trump announced that, during his second term as president, the United States would enter a new "golden age".

A year has passed since he made that pledge on the podium of his inauguration ceremony. And, as his speech foretold, "a tide of change" has indeed swept the country.

Since returning to office, Trump has signed 228 executive orders, issued more than 1,740 acts of clemency, and authorised attacks in seven foreign countries, including Iraq, Iran, Nigeria, Somalia, Yemen, Syria and Venezuela.

His administration has also touted the departure of at least 317,000 federal employees over the past year, as Trump seeks to tailor a "smaller, more efficient federal government".

Presidential historians warn that the consequences of so many dramatic changes, taken at lightning speed, may not be felt for years.

Nor will they necessarily guarantee the preeminence that Trump promises with his slogan, "Make America Great Again".

"This will be considered one of the most consequential presidencies in the history of our country," said historian Mark Updegrove, the president of the LBJ Foundation.

"But there's a major caveat there, and that is: Just because a presidency is consequential does not mean that the president will achieve greatness in history. In this case, the two might be at opposite extremes."

Another historian, Russell Riley of the University of Virginia's Miller Center, warned of the "collateral damage" of so many changes.

"It is always hard to know when deploying the wrecking ball so quickly and extensively whether you are hitting load-bearing walls," Riley said.

"This includes concerns about the basic stability of a political system that has withstood many threats over 200 years, but few this acute."

Read on for an overview of how Trump has transformed the US over the past year, in words and pictures.