New Delhi: President Donald Trump marked the first anniversary of his second term on Tuesday, using a thick stack of documents and a pile of mugshots to visually “drop the mic” on his critics. The White House briefing room was transformed into a stage as the President aggressively defended his record on the economy and immigration while signalling a new diplomatic push in South America.
The “thud” heard round the briefing room
The most striking moment of the press conference came when Trump hoisted a massive stack of papers labelled “Accomplishments” in bold text. Declaring, “It’s big stuff too. We have the hottest country in the world,” he unceremoniously dropped the pile onto the floor, where it landed with a heavy, audible thud.
The President didn’t stop there. As he spoke about border enforcement, he rifled through a separate mountain of mugshots and documents, tossing a large binder clip and piles of photos of alleged criminals onto the floor. Sensing a lull in the room, he quipped to the press corps, “You’re not getting bored with this, right?” before telling them they were lucky he had only gone through about 100 of the “vicious” profiles he had prepared.
Economic “boom” and PR frustrations
Trump painted a picture of an American economy in overdrive, claiming his administration had successfully extinguished the inflation “mess” he inherited from Joe Biden. Key economic highlights included:
GDP Growth: Trump asserted that fourth-quarter growth is on track to surpass 5 per cent
Manufacturing Renaissance: He credited his tariff policies for the construction of thousands of new factories, citing record investment commitments from tech and auto giants like Apple, NVIDIA, Ford, General Motors, and Hyundai.
Market Highs: He pointed to record-breaking stock markets and rising real incomes as proof of his success.
Despite the optimistic data, Trump expressed frustration that his message wasn’t reaching the public. “Maybe I have bad public relations people, but we’re not getting it across,” he lamented.
Border battles and “paid agitators”
Turning to immigration, the President launched a scathing attack on “open borders” and defended the aggressive deportation tactics of ICE and the Border Patrol. Holding up photos of apprehended individuals, he described them as “vicious criminals” who had been removed under his watch.
He specifically took aim at recent unrest in Minnesota, dismissing those protesting against ICE operations as “paid agitators” rather than organic activists.
A new ally in Venezuela?
In a notable foreign policy shift, Trump signalled a potential alliance with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. Following recent political shifts in the region, Trump told reporters, “We’re talking to her. Maybe we can get her involved in some way. I’d love to be able to do that,” suggesting a renewed US focus on reshaping leadership in Caracas.