Control of speech and the media 

• Ended taxpayer funding for NPR/PBS, calling it ‘biased'
• White House barred AP, Reuters from press briefings, favoring pro‑Trump outlets
• Sustained daily attacks on mainstream media as 'fake news' on social platforms
• Threat of prosecutions and legal actions against journalists and outlets
• Restructured Pentagon and FCC press access to promote friendly media
• A funding freeze and purge of Voice of America and other USAGM outlets
• Foreign students detained and threatened with deportation over political speech supporting Palestine

Undermining public trust in facts and institutions 

• Revoked Biden-era AI regulations citing 'ideological bias'
• Withdrew from WHO, claiming it was 'anti‑American'
• Regular dismissal of court rulings and data as 'politically tainted'
• Overhauled how Smithsonian and national history are presented
• Redefined 'official language' and erased non-English support
• Scuttled DEIA programs to recast equity efforts as ideological bias
• Declassified JFK, RFK, MLK files to foster conspiracy skepticism

Populist anti-elite rhetoric 

• EO banning DEIA framed as fighting a 'woke' federal elite
• EO ending public media funding attacked ‘biased’ outlets as elite indoctrination
• Framed foreign aid freeze as protecting 'working‑class Americans' first
• EO restricting K‑12 'indoctrination' labeled gender theory as elite propaganda
• Repeated brand of 'America First' to dismiss international and bureaucratic elites
• Targeted federal universities with funding threats, portraying them as elite leftist bastions

Subtle electoral manipulation 

• Encouraged ICE courthouse arrests to suppress or intimidate potential voters
• Flooded courts with emergency applications to enforce bans affecting voter demographics
• Ordered CPS funding cuts for campuses deemed ‘hostile environments,’ including potential electoral impact
• Directed DHS to list sanctuary jurisdictions, signaling federal coercion
• Trump dismantled the FBI’s election-security task forces and fired the head of NSA/Cyber Command responsible for countering foreign interference.

Politicization of civil service 

• Reclassified policy staff as at‑will, enabling mass firings
• Requiring job applicants to write essays pledging loyalty to Trump’s agenda
• Issuing memos and OPM rules enabling removal of nonpartisan staff
• Dismissal of 17 inspectors general on Jan 20–21, weakening independent oversight
• Sending loyalty‑screening teams to vet intelligence and law enforcement candidates
• Formerly protected civil servants now face at‑will status under new budget/reform plans
• Project 2025 blueprint supports replacing merit-based hires with Trump loyalists
• Trump fires DOJ officials who worked on his case

Decree-based governance 

• Issued most executive orders of any president in first 100 days, many deemed unconstitutional
• Declared immigration crisis, deployed troops to the border, and ordered COVID‑vaccine refuser re‑instatements in the military—raising separation-of-powers and militarization concerns
• Multiple EOs centralizing control over federal agencies (‘Department of Government Efficiency’)
• Fact‑sheets and memos directing agencies to halt NGO funding without legislative input
• Mandated freeze of agency funds via informal OMB deferrals, bypassing congressional appropriation

Undermining scientific or legal norms 

• ‘Gold Standard Science’ EO politicizes federal research integrity
• NIH grant cuts (~$12 billion) paused, denied, and partially reinstated after court intervention
• NSF restructuring and funding halts jeopardizing basic research and scientific independence
• Deletions of open-access data and purge of numerous agency scientific sites
• Hiring conspiracy theorists (e.g., RFK Jr., climate denialists) to head science agencies
• Blocking federal grants to public universities (e.g., Princeton DOE grants)

Centralization of executive power 

• EOs placing independent agencies under White House supervision via OMB/OIRA review
• Freezing $30 billion in agency funds to exert executive budget control
• Ordering all regulatory actions be reviewed by the president before going public
• Empowering DOGE, OMB, and Executive Office to oversee agency spending and staffing
• Project 2025 support for unitary executive theory and removing limits on presidential reach

State surveillance of the populace 

• Promotion of facial recognition, drones, geofence warrants at military parade for protest surveillance
• Brennan Center reports social-media screening of 33 million visa-applicants for surveillance
• Rapid expansion of digital dragnet monitoring protests and immigrant communities
• ICE courthouse arrests with guidance possibly used to identify and track undocumented individuals
• Creating lists of sanctuary jurisdictions for potential increased data-sharing and monitoring
• ICE signed a $30 million contract with Palantir in April for ImmigrationOS, using its platform to track migrant movements in real time—raising alarms over digital deportation tools.

Selective law enforcement 

• Pardons issued for J6 protesters and other Trump supporters
• ICE arrests of non-criminal immigrants increased by 800%, targeting workplaces and courthouses
• Federal targeting of sanctuary jurisdictions via transport-funding conditions
• Justice Dept. investigations ordered into local Democratic officials (e.g., Mayor Adams case)
• Granting broad immunity for workplace raids in lower courts despite legal pushback

Manipulation of courts and emergency powers 

• Filed 19 emergency SCOTUS petitions; won fast-tracked decisions on immigration and workforce
• Injected emergency tariff powers under IEEPA—battle ongoing in appeals court
• Pressed emergency authority to deny birthright citizenship; Supreme Court review pending
• Invoked emergency economic powers for sweeping tariffs on allies despite court challenges
• Frequent use of legal injunctions to uphold bans via emergency filings: passports, workforce rules etc.
• Carried aggressive emergency enforcement tactics even as courts questioned legality
• Immigration courts dismiss charges against immigrants so they can be arrested when leavinb court

Aggressive executive moves overriding democratic norms 

• Deployed National Guard and Marines to LA for protest control, bypassing governor: appealed by court
• Restored Trump's power to freeze or redirect federal grants without Congress input, e.g., FEMA/transport aid
• Ordered Justice Dept. to drop charges against political adversaries (e.g., Mayor Adams)
• Reinstituted ‘Schedule F’ and inspector-general firings—midnight purge of oversight officials
• Extended TikTok enforcement delays unilaterally via EO bypassing judicial process
• White House issued memos threatening legal action against protestors and law firms invoking free speech crackdowns
• Public pardons of political allies to influence future civil disobedience norms (Jan 6)

Crony capitalism and kleptocracy 

• He launched the $TRUMP memecoin that netted him hundreds of millions personally.
• Trump accepted a $400 million luxury Boeing 747 jet from Qatar
• His administration arranged multi‑million‑dollar investments in his crypto ventures from foreign-linked entities like Binance and Abu Dhabi firms.
• The SEC and DOJ were weakened, coinciding with crypto-friendly policies benefiting his personal holdings.
• President Trump funneled wealthy crypto investors to his properties—like a $148 million dinner event—blurring public office and personal profit.
• He facilitated deals for allies like Elon Musk and Starlink, linking public infrastructure projects to private beneficiaries.
• Trump’s hotels, golf clubs, and Mar‑a‑Lago saw spikes in use by foreign and domestic officials, generating untaxed income.
• No blind trust: Trump’s children control his asset trust, while he remains involved in ventures like Truth Social and licensing deals.
• Pardoned Trump fundraiser Imaad Zuberi following campaign donations: quid‑pro‑quo optics
• Extended tariffs benefiting specific domestic industries tied to political allies
• ICE funding increases proposed benefiting private prison and detention contractors
• Threatened gutting MSHA and other agencies that regulate campaign‑donating industries
• Proposed large tax‑cut and tariff packages boosting donors tied to GOP donors
• Redirected foreign aid and grants to politically loyal projects / jurisdictions
• Trump allows US Steel takeover after Nippon Steel grants government 'golden share'

Creation of paramilitary answerable to the ruling party 

Deployment of police/paramilitary/military against the populace 

• Deployed National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles to suppress immigration protests, bypassing state governor’s authority
• Sent federal law enforcement officers into cities (e.g., Minneapolis, Chicago) to crack down on demonstrations without local approval

Legal dismantling of opposition capabilities 

• Used DOJ to investigate Democratic mayors and local officials (e.g., in New York)

Control over all branches of government 

• Reinstated Schedule F and fired inspectors general to undermine independent oversight
• Issued EOs placing independent agencies under centralized OMB/OIRA control
• Repeatedly invoked emergency authority to supersede Congressional and judicial checks (e.g., tariffs, immigration decrees)

Arbitrary Arrests and Detentions 

• ICE operated facilities hold thousands of immigrants and foreigners without representation and in squalid conditions
• Trump officials revived plans to expand tent cities at military bases to detain families and unaccompanied minors.
• Whistleblowers reported children were denied medical care and adequate food at the Texas Border Guard Processing Center.
• Protesters and immigrant detainees were photographed behind concertina wire in desert staging camps without court access.
• The administration reactivated parts of Guantánamo Bay for long-term migrant holding, violating prior congressional restrictions.
• Conditions in several makeshift detention zones were likened to internment camps by rights monitors and lawmakers.
• Immigrants, many legal and without criminal record, among those deported to prison camps in El Salvador

Prison camps 

• Deported immigrants to a high-security prison in El Salvador

Political Assassinations 

• Two democratic legislators were shot in Minnesota, but it was not the work of the admin

State terror tactics (torture, disappearances)