Now, both have been pulled into the same orbit — and facts themselves have become harder to find.
Shifting America’s Place in the World
Foreign policy has shifted fast too.
Military aid to Ukraine has slowed dramatically.
The U.S. has withdrawn from the Paris Climate Agreement.
Budgets for humanitarian programs have been slashed. (Carnegie Endowment, Reuters)
Longtime allies in Europe have started planning without American leadership.
Some officials now call it “a strategic realignment” — a polite way of saying they no longer count on the U.S. the way they once did.
Free Speech — or Selective Speech?
Back home, a new executive order targeted foreign students involved in campus protests.
Those accused of promoting “radical ideologies” could face deportation.
“We will find you, and will deport you,” Trump said about foreign students protesting on campus. (NPR)
What counted as “radical” wasn’t clearly defined.
Foreign student visas were revoked and then restored. It’s enough to dissuade the best foreign students from coming to America.
Universities scrambled. Some have fought back in the courts. Many are banding together to gather their common strength.
One Palestinian-American student was detained simply for handing out flyers — no charges, just a warning. (NPR, ADC)
Civil liberties groups have sued, but many students and schools have decided not to take the risk.
The right to protest — the idea that speech shouldn’t be punished by the government — has started to feel a little less certain.
A Country Under Stress
Trump’s first 100 days have been fast, disruptive, and deeply polarizing.
Supporters have celebrated the speed and decisiveness they had long wanted.
Critics have warned that institutions designed to protect fairness and stability — courts, independent agencies, even elections — have been weakened.
“The systems are still standing. But the glue—the norms, the assumptions, the trust—that’s been dissolved.” (Brookings)
The Coming Weeks
The coming weeks will be defining.
Will judges be attacked — or even jailed — for rulings the president doesn’t like?