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Donald Trump marked the first anniversary of his return to power with a surprise news conference in the White House press briefing room that lasted a little under two hours.
The president – who started slowly, but seemed to pick up energy as the spectacle went on – walked reporters through a 36-page list of 365 achievements from his first 12 months, covering securing the border, cutting the size of government and renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America (he joked it should have been called the Gulf of Trump).
Here are five takeaways from his rambling and often repetitive appearance.
He wants to change the narrative on immigration
Trump began by flipping through printed images of what he said were illegal migrants who had been arrested for, or convicted of, crimes and apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
He proceeded painfully slowly, and it felt like a deliberate attempt to recast the narrative about ICE raids back to Trump’s preferred focus – criminals.
Polls show Americans were broadly supportive of Trump’s plans to crack down on illegal migration across the southern border, which many believe had got out of control under Joe Biden. And few will shed a tear for murderers and rapists being sent home.
But there is much less support for raids that target people who are simply in the US unlawfully or lack the right documents; people who might have been here for a long time, who have families, jobs and community connections.
Trump conceded a few non-criminals might be rounded up too. In fact, analysis by The New York Times found that in major enforcement operations in big cities including Los Angeles and Minneapolis, most people detained by ICE had no convictions or even criminal charges pending. That fell to a third for ICE’s regular national operations.
He is still angry about the Nobel Prize
The president knows he should play down his interest in the Nobel Peace Prize, but he can’t help himself. He is perhaps unhealthily aggrieved by being overlooked for last year’s medal – which went to Venezuelan opposition figure Maria Corina Machado, and which he accepted as a gift last week when she visited Washington.
In his speech, Trump again claimed – highly dubiously – to have ended eight wars. “I should have gotten the Nobel Prize for each war,” he said. “But I don’t say that. I saved millions and millions of people.”
The prize is awarded by the independent Norwegian Nobel Committee, which is appointed by the Norwegian parliament. Trump, however, is adamant the prize is decided politically.
“Don’t let anyone tell you that Norway doesn’t control the shots. It’s in Norway. Norway controls the shots. It’s a joke – they’ve lost such prestige,” he said.
He made Renee Good’s death about him
One of the more astounding moments was when Trump spoke about Renee Good, the 37-year-old US citizen shot and killed by an ICE officer in Minneapolis during a protest.
He began by saying ICE could make mistakes, and that he could see “both sides” to the situation – a more nuanced position than most of his administration underlings, who have called Good a “domestic terrorist” and asserted that she had it coming.
But Trump went on to make it all about himself, and imply Good’s death was more tragic because her father was a Trump voter.
“I felt horribly … when I learnt her parents and her father in particular – I hope he still is, but I don’t know – was a tremendous Trump fan,” he said.
“He was all for Trump. Loved Trump. It’s terrible … I hope he still feels that way. It’s a hard situation. But her father, and parents, were tremendous Trump fans. It’s so sad, it just happens, it’s terrible.”
The economy remains a weak spot
Trump came to power promising to use his business acumen to make Americans’ lives easier and cheaper after the post-COVID inflation spike sent prices soaring.
That is easier said than done – although petrol prices are down, as is the cost of eggs, which became a symbol of the cost-of-living crisis.
Inflation is 2.7 per cent – it didn’t explode as some economists predicted on the back of Trump’s tariffs, and is lower than Australia’s 3.4 per cent. Job growth is weak, but the unemployment rate is a solid 4.4 per cent. The stockmarket is at record highs, so people with pension funds should be happy.
Trump believes he has an excellent story to tell on the economy, and it is clear he is frustrated that Americans aren’t giving him credit. He even blamed his media advisers – while standing beside his press secretary.
“We inherited a mess. The numbers that we inherited were way up, and now we brought almost all of them way down. I’m not getting – I mean, maybe I have bad public relations people – but we’re not getting it across.”
He has bigger ambitions for the Board of Peace
Trump announced his plans for a “Board of Peace” to administer Gaza as part of his efforts to end the war between Israel and Hamas. The concept has been endorsed by the United Nations Security Council. But since then, it has become clear he has a larger remit in mind.
Various world leaders have been invited to join the board, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Australia’s Anthony Albanese. Trump wants countries to pay $US1 billion ($1.49 billion) to remain on it permanently.
He was asked on Wednesday whether he wanted the Board of Peace to eventually replace the UN.
“It might,” Trump said. “The UN just hasn’t been very helpful. I’m a big fan of the UN’s potential, but it has never lived up to its potential. The UN should have settled every one of the wars that I settled. I never even thought to go to them.”
But he added: “I believe you’ve got to let the UN continue because the potential is so great.”
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Michael Koziol is the North America correspondent for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Sydney editor, Sun-Herald deputy editor and a federal political reporter in Canberra.Connect via Twitter or email.From our partners
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