Politics News
President Trump's first-year strides and stumbles
During his tumultuous first year, Donald Trump has flouted convention and transformed the way Americans and their president interact.
Jan. 20, 2017
President Donald Trump waits to step out onto the portico for his Presidential Inauguration at the Capitol.
Jan. 21
Press Secretary Sean Spicer displays a picture of Trump's inauguration at the press briefing room of the White House.
Spicer slammed what he called inaccurate tweets and reporting that suggested the size of the crowd at Trump’s inauguration was smaller than at past occasions.
Jan. 28
Trump is joined by, from left, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, Vice President Mike Pence, senior advisor Steve Bannon, Communications Director Sean Spicer and National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, as he speaks by phone with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office.
Flynn resigned in February after misleading Vice President Pence about conversations he had with the Russian ambassador to the United States.
Sean Spicer resigned in July. Later in the month, Trump removed Priebus and tapped retired Gen. John Kelly for chief of staff.
Bannon left the administration in August.
Feb. 28
Vice President Mike Pence and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan applaud as Trump arrives to deliver his first address to a joint session of Congress.
March 23
Trump sits in the driver's seat of an 18-wheeler while meeting with truck drivers and trucking CEOs on the South Portico at the White House.
Photos: Rigged! President Turns 18-Wheeler Into a Trump Truck
April 7
The guided-missile destroyer USS Porter launches a Tomahawk missile from the Mediterranean Sea.
The United States fired 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at Syria overnight in response to what it believed was a chemical weapons attack that killed more than 100 people.
April 10
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, right, administers the oath to Neil Gorsuch at the White House. Gorsuch replaced Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in February 2016. Gorsuch's wife, Marie, Louise holds a bible.
May 4
Trump celebrates with Congressional Republicans in the Rose Garden of the White House after the House of Representatives approved a plan to repeal major parts of Obamacare and replace it with the Republican healthcare plan.
Repealing the Affordable Care Act has been the GOP's top priority for the better part of a decade, but after spending most of the year working on it, Republicans failed when three of their own in the Senate killed the repeal and replace plan in a dramatic late-night vote.
May 22
Trump visits the Western Wall, one of Judaism's holiest sites, in Jerusalem's Old City.
May 24
Pope Francis poses with Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter, and her husband Jared Kushner during a private audience at the Vatican.
June 11
Trump, first lady Melania Trump and their son Barron arrive at the White House.
Melania Trump had continued living in Trump Tower in New York while Barron Trump, 11, finished the academic year at his New York school. Barron is the first boy to live in the White House since 1963, when John F. Kennedy Jr. was 3 years old.
Aug. 21
Trump, first lady Melania Trump and their son Barron Trump wear protective glasses to view the solar eclipse from the Truman Balcony at the White House.
Americans from coast to coast donned protective glasses and gazed in awe at the first total solar eclipse to cross the nation since 1918. The eclipse carved a narrow “path of totality” through 12 states at 1,500 miles per hour.
Photos: Americans Look to the Skies (With Glasses!) for Solar Eclipse
Aug. 29
Trump holds the state flag of Texas after receiving a briefing on Tropical Storm Harvey relief efforts at a local fire station in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Harvey damaged or destroyed about 200,000 homes as the storm system flooded much of Houston and smaller coastal communities.
Sept. 15
Frank Giaccio of Falls Church, Virginia, is encouraged by Trump while he mows the lawn at the White House. The 11-year-old, who wrote the president requesting to mow the lawn, was so focused on the job he didn't notice the president until he was right next to him.
Oct. 3
Trump throws rolls of paper towels into a crowd of local residents affected by Hurricane Maria as he visits Calgary Chapel in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
It was the president's first visit to the U.S. territory since hurricanes ravaged the island, leaving many without water, food, shelter or basic necessities.
Oct. 3
Workers assemble prototypes in San Diego for Trump's border wall with Mexico.
According to a rendering released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials, Trump’s wall has been envisioned as a multi-faceted barrier that features a concrete stretch facing the U.S. and a non-concrete stretch facing Mexico that would allow officials to see through it.
Oct. 12
Trump holds up an executive order at the White House to loosen restrictions on the Affordable Care Act "to promote healthcare choice and competition."
With Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare stalled, Trump's order could undermine the law without Congress.
Nov. 6
Trump feeds koi fish as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe looks on during a welcoming ceremony in Tokyo.
Dec. 20
Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell acknowledge Republican members of the House and Senate at the conclusion of an event celebrating the passage of a tax bill at the White House.
The tax bill is the first major legislative victory for the GOP-controlled Congress and Trump since he took office almost one year ago.
Jan. 12
Trump shakes hands after signing a proclamation honoring Martin Luther King Jr. in the Roosevelt Room of the White House.
Trump ignored questions about his reported use of vulgar language the day before to describe African nations and Haiti.