The first year of Trump’s second term: peace, record strikes and the designation of the Muslim Brotherhood
On January 20, 2025, Donald Trump entered the White House for the second time, ushering in a year filled with events and positions, some of which have already found their way into the history books.
Donald Trump returned to the presidency a year ago determined to exert a greater impact than during his first term.
After one year, it can be said that the president has fulfilled this promise. Almost every day, the news reported developments that none of his predecessors would have imagined, including during his own first term in office.
Of course, Trump did not limit himself to eye-catching actions on a daily basis; he also oversaw changes that received less attention, yet were equally significant.
For instance, some observers argue that Trump has exceeded the limits of presidential authority in the field of foreign policy.
Historically, presidents have exercised broad powers abroad, and Congress has often failed to monitor them when entering conflicts. But Trump went even further, according to the British newspaper The Independent.
Former Republican congresswoman Barbara Comstock told The Independent: “For example, in Venezuela, he did not notify the ‘Gang of Eight’”, the group of lawmakers traditionally briefed before military operations.
In addition to the operation in Venezuela, which led to the arrest of former leader Nicolás Maduro, Trump authorized military operations in Iran, Yemen, Syria and Nigeria.
The Trump administration carried out several deadly air strikes on boats suspected of transporting drugs in the Caribbean region, which critics described as illegal, while at the same time issuing unprecedented threats to annex allies such as Greenland and Canada.
During the first year of Donald Trump’s current term, the U.S. military conducted a number of air strikes comparable to those carried out during the entire presidency of Joe Biden, according to a tally by the non-governmental organization Acled.
According to the organization, the total number of strikes carried out since Trump began his second term on January 20, 2025, reached 672 air strikes, including drone attacks, compared with 694 during Joe Biden’s entire presidency from 2021 to 2025.
Peace efforts
Trump began his second term by promising to end Russia’s war against Ukraine within one day. However, a year later, the conflict continues despite repeated peace talks mediated by the United States and significant efforts made by the president himself.
Nevertheless, Trump boasts of having ended eight wars since returning to office and said: “I can’t think of anyone in history who deserves the Nobel Prize more than I do”.
Among these conflicts is the war in the Gaza Strip, where a U.S. plan led to a ceasefire and to stages currently being implemented to prevent a resumption of fighting. The president’s mediation also succeeded, a few months ago, in putting an end to a heated confrontation between India and Pakistan.
Among the wars that Trump claims to have halted are those between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Serbia and Kosovo, and between Israel and Iran.
Designation of the Muslim Brotherhood
Last week, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump decided to designate branches of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon as terrorist organizations and to impose sanctions on them and on their members.
The U.S. Departments of the Treasury and State announced on Tuesday measures against the branches of the Muslim Brotherhood in Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt, saying they pose a threat to the United States and to American interests.
The State Department designated the Lebanese branch of the Brotherhood as a “foreign terrorist organization”, the most severe classification, making any material support a criminal offense.
The Treasury Department also listed the Jordanian and Egyptian branches among “specially designated global terrorist organizations” for their support of Hamas.
