Donald Trump’s second presidency: 10 things he will change
Donald Trump is back in the White House, but his second term will not be like last time. Here’s what he will do differently.
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A lot has happened in the eight years since Donald Trump was first elected President.
While some things will never change (we suspect you’d have to pry the caps lock key out of his cold, dead hands), the Donald Trump of 2025 is not the same man who sauntered in to take over from Barack Obama.
Here are 10 ways Mr Trump’s final stint as leader will differ from his first:
He has immunity
Mr Trump’s four years out of office were dominated by an unprecedented slate of criminal investigations into his conduct, resulting in federal charges over his effort to overturn his 2020 defeat and his mishandling of classified files.
But those cases never went to trial. Instead, his appeals ultimately prompted a Supreme Court order providing blanket immunity to presidents for their official acts.
That ruling now gives Mr Trump legal cover that he and his predecessors never enjoyed.
Position on abortion
The “pro life” Donald Trump who appointed the Supreme Court Justices who overturned Roe vs Wade – the landmark case which enshrined a woman’s right to an abortion – has softened.
In 2016, Mr Trump stated there should be “some form of punishment” for women who sought abortions.
Now, he says he is content with allowing states to make their own decisions on abortion restrictions and he will “not support a federal abortion ban, under any circumstances, and would, in fact, veto it”.
Social media use
In the final days of his last term, Mr Trump was booted off social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook, SnapChat and Twitter for allegedly inciting the January 6 riot at the US Capitol by insisting President Joe Biden had stolen the election.
“We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said at the time.
This time around, Mr Trump’s social media presence has never been greater.
Not only did he launch his own platform, Truth Social, in 2022, but his “permanent ban” on the now renamed X was overturned by new platform owner and “First Buddy” Elon Musk.
Mr Zuckerberg has changed his tune too, meeting with Mr Trump shortly after his election victory at Mar-a-Lago.
Earlier this month, Mr Zuckerberg announced a widespread relaxation to content moderation on his platforms in a nod to conservatives which he said feels “like a cultural tipping point towards once again prioritising speech”.
Cabinet picks
While Mr Trump played it relatively safe during his first term by selecting mostly traditional Republicans, this time his cabinet will be much more varied, with loyalty a key requirement.
“In the first administration, he surrounded himself with more conservative thinkers, and the results showed we were mostly rowing in the same direction. This is more eclectic,” Marc Short, chief of staff to Mr Trump’s first Vice President Mike Pence, told AP.
Mr Trump explained to Fox News how he’s now a political veteran walking back into the top job.
“I didn’t know anybody (during my first term). I was not a Washington person,” Mr Trump said.
“I was rarely there. I know everybody (now). I know the good, the strong, the weak, the stupid. I know everybody.”
The Donald and Ivanka Show is over
While Mr Trump’s beloved daughter Ivanka was never far away during his first term, the double act has come to an end.
Ms Trump was a former senior adviser and director of the Office of Economic Initiatives and Entrepreneurship during the 2017-2021 term.
She was seen as a stabilising force on her sometimes exuberant father who helped him identify with his young, female constituents.
Now, however, she’s staying far away.
“Politics is – it’s a pretty dark world. There’s a lot of darkness, a lot of negativity, and it’s just really at odds with what feels good for me as a human being,” Ms Trump told The Lex Fridman Podcast.
“And, you know, it’s a really rough business. So for me and my family, it feels right to not participate.”
Focus on personal health
While Mr Trump is a lifelong teetotaller and non-smoker, those closest to him have ramped up the pressure for him to transform his other unhealthy lifestyle habits.
At 78, Mr Trump will be the same age as Mr Biden is now when he leaves office.
Given his relentless mockery of his political foe’s age, the fast food aficionado could be forced to change his ways in order to stay at the top of his game.
Leading the chorus is Mr Trump’s prospective Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr.
“The stuff that he eats is really, like, bad,” Mr Kennedy told The Joe Polish Show.
“The food that goes onto that airplane (Trump Force One) is like just poison.
“You’re either given KFC or Big Macs.”
His sentiment is shared by close friend, UFC boss Dana White.
“I’ve never seen him drink water. Ever,” Mr White told right-wing broadcaster Tucker Carlson.
“He’s a different animal because I was doing the same thing, minus the Coca-Cola, and I had one foot in the grave – and I’m 55, not 78.”
He has a governing trifecta
Unlike during his last two years in the White House, Mr Trump’s party now controls both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Known as a governing trifecta, which Mr Trump did also enjoy during the early part of his first term, it makes it easier for the President to push through changes.
This will be crucial for him to deliver a sweeping package of border security measures and trillions of dollars in tax cuts this year.
The Elon Effect
Mr Trump’s tech savvy “First Buddy” is moulding the President’s view on a variety of topics.
This includes his shift on H1B visas which are often used to bring highly skilled technology workers from places such as India.
While Mr Trump has previously labelled the visas “unfair” and played into the rhetoric they take jobs from Americans, he told reporters at his New Year’s Eve bash that “we need smart people coming into our country”.
The backflip came after South African-born Mr Musk tweeted: “The reason I’m in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla, and hundreds of other companies that made America strong, is because of H1B.”
While during his first term Mr Trump said he was “not a fan” of Bitcoin, the Republican National Convention recently adopted a platform to “defend the right to mine Bitcoin”.
Mr Musk owns a significant amount of Bitcoin and is a vocal supporter of it.
The President has long had a love-hate relationship with electric cars saying “they don’t go far” but also that he is “a big fan”.
Since Mr Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has come on the scene, Mr Trump appears to have directed his disdain at Chinese-made EVs as opposed to Tesla, which has manufacturing plants in Texas and California.
Golf is on the backburner
It’s no secret the President likes golf – in fact his property portfolio boasts 18 courses across the globe.
According to the Washington Post, Mr Trump played 261 games during his first tenure as President.
But according to a well-placed source on one of his favourite courses, this time his clubs will be gathering dust, partially because of heightened security fears.
“Although many presidents have all played golf while in the White House, he’s telling all his golf buddies that he’s putting away his clubs to focus on the country,” the club source told Page Six.
This is his last hurrah
Regardless of how popular Mr Trump remains by the end of 2028, he cannot run again as the US has a two-term limit for presidents.
While the latter half of his first presidency was characterised by the election campaign he would go on to lose to Mr Biden, this time there will be no such distraction.
Much as Mr Biden has pushed through a raft of last minute measures, including a ban on offshore drilling and commuting death sentences, Mr Trump may also seek to ink his name in the history books.
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Originally published as Donald Trump’s second presidency: 10 things he will change
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