Processing Trump’s unprecedented first year in office, from fake news and crowd sizes to a full-blown probe into collusion

It has been quite a year.

Cast your mind back. A wet January morning 12 months ago, when Donald John Trump, hitherto best known to the world as the host of The Apprentice, was sworn in as America’s 45th president. It did indeed rain, despite what he said, and the crowds were modest, regardless of what he claimed.

Sometimes it feels those events occurred a few months ago; other times, it feels like the White House has always been occupied by this 71-year-old grandfather. Without doubt, his ‘unpresidential’ behaviour, his rhetoric and his actions have dominated the news agenda like no other president’s first year – not even that of George W Bush, whose first 12 months in office saw Al-Qaeda terrorists hijack four civilian airliners, kill 3,000 people and set in place global reverberations still being felt almost two decades later.

Few believed Donald Trump would win, and a year after he entered the Oval Office Democrats are still mourning the defeat of one of their most qualified candidates ever to run. For progressives, much of his first year has been an abhorrence – his attacks on Muslims, his racist language, his refusal to keep America in the Paris Accord, and seemingly infantile use of Twitter.

Yet, while he may have record disapproval ratings, his support among those who voted for him remains solid. And having confirmed Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, secured his Muslim travel ban, cracked down on immigration and passed a huge tax cut, Donald Trump is able to turn to Republicans at the end of last year and say: “I’ve delivered what I promised.”

Over the coming five days, our writers will be examining the US President’s actions and impact during that first year – from his use of social media, to his claims of fake news. We’ll be digging into the federal probe headed by special prosecutor Robert Mueller, which is investigating possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow’s alleged effort to interfere with the election. We’ll be visiting a town in Virginia that voted for him in record numbers in 2016. And we’ll be looking ahead to November’s midterm elections. Democrats believe they’re set to reclaim at least one of the Houses of Congress. Yet the party is itself not yet battle ready. And we’ll be hitting the bars of Capitol Hill to listen to the word on the street.

It has been a fascinating, exhausting and frequently jaw-dropping first 12 months reporting on Donald Trump’s America. Over the same period, The Independent team has added new talents to its team here in New York, and to our reporters in Washington and San Francisco. We hope you’ll continue to join us for his second year. You – and we – really cannot afford to miss a single day.

Andrew Buncombe
US Editor