Overview: In his first year back in the White House, Donald Trump pushed executive orders that rolled back DEI initiatives and protections for transgender youth while using racially and ethnically charged rhetoric in public remarks. His January directives prompted institutional changes across government and the private sector, and his language has amplified divisions affecting migrants, minority communities and the press. Critics warn these combined actions could have long-term legal and social consequences.
Donald Trump In His Own Words: A Year Marked By Policy Rollbacks And Racially Charged Rhetoric
Donald Trump insults a female reporter onboard Air Force One on 14 November 2025.Photograph: Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images
In the first year of his second presidential term, Donald Trump combined sweeping executive actions with repeated inflammatory language that critics say has deepened divisions and threatened civil-rights protections. This revised article summarizes key policies and quotes from the past year, and places them in context for readers concerned about the effects on migrants, people of color, transgender youth and the press.
Policy Moves And Their Impact
Within days of returning to the White House, the administration issued executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and rescinding affirmative-action practices across federal agencies and many private-sector contracts. One directive banned gender-affirming care for people under 19, producing urgent distress among families and health providers trying to maintain continuity of care for transgender youth. Another order instructed Vice-President J.D. Vance to block federal funding for Smithsonian programs or exhibits that focus on race, a move condemned by historians and museum leaders.
The administration also restored the name Mount McKinley in official use, reversing the recognition of Denali and prompting criticism that it erases Indigenous history and cultural recognition. Large-scale deportation operations have been reported to separate families and strain local communities and advocacy groups that provide legal and humanitarian assistance.
Rhetoric: Selected Quotes
Alongside formal policies, the president repeatedly used racially and ethnically charged language in public remarks, press interactions and on his social platform. Below are representative quotes presented in full, with dates and contexts:
"And we just clean out that whole thing … I don’t know, something has to happen, but it’s literally a demolition site right now. Almost everything’s demolished, and people are dying there, so I’d rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing in a different location where I think they could maybe live in peace for a change."
"Then it’s a group within the FAA — another story — determined that the workforce was too white, that they had concerted efforts to get the administration to change that and to change it immediately. ... But they actually came out with a directive: too white. And we want the people that are competent."
"...Somalia, which is barely a country. They have no, they have no anything. They just run around killing each other. ... I don’t want them in our country. Their country is no good for a reason. Their country stinks and we don’t want them in our country ... Ilhan Omar is garbage. She’s garbage. Her friends are garbage."
"I love this Ilhan Omar, whatever the hell her name is, with the little turban. I love her. She comes in, does nothing but bitch — she’s always complaining. ... She married her brother in order to get in. Therefore, she’s here illegally. She should get the hell out."
"And Schumer is a Palestinian as far as I’m concerned. You know, he’s become a Palestinian. He used to be Jewish. He’s not Jewish any more. He’s a Palestinian."
"Think of that: No death tax. No estate tax. No going to the banks and borrowing from, in some cases, a fine banker — and in some cases, shylocks and bad people."
"I love the smell of deportations in the morning…"
"I’ve also announced a permanent pause on third world migration, including from hellholes like Afghanistan, Haiti, Somalia and many other countries."
"Why is it we only take people from shithole countries, right? Why can’t we have some people from Norway, Sweden, just a few? ... But we always take people from Somalia, places that are a disaster, right? Filthy, dirty, disgusting, ridden with crime."
"She brought her church into the world of politics in a very ungracious way. She was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart ... She is not very good at her job!"
"Quiet. Quiet, piggy."
"It’s not the question that I mind; it’s your attitude. I think you are a terrible reporter. ... You’re a terrible person and a terrible reporter."
These excerpts, paired with policy actions, have prompted widespread condemnation from civil-society groups, journalists and many lawmakers. They illustrate how executive power and public rhetoric have combined to shape policy debates and affect vulnerable communities over the past year.
What To Watch Next
Observers will look to how courts, Congress, state governments and civil-society organizations respond to these policies and statements — including legal challenges to the gender-affirming care ban, funding fights over museum exhibits and oversight of large-scale deportation operations.
