The big picture:
State of play: Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony is held at a roofed hall due to freezing cold, as Trump has the ambition to annex Canada and Canada and Greenland to the US, and has expressed interest in the Panama Canal.
Zoom in:
Donald Trump's second inauguration ceremony is held as it has received significant donations from major tech companies like Amazon, Meta, Google, and Microsoft, each pledging $1 million. Other notable donors include Boeing, Hyundai, and Intuit, also contributing $1 million each.
What they say:
Leaders from Denmark, Canada, and other European nations have strongly opposed the idea on an international level, stressing the importance of respecting international borders and sovereignty. Analysts caution that even Trump's rhetoric could strain U.S.-European relations and create unnecessary tensions.
By the numbers: As of 2025, the US national debt has reached unprecedented levels. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that the federal budget deficit for fiscal year 2025 is $1.9 trillion, with the national debt rising to 100% of GDP. Over the next decade, the debt is expected to grow by $23.9 trillion, reaching 118% of GDP by 20352.
Key points:
- Indispensable financial support for Israel, including arming it in the war on Gaza
- Growth in spending for Social Security and Medicare
- Rising net interest costs on the existing debt
- While revenues are projected to increase, they are outpaced by the growth in outlays
Go deeper:
Trump comes back to the Oval Office while having ahead the Israeli war on Gaza, and the Iran-Russia strategic alliance, among other issues to think about how to deal with them.
Iran-Russia strategic alliance bedrock of shift toward new world order
G7 finance chiefs address global economic uncertainty as US debt crisis looms
US debt burden to rise to 202% of GDP in 2051, CBO projects
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