How Trump is likely to wield America’s power around the world
Shawn Thew-Pool/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Donald Trump returned to office as president on Monday, reassuming his duties as commander in chief. His position once again puts him in charge of the world’s most powerful military, which — often at his discretion — can either engage in lethal warfare or act as a deterrent and a force for peace.
How Trump behaved as commander in chief during his first administration may offer a guide for the next four years.
In Monday’s inauguration speech, Trump set the tone for a significant change in U.S. foreign policy that could have seismic implications for America’s friends and foes.
“Our armed forces will be free to focus on their sole mission — defeating America’s enemies,” he said.
His recent comments about taking over the Panama Canal and Greenland — refusing to rule out the use of military force to do so — raised eyebrows, along with referring to neighboring Canada as “the 51st state.” He also signed an executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico as “Gulf of America” on Monday.
“It was an intent to grab that media attention and put himself at the center of the news cycle,” retired Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO, told ABC News. “This unpredictability means that all paths lead back to the Oval Office and his next statement.”
However, Trump’s slogans about making America great and putting America first may soon bump up against his need for the world to see him as a dealmaker. The war in Ukraine has been raging since 2022, but he’s promised to bring it to an end.
“Shortly after I win the presidency, I will have the horrible war between Russia and Ukraine settled,” he said last August. “I’ll get it settled very fast.”
Trump warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that if the war doesn’t end soon, Ukraine could get substantially more aid.
At the same time, he has told Ukraine it won’t receive more U.S. support unless it enters into peace talks. Last week, White House budget director nominee Russell Vought declined during his Senate confirmation hearing to fully commit to doling out $3.8 billion in aid that Congress has already approved.
China’s threats against Taiwan and international shipping may also embolden Trump to show Chinese President Xi Jinping that America believes it has the upper hand militarily.
“He will always defer to a solution that makes him appear strong and in charge,” Lute told ABC News. “So I don’t think that there’s an easy way to simply walk away from a big competition with China.”
The situation at the border between the U.S. and Mexico is also top of mind, with Trump declaring a national emergency in his inaugural address.
“I will end the practice of catch and release and I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country,” he said.
The biggest difference in American foreign policy may be seen in the Middle East, and the war between Israel and Hamas. On Jan. 7, he created a deadline for a Gaza ceasefire deal in exchange for Hamas releasing hostages they took in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
“If the deal isn’t done before I take office, which is now going to be in two weeks … all hell will break out,” he said during a news conference.
Then, last week, the outgoing Biden administration — along with incoming Trump envoys — helped broker a ceasefire and hostage exchange that went into effect on Sunday. However, the agreement is fragile and fraught with pitfalls. In particular, it remains unclear who will govern Gaza if the peace lasts.
The images on the streets betray an uncomfortable reality. It’s still the gunmen of Hamas in charge — a situation unacceptable to the Israeli government. The Trump administration is also unlikely to accept Hamas being in control.
Beyond Gaza, the situation in the Middle East has gone through considerable changes since Trump was last president. Iran, a major power in the region, has seen many of its allies weakened by various conflicts.
Hamas has been left devastated and weakened by months of conflict with Israel. Lebanese political party and armed group Hezbollah — designated as a terror group by the U.S. — is a shadow of its former strength, with its leader Hassan Nasrallah killed in an Israeli strike in September.
Former Syrian President Bashar Assad also fled from his country, his family held power for more than 50 years, after his regime was toppled by a rebel offensive in December.
Amid this new balance of power, Trump wants to normalize diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Such a pact could bring peace and stability in the region — the Biden administration was working to broker this agreement prior to Hamas’ 2023 attack on Israel.
The Trump administration faces immense international challenges — and America going it alone may not be a viable option.
(LONDON) — A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza went into effect on Sunday morning. Hostages held in the strip and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails will be freed in the first phase of the deal.
Meanwhile, the November ceasefire in Lebanon is holding despite ongoing Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah targets, which Israeli officials say are responses to ceasefire violations by the Iranian-backed militant group. Israeli forces also remain active inside the Syrian border region as victorious rebels there build a transitional government.
Tensions remain high between Israel and Iran after tit-for-tat long-range strikes in recent months and threats of further military action from both sides. The IDF and the Yemeni Houthis also continue to exchange attacks.
At least 21 Palestinians injured in West Bank settler violence
At least 21 Palestinians were injured, 11 severely, after dozens of Israeli civilians, some of whom were masked, arrived at the area of Al Funduq, in the West Bank, and “instigated riots, set property on fire and caused damage,” according to the Israel Defense Forces.
Three homes were burned down and five cars were torched as well, the IDF said.
The civilians hurled rocks and attacked the security forces dispatched to the scene, according to the IDF.
Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz, despite freeing settlers who committed the same types of crimes, said he condemns the violence.
Over 1,500 aid trucks entered Gaza on day 1 and 2 of ceasefire, UN says
More than 1,500 trucks with humanitarian aid have entered the Gaza Strip in the first two days of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
That includes more than 630 trucks on Sunday and 915 trucks on Monday, according to OCHA. Of the ones that crossed into Gaza on Sunday, OCHA said at least 300 trucks went to the north, which the U.N. has warned is facing imminent famine.
OCHA cited “information received through engagement with Israeli authorities and the guarantors for the ceasefire agreement.”
“There is no time to lose,” the U.N.’s aid chief, Tom Fletcher, said in a statement Monday. “After 15 months of relentless war, the humanitarian needs are staggering.”
-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor
IDF says riots in the West Bank have dispersed
Israel Defense Forces and Israel Border Police Forces were dispatched to Al Funduq in the West Bank after reports of rioting in the area, the IDF said on Monday.
The alleged incident occurred shortly after Israel’s defense minister released all settlers being detained under administrative detention orders, though it cannot be certain that any of those settlers were involved in the reported riots. ABC News was able to confirm that fires had ignited in that location.
Shortly thereafter, the IDF confirmed that it had successfully dispersed rioters.
There have been no confirmed reports as to the extent of the damage or any injuries. Israeli officials are expected to conduct a formal inquiry in the area tonight.
-ABC News’ William Gretsky
Israeli forces recover body of fallen soldier in Gaza
Israeli forces recovered the body of Oron Shaul, an Israel Defense Forces soldier who was killed in 2014, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the IDF announced Monday.
Shaul was killed during a battle in Gaza on July 30, 2014, and his body had been held by Hamas for the past 10 years, the IDF said.
“The recovery of Staff Sergeant, Oron Shaul’s body, was made possible due to a decade-long ongoing intelligence effort, which intensified during the war,” the IDF wrote in a statement about the operation on Monday.
Netanyahu spoke with Oron Shaul’s mother, Zehava Shaul, after the operation was successfully completed, a statement from his office said.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman and Jordan Miller
Next hostage exchange expected to take place Saturday
Both Israel and Hamas have confirmed the next hostage release will take place on Saturday.
A senior Israeli official confirmed the deal must take place on Jan. 25, as outlined in the ceasefire agreement. Hamas confirmed the date, saying “the second batch of prisoner exchange will take place on the scheduled date.”
Three hostages, all Israeli women, were released on Sunday, while 90 Palestinian prisoners were released from Israel in exchange.
Houthis say attacks on Israeli shipping will continue
Yemen’s Houthi rebels announced that they will limit their attacks in the Red Sea to only Israel-affiliated ships, signaling a temporary easing of their broader assault on commercial vessels.
The decision coincided with the ceasefire and hostage-release deal agreed between Israel and Hamas that went into effect on Sunday.
The announcement was made via an email sent to shipping companies by the Houthi Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center, the Associated Press reported.
Attacks on Israeli-linked vessels will end “upon the full implementation of all phases” of the ceasefire, the Houthis said, adding that attacks on U.S.- or U.K.-linked shipping may resume if the two nations continue airstrikes in Yemen.
The Houthis have targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip started in October 2023, significantly affecting global shipping, particularly through Egypt’s Suez Canal.
The Houthis have also attacked American and allied military shipping in the region, plus launched drone and ballistic missile strikes into Israel.
-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian
10,000 bodies may be under Gaza rubble, Civil Defense says
The Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza said there could be as many as 10,000 bodies buried under rubble all across the strip, as many displaced Gazans try to return to their homes under a nascent ceasefire agreement.
The Civil Defense said in a post to Telegram that 10,000 missing people are believed to be “under the rubble of destroyed homes, buildings and facilities.” They are not counted in the 38,300 fatalities listed by the Civil Defense since Oct. 7, 2023.
The Gaza Ministry of Health — which has separately tracked deaths during the conflict — said on Sunday that 46,913 people had been killed in the Hamas-run territory during the war with Israel.
The Civil Defense said Israeli forces prevented its crews from accessing large areas of the strip during the fighting, “where there are hundreds of bodies” that have not yet been recovered.
The Civil Defense called for the entry of foreign rescue workers “to support us in carrying out our duty to deal with the catastrophic reality left behind by the war, which exceeds the capacity of the civil defense apparatus in the Gaza Strip.”
The organization called on Gazans to assist rescuers “with all necessary capabilities, including rescue, firefighting, and ambulance vehicles and equipment, as well as heavy machinery and equipment that will help us retrieve the bodies of martyrs from under the rubble of thousands of destroyed buildings and homes.”
Freed hostage is ‘happiest girl in the world,’ mother says Mandy Damari, the mother of Emily Damari — who was among the three Israeli captives freed from Gaza on Sunday — released a statement thanking all those involved in her daughter’s release “from the bottom of my heart.”
“Yesterday, I was finally able to give Emily the hug that I have been dreaming of,” Mandy said in a statement shared by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters.
“I am relieved to report that after her release, Emily is doing much better than any of us could ever have anticipated,” she added.
“In Emily’s own words, she is the happiest girl in the world; she has her life back,” Mandy said.
“In this incredibly happy moment for our family, we must also remember that 94 other hostages still remain,” she added. “The ceasefire must continue and every last hostage must be returned to their families.”
-ABC News’ Anna Burd
Red Cross details ‘complex’ hostage release operation
The International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement that Sunday’s operation to collect three freed Israeli hostages from Gaza “was complex, requiring rigorous security measures to minimize the risks to those involved.”
“Navigating large crowds and heightened emotions posed challenges during the transfers and in Gaza, ICRC teams had to manage the dangers posed by unexploded ordnances and destroyed infrastructure,” the ICRC said in a Monday statement.
“More families are waiting anxiously for their loved ones to come home,” ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said. “We call on all parties to continue to adhere to their commitments to ensure the next operations can take place safely.”
The ICRC also stressed that “urgently needed humanitarian assistance must enter Gaza, where civilians have struggled for months to access food, drinkable water and shelter.”
Released Palestinian prisoners arrive in the West Bank amid high tensions
Tensions were high as people waited in Beitunia, in the West Bank, for the arrival of the 90 Palestinian prisoners who were released from Israeli custody just after 1 a.m. local time.
Israeli forces used cars and tear gas to attempt to clear the roads, ABC News reporters on the scene said.
ABC News’ team saw flash bangs where people were gathered waiting for the prisoners’ release.
Israeli Police did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment on the matter.
The prisoners were released from Ofer Prison in Ramallah, West Bank, as a part of the hostage exchange and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
People were seen on top of the buses waving flags and chanting as the prisoners arrived in Beitunia at approximately 1:42 a.m.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman, as well as Tom Soufi Burridge and Hugo Leenhardt in the West Bank
Photos show 3 Israeli former hostages reunited with their mothers
Photos were released by Israeli officials on Sunday showing the three released hostages hugging their mothers as they were reunited.
The images showed former hostages Romi Gonen, 24; Emily Damari, 28; and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, all sharing emotional embraces with their mothers.
(ROME and LONDON) — Pope Francis’ “critical clinical condition” has shown a “slight improvement,” the Vatican said on Monday, as the 88-year-old pontiff remains hospitalized following a pneumonia diagnosis.
“In view of the complexity of the clinical picture, the doctors are still cautious about the prognosis,” the Vatican press office said in a statement.
The office said there were “no episodes of asthmatic respiratory crisis” on Monday, and some laboratory tests “have improved.”
“Oxygen therapy continues, albeit with slightly reduced flows and oxygen percentage,” the office said.
Francis was “resting” on Monday morning after spending his 10th night in the hospital, the Vatican press office said earlier in the day. He resumed some work activities Monday afternoon, the office said.
The pope has been eating normally, is awake and is continuing his medical therapies, Vatican sources told ABC News. He’s also in good humor and isn’t suffering from pain, the sources said.
“Pope Francis thanks all the people of God who have gathered in these days to pray for his health,” the Vatican said.
Francis has been hospitalized at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital since Feb. 14 following a bout with bronchitis.
The pontiff, who has led the Catholic Church since 2013, underwent another round of clinical tests on Sunday morning, Vatican sources told ABC News.
Officials said Sunday he remained in critical condition.
The pontiff was diagnosed with pneumonia on Tuesday, according to the Vatican.
A rosary will be said in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Monday, led by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin. That rosary is seen as a way for the church to express its “closeness to the Pope and the sick,” said the director of the Vatican press office, Matteo Bruni.
President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron wished the pope well during remarks from the White House on Monday.
“We wish him well, we want him to get well,” Trump said when asked about the leaders’ message to the pope. “It’s a very serious situation, but we do want him to get well, if it’s possible.”
“We do think about the pope and we wish him recovery and a prompt recovery,” Macron added.
(BAHAMAS) — Two Americans were injured, one seriously, in a suspected shark attack in the Bahamas, police said.
The two female tourists were swimming in Bimini Bay on Friday around 6:30 p.m. when the incident occurred, the Royal Bahamas Police Force said over the weekend.
“Initial reports indicate that the victims, both U.S.A. residents, sustained injuries while swimming in the waters at Bimini Bay,” police said.
Both women sustained injuries to their lower bodies, with one of the victims injured seriously, police said.
They both were initially treated at a local clinic before being airlifted to New Providence for further medical attention, police said.
Both have since returned to the U.S., Bahamian officials said Monday.
One of the victims will require a third surgery to repair the damage to her leg, her family told ABC News. She will undergo the surgery in the Orlando, Florida, area, her family said.
The incident remains under investigation.
Shark attacks are exceedingly rare. There were 69 unprovoked shark bites recorded around the world in 2023, according to the most recent yearly research conducted by the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File.
Of those, one of them occurred in the Bahamas and was deadly, according to the report. In that incident, a 44-year-old woman from Massachusetts was killed by a shark while paddleboarding near the back of the Sandals resort, according to the Royal Bahamas Police Force.
ABC News’ Anselm Gibbs and Alondra Valle contributed to this report.
