President Donald Trump, nearly a year into his second term, has advanced or pursued a set of initiatives that an Associated Press review described as “jaw-dropping promises,” while other ideas have faded or stalled. In a speech in Detroit, Trump said: “I’ve kept all my promises and much more.”
The AP review said Trump’s administration has looked to acquire and retrofit a new Air Force One by taking delivery of a luxury Boeing 747 jet from Qatar. U.S. defense officials accepted the aircraft in May, with the Air Force describing retrofitting work in Texas to meet U.S. security and communications standards, which it estimated at about $400 million. Outside experts estimated the total could approach $1 billion, and the review said completion may not occur until after January 2029.
The review also pointed to a push to annex Greenland. After the U.S. military’s removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Trump renewed calls for the United States to take over the semiautonomous Danish territory, and tapped Gov. Jeff Landry of Louisiana as special U.S. envoy to Greenland. Denmark said it is not ceding Greenland and said any invasion could have geopolitical implications because Denmark is a NATO ally.
Another item the review flagged for movement was an autopen investigation. Trump had criticized President Joe Biden for allegedly relying too much on the autopen to sign presidential pardons, legislation and other documents, while acknowledging other presidents had used the tool as well. In October, a GOP-controlled House committee released a report alleging misuse of the autopen by the Biden administration, and the review said Trump’s Department of Justice is investigating.
On immigration detention, the AP review said Trump has called for reopening an “expanded and rebuilt” Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay to house immigration detainees. The Bureau of Prisons director, William K. Marshall III, toured the island in July, and the bureau announced engineers and planners were developing design concepts, preliminary budgets and logistical models.
The review further described Trump’s efforts related to housing finance, including a social-media post about extending traditional home mortgages from 30 years to 50 years, which it said is intended to ease concerns about housing affordability. Economists told the AP review that the longer repayment period would make it harder to build wealth through home ownership, and the review said the White House pledged to push the change but had made little headway. Instead, the review said Trump’s administration has also looked to reduce mortgage rates by having the federal government buy $200 billion in mortgage bonds.
The AP review also included Trump’s repeated engagement with the idea of seeking a third term, even though the Constitution limits presidents to “more than twice.” The review said Trump acknowledged in October that he is not allowed to run, quoting him as saying, “I would say that if you read it, it’s pretty clear I’m not allowed to run. It’s too bad.” The review said White House chief of staff Susie Wiles told Vanity Fair that Trump “knows he can’t run again,” while Trump later suggested this month there could be “a constitutional movement” to allow it.
The AP review reported that some proposals had faded or produced limited results. It said Trump had talked about making Canada the “51st state,” but that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told Trump during a later White House visit that Canada “won’t be for sale, ever,” and Carney suggested in June that Trump had lost interest. The review also said Trump continued to bring up the idea at least into September before it faded, and it said Trump no longer mentions a proposal to turn Gaza into a “Riviera of the Middle East.”
On detention capacity, the review said Trump pledged to ship up to 30,000 people described as the “worst criminal aliens” to a U.S. Navy lockup in Cuba. It said that between February and June, about 500 immigrants were held there, with numbers later declining, sometimes reaching zero. The review cited cost and legal challenges as constraints, and said housing migrants at Guantanamo is more expensive than in traditional detention centers.
The AP review also described changes it said had been accomplished. It said Trump signed an executive order in September aiming to rename the Department of Defense as the Department of War, and said that would still require an act of Congress to make the change lawful. In December, the review said the board of trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted to add Trump’s name to the venue, a move that drew show cancellations and a lawsuit, and the review said Congress’ approval would be needed because the Kennedy Center is named by statute.
The review said Trump’s administration has also advanced some defense and immigration-related programs that depend on large budgets and timelines. It described “Golden Dome” as a missile defense program envisioned at $175 billion, with a plan to be fully operational by January 2029, while citing defense officials who said that more likely it would achieve some initial capability by then. It also described Trump’s December announcement of a “gold card” program, saying it is meant to offer legal status and a path to U.S. citizenship for individuals paying $1 million, with corporations paying twice that per foreign-born employee, plus a $15,000 upfront screening fee.
Finally, the review said the White House ballroom project became part of Trump’s “first year” narrative after the East Wing teardown. It said construction crews were working late to finish the ballroom before the term ends, with Trump initially saying the structure would cost $200 million and later saying it would cost $400 million. The review said Trump promised the project would be paid for by him and private donors, and it said the White House released only a partial list of contributors and argued that parts of the plans are “top secret.”