Trump starts his second term early

Politics U.S.

By Steve Holland, White House correspondent

Donald Trump still has more than a month to go before he takes over the White House, but he is already doing presidential things, and some not so presidential ones. He traveled to Paris for the grand reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral and spent some of the day on diplomacy, meeting French President Emanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

President Joe Biden was a no-show at the Notre Dame reopening. First lady Jill Biden came instead, sat near Trump and engaged in what Trump said later was friendly banter. Still, Trump took the opportunity to use a photo of his interaction with Mrs. Biden to hawk his cologne with the caption: "A FRAGRANCE YOUR ENEMIES CAN'T RESIST!"

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Early start

Trump and his growing list of appointees are suddenly everywhere.

They're getting involved in efforts to reach a ceasefire to Israel's 14-month campaign in Gaza by engaging in Qatar. Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan has kept Trump's national security adviser, Mike Waltz, informed on developments.

Trump has also been meeting with foreign leaders, including Hungarian President Viktor Orban, and has called for a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire.

On Thursday, Trump was named Time magazine's Person of the Year, and he rang the bell to open the New York Stock Exchange. In an interview with Time to coincide with the honorific, Trump suggested he would make changes to U.S. policy toward Ukraine and that he opposed Ukraine's use of U.S.-supplied missiles to strike deeper into Russia. Biden approved their use last month.

I'm Steve Holland, White House correspondent for Reuters, and I've spent many, many days in Palm Beach, Florida, since the election tracking Trump's latest developments. He has named loyalists to several high-ranking positions, and it is still unclear whether his most controversial choices including Pete Hegseth, Kash Patel and Tulsi Gabbard will be confirmed by the Senate.

While Trump is talking about extreme ideas – like using the military to deport millions of people in the U.S. illegally – he seems more disciplined in his transition process than he was in 2016.

Gone are the photo ops with potential Cabinet picks in favor of closed-door deliberations. We are told he is playing an active role in deciding who should get senior positions in his government. Mar-a-Lago is a hotbed of activity with job seekers sometimes spending whole days camped out there. He's also busy preparing a blizzard of executive orders on immigration, energy and other priorities. He has held no news conferences and very few public events since his election.

We're waiting to see whether this relative discipline holds when he gets to the White House.

Poll of the week

Fact check of the week

Mixed public reactions to the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Dec. 4 included plenty of misinformation about the slain executive and his company. One viral video clip was shared with captions alleging a connection between Thompson, Nancy Pelosi and insider trading. Only, the video showed a different Brian Thompson - a venture capitalist and Wharton alumnus -speaking in 2012 at an entrepreneurs' workshop about help he received from Pelosi in applying for grants for his energy startup. Read the full story.

In this section, the Reuters fact-checking team addresses misinformation connected to the U.S. politics. Find more fact-checks from around the world here.

The view from China

China's top leaders and policymakers are considering allowing the yuan to weaken in 2025 as they brace for higher U.S. trade tariffs as Trump returns to the White House. He's pledged 60% import tariffs on Chinese goods, and authorities in Beijing think they need a bigger economic stimulus to combat them, sources told Reuters.

Photo of the week

^{U.S. first lady Jill Biden and President-elect Donald Trump speak inside the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral ahead of a ceremony to mark its re-opening following the 2019 fire, in Paris, France, December 7, 2024. LUDOVIC MARIN/Pool via REUTERS}