  The US under Trump

In a 927-page statement published on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump declared earnings of 2.2 billion dollars for 2025 – 3.5 times more than in the year before his second mandate began. More than 1.4 billion dollars comes from his family's cryptocurrency dealings. The news triggers a wave of disapproval in Europe's press.

Protests against the violent actions of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) and Donald Trump's harsh immigration policy spread across the US over the weekend. They began after an officer shot and killed a woman who was acting as an observer in her car during an ICE raid in Minneapolis on Wednesday. According to US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, the government will deploy an additional 2,000 federal police to the city.

Many government services in the US remain closed until further notice because Congress has been unable to agree on a budget for the 2026 fiscal year which began on 1 October. Proposals put forward by both the Republicans and the Democrats failed to achieve the required three-fifths majority in the Senate on Wednesday. The main bone of contention is the reversal of recent cuts to healthcare for low-income earners.

US broadcaster ABC has cancelled the late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live. On Monday's programme Kimmel commented on the killing of Charlie Kirk and suggested that Trump's allies were trying to exploit the murder. The US president himself praised the move, which leading Democrats have criticised. Commentators take a look at how freedom of expression is faring in the land of liberty.

The right-wing conservative US podcaster and activist Charlie Kirk was shot dead during an appearance at Utah Valley University last week. Kirk had close ties to US President Donald Trump and founded the organisation Turning Point USA, which is active at schools and universities. A 22-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the killing. Commentators discuss the dangers of deepening polarisation.

US President Donald Trump has announced he is deploying the National Guard in Washington and placing the capital's police department under federal control, citing the high number of homeless people and rampant crime on the other as justification for the measure - even though Washington authorities say these figures are on the decline. Trump already sent the National Guard to Los Angeles a few weeks ago in response to protests against his immigration policy.

US President Donald Trump has postponed the entry into force of new US tariffs on imports from other countries by a week. Instead of 1 August, they will apply starting 7 August. Commentators continue to speculate on the goals of Trump's erratic trade policy.

The EU and the US have settled their tariff dispute: tariffs of 15 percent will apply to most EU exports to the US, and Europe will not impose any new counter-tariffs. On Sunday in Scotland, Donald Trump and Ursula von der Leyen also agreed that the bloc would make massive purchases of energy and defence equipment from the US. The European press comments on different aspects of the deal and draws its own conclusions.

During his election campaign, Donald Trump promised to release secret files on the Epstein scandal. Now his supporters are insisting that he keep his promise, with some questioning his integrity over his failure to do this so far. Sex offender Jeffrey Epstein died in prison six years ago, and the case has given rise to numerous conspiracy theories. European commentators discuss to what extent they now pose a threat to the president.