President Donald Trump commemorated the anniversary of his reinstatement to the Oval Office with a lengthy and wide-ranging White House news briefing. The event extended to a total of one hour and 45 minutes, opening with an 81-minute uninterrupted statement followed by 24 minutes of questions from the press corps.
Throughout the session held in the White House briefing room, Trump frequently diverged from a cohesive message, touching on disparate subjects including crime mugshots, immigration enforcement actions, geographical references, and cultural groups. He mentioned the Nile River’s location in Egypt, mused about renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of Trump," and made disparaging comments about Somali Americans. The remarks included self-praise of his administration’s record and unexpected admiration for the Hells Angels motorcycle club, citing the group's purported support in voting for him.
The event was designed to emphasize Trump’s record during his first year back in office, coinciding with an upcoming trip to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. However, his address shifted between boastfulness and defensiveness, often obscuring the core messages he aimed to convey.
Immigration enforcement and crime dominated much of Trump’s discourse. He lauded the patriotism of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents engaged in ongoing operations in Minnesota, where a recent federal agent-involved shooting death of a U.S. citizen has sparked controversy. The president condemned protesters opposing the immigration raids as individuals paid to agitate. He highlighted his deployment of the National Guard to cities governed by Democrats and threatened the use of active military forces in Minnesota, eliciting criticism from local public officials.
Trump claimed, without presenting supporting evidence, that crime declined in Washington, D.C., following the arrival of National Guard troops the previous summer. Regarding safety in the capital, he assured listeners that danger had diminished, telling the audience that people walking through the city could feel secure about their loved ones.
Reiterating many talking points similar to those from previous campaign remarks, Trump criticized President Joe Biden and repeated unsubstantiated claims regarding the 2020 election being rigged against him.
In support of his assertions about accomplishments, Trump displayed a substantial binder labeled "365 Wins in 365 Days," purportedly representing the administration’s daily achievements since his swearing-in on January 20, 2025. The document highlighted a diversity of efforts ranging from significantly curbing illegal immigration to increasing consumer options for household fixtures such as shower heads and toilets.
During the briefing, Trump removed a large binder clip from the paper stack, humorously noting its potential to cause injury and implying it might have been intentionally designed to hurt him. He also spent a quarter of an hour showing mugshots of Minnesota residents identified as undocumented immigrants arrested for serious offenses, subsequently discarding the photographs onto the floor.
The president made controversial remarks about Somali immigrants, labeling them "very low IQ people" and reiterated a false statement claiming Somalia is not a sovereign country. The administration justifies its immigration crackdown in Minnesota partly due to concerns about fraudulent activity involving federal food assistance programs, linked to charities operating within the Somali community.
On foreign policy, Trump repeated an inflated claim that he has ended eight foreign wars during his tenure. He has consistently asserted that he merits the Nobel Peace Prize, an honor he did not receive last December. He referenced this omission in connection to his initiative to acquire Greenland, a Danish territory, and expressed skepticism over the Norwegian government’s statement distancing itself from control over the Nobel Foundation responsible for awarding the prize.