By Jasmine Li

President Trump, since regaining power about 100 days ago, has shaken up global trade, disrupted foreign affairs and begun to slash the federal workforce. Along the way, he has blown through the traditional constraints of presidential authority, often with his unique Trumpian flare.

Here are the images that defined some of the biggest moments:

Inauguration

Trump's downsized swearing-in ceremony was packed with billionaire chief executives, some of whom donated $1 million each for inauguration festivities. The images would foreshadow how corporations have sought to cozy up to the White House. Some of the nation's largest firms dropped initiatives, such as around diversity, equity and inclusion, that Trump has criticized.

Super Bowl

Trump was the first sitting president to attend the Super Bowl. He has associated himself with pop culture and sports: He joined a YouTube video with golfer Bryson DeChambeau that boasts more than 14 million views, while appearances at UFC matches and the Daytona 500 were broadcast on sports channels. Some have credited Trump's ties to "manosphere" influencers with helping boost his profile with young male voters.

DOGE chain saw

Early in the administration, Elon Musk took over as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency. DOGE would come to be a defining element of Trump's first 100 days, as its cuts disrupted -- at times, temporarily -- the functioning of government. Musk was often defiant amid criticism from Democrats and some Republicans. At one point, Musk brandished a chain saw onstage at a conservative conference.

Gulf of America

Trump delivered on a campaign pledge to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, a change many other nations haven't acknowledged. But some institutions followed suit -- Google and Apple's map apps reflected the name change. The Associated Press said it would use Gulf of Mexico as its style while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen, kicking off a legal showdown with the administration.

Zelensky meeting

Meetings with world leaders typically happen behind closed doors, but Trump invited the press to an Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Cameras captured the tense clash that ensued between the Ukrainian president, Trump and Vice President JD Vance. The visit escalated Trump's efforts to pressure Zelensky to strike a peace deal with Russia and prompted European nations to reconsider their reliance on the U.S. for their security.

BLM plaza

Shortly after Trump took office, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser ordered the removal of Black Lives Matter plaza, a two-block-long mural in downtown Washington erected in the summer of 2020. Trump has since moved to exert more control over the nation's capital by signing an executive order to make Washington "safe, beautiful and prosperous."

Trump signs education order

Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the Education Department, part of a larger effort to reshape an education system he has deemed wasteful and too left-leaning. The president was accompanied by school children signing mini versions of the document at classroom desks. "It sounds strange, doesn't it? Department of Education, we're going to eliminate it," Trump said.

Made-for-TV immigration crackdown

On a trip to El Salvador's notorious Cecot prison, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posed in front of heavily tattooed inmates while wearing an ICE baseball cap. "If you come to our country illegally, this is one of the consequences you could face," she told cameras. The trip, and the photo op at the jail, were representative of her made-for-TV, aggressive approach to immigration policy.

Tariff big board

A much-anticipated "Liberation Day" trade ceremony at the Rose Garden kicked off weeks of uncertainty in global markets. Trump showed off an oversize board listing the new, so-called reciprocal tariff rates he would impose on about 90 countries. The rates soon garnered scrutiny when it became clear they didn't exactly match other nations' tariffs on U.S. exports. Instead, the figures Trump presented appeared to match a basic formula: the size of a country's goods-trade imbalance with the U.S., divided by how much America imports from that nation.

Protests Nationwide

Anger toward the Trump administration bubbled over onto the streets of big cities and small towns after the impact of DOGE came into focus in recent weeks. In Washington, tens of thousands of protesters showed up April 5 with homemade signs rallying against Musk's role in government, federal funding cuts and tariffs.

Write to Jasmine Li at jasmine.li@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 27, 2025 05:00 ET (09:00 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.