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Just 100 days into his second, four-year presidency, Donald Trump has already delivered some truly meme-worthy moments.
Amongst the concerns for democracy and collapsing institutions, there have been impromptu car sales pitches, Oval Office bust-ups and renaming the Gulf of Mexico. What else will the remaining 1,360 days bring?
Inaugural kiss
Just hours after being sworn in as president for the second time, an awkward moment between Trump and First Lady Melania Trump was caught on camera.
As the president went to kiss his wife, the large brim of her hat appeared to prevent him from making contact with her cheek as he leant in to plant the smooch. Social media jokers reacted with glee to the unfortunate incident, musing that FLOTUS’s choice of outfit had been intentional – and tactical.
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Easter celebrations
At Easter, the couple were pictured side by side once again, though with a third wheel – The Easter Bunny.
As the Trumps appeared throughout the day at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll they were joined by the large rabbit mascot, which stood with them on the White House balcony as the president delivered remarks about the passing of Pope Francis.
Later in the day Trump was pictured sitting with a group of children, proudly showing them his trading cards, which featured pictures of his triumphant (and bloodied) pose shortly after surviving an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania in July 2024.
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The Gulf of America
In early February the president staged a well-timed photo-op while traveling on Air Force One.
Trump signed an executive order declaring that the Gulf of Mexico would be renamed the Gulf of America and producing a helpful, newly altered map. Moments later the pilot declared: “Ladies and Gentlemen, if you could please direct your attention out of the right side of the aircraft, Air Force One is… for the first time in history, flying over the recently renamed Gulf of America.”
The occupants of the cabin cheered.
The map presented by Trump after signing the order was later transferred to the Oval Office, where it was placed in a position partially blocking a portrait of former president Ronald Reagan.
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‘Everything’s computer!’
Perhaps one of Trump’s most controversial press conference/ photo-ops took place at the White House, where a line of products from electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla – owned by so-called “First Buddy” Elon Musk – were parked along the South Lawn.
The president checked out a number of products, with Musk, extolling their virtues, before getting inside one vehicle and declaring with amazement “Wow! Everything’s computer!” He later prompted consternation and criticism online after seemingly reading lines to reporters from a crib sheet of a Tesla sales pitch.
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Big Cheese
Musk himself – the world’s richest man – has also produced multiple noteworthy moments since Trump returned to the White House.
Hours after the president was sworn in, Musk, who was one of the gaggle of billionaires invited to the ceremony, delivered remarks onstage, where he made a gesture that looked very similar to a Nazi salute. “The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired,” Musk later wrote in response on X.
A month later he appeared at a conservative gathering outside Washington wearing sunglasses, waving a custom-made chainsaw in the air and accusing Democrats of “treason.” The power tool was gifted to him by the president of Argentina, Javier Milei, who appeared with him onstage.
Ahead of the election for Wisconsin’s Attorney General, Musk appeared onstage at an event in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with a hat in the shape of a big piece of cheese on his head. His appearance came after he poured some $25 million into the Wisconsin race, backing Republican candidate Brad Schimel – who lost.
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Liberation Day
One of Trump’s most chaotic moments came when he announced sweeping international tariffs at a press conference on what he called “Liberation Day.”
Accompanied by a large chart, the president ran through a list of varying “reciprocal tariffs” on different nations, which sent global markets spinning and the stock markets tumbling.
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‘Have you said thank you once?’
The world held its breath in February after a meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky descended into a shouting match between the two leaders, and Vice President JD Vance.
At one point Zelensky was berated by Vance, who asked him “have you said ‘thank you’ once?” referring to the aide given by the U.S. to help Ukraine after it was invaded by Russia. Zelensky had indeed thanked the U.S government multiple times.
Trump, meanwhile, accused his Ukrainian counterpart of “gambling with World War Three.”
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Trophy fumble
Vance hasn’t been immune to unfortunate moments.
The vice president scrambled to catch and fix the bottom of the College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy, which broke into two pieces as he attempted to lift it and hand it to national champions Ohio State.
Onlookers gasped loudly as he dove to retrieve the base of the 35-pound trophy from the floor and put it back together. Several of the players could be seen smirking in the background.
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Holy unfortunate
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Vance was the target of further mockery several weeks later, after his visit to the Vatican on Easter Sunday coincided with the death of the Pope just one day later.
“Way to go jackass,” one user wrote to Vance on X, in response to the news. Vance later told reporters he thought it was “pretty crazy” that he was one of the last officials to ever meet Pope Francis.
