Here’s where Trump’s most jaw-dropping promises stand a year into his second term

In his first year back in office, President Donald Trump has embarked on a series of bold initiatives that have tested institutional boundaries and challenged conventional governance. From significant foreign policy maneuvers to ambitious domestic projects, the administration’s actions have alternately shocked observers and fulfilled campaign pledges.

“I’ve kept all my promises and much more,” Trump declared during a recent speech in Detroit. As his administration approaches its one-year mark, the record shows a mixed scorecard of accomplishments, works in progress, and abandoned proposals.

Among the most visible initiatives underway is the retrofitting of a luxury Boeing 747 jet donated by Qatar for use as Air Force One. The aircraft, accepted by U.S. defense officials in May despite ethical and constitutional questions, is currently being modified in Texas. While the president boasted the work would be completed within six months, the Air Force estimates costs could reach $400 million, with external experts suggesting the final bill might approach $1 billion. The project likely won’t be finished before Trump leaves office in January 2029.

Following the U.S. military’s removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Trump renewed his interest in acquiring Greenland, the semi-autonomous Danish territory. “We will have Greenland one way or another,” the president has insisted, appointing Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry as special envoy to the region. Denmark has firmly rejected any suggestion of ceding the world’s largest island, warning that military action against a NATO ally would have serious geopolitical implications.

The administration has also made moves to reopen Alcatraz, the infamous prison in San Francisco Bay that has been closed for more than 60 years. Bureau of Prisons Director William K. Marshall III toured the facility in July, with his agency now developing design concepts and budgets to house immigration detainees at the site.

On the domestic front, Trump signed an executive order in September to rename the Department of Defense as the Department of War, though congressional approval remains necessary for the change to take effect. His administration has also pushed through the controversial addition of Trump’s name to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, sparking lawsuits and performance cancellations.

The president has successfully pressured China to reduce its influence over the Panama Canal, with Panama withdrawing from China’s Belt and Road investment initiative in Latin America. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited Panama in April to strengthen security coordination between the countries.

Perhaps the most visible physical manifestation of Trump’s second term is the construction of a massive ballroom where the White House East Wing once stood. The structure, which Trump says will cost $400 million (double his initial estimate), is being funded by the president and private donors, though the White House has released only a partial list of contributors and classified portions of the project plans as “top secret.”

Not all of Trump’s ambitious promises have materialized. His suggestion of making Canada the 51st state has faded despite occasional mentions. Similarly, plans to tour Fort Knox with billionaire Elon Musk never materialized, and Musk has since left the administration.

The president’s pledge to transform Gaza into a “Riviera of the Middle East” after the Israel-Hamas war has been rejected by Arab nations and dropped from Trump’s rhetoric. His promise that tariff revenue would fund $2,000 checks for most Americans has proven mathematically unfeasible, as has his suggestion that tariffs could eliminate the federal income tax entirely.

Looking ahead, several major initiatives remain works in progress. Trump’s proposal for 50-year home mortgages to address housing affordability concerns has made little headway, with economists warning such a change would make wealth-building through homeownership more difficult.

The “Golden Dome” missile defense program, a $175 billion system that would place U.S. weapons in space, is unlikely to be fully operational by Trump’s target of January 2029, with defense officials suggesting only initial capabilities might be ready by then.

Trump’s administration has also been monitoring the situation in countries like Colombia, Mexico, and Iran, where he has alternately suggested and backed away from potential military interventions. His focus on Cuba’s potential “collapse” following the capture of its ally Maduro continues to raise questions about U.S. policy toward the island nation.

As the administration moves into its second year, the president’s unconventional approach to governance continues to reshape American politics and policy, leaving observers to wonder which of his remaining proposals will become reality and which will fade away.