President-elect Trump arrives for the swearing-in ceremony on January 20, 2017
Credit: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI /AFP
Given what has happened in the four years since, Mr Trump’s Inauguration Day pledge, to end "American carnage", would prove to be among his wildest.
But in the immediate aftermath, his speech was overshadowed by a bizarre row over how many people turned up to watch him being sworn in.
Sean Spicer, the first of many White House press secretaries, insisted that it attracted a record attendance. He – and his boss – were rather miffed when pictures showed that Mr Trump had attracted fewer people than Barack Obama four years previously, below.
Mr Trump's inauguration, left, and Barack Obama's on the right
The row rumbled on for days, with the White House launching the first of many attacks on the “mainstream media” which it accused of publishing “fake news”.
It descended into farce when Kellyanne Conway, the president’s counsellor, explained that the hapless Mr Spicer was merely presenting “alternative facts”.
Mr Trump did attract a record crowd to Washington, however, when an estimated half a million women descended on Washington DC to protest at his election.
January 27 2017: Trump travel ban causes chaos
Mr Trump signed an executive order barring citizens of seven Muslim majority countries from entering the US.
It created chaos, with passengers being turned away from flights at the airport.
The order, which Mr Trump said was designed to keep the “bad dudes” out of the country, attracted international condemnation and was successfully challenged in the courts.
It was rewritten several times, before finally passing legal muster and being upheld by the Supreme Court in June 2018.
May 31 2017: The riddle of covfefe
An avid Twitter-user even before he entered the White House, Mr Trump baffled his vast audience with a late-night tweet.
"Despite the negative press covfefe," the tweet read.
Six hours later he tweeted again: "Who can figure out the true meaning of ‘covfefe’ ??? Enjoy!"
The famous 'covfefe' Tweet. Mr Trump eventually deleted the tweet, and later and implied that its wording was intentional. It's assumed he meant to say 'coverage'
The long-suffering Mr Spicer insisted that the tweet made sense. A sceptical American public chose to disagree.
Covfefe developed a life of its own. Car owners paid to use it on their licence plates. A member of Congress introduced the Communications Over Various Feeds Electronically for Engagement Act – or COVFEFE Act.
This piece of legislation was, predictably, never adopted.
Until he was booted off the platform earlier this year, Twitter was Mr Trump’s way of communicating with his more than 88 million followers.
It was also his weapon of choice for abusing his political opponents and extolling his virtues, describing himself as a “very stable genius” in January 2018.
August 11-12 2017: Woman killed at white supremacist rally in Charlottesville
A photograph of Charlottesville victim Heather Heyer is seen among flowers left at the scene
Credit: Justin Ide /REUTERS
A “unite the right” rally descended into violence, with counter-protester Heather Heyer killed after being mown down by an American neo-Nazi.
The mayhem was a portent of events to come later in the Trump presidency as the far-right became emboldened and took to the streets.
Mr Trump’s handling of the aftermath attracted a torrent of criticism when he appeared to share the blame equally between the white supremacists and those who turned up to oppose them.
He triggered outrage by saying there were “very fine people on both sides”.
May 8 2018: Trump ditches Iran deal
Hailed as one of the flagship achievements of the Obama administration, the Iran nuclear deal was in Mr Trump’s sights as soon as he took office.
He described the 2015 agreement as defective, arguing it would not prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb.
But it was a move which horrified Britain, France and Germany who said the deal was the only way to prevent a nuclear arms race.
However, it was welcomed by Israel and was one of a series of moves by the administration to support the government of Benjamin Netanyahu.
Days later, the US opened its embassy in Jerusalem, finally enacting a 1995 law which said it should be moved from Tel Aviv.
The Middle East provided Mr Trump with his flagship foreign policy achievement, ushering in a diplomatic ‘peace’ deal between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain weeks before the presidential election.
June 12 2018: Trump meets ‘little rocket man’ Kim Jong-un in Singapore
Mr Trump and Kim Jong-un at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa Island in Singapore
Credit: SAUL LOEB /AFP
Having spent much of his time taunting Kim Jong-un, Donald Trump then agreed to meet the North Korean dictator in Singapore.
It was an unlikely friendship, given Mr Trump had previously boasted on Twitter that his nuclear button was bigger than Kim’s.
The two men had, until that time, been furiously swapping insults. On Sep 19 2017, Mr Trump told the UN that “rocket man” Kim was on a “suicide mission for himself and for his regime”.
Three days later Kim responded, calling the US president a “mentally deranged dotard”.
The meeting was hailed as a success with Trump telling a rally in West Virginia in September 2018 that the two men “fell in love”.
Then in June 2019, the two men met again. Mr Trump became the first US president to set foot in North Korea, having travelled to the demilitarised zone which separates the divided country.
It was arguably the most memorable photocall of the entire Trump presidency. But in the long term, it achieved little, with Kim still describing the US as the country’s greatest enemy.
Mr Trump and Kim Jong-un at the demilitarised zone that separates North Korea and South Korea
Credit: Getty Images AsiaPac
June 21 2018: Melania Trump’s, ‘I really don’t care’, jacket row
As a presidential candidate Trump promised to get tough on immigration, branding Mexican immigrants as drug dealers and rapists.
He tarred other immigrants from Latin America with the same brush.
The implementation of rules that saw children separated from their parents and held in cages drew outrage.
The First Lady said later that the words on the back of a jacket were aimed at her critics
Credit: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
The First Lady decided to visit the camps to see for herself. But the conciliatory gesture was undercut by her turning up at an airport in Washington wearing a jacket with “’I REALLY DON’T CARE, DO U?’ written in large letters on the back.
Sensibly she discarded the jacket before disembarking in Texas. She later said it was a message to the hostile media, not a commentary on the policy.
July 13 2018: Trump finally makes a state visit to the UK
Mr Trump and First Lady Melania Trump disembark Air Force One at Stansted Airport, north of London on July 12, 2018
Credit: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI /AFP
The US president made what was described as a working visit to the UK to cement the special relationship.
Whether it was a diplomatic success was a matter of debate. The US president was accused of keeping the Queen waiting – something which was later denied by both the White House and Buckingham Palace.
Despite the diplomatic niceties, there was no hiding the friction between Mr Trump and Theresa May, the Prime Minister at the time.
The Trump blimp marked his UK visit
Credit: Yui Mok/PA
With impeccable timing, the US president gave an incendiary interview to the Sun in which he ridiculed her Brexit negotiating strategy.
There was already little love lost between Mr Trump and London mayor, Sadiq Khan, who was subjected to a barrage of presidential Twitter barbs.
Mr Khan exacted revenge by allowing a balloon depicting Mr Trump as a fat baby to be flown above London.
September 18 2018: Stormy Daniels tells all
The former porn star, whose real name is Stephanie Daniels, published a book alleging she had an affair with Mr Trump before he became president.
While the president denied the alleged tryst, which was supposed to have taken place in 2006, the book drew unwelcome attention to the colourful private life of thrice-married Mr Trump.
Stormy Daniels with lawyer Michael Avenatti
Credit: Mary Altaffer/AP
It was packed with salacious details including an unflattering description of his genitalia.
After a judge threw out a defamation case she had brought against him, Mr Trump responded characteristically on Twitter describing Ms Daniels as “horseface”.
Only months earlier, Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model, alleged she had an affair with Mr Trump – which he denied.
She also claimed she was paid $150,000 for the exclusive rights to her story by a US tabloid, which never published it.
November 6 2018: Trump hit by ‘Blue Wave’ in mid-term elections
The Democrats seized control of the House of Representatives, dealing a blow to the Trump presidency.
It was the first concrete sign of public disenchantment and it was to make the second half of his term rather uncomfortable.
November 11 2018: Trump slammed for missing Armistice commemoration
The US president was due to attend a commemoration of the centenary of the Armistice at the Aisne Marne American cemetery where nearly 2,300 US soldiers are buried.
However, he cancelled the visit because it was raining – or as the White House put it, “scheduling and logistical difficulties caused by the weather”.
Winston Churchill’s grandson and Tory MP, Nicholas Soames, was unimpressed.
“They died with their face to the foe and that pathetic inadequate Donald Trump couldn’t even defy the weather to pay his respects to The Fallen.”
December 22 2018: longest government shutdown in US history
Mr Trump speaks alongside fast food he purchased for a ceremony honoring the 2018 College Football champions. The White House chefs were furloughed due to the government shutdown
Credit: SAUL LOEB /AFP
Determined to get $5.6 billion for a US-Mexico border wall, Mr Trump refused to sign any spending bill unless it included provision for his pet project.
With the Democrats in control of the House there was deadlock.
It saw around 400,000 government employees sent home while roughly the same number were ordered to work without pay, although they were eventually reimbursed.
The shutdown was the longest in US history.
April 18 2019: Release of Mueller Report
Allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election and collusion with the Trump campaign dominated the news agenda.
Mr Trump dismissed the allegations as a hoax, drummed up by the Democrats who were – as far as he was concerned – sore losers.
Robert Mueller’s 448-page report concluded the Russians did interfere but there was no evidence the Kremlin was in cahoots with the Trump campaign.
On Twitter, Mr Trump gave his succinct verdict. "No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA GREAT!"
In reality, the report was not quite such a clean bill of health.
The former FBI director described Mr Trump’s written answers as inadequate but decided not to subpoena him.
Pointedly he came to no conclusion whether Mr Trump had obstructed justice. He added that Department of Justice policy precluded indicting a sitting president.
December 5 2019: Impeachment proceedings begin
With Washington still digesting the Mueller findings, new allegations of improper conduct surfaced when a whistleblower alleged the Trump administration had put pressure on the Ukrainian government to dig dirt on Joe Biden’s son, Hunter.
Assorted surrogates, including Rudy Giuliani, were enlisted in the scheme.
The Trump administration was accused of holding back military aid unless Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky co-operated.
Democrat leader of the House, Nancy Pelosi, announced an inquiry of September 24 and the articles of impeachment were drafted on December 5.
The trial in the Senate lasted two weeks, beginning on January 16 and ending on February 5.
The Democrats called career officials to make the case against Mr Trump, who was accused of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
He was acquitted, with only Mitt Romney breaking ranks with the Republican majority to support Mr Trump’s removal from office.
March 13 2020: Trump declares national Covid-19 emergency
With the coronavirus pandemic tightening its grip on the US, the president declared a national emergency.
The virus and the administration’s handling of the public health disaster were to dominate the final year of Mr Trump’s term.
Having initially played down the threat of Covid-19, suggesting it would go away like the flu, Mr Trump later admitted in an interview with Bob Woodward he was trying to calm the nation.
At times Mr Trump’s solutions verged on the surreal, such as when he suggested that patients could be injected with disinfectant.
He was also frequently at odds with his own health advisers, in particular Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading public health expert, who was the victim of occasional Twitter barbs.
Events at the White House became “super spreaders” and Mr Trump contracted the virus on October 2, spending three days at the Walter Reed Medical Centre before being released.
Mr Trump takes off his facemask as he arrives at the White House upon his return from Walter Reed Medical Center
Credit: NICHOLAS KAMM
/AFP
November 3 2020: Trump loses the presidential election, despite claiming victory on the night
Despite the pandemic, Mr Trump had insisted on holding massive rallies.
Herman Cain, a one-time presidential candidate, tested positive for the virus nine days after attending, maskless, an indoor event in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He later died.
The nadir of the campaign was the first presidential debate when Mr Trump came under fire for constantly interrupting Joe Biden and moderator, Chris Wallace.
Rather ominously, when asked to condemn white supremacists he told the far-right Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by”.
As expected, Mr Trump wasted little time claiming victory on election night, only to see his lead melt away as the mail-in ballots were counted.
It triggered months of litigation as the courts dismissed allegations of fraud and refused to overturn the result.
January 6 2021: Trump supporters storm the US Capitol
Credit: ALEX EDELMAN /AFP
Thousands of Trump supporters descended on Washington DC for a “stop the steal” rally, which Mr Trump promised would be “wild”.
With Congress going through the normally routine ceremonial process of ratifying the result, Mr Trump told the crowd they would walk to the Capitol to make their feelings known.
What followed horrified the world.
Members of Congress cowered in fear as the mob stormed the Capitol. Offices were ransacked and Nancy Pelosi’s speaker’s podium was carted away.
Five people died before what was seen as an attempted coup was foiled.
It was all too much for Twitter who, after 46,919 tweets, imposed a lifetime ban on Mr Trump.
The Democrats – this time with the backing of some Republicans – agreed an article of impeachment accusing the president of "incitement of insurrection".
The final verdict rests with the Senate.
Mr Trump will leave office having made history as the only president to be impeached twice.
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