--- title: Trump's Presidency Is at Its Exact Midpoint description: On the second anniversary of his inauguration, President Donald Trump is engaged in a no-win standoff with Congress. canonical: https://time.com/5506932/donald-trump-presidency-halfway/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-01-20T11:00:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:02:02.895Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump's Presidency Is at Its Exact Midpoint. Here's What We've Learned og:description: Three early moments hinted at how things would end up og:url: https://time.com/5506932/donald-trump-presidency-halfway/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c66f22132a097ae/6988f8dd096a94963d6a12d5/trump-inauguration.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: 58th U.S. Presidential Inauguration og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump's Presidency Is at Its Exact Midpoint. Here's What We've Learned twitter:description: Three early moments hinted at how things would end up twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c66f22132a097ae/6988f8dd096a94963d6a12d5/trump-inauguration.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump's Presidency Is at Its Exact Midpoint. Here's What We've Learned > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: How Trump Changes His Story on the Russia Investigation [Watch (HLS stream): How Trump Changes His Story on the Russia Investigation](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jtYJYHg3.m3u8) (3:51)  _Published 2018-12-06. As special counsel Robert Mueller and various news reports have dug up information about Russian meddling in the 2016 election, Trump has followed a predictable pattern._ by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Jan 20, 2019 11:00 AM UTC  President Donald Trump's Inaugural Address. President Donald Trump's Inaugural Address. Anadolu Agency—Getty Images by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Jan 20, 2019 11:00 AM UTC On the second anniversary of his inauguration, President Donald Trump is engaged in [a no-win standoff with Congress](http://time.com/5499397/shutdown-longest-history/), besieged by new [allegations about his relationship with Russia](http://time.com/5506799/house-democrats-investigate-trump-cohen-moscow-deal-lies-report/) and facing questions about his truthfulness. As the first commander in chief elected without prior political or military experience, Trump [raised many questions](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/09/26/president-trumps-first-term) about what he might be like in the White House. But there were signs from the very beginning that this is where his presidency was heading. Trump’s aggressive approach to conflict, his involvement with Russia and his tendency to misstate basic facts were all evident from the first weeks of his administration, not to mention the campaign. Here’s a look at three telling moments from those first weeks. ## Russian interference in the election  US President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin attend a joint press conference after a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, on July 16, 2018. Yuri Kadobnov—AFP/Getty Images **The moment:** As a candidate, Trump [repeatedly questioned](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/10/21/17-intelligence-agencies-russia-behind-hacking/92514592/) the intelligence community’s October 2016 assessment that Russia was behind the hacking of the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s campaign. But he took it to another level when he continued raising doubts as president-elect and then as president. “Hacking is a very hard thing to prove,” [he said on Dec. 31, 2016](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/31/us/politics/donald-trump-russia-hacking.html). “So it could be somebody else.” **The facts:** In July of 2018, the Department of Justice [unveiled multiple charges](http://time.com/5338623/russian-hackers-indictments-democratic-national-committee/) against a dozen Russian intelligence officials for hacking the DNC, the Clinton campaign and state election systems. Still, Trump [noted later that month](http://time.com/5339848/donald-trump-vladimir-putin-summit-transcript/) that Russian President Vladimir Putin “was extremely strong and powerful in his denial” of interference. **What it showed:** Trump’s repeated deference to Putin—even above his own Administration’s intelligence and judicial systems—continues to raise questions. According to [a recent New York _Times_ report](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/15/us/politics/trump-putin-meetings.html), Trump has broken with traditional diplomatic protocol for foreign leaders in his face-to-face meetings with Putin, once even taking his interpreter’s notes. **Where things stand now:** Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani raised eyebrows [during a CNN interview](http://time.com/5505577/rudy-giuliani-trump-campaign-collusion/) when he seemed to move the goalposts again, claiming inaccurately that he “never said there was no collusion” between the Trump campaign and Russia, only that there was no collusion directly involving the president. House Democrats have vowed to continue investigating the relationship. ## The feud with John Lewis  Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) thanks anti-gun violence supporters following a rally with fellow Democrats on the East Front steps of the U.S. House of Representatives October 4, 2017 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images **The moment:** In [a Jan. 14, 2017 interview with “Meet the Press,”](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/01/13/john-lewis-doesnt-think-donald-trump-is-a-legitimate-president/?utm%5Fterm=.6333c53bd0b1) Democratic Rep. John Lewis said that he did not view Trump as a “legitimate president” and would not be attending his inauguration. Trump struck back at the civil rights icon, tweeting that his district is in [“horrible shape” and “crime infested”](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/820251730407473153) and calling him “all talk, talk, talk.” **The facts:** Lewis has long received bipartisan praise for his civil rights activism. He led sit-ins to desegregate lunch counters, integrated buses as one of the original Freedom Riders and [suffered a skull fracture](https://www.cnn.com/2015/03/06/politics/selma-50-years-john-lewis-bridge-anniversary/index.html) when he was beaten by a state trooper during the [“Bloody Sunday” protest](https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/07/this-day-in-politics-march-7-1965-437394) in Selma, Alabama, in 1965. **What it showed:** First Lady Melania Trump once said her husband will [“punch back 10 times harder”](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/melania-stumps-donald-trump-he-will-punch-back-10-times-n550641) when attacked. That is been proved true, no matter how sympathetic his rival might be, and especially when Trump feels that his antagonist is threatening his standing as president. In December, the New York _Times_ calculated that Trump had [insulted 551 people](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/01/28/upshot/donald-trump-twitter-insults.html), places and things on Twitter since declaring his candidacy. **Where things stand now:** Trump is currently feuding with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, [cancelling travel arrangements for her planned visit to Afghanistan](http://time.com/5506128/donald-trump-nancy-pelosi-afghanistan-trip/) in apparent retaliation for her postponement of the State of the Union address while the shutdown continues. In recent days, Trump has also feuded with [Utah Sen. Mitt Romney](https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/02/politics/donald-trump-mitt-romney-oped/index.html), [former Secretary of Defense James Mattis](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/01/02/donald-trump-slams-james-mattis/2464343002/), [Amazon owner Jeff Bezos](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-slams-jeff-bozo-washington-post-over-amazon-founders-divorce), and [his own former lawyer, Michael Cohen](https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/18/trump-accuses-michael-cohen-of-lying-to-reduce-his-jail-time-in-wake-of-buzzfeed-bombshell.html). ## The size of the inauguration crowd  Few photos launch a months long investigation. This one did. From the moment the National Parks department trolled Trump on crowd size in January, the White House's brash assertions of questionable truth about the January 20th inauguration's crowd size became endless fodder for jokes. So unforgettable was this debacle that former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer actually rolled onstage at the Emmys in September, and the internet brought it full circle when when they roasted Trump on crowd size again again after December's Christmas tree lighting. Donald Trump is inaugurated president on Jan. 20, 2017. **The moment:** At the Trump administration’s [first official press briefing](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-press-secretary-sean-spicer/) on Jan. 21, 2017, then-Press Secretary Sean Spicer repeatedly claimed that the inauguration crowd was the largest ever, arguing that the news media tried to minimize it. “This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration—period—both in person and around the globe,” [he said](http://time.com/5097411/donald-trump-first-year-office-timeline/). **The facts:** Crowd estimates are always tricky, but evidence from [photographs, Metro transit ridership and TV viewer data](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/01/22/spicer-earns-four-pinocchios-for-a-series-of-false-claims-on-inauguration-crowd-size/?utm%5Fterm=.c75cc383c952) refute the claims made by Spicer, who later said he [regretted the remarks](http://time.com/5088900/sean-spicer-screwed-up-inauguration-hitler/). Defending Spicer, senior Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway later coined the phrase [“alternative facts”](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/01/22/how-kellyanne-conway-ushered-in-the-era-of-alternative-facts/?utm%5Fterm=.4d314aaa07d7) to describe his misstatement. **What it showed:** Trump has struggled with the truth more than other president. In September, the Washington _Post_‘s fact-checkers calculated that he had made [more than 5,000 false or misleading claims](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/09/13/president-trump-has-made-more-than-false-or-misleading-claims/?utm%5Fterm=.219e480df5ef) since taking office. Some of the claims, such as that he was [unaware of a payment to keep porn star Stormy Daniels silent](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/08/23/not-just-misleading-not-merely-false-lie/?utm%5Fterm=.209a413b54a9) or about a real estate deal in Russia, could have [legal consequences](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/12/03/president-trumps-misleading-statements-trump-tower-moscow-timeline/?utm%5Fterm=.25041221d10e). **Where things stand now:** House Democrats have vowed to investigate an explosive report from BuzzFeed that Trump directed his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, to [lie to Congress about negotiations](http://time.com/5506799/house-democrats-investigate-trump-cohen-moscow-deal-lies-report/) over the Trump Tower Moscow project. Trump’s own attorney general nominee, William Barr, [said at his confirmation hearings](http://time.com/5506799/house-democrats-investigate-trump-cohen-moscow-deal-lies-report/) before the report came out that directing a witness to lie would be obstruction of justice. ## Transcript Donald Trump has changed his story several times during the Russia investigation. As Special Counsel Robert Mueller and various news reports have dug up information about Russian meddling in the 2016 election, Trump has followed a predictable pattern. Here's how it works. Trump begins by broadly denying that something happened. First, he denied that Russians had hacked Democratic emails. But I notice any time anything wrong happens, they like to say the Russians. She doesn't know if it's the Russians doing the hacking, maybe there is no hacking. The campaign also denied that it had any contacts with Russia. I joined this campaign in the summer, and I can tell you that All the contact by the Trump campaign and associates was with the American people. [ MUSIC ] And Trump denied that he had any business connections with Russia in July of 2016. Just weeks after his former lawyer Michael Cohen stopped working on a project to bring a Trump Tower to Moscow. So I mean I have nothing to do with Russia. I don't have any jobs in Russia. I'm all over the world, but we're not involved in Russia. As facts emerge which make the denial harder to maintain, Trump downplays their significance. He did that when he admitted Democratic emails had been hacked but cast doubt on who did it. I think it was Russia but I think it was probably other people and / or countries and I see nothing wrong with that statement. Nobody really knows. Nobody really knows for sure He did it when he admitted that his campaign chair, son, and son- in- law had met with a Kremlin- connected lawyer in Trump Tower during the election. He took a meeting with a lawyer from Russia. It lasted for a very short period and nothing came of the meeting. And he did it when he argued that the Trump Tower Moscow project was not a big deal. Everybody knew about it. It was written about in newspapers It was a well known project, and so he's lying about a project that everybody knew about. I mean, we were very open with it. We were thinking about building a building. This deal was a very public deal. Everybody knows about this deal. I wasn't trying to hide anything. [ MUSIC ] Finally, Trump makes an Mission, but argues that it's not that important. He did that when he argued that Russian medling had no influence on the election. Well, Russia's actions had no impact at all on the outcome of the election. Let me be totally clear in saying that, and I've said this so many times, I accept our intelligence Mention communities conclusion. That Russia's meddling in the the 2016 election took place. He did it when he argued that meetings with foreign nationals promising dirt on a political opponent are routine. So I think from a pratical standpoint Most people would have taken that meaning. It's called opposition research or even research into your opponent. I've had many people, I have only been in politics for two years, but I've had many people call up, OG, we have information on this factor or this person or, frankly, Hillary That's very standard in politics. And he did it when he argued there would ne nothing wrong wit perusing a business deal with a foreign government while running for president. We decided, I decided ultimately not to do it. There would have been nothing wrong if I did do it. If I did do it, there would've been nothing wrong. That was my business. Even if he was right, it doesn't matter. Because I was allowed To do whatever I wanted during the campaign. I was running my business. A lot of different things during the campaign. One problem for Trump with this pattern, it undercuts other denials he's made. And it raises the question, if there was nothing wrong with it, why deny it in the first place? [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5506932/donald-trump-presidency-halfway/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5506932/donald-trump-presidency-halfway/"},"headline":"Trump's Presidency Is at Its Exact Midpoint. 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