It’s been a year since Donald Trump took office as the 45th President of the United States. If it feels longer, perhaps that’s in part because of the Mr Trump’s profuse (and often profane) Twitter usage.

Here’s a tweet for each of the last twelve months. They provide a snapshot of a rollercoaster year. They are, of course, selective. They don’t cover many of the President’s tweets drawing attention to policy successes; any normal leader uses social media to promote his or her achievements. There isn’t anything ‘normal’ about anything that follows here…

 

February 2017

There was an attack on the judiciary within the first month (after a federal judge appointed by George W Bush temporarily halted Trump’s ‘Travel Ban’).

 

March 2017

President Trump accused is predecessor of tapping Trump Tower. It later transpired that surveillance was indeed carried out on Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign manager who was charged for money laundering, tax and foreign lobbying.

 

April 2017

“Bad!” An early glimpse of high-stakes foreign policy conducted over Twitter.

 

May 2017

After firing James Comes as FBI Director, allegations mounted that Trump was attempting to obstruct justice (over the FBI’s investigation into possible collusion with Russia). The President threatened to release tapes. There were no tapes.

 

June 2017

The ‘Fake News’ rhetoric maintained a steady flow throughout the year. Few attacks on the media got quite as personal – and ugly – as this one.

 

July 2017

President Trump attacked his own Attorney General for apparently being too soft on ‘Crooked Hillary’.

 

August 2017

It wasn’t that long ago that President Trump was heaping praise on his former strategist, Steve Bannon. Then came ‘Fire & Fury’, in multiple senses.

 

September 2017

“Rocket Man” became “Little Rocket Man.” Just the sort of verbal provocation needed in the middle of a nuclear standoff.

 

October 2017

Mike Pence left an NFL game after a matter of minutes, after several players refused to stand for the national anthem. The Vice President’s trip cost the taxpayer $14,000.

 

November 2017

When pictures emerged of (Democratic) Senator Al Franken groping a former colleague, it didn’t take long for the President to express his outrage. As outraged as many people were by the Hollywood Tapes, no doubt…

 

December 2017

In 2017 people were finally allowed to say “Merry Christmas” again.

 

January 2018

No caption needed.

 

Suggested related articles:

 

Also published on Medium.