Given the chaos of Trump’s first term, and his radical plans for the second, Vanity Fair writers and editors take stock on day one of what’s sure to be a tumultuous time in America.

On Tuesday night, President Donald Trump issued a pardon to Ross Ulbricht, who ran the dark web marketplace Silk Road under the pseudonym “Dread Pirate Roberts.” Ulbricht has been serving a life sentence without parole since 2015, when he was convicted of multiple charges, including the distribution of narcotics.

The most important factor shaping Trump’s next four years isn’t controversial or ambiguous: the clock is ticking.

Harding, however, was no Trump: The president, newly elected to a second term, has a mean if not sadistic streak, an exorbitant taste for revenge, a charismatic persona and, to put it mildly, a flair for publicity.

The nation's top cartoonist react to President Donald Trump's inauguration and first week back in office.  January 23, 2025: Day One January 20, 2025: Trump Inauguration

The question is no longer whether Trumpism will survive beyond Trump; the question is how Trumpism will continue to evolve and whether American democracy is prepared for its next phase.

Even more than in his first term, President Trump has mounted a fundamental challenge to the norms and expectations of what a president can and should do.

Trump pardoned Jan. 6 rioters and tried to overturn birthright citizenship in an aggressive first week that included deportations and firings.

During their first news conference since Trump took office, House Republican leaders were effusive about the new administration and noted there is a lot of "anxious anticipation" about what they're going to do with their new trifecta. "We will deliver," Johnson pledged.

Tens of thousands of anti-abortion activists, joined by masked neo-Nazis, converged in Washington on Friday to hear President Donald Trump address a rally.

The LGBTQ media advocacy organization also shared its nominees in TV, music, Broadway, podcast and video game categories.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is already butting heads with the Trump administration about immigration and more.