Having been back in office for only one year, President Donald Trump has already brought the United States into several tense international conflicts and terrorized citizens with ICE, permanently damaging the political fabric of this nation.

The chaos of Trump’s current second term is exemplified by the administration’s most recent actions of attacking Venezuela and capturing President Nicolás Maduro from his home.

As if this wasn’t enough, these actions have led to intensified talks about the U.S. annexing Greenland, a sovereign territory of Denmark since 1814.

These disastrous foreign policy moves have violated international law and formed tensions with allied nations.

According to CNBC, these moves are likely a ploy to get an upper hand in the rivalry between the U.S. and China. The article explains how Maduro’s capture allows the U.S. to exert control over the highly profitable Venezuelan oil industry.

While Greenland and Venezuela have important resources and are critical battlegrounds in the trade war with China, kidnapping these nations leaders and threatening to annex their land is likely to make the U.S. their enemy instead of their ally.

Domestically, the U.S. is in the midst of its own crisis with the Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) terrorizing Americans and contributing to dozens of unjustified deaths.

Under Trump, ICE has been transformed into an anonymous violent police force. The recent death of Renee Good, an innocent American citizen trying to escape ICE in Minneapolis, has unveiled just how dangerous this agency has become. The Guardian reported that Good is now one of 32 individuals who have been killed by or died in ICE’s custody the past year.

But all this only scratches the surface for what the administration has been doing.

Since Trump took office on Jan. 20, 2025, he has pardoned 1,500 Jan. 6 rioters, withdrew the U.S. from the World Health Organization and hosted a military parade on his birthday. The Epstein files were also released and the U.S. experienced its longest government shutdown.

A study by Berkeley Economic Review explains that faster news cycles increase political polarization and distrust in news sources. The overwhelming news cycle is something Trump takes advantage of, distracting the public from discussing or examining issues while blurring the lines between truth and lies.

With all of these chaotic events, Americans need to engage civically. Apathy is the worst way to react. Now more than ever, Americans need to remember that as soon as they stop caring about politics, politics stop caring about them.