A look back at year one of Trump 2.0

About this episode

The episode discusses the significant events and implications of the first year of the second Trump administration, focusing on US-Australia relations.

The last 10 months have seen the longest federal government shutdown in US history, the highest levels of US tariffs imposed in nearly a century, unprecedented actions by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and a dramatic reshaping of federal government departments. Meanwhile, USSC polling ahead of the successful Albanese-Trump summit showed that Australians had negative views of President Trump but still didn’t want to walk away from the Australia-US alliance. Additional USSC polling was released ahead of this event. After a historic year in US politics, Australia faces key questions about its most important ally. What have we learned from the year in US politics? How has the second Trump administration measured up to expectations? Which of the administration's actions matter most for the future? To answer these questions and to discuss the full results of the 2025 Allies and partners poll , USSC hosted a panel of experts: Chas Licciardello , co-host of “Planet America” on ABC TV , USSC Lecturer in American Studies Dr Kathryn Robison and Director of Research Jared Mondschein , in conversation with Director of Engagement and Impact Mari Koeck .

People in this episode

Host: Mari Koeck

Guests: Chas Licciardello, Dr Kathryn Robison, Jared Mondschein

Topics covered

• US politics
• Trump administration
• Australia-US relations
• government shutdown
• tariffs
• immigration policy

Keywords

• Trump 2.0
• government shutdown
• US tariffs
• immigration
• Australia-US alliance
• polling
• politics

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Australia-US alliance, USSC, ABC TV

Places: Australia, US

More episodes of USSC Live

• Asian crucible: Globalisation, geopolitics and the contest for the future · June 4, 2026 · 59 min
• Errol Flynn: The true story of Australia's Hollywood icon · April 8, 2026 · 57 min
• What the Iran war means for the Middle East — and the world · March 30, 2026 · 1h 6m
• The future of the Quad in the age of Trump · February 26, 2026 · 1h 28m
• Securing the Indian Ocean: India-Australia maritime partnership · February 1, 2026 · 55 min
• Tides of partnership: Australia-India maritime collaboration in the Indian Ocean region · December 17, 2025 · 57 min