Dear reader,

He’s started as he means to go on. Even in his first few hours back in office, Donald Trump showed the United States and the world what lies in store for the next four years. He pulled the US out of the Paris climate accords – again – and gave the green light for increased drilling for fossil fuels, proudly declaring that the US has “the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on Earth, and we are going to use it”. He prepared the ground for mass deportations, as he fired the top judges of the US immigration court. And he all but declared war on a loyal US ally, announcing that he wants the Panama Canal – “and we’re taking it back”.

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The titans of social media have bent the knee to Trump: witness Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk and their front row seats at the inauguration. Much of the US traditional media has also shown deference to the returning president: witness Jeff Bezos’s determination to neuter the Washington Post. But one thing you know: the Guardian will keep on scrutinising and challenging this Trump administration, through closeup reporting and commentary that refuses to be intimidated. Without the deep pockets of a Musk or Bezos, that will require the direct support of our readers.

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