He's Emboldened, He's Organized And He's Still Trump: Takeaways From The President's Opening Days

President Donald Trump's first week in office isn't over yet, but already it offers signals about how his next four years in the White House may unfold.

Some takeaways from the earliest days of his second term:

He's emboldened like never before

Within hours of being sworn in, Trump pardoned more than 1,500 people who were convicted or charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by his supporters. Those pardoned include people who attacked , bloodied and beat police officers that day. The Republican president's decision was at odds with earlier comments by his incoming vice president, JD Vance, and other senior aides that Trump would only let off those who weren't violent.

The pardons were the first of many moves he made in his first week to reward allies and punish critics, in both significant and subtle ways. It signaled that without the need to worry about reelection - the Constitution bars a third term - or legal consequences after the Supreme Court granted presidents expansive immunity, the new president, backed by a Republican Congress, has little to restrain him.