The Presidency / The First Year

Gold plate on back of chair that says "the president"

Joe Biden at one year

Presidential experts evaluate the 46th president's first year in office

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Donald Trump at one year

White House veterans and Miller Center scholars evaluate the 45th president's first 365 days

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Featured Video

First Year Project Introduction

Watch this overview of the First Year Project

The Presidency

Day one of the Carter presidency

On January 21, 1977, one day after his inauguration as president, Jimmy Carter issued a proclamation to pardon Vietnam War draft evaders.
Sheila Blackford
Miller Center
Eiffel Tower

American Defense and Security

Best practices

The next commander in chief will have to contend with a more intangible though quite serious problem: growing uncertainty about the nature of U.S. global leadership going forward.
Michèle Flournoy
plane

Governance

Smaller but sharper

Imagine a new president who sets a tone of governance among a team of top-flight senior managers who are determined to restore the confidence and trust that Americans once had in their great public institutions. 
Philip Zelikow
Miller Center
Bay of Pigs

Latin America and the Caribbean

Epic misadventure

“Who would want to read a book on disasters?” That was the question John F. Kennedy put to an aide in late 1961 upon hearing that journalists were thinking about writing books on the first year of his presidency. It was a loaded question, as Kennedy was quite familiar with the book market, having written two popular volumes of history, including one on a political and military disaster. And there was no denying that his previous 12 months had been filled with foreign policy missteps—the most notable being the failed invasion at Cuba’s Bay of Pigs.  
Marc Selverstone
Miller Center