This past week has been a whirlwind for the Trump administration and for the country at large. The event that dominated the press was the nationwide march against gun violence and for gun control on March 24th. The march - known as the March for Our Lives - was student-led and became one of the nation's largest youth protest marches since the Vietnam War. Aside from making themselves seen and their grievances heard, the protesters also had another agenda: to spur those in favor of gun control to vote, to register to vote, and to attend town halls with their local politicians. While the majority of Americans are in favor of more common sense firearm regulation, the issue of gun control has by and large been stalled by a difference in fervor among voters. Those for gun control are generally less likely to vote on the issue of firearms alone, whereas those voters against gun control consistently turn up to the polls to vote against any attempted regulation. Yet the mounting public outrage over school shootings may indicate that this may no longer be the case in coming elections.

On Thursday, the House of Representatives passed a $1.3 trillion Omnibus Spending Bill that will fund the government through this coming September. The Senate approved the legislation the next day. However, President Trump threatened to veto the bill and cause a third 2018 government shutdown. Trump tweeted that he was opposed to the bill because, "800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded." Despite his threats, Trump then praised the bill's increase in military spending and signed it into law on Friday afternoon, averting a crisis for the time being.On the personal front, Trump has been dealing with the consequences of a 60 Minutes interview with Stormy Daniels, an adult film star that has been speaking openly about an affair that she and the president had in 2006 prior to his presidential campaign - a time when Trump was married. During the interview, Ms. Daniels affirmed that she and the president had a sexual relationship, and disclosed a number of unsavory details about Mr. Trump's personal conduct. The president has denounced the account as fake news.

On the international stage, a potential trade war is stirring between the world's two largest economies. Trump announced that his administration would place tariffs on approximately $60 billion of Chinese imports, claiming that the tariffs are retaliation against China's machinations to gain American technology and trade secrets. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index plunged by 2.5 percent in response to the announcement, and the uncertainty illustrated by this drop may well be justified: the Chinese Ministry of Commerce countered the White House's declaration by stating that they, too, were reviewing a collection of tariffs on American imports. Despite these tensions, the tariffs proposed by the White House are only a slap on the wrist to China, as they would have very little effect on the superpower's economy overall.