United States in February 2026: the most important developments in society
In the United States in February 2026, the most widely reported event in society was a video posted and later deleted by President Donald Trump that showed former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes. It drew widespread condemnation as racist. Trump refused to apologize, saying he had made no mistake. Several Republican lawmakers briefly criticized the post, and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said Trump needed to apologize. On 15 February Obama, in his first comment on the video, described it as a sign of lost shame and decorum in politics.
Releases of documents on Jeffrey Epstein were accompanied by resignations and public statements in Europe and the United States. Peter Mandelson left the Labour Party, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer apologized to Epstein's victims for appointing him ambassador to Washington. Brad Karp resigned as chairman of the Paul Weiss law firm, Larry Summers stepped down from his teaching role at Harvard, and World Economic Forum President Borge Brende resigned on 26 February after an internal review. Bill Gates said it was "dumb" of him to spend time with Epstein and cancelled a keynote speech in India. On 27 February Bill and Hillary Clinton testified before Congress, denying knowledge of Epstein's crimes. Epstein's estate agreed to settle victim claims for up to $35 million.
Federal immigration enforcement continued to draw protest. Religious leaders in Minnesota declared it their duty to resist ICE operations, and polls found that about two-thirds of Americans said ICE had "gone too far". A ten-year-old girl from Minnesota was released after a month in custody, and a judge ordered ICE to allow clergy to give communion to detained migrants.
A blizzard described as possibly the worst in a decade hit New York and the Northeast between 22 and 24 February, bringing record snowfall, a state of emergency, travel bans, thousands of cancelled flights and power outages. Earlier in the month a cold wave and snowstorm across the south left about 600,000 households without power, and nine skiers died in a California avalanche.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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