In a slam to the establishment that fought his every move, business mogul Donald J. Trump has been elected the 45th president of the United States of America, turning the White House colors from blue to red for the next four years.
In the tumultuous campaign, insults were thrown back and forth like tennis balls, but actual policy talk lacked at points. So, I went on a hunt to find out some information on the new presidential elect. What can we expect from President Trump in the next four years, based on his positions?
I have listed five topics that I feel are at the forefront of the American agenda due to public dialogue in the last two years. Underneath these, I will speak about his position on the issue (information will come from the policy section of his website, where they are articulated clearly) and any information I can find on what policies he will put forth to advance these positions.
CIVIL RIGHTS
Surprisingly, Trump's positions on civil rights are not listed on his website, so I had to do a little digging around online for this information. According to a piece by On the Issues, Trump is extremely vocal about his support for civil rights, yet believes that we need to be "smart" about how we go about it. Trump speaks about how he believes that mosques should be "respectfully monitored", how the Supreme Court overstepped it's bounds in Obergefell v. Hodges, and how he believes sexual orientation should not be an acceptable reason for letting workers go.
Trump also made a visit to a Detroit church in September, where he told the predominately black church:
“It’s from the pews and pulpits and Christian teachings of black churches all across this land that the civil rights movement lifted up its soul and lifted up the soul of our nation,” said Trump.
“I will always support your church always. Always,” he added. “And defend your right to worship. So important. I am here today to listen to your message and I hope my presence here will help your voice reach new audiences in our country.”
Trump told the church audience that it was time for a "civil rights agenda for the ages," although it is unclear what that actually means.
TERRORISM
Trump has been extremely clear throughout his campaign about his wish to eradicate ISIS from the Middle East. According to his vision, Trump hopes to establish peace through strength while advancing America's core national interests and promoting regional stability.
Trump hopes to do this by working with our friends and allies in the Middle East to fight ISIS, and "pursue aggressive joint and coalition military operations to crush and destroy ISIS, international cooperation to cutoff their funding, expand intelligence sharing, and cyberwarfare to disrupt and disable their propaganda and recruiting." He also wants to defeat the ideals of radical Islamic terrorism, as he claims we defeated the ideals of Communism in the Cold War.
It is unclear if boots will ever hit the ground under the Trump administration.
IMMIGRATION
One of the cornerstones of the Trump campaign since his announcement of his candidacy is how he wanted to reform immigration by building a wall. Trump wants to prioritize the wages and security of the American people, establish new immigration controls that would ensure open jobs were offered to Americans first and protect lawful immigrants already living in the United States by regulating uncontrolled foreign worker admissions.
To combat this, Trump has listed a 10-point plan that he proposes to fix the immigration issue he sees. To read this, please click here.
SECOND AMENDMENT
Trump is a fierce second amendment supporter, and feels that it is the right of every law abiding American citizen to bear arms. Trump wants to defend the rule of law and uphold the Constitution, along with making sure that nobody is above the law.
Trump plans to uphold the second amendment by appointing Supreme Court justices who share similar beliefs. He wants to get serious about prosecuting violent criminals, and find ways to empower law abiding gun owners to defend themselves. He also wants to fix our broken mental health system by expanding treatment programs and making it easier for those who need help to get it.
HEALTHCARE
Healthcare is one of the most controversial issues of the election due to the controversial nature of Obama's pet project, the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. Trump believes that the ACA is totally killing American citizens and is making healthcare completely unaffordable. He also believes that the quality of care has gone down.
Trump's plan to fix the healthcare system includes repealing Obamacare and replacing it with Health Savings Plans. He wants to focus on making a patient centered healthcare system that focuses on affordability, quality and choices for the people in it. He wants to allow people to purchase across state markets, and also use block grants to allow states to create quality Medicaid for low income citizens.
Trump has a lot of work to do, and he has a lot of adversity going against his plans. The only way he can succeed as a president is if the country works with him, and he finds a way to work across the aisle with both sides.
It will definitely be an interesting four years.
