Last Monday, Donald J. Trump was re-elected to be the President of the United States. He spoke about a reversal of America’s “decline,” and invoked God as he spoke about his vision for the country. He stated he had been saved by God to lead this country into a new era, and was specific in his vision from the United States. He called for the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, the annexation of Greenland, and made references toward his previous comments of making Canada a US State. He also stated he would be closing the border and deemed Mexican cartels “foreign adversaries.”
He made his first day extremely eventful, holding a rally after his ceremony and taking several executive orders with him to be signed just after he was sworn in, in front of a roaring crowd in the Capital One Arena.
Immigration and National Security
Trump signed an order to end birthright citizenship in the United States, a highly contentious view that directly violates the 14th Amendment’s first line. He stated that the “All persons born…” introduction to the amendment was never interpreted as “universally to everyone born in the United States”. Yeah, that’s where we are. The order has already been challenged, due to the direct and clear contradiction with the very first line to the 14th amendment. He also suspended the Refugee Admissions Program, the very same that grants asylum. He pledged to additionally reinstate a policy that forced asylum seekers to stay in Mexico while seeking citizenship. Additionally, he ended the CBP One app, where many immigrants would be able to attain legal crossing status.
He also targeted several of his opponents in national security, such as his former advisor John Bolton, revoking their security clearance.
LGBTQ Issues, DEI
He signed an order banning the use of non-binary genders on federal documents, and banned the changing of one’s gender on federal documents. He also terminated Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs in the government, and rolled back several protections for federal workers involving sexuality. Repealing a previous order protecting workers based on sexuality, LGBTQ government workers no longer have protection from hiring or firing discrimination on the basis of sexuality.
Pardons
Trump pardoned over 1,500 people in connection with the January 6th riot in the US Capitol four years ago, keeping a core campaign promise he has had since the end of his first term. He plans to further his agenda to fight the “weaponization” of the US Justice Department, but namely only when they affect people that support him, as shown with his defense of Matt Gaetz.
Inflation and the Economy
He signed an order that directed US government agencies to combat consumer inflation, however it contained no specific policy or direction besides setting an abstract goal to fight inflation. He also repealed several actions from former President Biden regulating the oil and gas industry, and specifically allowed for more fossil fuel exploration and mining in Alaska.
Climate
Trump declared an “energy emergency,” calling for higher oil and fossil fuel production. He also pulled the US out of the Paris climate accords, which Biden had put the US back into after Trump had pulled us out in his first term. He also stated he would end the “electric vehicle mandate” that Biden had started.
TikTok
He signed an order commanding US agencies to not enforce the ban of TikTok for 75 days, allowing companies to continue to work with and host the app on their app stores. However, both Apple and Google have not restored the app to the stores. The law contains a penalty for app stores, fining them heavily per user, proving to be an intimidating price even to the tech giants. Trump stated he would be seeking a US buyer in this period to avoid the ban of the app.
Federal Workers and Bureaucracy
He set forth another order calling for federal workers to come in to work five days a week, pulling many from remote or hybrid to office. Additionally, he put a hiring freeze on federal civilian employees. He also stated on Truth Social he would be firing over 1000 presidentially appointed employees that weren’t following his vision for the United States. He also put a freeze on all new regulation from the Executive Branch. He also cited the newly-created Department of Government Efficiency, calling on them to lead the charge in making budget and workforce cuts.
International Affairs
Trump pulled the US out of the WHO, citing the lack of assistance during the pandemic and the pandemic response of several countries. This revokes the US’ free access to global health data, which would hinder organizations like the CDC in the case of a global pandemic (like the bird flu, a possible new epidemic). He also called for a complete review of foreign aid spending, furthering an isolationist tide coming from his America First agenda.
Naming
As mentioned before, Trump ordered the Gulf of Mexico to be instead called the “Gulf of America” in federal maps and documents. He also renamed Denali, the tallest mountain in the continental US, back to being Mount McKinley, after it had been previously renamed to be the original native name.
The next four years are going to be eventful, and this was only the first day of 1,461.
