Readers deserve fact-based analysis and decisions, not prejudice and speculation, so this article sets out in value-neutral terms what the Trump platform is, so that people may judge more fairly what they agree or disagree with. People of course are free to decide whether they like Trump as a person, believe what he says, or think he would and could deliver on the promised agenda. It still pays to know what the agenda is. Photo Credit: Reuters/Octavio Jones.
Based on recent news concerning the Republican Party’s process of selecting a candidate to represent them in the 2024 U.S National Election, it appears that former president Donald Trump has a clear lead and is likely to be the candidate.
This has prompted an amazing outpouring of dismay from the news media and many people in Canada who seem concerned both about what this means for the United States and for U.S. relations with Canada.
There have been many expressions of alarm, but very few of them are based on the statements by Trump and his campaign organization about what his actual platform is. In other words, most of the alarm seems to be derived from U.S. and Canadian media reports that speculate about all the terrible things Trump might do if re-elected, not on what he actually says he plans to do.
Readers deserve fact-based analysis and decisions, not prejudice and speculation, so this article sets out in value-neutral terms what the Trump platform is, so that people may judge more fairly what they agree or disagree with. People of course are free to decide whether they like Trump as a person, believe what he says, or think he would and could deliver on the promised agenda. It still pays to know what the agenda is.
If elected, a Trump Administration would take the following actions.
On the economy, Trump will pass a “Trump Reciprocal Trade Act,” authorizing the executive to impose a tariff on goods imported from foreign countries equal to those that foreign countries impose on goods they import from the United States. He also plans to implement a four-year national reshoring plan so that the United States no longer needs to rely on China for essential medical and national security goods. Furthermore, Trump wants to ban Chinese ownership of all critical infrastructure.
On energy, Trump plans to rescind all the electricity regulations imposed by the Biden Administration; end the delays in federal drilling permits and leases for American oil and natural gas exploration and development; speed up the approval of natural gas pipelines into the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York; fill up the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve; and exit the Paris Climate Accord.
He also intends to oppose litigation from environmental groups that seek to hold up and increase the costs of energy development projects; stop all policies that distort energy markets, limit consumer choice, and drive up consumer costs, including incentives for wind energy and regulations that impose minimum GHG emission standards for appliances and vehicles; expedite the commercial development of advanced, micro and modular nuclear reactors; and provide tax relief from the increased taxes the Biden Administration has imposed on oil, gas and coal producers.
On borders and immigration, Trump has vowed to end the “catch-and-release” policy with respect to illegal immigrants; restore the “Remain in Mexico” requirement before applying for refugee status; eliminate asylum fraud; deport hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants; issue an executive order ending “birthright citizenship”; and rapidly remove illegal alien gang members and criminals.
On crime, Trump is promising to increase funding to hire and retrain police officers; strengthen qualified immunity and other protections for police officers; increase penalties for assaults on law enforcement, “put violent offenders and career criminals” in jail; and place the National Guard into high-crime communities and move homeless encampments out of cities.
On foreign policy, Trump has said he will seek an immediate cease-fire in the Russia-Ukraine war; “completely overhaul and reconstitute” the State Department, the defense bureaucracy, and the intelligence services to fire the “deep Staters”; oppose the efforts of globalists to draw the United States into foreign wars; fundamentally re-evaluate NATO’s purpose and NATO’s mission; and provide strong support for Israel.
Trump has also promised to improve care for veterans; expand parental rights; cut federal fund for Critical Race Theory or gender ideology on children; veto efforts to weaponize civics in education; keep men out of women’s sports; and reward states and school districts that abolish teacher tenure, adopt merit pay, cut the number of administrators and implement direct election of school principals by the parents.
On legal issues, Trump is committing to nominate highly qualified prosecutors, judges and justices who believe in enforcing the law, not their own political agendas; defend the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms; and uphold religious liberty, including the Constitutional right to pray in public schools. He will also promote free speech by firing any federal official who has engaged in censoring the lawful speech of American citizens; banning federal agencies from censoring speech; stopping federal funding for all non-profits and academic programs engaged in censorship; passing a digital bill of rights; and enacting legislation to drastically limit the ability of social media platforms to restrict free speech.
Finally, on elections and government reform Trump has said he will pass a range of election integrity measures that include banning unsecure drop boxes and ballet harvesting; prevent state and local officials from making illegal and unconstitutional changes to election procedures without the required approvals by the state legislatures; ban private money from pouring into local election offices; and push for a constitutional amendment to reform Congress and impose term limits on members of Congress, ban taxpayer funding of campaigns, ban lobbying by former members of Congress and cabinet members for life, and ban members of Congress from trading stocks with insider information.
