US Election Continuation

Republican Donald Trump has won the US presidential election, defeating Democrat Kamala Harris 312-226 in the electoral college. For the first time, he is also set to win the popular vote. Here’s a more in-depth look at his plans

 

Immigration:

Trump has promised to deport the more than ten million undocumented immigrants living in the US. Although he faced legal trouble trying to deport them in his first term, this time around, the courts are filled with judges he appointed, so they’re likely to be friendlier about his requests. If so, Trump could get this through only using the executive branch, bypassing Congress.

 

Foreign policy

Regarding Israel, Trump is expected to be more sympathetic to the nation than Biden was. He has repeatedly criticized Biden for, in his view, not letting Israel go far enough in their campaign in Gaza. He has also promised to let Israel “finish the job.” On the domestic side of the equation, he has vowed to deport pro-Palestinian protestors, whom he sees as sympathetic to Hamas. 

 

In terms of the war in Ukraine, Trump has repeatedly emphasized the need for the war to end, with a key ally saying that Ukraine should prioritize peace over regaining lost territory. However, he has not shown how peace could be achieved. Moreover, he has repeatedly criticized US aid to Ukraine. A paper written by two of his former national security chiefs suggests that the US aid Ukraine only when they’ve entered peace talks with Russia.

 

Democracy

Trump has repeatedly used inflammatory remarks against his political opponents, calling them “vermin” and “the enemy within.” Seeing himself as a victim of political persecution, he has vowed to go after them with the power of the Department of Justice. In addition, Trump has promised to remake the executive branch of the US, seeing the millions of US civil servants as members of a “deep state” that is working against him. He has pledged to remove protection for these government employees, fire them, and replace them with loyalists. 

 

Healthcare

Although Trump denies that he’ll attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Barack Obama’s signature healthcare plan which has given health insurance to millions of people, his actions in his first term suggest otherwise. Without a no vote from Senator John McCain, his administration would have repealed the ACA and replaced it with the American Healthcare Act, a bill which would’ve kept large parts of the ACA but ended income-based subsidies and limited Medicaid expansion, among other provisions. Currently, it’s unclear whether Trump would use the American Healthcare Act as a model for an ACA replacement, with him saying that he had “concepts of a plan” for how he would replace the law.