Today, Donald Trump will be sworn in as 45th president of the US. He has made plenty of promises, but some of the key prospective policies are likely to take longer than others, and some might not happen at all.
In the short-term Trump plans to…
- Renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA): Trump has attacked the trade agreement between the US, Canada and Mexico as the cause of millions of American job losses.
- Withdraw from the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP): Trump has been a vocal critic of the 12-nation trade pact, which involves 40 percent of the world’s economy. Instead of TPP, Trump said that the US would “negotiate fair, bilateral trade deals that bring jobs and industry back onto American shores”.
- Cut taxes: Trump wants to repeal state tax and lower the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent. However, slashing taxes could reduce federal revenues by an estimated $6.2trn over a decade, according to the US think tank Tax Policy Center.
- Cosy up to Putin: “They have sanctions on Russia — let’s see if we can make some good deals with Russia,” Trump said in a recent interview with The Times.
- Say yes to guns: Trump is committed to the Second Amendment of the Constitution, which gives citizens the “right to keep and bear arms.”
In the medium-term Trump plans to…
- Repeal Obamacare: Obamacare, otherwise known as The Affordable Care Act, has provided healthcare subsidies and medical coverage for millions who are not covered through work. Trump said he will replace Obamacare with “insurance for everyone.”
- Make abortion illegal: During the final presidential debate, Trump suggested that he would reverse Roe vs Wade; the Supreme Court ruling that gave all women in the US abortion rights.
- Build a border with Mexico: Trump has promised to build a wall stretching across the US border with Mexico to prevent illegal immigration.
- Deport undocumented immigrants: Trump said he will deport 2 million undocumented immigrants with criminal records. However according US-based think tank the Migration Policy Institute, there are only 890,000 illegal immigrants with criminal records.
- Consider bringing back torture: Trump said he would approve waterboarding “immediately” and “make it also much worse.” However, Trump’s pick for defence secretary, the unfortunately named general ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis, looks like he is proving to be road block to this particular plan.
In the long-term Trump plans to…
- Create 25m jobs: Trump declared he will “be the greatest jobs president that God ever created.”
- Eliminate the national debt: Trump told The Washington Post that he would pay off $19trn of debt in eight years by renegotiating trade deals.
- Spend $1trn on infrastructure: From bridges to roads, Trump has pledged to “transform America’s crumbling infrastructure”.
- Destroy Isis: Trump has said he will expand the armed forces on every front. He wants to increase the number of people in the army from about 480,000 to 540,000; grow the Marines from 182,000 to 200,000; increase the size of the naval fleet from 272 to 350; and invest in 100 more fighter planes.
- Withdraw from the Paris Agreement: Trump described the first-ever universal, legally binding global climate change treaty as “unbelievable,” and promised to remove the US from the list of 195 signatories.
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