/ 9 November 2016

Bliss or Dystopia? Trump’s 10-step plan to ‘making America great again’

US President Donald Trump addresses supporters after winning the US election.
US President Donald Trump addresses supporters after winning the US election.

US President-elect Donald Trump has made various promises on his way to presidential victory. His slogan is “make America great again”, but what exactly is a great America under Trump?

1. Rise of the Republican

The Republicans have taken the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives – the two houses that forge the US Congress. The Grand Old Party has not seen a victory like this in a long time, but the US is now swept in red.

2. Muslims, undocumented immigrants, women be damned

Trump has promised to deport all undocumented immigrants because, among other reasons, he says that they steal jobs. The US president-elect also called undocumented Mexicans rapists who bring drugs.

They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists,” Trump said of undocumented Mexican immigrants while announcing his candidacy last June. 

Intially Trump said Muslims would be banned from entering the US, proposing “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims”. When he realised the policy wouldn’t work, he instead opted for “extreme vetting” of Muslims who wished to visit the US.

As for his attitude to women, Trump dismissed his “grab ‘em by the p****” comment, calling it “locker room banter”. He has also made it to the White House despite being accused of sexual assault by 15 women, one of whom says he raped her when she was 13

3. Let there be walls 
Trump has infamously promised that Mexico would pay for a wall that would be constructed at its southern border.

“I would build a great wall and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and I’ll build them very inexpensively, I will build a great, great wall on our southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall,” he said. “Mark my words.”

The Canadian website for immigration and citizenship reportedly crashed after Trump’s numbers began to look undefeatable. Some predicted Canada just might cut itself away from the US as far as possible.

via GIPHY

4. Guns get to stick around
A few years ago, Trump claimed to be a supporter of gun control, but in his campaign he supported the US’s Second Amendment, which gives citizens the right to bear arms. The president-elect said that strict laws will be in place for people who use guns to commit crime, including a five-year prison sentence with no parole.

“Several years ago there was a tremendous program in Richmond, Virginia called Project Exile. It said that if a violent felon uses a gun to commit a crime, you will be prosecuted in federal court and go to prison for five years – no parole or early release. 

“Obama’s former attorney general, Eric Holder, called that a ‘cookie cutter’ programme. That’s ridiculous. I call that program a success,” Trump says on his website

5. You get a job, you get a job, but maybe not you brown folk
Trump promises that he’s going to be a force to be reckoned with when it comes to job creation. But part of his plan to make more job is available is through taking them back from people he believe has stolen them.

“I’m going to bring jobs back from China, Mexico Japan, Vietnam. They are taking our jobs. They are taking our wealth. We have $2.5-trillion offshore. We’re going to bring that money back,” Trump said at the CBS Republican primary debate in February.

6. Internet shutdown
Trump has vowed to make parts of the Internet vanish in a move to fight against Isis.

“We’ve got to maybe do something with the internet,” Trump said last December.

“We’re losing a lot of people because of the internet,” Trump said. 

“We have to see Bill Gates and a lot of different people that really understand what’s happening.”

Despite the strong claims the US has historically made regarding freedom of speech, what Trump said suggested it’s not that important to him.

“We have to talk to them about, maybe in certain areas, closing that internet up in some ways. Somebody will say, ‘Oh freedom of speech, freedom of speech.’ These are foolish people.”

7. Removing regulations on business
Trump once said he thought rich Americans should pay more tax.

“I know people making a tremendous amount of money and paying virtually no taxes, and I think it’s unfair,” Trump said. 

Of course, Trump himself spent years not paying a cent in tax.

He backtracked on his idea of wealth tax and instead suggested that some regulations on businesses should be removed to help the economy out. 

8. Less debt for students in higher education
“They’re in college, they’re doing well but they’ve got student loans up to the neck. They’re swimming in these loans,” Trump told the Hill

Reforming student loans was high in the interests of US voters and Trump claimed that he would make more government money available for education in order to curb student debt.

9. The US comes first

Trump’s foreign policy puts the US as a first priority. Some have claimed that this could isolate the US from the rest of the world. 

In terms of foreign policy, Trump has shown support for Israel and has gone the route of former US presidents in terms of backing the continued bombing of countries to combat terrorism. This includes Syria – where Trump has extended support to Russia and where he has expressed interest in sending US troops.

10. Abortions won’t be an option
Trump has said that the only time a woman could choose to have an abortion is if there is a case of rape or incest.