Will America be great again?
Cassie Lathrope | Executive Editor | clathrope@mail.smcvt.edu
On Tuesday, America made history by electing a convicted felon as president. President-elect Donald J. Trump, who defeated canidate Hillary Clinton in 2016 and lost to President Joseph Biden in 2020, beat Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday to become president for the second time.
Ariel Kilgore, ’26, said she felt hurt and betrayed by the election results. “It seemed like it would never happen but here we are, so that’s how I’m feeling. I haven’t fully processed it.”
Ashley Seymour, ’26, said she was disappointed and disgusted.
“I woke up this morning and that is not what I wanted to see, as soon as I opened my phone,” said Seymour.
Abortion
In 2020 following the appointment of three Supreme Court Justices, Antonin Scalia, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett, the Supreme Court ruling of Roe v. Wade was overturned.
Since then, Trump has held the viewpoint that abortion policy should be left up to the individual states as it is now. The Washington Post has reported that Trump has suggested he may limit access to mifepristone, a drug used in medication abortions.
Climate
Stephon Boatwright, a professor of political science at St. Michael’s College, said he fears that as president, Trump will use his executive order to overturn regulatory policies that were put in place by the Biden administration.
“Donald Trump has said that human activity is only one cause of climate change and that he does not believe climate change is making extreme weather events worse,” as reported by the Washington Post.
The Washington Post has also reported that while in office for four years, Trump rolled back more than 125 policies regarding environmental protection, does not support clean energy tax cuts, and has said he would cancel electric vehicle subsidies.
Guns
“President Trump did sign an executive order to eliminate bump stocks and anything that can kind of convert a weapon that’s semi-automatic into something that’s mimicking the same actions of an auto weapon,” said Boatwright, following the 2017 Las Vegas shooting. “But that executive order has since been shot down as unconstitutional, and so it shows you kind of the limitations even of executive action.”
Trump is a large advocate for the Second Amendment, which is the right to bear arms. The BBC has also reported that Trump is a supporter of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and “said he was their best friend” in May.
Education
Trump has not been supportive of student loan forgiveness in the past, Boatwright said. “I think if you have another Trump presidency, you’re probably going to see a lot of those initiatives that Biden put through executive order rolled on back.”
However, the Washington Post reported that in March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump waived interest on all federal student loans.
“But he has been clear he would take extreme measures to purge schools of what he calls “critical race theory,” an intellectual movement that examines the way policies and laws perpetuate systemic racism,” reported the Washington Post.
Economy
Many of the tax cuts put in place by Donald Trump in 2017 are set to expire in 2025, putting a lot of attention on the various economic plans of each candidate.
Trump’s 2024 economic policies are quite similar to his approach when running for election in 2016, as reported by The Telegraph. Trump’s plan includes extending the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act which will benefit high-income households and corporations the most, as well as eliminating tax on tips and overtime pay.
The Telegraph has also reported that Trump’s deregulation policies will further widen the federal debt deficit adding $7.5 trillion to the national debt over a decade.
Boatwright said that he believes under a Trump presidency we will see more “blue collar” jobs that encourage the creation of goods. In contrast, he believes under a Harris presidency we would have seen an increase in the creation of “white collar” jobs or specifically jobs that target those with higher education.
Foreign Policy
Trump believes the US should disengage itself from conflicts around the world as the BBC reported.
During the presidential debate, Trump said that he would end the war in Ukraine in less than 24 hours of being elected by negotiating with Russia.
Trump has positioned himself as a supporter of Israel but said little about how he would end the war in Gaza, as reported by the BBC.
On Nov. 5, voters not only chose a president-elect but also what party will control Congress and the House of Representatives. Trump may receive major pushback and rejection on upcoming policy proposals if Congress is not in his party’s favor. This may result in the president turning to executive order, as reported by NPR.
“It’s a little bit difficult to say that either one of them at this point would have a big impact, because, again, I don’t believe that you’re going to see anything go through Congress, and I really hope I’m wrong on that,” said Boatwright.