Opinion writer Chris Roemer writes that the U.S. might not survive another Donald Trump presidency. He states that he likes Trump, but would like someone else with Trump-like policies.
What are these “Trump-like” policies he likes?
Trump’s plan if he returns to the White House is being a dictator for a day starting with a mass deportation operation, a new Muslim ban, tariffs on all imported goods and “freedom cities” built on federal land. If implemented, Trump’s plans would represent a dramatic government overhaul.
Dismantling the “deep state:” Trump would try to strip tens of thousands of career employees of their civil service protections. That way, they could be fired as he seeks to “totally obliterate the deep state.” He would reclassify masses of employees, with a particular focus, he has said, on “corrupt bureaucrats who have weaponized our justice system” and “corrupt actors in our national security and intelligence apparatus.”
Given his anger at the FBI and federal prosecutors pursuing criminal cases against him, Trump probably would target people linked to those prosecutions for retribution. Beyond the firings, he wants to crack down on government officials who leak to reporters. He also wants to require that federal employees pass a new civil service test.
The U.S.-Mexico border: Trump has pledged to “immediately stop the invasion of our southern border” and end illegal immigration. As part of that plan, he says he would immediately direct U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to undertake the largest domestic deportation operation in American history. He would target people who are legally living in the United States but harbor “jihadist sympathies” and revoke the student visas of those who espouse anti-American and antisemitic views.
In a bid to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, Trump says he will move thousands of troops currently stationed overseas and shift federal agents, including those at the Drug Enforcement Administration and FBI, to immigration enforcement. He also wants to build more of the border wall.
To deter migrants, he has said he would end birthright citizenship, using an an executive order that would introduce a legally untested interpretation of the 14th Amendment. The order would prevent federal agencies from granting automatic citizenship to the children of people who are in the U.S. illegally. It would require that at least one parent be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident for their children to be eligible for passports, Social Security numbers and other benefits.
Foreign policy: Trump claims that even before he is inaugurated, he will have settled the war between Russia and Ukraine. That includes, he says, ending the “endless flow of American treasure to Ukraine” and asking European allies to reimburse the U.S. for the cost of rebuilding stockpiles.
It is unclear whether he would insist that Russia withdraw from territory in Ukraine it seized in the war it launched in February 2022. He says he will continue to “fundamentally reevaluate” NATO’s purpose and mission.
Gender-affirming care: Trump says he will ask Congress to pass a bill establishing that “only two genders,” as determined at birth, are recognized by the United States.
As part of his crackdown on gender-affirming care, he will declare that hospitals and health care providers that offer transitional hormones or surgery no longer meet federal health and safety standards and will be blocked from receiving federal funds, including Medicaid and Medicare dollars.
Energy: Trump’s goal, he says, is for the U.S. to have the lowest-cost energy and electricity of any nation in the world, including China. Under the mantra “Drill, baby, drill ,” he says he would ramp up oil drilling on public lands and offer tax breaks to oil, gas and coal producers.
He would roll back Biden Administration efforts to encourage the adoption of electric cars and reverse proposed new pollution limits that would require at least 54% of new vehicles sold in the U.S. to be electric by 2030. And again, he says, he will exit the Paris Climate Accords, end wind subsidies and eliminate regulations imposed and proposed by the Biden Administration targeting incandescent light bulbs, gas stoves, dishwashers and shower heads.
Education: Trump has pledged to terminate the Department of Education, but he also wants to exert enormous influence over local school districts and colleges. He would push the federal government to give funding preference to states and school districts that abolish teacher tenure, adopt merit pay to reward good teachers and allow the direct election of school principals by parents.
He has said he would cut funding for any school that has a vaccine or mask mandate and will promote prayer in public schools. Trump also wants a say in school curricula, vowing to fight for “patriotic education.” He says that under his administration, schools will “teach students to love their country, not to hate their country like they’re taught right now” and will promote “the nuclear family” including “the roles of mothers and fathers” and the “things that make men and women different and unique.”
To protect students, he says he will support school districts that allow trained teachers to carry concealed weapons. He would provide federal funding so schools can hire veterans, retired police officers, and other trained gun owners as armed school guards.
Harvey Rabinowitz writes from Taneytown.
