Promises, promises
Richard Fulton
The inauguration of Donald Trump as president of the United States is just around the corner. What are we to expect from a Trump presidency?
Usually a good indication of a president’s policies and goals can be found in the promises he makes during the campaign. Certainly there will be changes to the specifics of these plans, there usually are, but the basics usually show the intent of the president-elect.
So what has Trump promised? Here’s a partial rundown.
One of the most important policies facing Trump immediately upon taking office will be how to deal with the terrorist threat of ISIS. Donald Trump promised the American people that “I have an absolute way of defeating ISIS.”
We are still waiting for a hint of any such way, but he will need to produce that plan immediately upon gaining office. Won’t he?
Within the first 100 days Trump has vowed to tackle several key issues facing the country. Here’s what he has promised to do about them.
We remember the wall and Mexico’s responsibility to pay for it. How will this emerge? Trump now hints part of that wall may actually be a fence. Mexico, of course, refuses to pay for it. Trump says he will end remittances from Mexicans in America to their relatives at home. Is that legal? What hardships will this impose on those in Mexico?
Of course on “day one” Obamacare will be gone. Trump pledged full repeal. But then, how do you do that in such a short time? Well, Republicans in congress will immediately pass a “sense of the congress” bill that has no legal force except to say they expect to bury Obamacare.
Trump now says he might want to keep some elements (the popular ones) like young people remaining on their parent’s plans and insurers can’t deny coverage for preexisting conditions.
Trump’s plan is to give states bloc grants to help with health insurance, medicaid and medicare. Experts say this will mean 21-25 million Americans will lose health care. Don’t expect any real changes in Obamacare for at least a year or two, it takes that long to pass legislation and begin to put it into affect.
Renegotiate. That’s Trump’s promises for NAFTA, the Trans-Pacific Trade Agreement, the North American Free Trade deal and the Iranian nuclear deal. He certainly will not get agreement from the other participants to roll over and give him what he wants. Each is a long-term deal that takes agreement from the other nation’s involved.
He’s not dealing with other billionaires here, he’s dealing with national interests and the value of international trade. Tens of thousands of jobs are at stake in international trade. And world peace is involved with the Iranian nuclear posture.
He promised to raise import tariffs on China by 30 percent. Will this precipitate a trade war? Or was this just rhetoric?
Trump has promised a new tax plan that experts say will raise the national debt by $5 trillion over the next decade. Will Republicans in congress like this?
Of course, Trump has promised to release his tax returns. Yeah right.
He promised to have a news conference to give details on Milania’s immigration details. In fact he promised to have news conferences period. As of this writing there have been none. He seems afraid of the open press.
His immigration promises would make it hard for Muslims to enter the United States and he would deport millions of illegal immigrants, especially those with criminal records (though many are misdemeanors). Actually, that has been Obama’s policy for years.
Evidently, it will be a busy first few months for Trump and his Republican congress. Some have added up his promises and say there were over 200 made during the campaign. At least 30 of them deal with serious matters of national and international concern.
The “promising” candidate may not turn out to be such a promising president if he was honest during the campaign.
