One nation, under Trump: an early look

Photo by Isaiah Teeny.

Contrary to media forecasts and speculation, Donald J. Trump was elected President of the United States on Tuesday. Now that the back-and-forth between the two candidates is over, one question remains: What will a Trump presidency look like?

First, we should address the other branches of government – legislative and judicial. The Republican Party has garnered a majority in both the Senate and the House, and Trump said he will appoint a conservative justice to the vacant seat on the Supreme Court. This means that conservative legislature will be significantly easier to pass, and there’s been talk of overturning some longstanding Supreme Court cases, notably Roe v. Wade, the landmark ’70s case guaranteeing a woman a right to an abortion.

Trump repeatedly pledged to repeal many of Obama’s executive orders, something we should expect him to follow through on. These include the Affordable Care Act (i.e., Obamacare), DACA (Deferred Action for Children Arrivals), and the Iran nuclear control deal.

As someone who gets health insurance through the ACA, I’m very worried that my coverage is going to be erased. Factoring in health insurance on top of tuition and other expenses is probably going to result in my going without health insurance. DACA is a piece of legislation granting a two-year work visa to people whose parents immigrated to America illegally, and Donald Trump made his stance on illegal immigration abundantly clear. This will most likely result in a flurry of deportations, which, make no mistake, will affect members of our Mt. Hood student body.

And then, there’s his cabinet. While we have yet to see some concrete appointments, there’s been considerable speculation. Trump repeatedly said he wants to appoint individuals from the private sector whenever possible. Again, this is mostly speculative at this point, but among the probable candidates, we’ve got Steven Mnuchin being considered for Treasury Secretary. Mnuchin has a 17-year record with Goldman Sachs, one of the investment banks who helped engineer the financial crisis of 2008. Then we have former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie being considered for Attorney General (this is a man who oversaw the fiasco popularly known as Bridgegate – if you’re unfamiliar with it, I recommend doing a little research).

Sarah Palin’s name has been floated for Interior Secretary, which oversees the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the National Parks Service. Palin is known for being the former governor of Alaska, and for her famous quote regarding offshore-oil rights, “Drill, baby, drill!”

Long story short: The America we’ve known for the past eight years is going to be fundamentally altered. It’s very hard to say what it’s going to look like, but one thing’s for sure: We’ve made our bed, and now we’re going to have to lie in it.

Advocate Staff