With the emergence of a new presidency, the air is thick with anticipation.

In a country marked by polarization, Trump’s victory incited optimism and doubt in equal measure. 

To many, Kamala Harris’ presidency would have blazed the trail toward progress. Instead, many believe we have taken a step backward. 

For a majority of Republicans, Harris’s loss was a blessing, and Trump’s emergence as the President would make America truly great again.   

With every elected official, there will be criticism and praise, as every political party has different ideologies and values: the Democratic Party emphasizes equality, freedom, Justice, and human rights, whereas the Republican Party emphasizes limited government, traditional values, a free market economy, and fiscal conservatism. These differences will draw a line between these two parties in conventionally all matters: the economy, abortion rights, the environment, education, gun laws, immigration laws, etc, making election years incredibly tense. 

For all Americans, deciding on our government and elected officials are fundamental moments that shape and impact our futures. So what exactly will Trump’s Presidency promise?

Economic Impacts 

Following COVID-19, America and every other country experienced an economic crisis, facing some of the highest inflation in 40 years. This was under the Biden-Harris administration, and many Trump supporters and hard-core Republicans were convinced that their policies were the reason for  America’s downward economic trajectory. However, the National Bureau of Economic Research studies emphasize the relationships between price inflation, wage inflation, commodity, price and supply shocks, shortages, and labor market tightness. Democrats often argue that Trump’s tax plans are due to expire in 2025, meaning that there is no use in scrutinizing the Biden-Trump administration’s tax policies because they were under Trump’s tax plan. 

In neutrality, various factors influenced the economy in this period. 

However, as we examine more of why Democrats and Republicans are divided when evaluating Trump’s economic plans, we must also consider Trump’s past policies and present plans. 

Democrats are so unfavorable of Trump’s handling of the economy as it was skewed to the rich, eroded the US revenue base, involved a trickle-down failure, and held advantages for already profitable corporations. Republicans often place business interests above other concerns involving the environment, healthcare, labor unions, and retirement, whereas Democrats focus on boosting the middle class and intervening to support social programs. 

Currently, Trump has vowed to quickly and largely reduce inflation, offering various tax cuts to senior citizens and homeowners. Many people are skeptical of Trump’s plan to raise tariffs on imports from China and other nations, as renowned economists have explained, will reduce trade and production, increase the price of foreign-produced goods, and cause domestic businesses to increase their prices, making consumers spend more. Many supporters argue that this will “stop China from owning America.”  Others believe it may revive “Trump’s China Trade War, disrupt the global economy, raise consumer costs, stir stock markets and put US-China relations on ice.” 

The Trump campaign proposes to extend individual income tax, eliminate taxes on social security, extend business tax provisions of TCJA, and lower the corporate income tax rate to %15. He has also proposed eliminating the green energy tax credits established by the IRA, where no long-term impact is found. 

Abortion Rights Impacts

Although Trump has distanced himself from the conservative Project 2025 agenda, he continues to nominate central contributors of the project to his administration. Trump’s appointment of  Robert F. Kennedy Jr to lead the Health and Human Services Department, Marty Makary to lead the Food and Drug Administration (which plays a significant role in access to medication abortion and contraception), and Russell Vought as director of the Office Management and Budget. The issue with each of these appointees is that they are committed anti-abortion conservatives. Additionally,  Makary was accused of sharing misinformation about abortion on air by an abortion rights group, and Vought is a key designer of Project 2025. 

Due to these nominations, as well as Trump´s shifting stance on abortion rights, many Americans are worried about losing critical abortion access. Trump declined to endorse a national abortion ban, recently has said he doesn´t plan to restrict abortion pills, and says he believes abortion should be left up to the states. However, by leaving abortion up to the states, many opposers of this decision are worried that women´s health is at risk. Access to abortion care will continue to be ever more complicated, and women in need of one have to travel to another state. Some women do not have the means and money to travel from state to state for an abortion, and for victims of rape, women whose lives are at risk if they give birth to the baby, and women who are not ready to care for a baby, leaving abortion up to the state holds significant risks for them. As of now, Candi Miller, Amber Thurman, Josseli Barnica, and Nevaeah Crain, as well as several other women in states that deny abortion care, have lost their lives due to the extreme abortion bans that denied them essential emergency care. In the future, if Trump leaves abortion up to the states, women´s health is at great risk.

Environmental Impacts

In Trump´s first term, he demolished federal climate initiatives and attempted to repeal 125 environmental protections critical to protecting the people and the planet; many are worried that his attempts at undermining protective climate laws and regulations will be more successful in his second term. According to the World Resources Institute, some setbacks that will be expected involve massive cuts to climate-focused agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency, increasing oil and gas production, limiting clean energy development, revoking billions in unspent funds from the Inflation Reduction Act and transferring them toward high-carbon activities, and tearing down environmental justice plans. It is expected that the U.S. will likely not meet the emission reduction objectives, and we will pull out of the Paris Agreement on climate change and mitigate climate financial assistance to endangered nations. Trump justifies these modifications as essential to mitigating energy costs, attaining ¨energy dominance¨, and boosting the competitiveness of U.S. industries. 

Educational Impacts 

In the wake of Trump´s election, he pledged to withdraw the Department of Education, which supervises student loan programs and administers grants to low-income university students. This program also supports students with disabilities as well as enforces the civil rights law that inhibits race or sex-based discrimination in federally funded schools. Through this, Trump wants to end ¨wokeness¨ and give the services authority to the US states. However, this department shutdown is unlikely unless he receives congressional approval and support from the House of Representatives. The chance of this is very low. 

Gun Laws

Trump has vowed to reverse many of the Biden Administration’s violence prevention efforts, with an agenda aligning with the NRA (National Rifle Association) goals. Trump plans to establish the right to carry concealed guns in public for self-defense and enact national concealed carry reciprocity, which allows people with gun permits to take their weapons across state lines regardless of the different permitting standards in each state. Many are worried about school safety and racist violence as a result.

Immigration Laws

Trump promises to target immigrants who are already contributing members of the US and stop new immigrants from lawfully coming into the US. A central part of his plan is to ¨carry out the largest domestic deportation operation in American history¨ once in office. Under the Constitution and immigration regulation requirements and procedures, the American Civil Liberties Union expects that ¨There can be no doubt that Trump would attempt to defy constitutional and other legal protections in service of his draconian goal¨. They go into detail about how his ¨zero-tolerance¨ policy will violate the Constitution; ¨ these programs result in racial profiling, suspicionless interrogations and arrests, unjustified and pretextual traffic stops, and warrantless searches of workplaces and homes.¨ These plans will affect both legal and illegal immigration, asylum processes, and refugee settlement pathways negatively. Trump believes mass deportation efforts will serve as protection for US citizens and secure US-born workers jobs, but others think it is a policy based on xenophobia and racism. 

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