In the early days of campaigning, it was a joke, a source of laughter and disbelief. The “you’re fired” guy? Running for president? He didn’t have a chance, no one would be crazy enough to vote for him! However as time progressed, we found out there were people crazy enough to vote for him, a whole lot of them in fact. Now the dismissive disbelief has evolved into fear. No jokes now. Instead, people begin to start considering what’s to come if the unthinkable actually happens. The thing is, it’s a little hard to predict the aftermath of an election favouring Donald Trump when so little of his complete platform either is relayed to the press or remains the same on a day to day basis.
Yes, everyone knows Trump is building a wall between the US and Mexico. Yes, it’s common knowledge that he intends to eliminate and restrict the entire Muslim population from the US. Yes, we all know about how sophisticated and “hugely classy” his vocabulary is. Yes, we have all watched the compilation of him saying China. But does anyone know what he thinks about healthcare and education, specifically secondary education? What is Trump’s stance on the police brutality issues against people of colour? How does he plan to manage the increasingly critical matters of climate change and sustainable energy? What does Mr. Trump think about Canada? Does anyone know? I for one can confidently say that before I wrote this article, I hadn’t the slightest idea of what the answers were to any of these questions.
Therefore, I have compiled a list of where Trump stands on a variety of important issues. This was not the easiest task to do considering he completely changes his policies from month to month, often completely contradicting himself from one interview to the next. I can also safely say this did not change my opinion on him one bit but I do think it is important to understand what is to come with the rumbling thundercloud of the coming election looming over everyone’s head.
EDUCATION
“We must keep education local and under parental control. Unelected Washington bureaucrats shouldn’t determine what is best for our children.”
– Trump in a statement posted on his website on June 16, 2015
Essentially, Trump believes that education should be regulated on a local basis rather than federal. He does not support the federal curriculum Common Core educational standards that are currently being followed in 46 states. Although the Common Core program has some issues, if Trump cuts the federal department, there will be no one to enforce civil rights laws, check income inequality between school districts, investigate and work against gender or racial discrimination within schools, or regulate the consistency and quality of education data among states.
As for secondary education and student loans, Trump has not put forth any official plans or proposals. However in May 2016, campaign co-chair Sam Clovis shared that the campaign was focused on avoiding government interference with student lending and instead requiring colleges to share in risk of loans, and discouraging loans from liberal arts students. The campaign has also previously opposed Hillary Clinton’s aim for debt-free public higher education, Bernie Sanders’ proposal for free public secondary education, and Obama’s proposals for a state-federal project to make community college free for new high school graduates.
HEALTHCARE
“I believe in universal health care.”
– taken from an interview with Larry King in 1999
“On day one of the Trump Administration, we will ask Congress to immediately deliver a full repeal of Obamacare.”
– taken from a 2016 statement on Trump’s campaign website
Trump’s stance on healthcare has been a bit of an unreliable ride. Back in 2000, he expressed support for a single payer universal health care system (like we have here in Canada). Then in 2013, he called Obama’s Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, a “big lie” and “complete disaster.” Then again in 2015, he reiterated his support and admiration for Scotland’s health care system, which is single payer. Finally, in 2016, he developed his current position on the issue which is to provide a “free-market” system of health care, vowing to repeal the “totally catastrophic” Affordable Care Act. His campaign insists that he has never supported socialized medicine. Instead, Trump plans to replace the ACA with “something terrific!”. He seems to have a solid plan to try and help those “at the lower end, where people have no money” by “work[ing]” out some sort of a really smart deal with hospitals across the country”.
POLICE BRUTALITY AND PEOPLE OF COLOUR
“At the same time, we have to give power back to the police, because crime is rampant,”
– taken from an episode of NBC’s Meet the Press
In light of the occurrences of unjustified acts of police violence against members of the black community, Trump has taken the press opportunities to stress his support for law enforcement, reiterating that “the police are the best of our society” and that “they represent our highest ideals, our greatest values, and our most noble characteristics”. However he does recognize that “there is turmoil in [the US]” and he “can certainly see it when [he] see[s] what’s going on.” Other than that, reducing police brutality does not seem to be one of his priorities.
CLIMATE CHANGE AND SUSTAINABLE ENERGY
“Environmental Protection, what they do is a disgrace. Every week they come out with new regulations.”
– Trump on Fox News Sunday
Trump has repeatedly dismissed climate change as a “hoax”, believing environmental cautions and regulation only restrict the global marketplace at the risk of plans that “nobody knows exactly if [they will] work”. He is also firmly opposed to using wind turbines as an alternative source of energy, calling them an “environmental and aesthetic disaster”. However, the Trump International Golf Links & Hotel Ireland recently filed a statement of environmental impact hoping to build a seawall to protect the coastal resort from rising sea levels and extreme weather due to “global warming and its effects”.
CANADA?
“I wouldn’t build a wall on the border.”
– taken from an interview with CBC’s Megan Fitzpatrick
Trump has stated that he is planning to maintain a positive relation with Canada and that he “wouldn’t build a wall on the border” as he is planning to do with Mexico. However, some of his trade and economy proposals may take a significant toll on Canada. For instance, he did also express support to reinstate the Keystone XL Pipeline, which of course would have major environmental impacts. In another interview, he called the North American Free Trade Agreement “a disaster”, promising to renegotiate the agreement if he is elected. Even if he is not planning to build an actual wall, Trump’s election will almost definitely include thicker border security to “protect” the US from the Syrian refugees residing in Canada, raising obstacles in the path of Canadian goods across the border.
Although this is a very incomplete list and there are so many more important topics to address, hopefully this information has provided a better idea of just what a Trump presidency could look like. It really can be scary to think about that as something that could really happen but maybe by having a better idea of what could occur will better prepare us to deal with the possibility and lead to a more educated and informed election.