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A2 U.S. NEWS
Friday 17 January 2025
Trump offered a bountiful batch of campaign promises that come
due on Day 1
By CALVIN WOODWARD ergy production without
Associated Press Congress necessarily hav-
WASHINGTON (AP) — After ing to pass a law. Yet many
Donald Trump becomes of his executive orders will
president again on Mon- essentially be statements
day, he’s on the hook for of intent stage setters for
achieving a hefty chunk struggles to come.
of his promises even be- Trump has walked back
fore the day is out. One of some promises since win-
those promises is to make ning election
you dizzy. In the campaign, he
“Your head will spin when vowed repeatedly to
you see what’s going to “close the border” on Day
happen.,” he said of Day 1. 1. Post-election, his advis-
Steady yourself. This is some ers said he wasn’t speak-
of what he promised voters ing literally. He intends to
he would get done on his take administrative action
first day in office: to tighten enforcement
• Launch the largest de- against illegal entry, not
portation in U.S. history to shut borders.
remove all people in the Trump also vowed to end
country illegally. the Russia-Ukraine war
• Close the border. even before taking office.
• End automatic citizen- Members of the Mexican National Guard review cars as they line up to cross the border into the Now, he’s bending to the
ship for everyone born in United States at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, Dec. 3, 2024, in Tijuana, Mexico. reality that he couldn’t
the U.S., known as birthright Associated Press solve the conflict on the
citizenship. timetable he’d promised,
• Sign pardons for some or already imposed on goods complish all he said he will But as other presidents telling Time magazine in a
many of those convicted from China. do on Day 1 because there have done and as Trump post-election interview: “I
or charged in the Jan. 6, • Even before Monday, are two more branches did aggressively and with think that the Middle East is
2021, assault on the U.S. end the Russia-Ukraine of government Congress decidedly mixed results in an easier problem to han-
Capitol. war. and the courts. (Moreover, his first term he will quickly dle than what’s happening
• Impose a 25% tariff on All of that and more on in 2017 he considered Jan. test the limits of his execu- with Russia and Ukraine.”
everything imported from Monday? 21 his first full day on the tive power. He’s told law- On birthright citizenship, he
Mexico and Canada and Not likely. job after the Jan. 20 inau- makers to expect more appeared to concede af-
add a 10% tariff to duties Trump simply can’t ac- guration to be his Day 1.) than 100 executive orders ter the election that ending
out of the gate. Some will that may not be so easy,
be consequential, others either: “We’ll maybe have
will be cosmetic. Some will to go back to the people,”
be tied up in courts. Trump said on NBC’s “Meet
All will display the bravado the Press” in December.
of a president reaching Some promises may be
for maximum solo power. posturing or part of nego-
Trump, a Republican, won’t tiations
be alone in this. When Re- Trump posted on social
publicans cried foul about media after the election:
President Barack Obama’s “On January 20th, as one
expansive executive ac- of my many first Executive
tions in 2014, the Democrat Orders, I will sign all neces-
met the uproar with a curt sary documents to charge
response: “So sue me.” Mexico and Canada a
Here are some things to 25% Tariff on ALL products
know about Trump’s prom- coming into the United
ises: States.” He added that all
Trump can’t always act products from China will
unilaterally be hit with an additional
The constitutional right 10% tariff right away.
to birthright citizenship, As definitive as that sound-
for example, cannot be ed, Trump later said of the
ended with a stroke of his tariffs, “We adjust it some-
pen. On many other fronts, what” if they are merely
Trump’s most contentious passed on to consumers in
executive actions are sure the form of higher prices,
to meet a thicket of court as is usually the case. And
challenges. he gave the three coun-
On some issues he can tries an opening to avoid
The power to pardon is or minimize the tariffs if they
within his grasp, and he show enough progress in
can steer border enforce- reducing the flow of illegal
ment efforts, tweak tariffs drugs into the U.S.q
and find ways to spur en-
