PoliTalk USA
Donald Trump
Republican
• Age at inauguration: 74
• Experience: U.S. President (2017-present); American businessman
• Education: University of Pennsylvania (BS)
• Interesting Fact: Trump does not drink alcohol
Key Platform Points
• Restricting immigration through the construction of a border wall at the U.S.-Mexico border
• Renegotiating international deals regarding arms, trade, and climate change
Economy and Taxes
• The U.S. economy has seen consistent growth under the Trump administration
• The Trump tax cuts significantly lowered taxes on corporate profits, investment income, and the estate tax
• Pulled the U.S. out of Trans-Pacific Partnership
• Signed updated NAFTA accord with leaders of Mexico and Canada, known as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)
• Imposed a 10% tariff on $200 billion worth of imports from China and threatened to raise rate to 25%
Corporations
• Wants to prevent companies from leaving the U.S.
• Cut corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%
• Supports breaking up and fining big tech companies
• Will accept PAC donations for his campaign
Criminal Justice and Drugs
• Signed bipartisan criminal justice legislation giving judges greater discretion over sentencing, protecting first-time offenders from harsh minimum sentences, and improving criminal rehabilitation efforts
• Believes in closing off Mexican border to stop flow of drugs
• Previously stated support for death penalty for drug traffickers
• Created task force alongside Homeland Security aimed at reducing crime and increasing public safety
• Supports allowing states to decide whether they want to legalize marijuana
Education
• Has cut funding to Department of Education by 13%, eliminating 29 programs and $8.5 billion from the budget
• Believes federal government should not be making a profit off student debt
• Opposes loan forgiveness or free college
• Supports eliminating the Common Core
• Supports charter schools
Environment
• Pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement
• Under Trump, the EPA has loosened restrictions on pollution, logging, and oil drilling
• Lowered fuel economy standards for cars
• Previously accused climate change of being a "hoax" created by the Chinese
• Calls the Green New Deal a hoax
• Pushed to open up oil and gas drilling on federally protected lands and in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans
Foreign Policy
• Reject idea of globalism, embrace patriotism and implement protectionist trade policies
• Offer aid only to allied countries
• Vowed to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan and end the war
• Views Iran as a terrorist regime and pulled the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal
• Sought a diplomatic approach in attempting to address North Korea's nuclear ambitions
• Has spoken out against military intervention
• Authorized military strikes against Syria in 2017
Government Reform
• Ran for first term on platform of "draining the swamp"
• Signed executive order requiring that for every new regulation, two old ones must be eliminated
• Voter ID should be required
• Keep the Electoral College
• Opposes increasing the number of Supreme Court Justices
• Opposes filibusters in Senate
• Signed a bipartisan bill to make Senate campaign donations more transparent
Gun Control
• Opposes gun control
• Believes we should respect the 2nd Amendment and choose Supreme Court Justices who will uphold it
• Supports arming school employees
• Opposes gun free zones in schools
Health Care
• Supports repealing the Affordable Care Act and replacing it with a free-market system
• Opposes Medicare for All
• Unveiled American Patients First plan to lower drug prices through increasing competition and better negotiation
• Outlined significant cuts to Medicare in his 2020 budget
• Outlined a plan to reduce HIV infections by 75% in 5 years and 90% in 10 years
Immigration
• Wants to build a wall along U.S.-Mexico border
• Has threatened tariffs against Mexico to ensure stricter immigration control on their end
• Reinforce border security by hiring 5,000 more border patrol agents
• Supports deporting current illegal immigrants
• Believes illegal immigration hurts the U.S. economically and increases crimes and drugs
• Supports offering three years of DACA protection in exchange for wall funding
• Has curbed the number of legal-asylum seekers
LGBTQ+ Rights
• Banned transgender people from serving in the military
• Weakened laws that prohibit businesses and other entities from discriminating based on sexual orientation
• Would've preferred it if same-sex marriage was determined by states, but thinks that the issue has been settled by the Supreme Court
National Security & Veterans Affairs
• Banned transgender people from serving in the military
• Weakened laws that prohibit businesses and other entities from discriminating based on sexual orientation
• Would've preferred it if same-sex marriage was determined by states, but thinks that the issue has been settled by the Supreme Court
Social Security & Welfare
• Outlined significant cuts to Social Security and Medicaid in his 2020 budget
Women's Rights
• Pro-life stance
• Opposes late stage abortions
• Opposes abortions except in the cases of rape, incest, and when the health of the mother is at risk
• Prohibited clinics that provide abortion services from receiving government funding
• Supports equal pay in theory but believes in reality it's difficult
Children
Economic:
• Child poverty has stayed relatively stagnant throughout his presidency
• Experts predict child poverty would be far worse if many of the Trump Administration’s proposals had not been defeated in Congress
Health:
• Believes the government should not be involved in health insurance
• Children’s health insurance coverage has declined, breaking decade-long trend on improvement
Education:
• Signed a deal in 2018 to increase child care subsidies for low-income families and extend the federal homevisiting program
• Devoted in his 2020 budget an additional $1 billion to expand child care access
• Has stated that his administration wants to work with members in both parties to make child care accessible and affordable
• Has cut funding to Department of Education by 13%, eliminating 29 programs and $8.5 billion from the budget
• Has proposed eliminating the Preschool Development Grant Program
• Has called for the elimination of funding for after school and enrichment programs
• Supports eliminating the Common Core
• Has called for cuts to two major college-readiness programs
• Believes federal government should not be making profit off student debt
• Opposes loan forgiveness or free college plans
• Has neither increased nor decreased federal support for Title I and special education
Child Welfare:
• Signed a deal in 2018 to extend the federal homevisiting program
• Has three proposals to reduce SNAP funding, which would cause 500,000 children to lose access to school meals
• His administration was created and enforced the zero tolerance policy, which separated children from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border
Other:
• See Trump's Environment and Gun Control stances for more related to children's policy