In a heavily followed interview on Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, former President Donald Trump unveiled a 20-point list of main pledges he will carry out once he becomes president in 2024. The interview got off on the wrong foot due to a reported DDoS attack and kicked off with Trump’s signature bouquet of grievances, exaggerations, and ad hominem attacks.
Deportation and border security
Trump’s first promise is to initiate “the largest deportation operation in American history” on his first day in office. His plan would involve those undocumented immigrants who have a history of crime in their systems and tie them into the systems of local law enforcement, through acting out the National Guard, and active-duty military.
He also vowed to close what he described as the Biden regime’s every “open border policy” and to shut down the southern border. He has not said how he would do that.
Immigration and refugee policies
Trump promised to stop immigration from “high-risk” countries and areas, like Africa, Asia, and the Middle East because, in this manner, the U.S “is being overwhelmed by brutal, illegal immigrants going to and from those countries.
The Republican candidate also promised to shut down the refugee program. He promised that they would expel the country of every criminal alien, gang member, and MS-13 troopers.
Economic and trade agreements
Trump promised to implement tariffs on nations that “cheat” on trade deals. Trump also promised to either renegotiate or depart from pacts that are unfair to the United States of America and one-sided, including the Paris Climate Agreement. This had seen the US entirely restored and eliminated from the deal during his first term.
He also promised that, as the 45th president, he would open up manufacturing job opportunities, cut taxes, and deregulate businesses among other promises he made during his campaigns.
Energy and environment
He said before he is skeptical about climate change. During the interview, he allowed it to appear supporting other features and said encouraging to electric cars, thanks to Musk’s effort. Still, he did not say any clear proposal as to how he would help address climate change and the promotion of more renewable energy into use.
Foreign policy and national security
He also said that Russia would not have had to take any hostile action against Ukraine if he was still the president and was full of words of praise for other authoritarian figures, mentioning how Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un were at the “top of their game.”
He also promised to stop World War III and that he would not let that start, as well as keeping the US out of these wars, without giving any clear solutions to how he would be able to manage this.
Domestic policy
Trump vowed to protect innocent life and be fully supportive of the Second Amendment, so most people see that as his position on abortion rights.
He also promised to get free speech back, by which it would not be feasible for the regulatory, academic, and information giants to use blanket rules to squelch unpopular ideas.
Defending our elections
Trump promised that U.S. elections would be made safe by advocating for same-day voting, paper ballots, proof of citizenship, and voter identification. However, concurrently, he also said falsely that this mail voting or by drop boxes is less safe and open to voter fraud.
It is in this area that Trump echoed and repeated his hardline immigration, border security, and trade policies during the interview with Musk. He talked about the economy, energy, and national security, but his vows were delivered with very general and nondescript plans of would he would implement them.
Technical hitches that defined the beginning of the interview shone a light on the kind of risks that online platforms could be carrying in respect of interventions during important political events. The integrity of digital communication and the safety of online platforms will be one of the paramount issues in the minds of the voters and those gunning for different political offices during the 2024 election.
