Donald Trump made his third bid in two years the white housethe former president has announced many things he would do on his first day if he returned to office.
His engagements have included issues surrounding his ongoing federal litigation, as well as border and immigration issues.
Here’s what Trump said he would do on Day 1 if he won a second term.
Former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump dances on stage after his speech at a campaign rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, October 29, 2024.
Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images
Be a dictator today
Trump raised new alarms last year he was referring to himself as a “dictator” but only on “Day 1” at a town hall in Iowa.
Fox News host Sean Hannity asked Trump if he was promising that he would “never abuse his power as retribution against anybody,” “except on Day 1.”
Asked what he meant by that, Trump said: “I want to close the border and I want to dig, dig, dig.”
“We’re closing the border and we’re digging, digging, digging,” Trump said. “After all, I’m not a dictator.”
Fire the special counsel who indicted him
If he returns to the White House, Trump has vowed to fire Jack Smith, the special counsel who brought two federal indictments against him, “within two seconds.”
“We’ve got immunity at the Supreme Court. It’s very easy. I’d fire him in two seconds. He’ll be one of the first things targeted,” Trump. he said on the October 24 “Hugh Hewitt Show” call.
Trump has also said he will punish the prosecutors and judges who oversee him several criminal casesas he has directed his third presidential campaign compensation.
Vice President Kamala Harris upped the ante on her campaign for president, saying at a rally this week if elected: “Trump would walk into that office on Day 1 with an enemies list. When I’m elected, I’ll go on that to-do list, on your behalf.”
On January 6, some of the convicts were released
Trump said one of his first acts if elected to a second term would “free” some of the people convicted for their role in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, he says, are “wrongly imprisoned”.
“I’m going to forgive a lot of them. I can’t say just one because a couple of them probably got out of hand,” he said in March announcing the pledge on his social media platform.
Trump has repeatedly downplayed the violence that occurred that day, referring to the defendants as the “J6 hostages” and calling for their release.
As of early October, more than 1,530 people have been charged in federal court in connection with January 6, and more than half have pleaded guilty. Department of Justice. there There were “1,000” attacks About the police in the January 6 incident, according to the DOJ.
End ‘Green New Deal atrocities’
Trump said in a campaign video last year that he would end the “Green New Deal atrocities in 1 day” if re-elected.
The Green New Deal — A public policy initiative to combat climate change introduced by Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey never became law, although Trump has used the term to refer generally to the Biden administration’s climate and energy policies. landmark as the Inflation Suppression Act.
“To further defeat inflation, my plan will end the Green New Deal, which I call the Green New Scam. Probably the biggest scam in history,” Trump said in remarks at the Economic Club of New York in September. “(We) will forfeit all unspent funds under the misnamed Inflation Suppression Act.”
At a rally in New Jersey in May, Trump promised to stop offshore wind projects “on day one” if elected.
“I’m going to write it in an executive order. It’s going to end on Day 1,” Trump said, saying wind turbines are “killing” whales, which was later. deny it National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
In this campaign, the slogan “drill, baby, drill” has also been revived.
Trump has said that his motivation to withdraw from climate initiatives and encourage continued reliance on oil and gas is driven by economic necessity.
While taking steps toward a clean energy future under President Joe Biden, the U.S. has continued to produce and export more crude oil than any country, at any time. US Energy Information Administration.
Campaign signs for Republican presidential candidate and former US president Donald Trump are seen outside a pop-up store in Traverse City, Michigan on October 25, 2024.
Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
Mass deportations
With immigration a top issue for voters, Trump has said he is determined to round up and deport millions of illegal immigrants living in the US. He reiterated his campaign commitment set up mass deportations On “Day 1” last weekend at the rally in New York’s Madison Square Garden.
“On day one, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get criminals out,” he said. “I will rescue all the cities and towns that have been invaded and conquered, and we will put these vile, bloodthirsty criminals in jail, then drive them out of our country as quickly as possible.”
To that end, the former president said he would use local law enforcement and the National Guard to find migrants living across the United States.
Trump has railed against the Biden administration’s immigration policies, saying in part they have made America less safe, however the statistics show it US-born citizens are twice as likely to be arrested for violent crimes than undocumented immigrants.
An estimated 11 million people live in this country without legal immigration status.
If feasible, deporting one million undocumented immigrants per year would cost more than $88 billion, totaling $967.9 billion over 10 years. a new report from american Immigration the council
Green cards for college graduates
When Trump deviated from his usual anti-immigrant rhetoric defend In an episode of the “All In” podcast released in June, he talked about “automatically” giving green cards to non-US citizens when they graduate from college — not just people who pass the vetting process.
“(What) I want to do, and what I’m going to do, is you’re a graduate of a university, I think, automatically, as part of your diploma, you should get a green card to be able to be in this country. universities as well,” Trump said in the taped episode on Wednesday. .
“Everybody graduates from a university, whether you go for two years or four years, if you graduate, or get a doctorate from a university, you should be in this country,” he continued.
Asked on the podcast if he would expand H-1B work visas for tech workers once the border is resolved, Trump said “yes.”
“Someone graduates at the top of their class, they can’t even make a deal with the company because they don’t think they’ll be able to stay in the country. That’s going to be over on Day 1.” said Trump.
“It’s so sad when we lose people from Harvard, MIT, the biggest schools,” he added.
