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Trump comes out swinging in rapid start to presidency

It’s been three days since President Donald Trump took office. And he has come out swinging.

On the 2024 campaign trail, he promised to bring rapid and sweeping change to American government and society if he were re-elected.

Some of his policies and reforms will take time – and congressional legislation – to enact. Other moves might be blocked by the courts.

In the first days of his presidency, however, Trump has already made waves with dozens of unilateral orders and actions that represent a substantial expansion of White House power.

For many of his supporters – so far – it looks like he has delivered on his promises.

“He signed all the executive orders that he told us he was going to do,” said 68-year-old Rick Frazier, a loyal Trump supporter from Ohio who has attended more than 80 of his rallies. “I’m satisfied with all that.”

That has been cause for concern among some. Mariann Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington, publicly asked Trump during a prayer service on Tuesday at the National Cathedral, to “have mercy upon people in our country who are scared now”.

Nowhere has this display of presidential authority been more prominent than on the topic of immigration, which polls suggest was a significant concern for many voters.

Just hours after taking office, Trump declared an emergency at the US-Mexico border, allowing him to deploy more US military personnel to the area.

He effectively closed the country to all new asylum-seekers and suspended already approved resettlement flights for refugees.

Mr Frazier’s daughter died of a heroin overdose last year. He told the BBC that the southern border was his top issue in the 2024 election.

“In my opinion had the border been closed, my daughter would not have had access to the compound that killed her,” he said.

Trump has also ordered authorities to stop granting automatic citizenship to the children of undocumented migrants born on American soil – setting up a lengthy legal battle over what had previously been viewed by courts as a constitutional guarantee.

One step that Trump repeatedly promised – but has yet to show signs of implementing – is mass deportations of migrants who crossed illegally into the US, something he said would start on day one of his presidency.

While some Trump officials have said the deportation process has begun, there have been no signs yet of the kind of law-enforcement raids or other expansive actions that would be necessary to detain and remove the millions of undocumented migrants who currently reside in the US.

Bryan Lanza, who previously served as a senior adviser to Trump, told the BBC’s Americast podcast that the total number of deportations is less important than the message it sends.

“It’s never about a number,” he said. “It’s more about the PR.”

If you deport a million undocumented migrants, he said, then the rest will start wondering if they’re next – and take steps to return to their home countries.

“Illegals aren’t welcomed here,” he said. “Every other country is allowed to say that. Why shouldn’t we?”

Source:Fiilafmonline/BBC

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