MAGA, ‘America First’: How Trump underlined campaign messaging on first day back in office

Focus on immigration

Immigration, the biggest issue of Trump’s election campaign, was the major focus of the President’s speeches and executive orders on Day 1.

He declared a national emergency along the border with Mexico; suspended the entry of “aliens” into the US until it was found “that the invasion at the southern border has ceased”; announced a crackdown on undocumented immigrants already in the US; and ended birthright citizenship for children of undocumented migrants and non-citizens and non-permanent residents.

The last of these will impact the children of Indians who go to work and live in the US on temporary visas including H-1B visas and green cards. Indians comprise about 70 per cent of the skilled professionals in the H-1B category.

Some of these moves are almost certainly going to be challenged in US courts, like the ill-conceived “Muslim countries travel ban” was challenged at the start of Trump 1.0. He has framed illegal immigration into the US as a law-and-order problem, and his Day 1 actions were intended as a signal to his base.

Restraint on tariffs

On tariffs and trade, Trump refrained from announcing precipitate action against China, the country that he has targeted repeatedly, and instead said he might impose a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico on February 1 over illegal immigration and the entry of fentanyl into the US.

He also directed federal agencies to carry out a sweeping review of US trade policies, and said that he “may” impose a universal tariff on all imports because “essentially all countries take advantage of the US”.

The executive order also directed officials to investigate the causes of large and persistent trade deficits and “recommend appropriate measures, such as a global supplemental tariff or other policies, to remedy such deficits”.

In his Inaugural Address, Trump announced the creation of an External Revenue Service “to collect all tariffs, duties and revenues”, which he said would facilitate “massive amounts of money pouring into our treasury coming from foreign sources”.

In what ways the role of the US Customs and Border Protection changes in consequence of these steps remains to be seen.

Signal in withdrawals

Trump also announced the withdrawal of the US from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Paris Agreement on climate change, repeating the actions that he had taken in his first term in office.

Monday’s decisions came at a time when there is a general consensus that cooperation and stronger collaboration among countries is critical to combating the existential threats posed by the warming of the planet, and possible future pandemics.

For the world and the international community, these actions suggest that President Trump will likely use the US continuance in international alliances and groupings as a negotiating tool. The onus will then be on these partners and alliances to persuade the US to stay in, and to convey that Americans too will benefit.

In the Word Cloud of Trump’s 29-min Inaugural Address, four words appear as the most spoken – “American”, “America”, “Nation”, and “Country”. One of the least spoken words was “Justice”. And there was no mention at all of “Democracy”.

Contrast this with Biden’s inaugural speech in 2021, when “Democracy” was the fourth most spoken word after “American”, “America”, and “Nation”.