Immigration was a major issue that helped propel Trump to the White House, but it is still less important to voters than concerns about the economy and inflation.
So far the president has focused on energy policy — directly tying it to the high prices that millions of Americans have struggled with.
“When energy goes down, the prices of food and everything goes down,” Trump said Tuesday evening. “Energy is the big baby.”
To that end, Trump declared a “national energy emergency” and revoked Biden-era protections for fossil fuel extraction in Alaska and US coastal waters. He also began the process of withdrawing the US from the Paris Climate Agreement, which obligates countries to reduce emissions to try to avoid the most severe impacts of climate change.
Even optimistic estimates suggest it will take time to see any results from these measures, but Aziz Wahbe, a Syrian-American Republican voter in Allentown, Pennsylvania, said what he has seen so far is encouraging. are happy
“It’s a good sign for the economy and for those of us who run businesses,” he said. “The economy is starting to move and not freeze. Everyone will take notice.”
One topic that Trump has mentioned, but has yet to act on, is tariffs. He promised on day one to slap America’s biggest trading partners to protect American industries and generate new revenue to fund his favored government programs.
Economists, including some in the Trump administration, have warned that tariffs could increase consumer spending and hurt American businesses that rely on imports for their supply chains. That may be one reason why Trump, with his eye on the stock market and economic growth, is treading more carefully when it comes to trade.
Many of President Trump’s other early administration initiatives focused on restructuring the vast federal workforce.
He has reinstated rules that allow him to fire senior-level civil servants, suspend new regulations and hires, and pay all federal employees involved in DEI – diversity, equity and inclusion – programs. Ordered to be kept on leave.
It changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and directed the US government to recognize only two genders, male and female, on all official documents and forms. The changes, while controversial, have been wildly popular even with Trump’s base — a sign that the president will continue to lean toward controversial cultural issues.
Trump’s second term is just beginning. He promises more major presidential actions in the coming days — actions that will almost certainly test the limits of presidential power.
But former adviser Lanza says big noise, noise, drama is not a problem for the president. This is his strength.
“Where we are today in modern politics, what people haven’t anticipated is, from our point of view, communicating to voters that they support our issues, that controversy amplifies the message,” he said.
How can you get your message across in the turbulent times of modern politics?
“That’s the controversy.”
Understand this, and the strategy behind Trump’s frantic first days in office begins to come into focus.
With additional reporting by Bernd Debsmann Jr. and Madeleine Halpert
