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Donald Trump made a wide range of threats and promises on the campaign trail, from the mass deportation of non-citizens to imposing steep tariffs on all imported products. He has also threatened “retribution” against Americans he perceives as being insufficiently loyal, and has shown interest in purging U.S. federal agencies and departments of those who did not vote for him or who spoke out against the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021.
In many instances, President Trump is already following through on these threats and promises, passing a record-high 60 executive orders within his first hours and rescinding another 78 orders passed by former President Biden. Trump continued passing new executive orders all of Tuesday, Jan. 21, and another handful of major orders are expected in February.
Watch the above video as Straight Arrow News contributor Adrienne Lawrence recaps some of Trump’s campaign threats and offers her advice for how she says American citizens should respond as he continues to follow through with them.
The following is an excerpt from the above video:
Beyond the impracticality, Trump’s day-one promises reflect a larger pattern [of] using executive power to stoke division rather than build unity. History reminds us that authoritarian overreach never serves the people. It serves the powerful. So what’s our action plan as Americans?
We must stay informed, demand accountability, and defend our values. The people who put him in office must wake up. The ice cream machines at McDonald’s are more reliable than this man, and he is not going to do anything that uplifts We the People. He’s just going to sow strife and chaos while increasing our economic cost.
It’s perfectly okay to recognize that maybe you voted wrong, and now invest in leaders who actually want democracy, who want to make change that helps advance you, that moves you toward health care and being able to economically support yourself. Better jobs, better living, an environment that is healthy. Invest in a leader that is not an authoritarian. That may mean staying informed, attending town halls, holding representatives accountable. Use your voice. We do have a say in the kind of nation that we leave our future generations.
Now it’s easy to feel powerless when authoritarians are in control, but as history has shown, change comes when the people rise together.
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