Donald Trump is a man who needs no introduction. Whether you are a voter in Pennsylvania, a student in Manchester, or a rural farmer in China, you will likely be familiar with his personality and rhetoric. Trump’s vicious rebuttal of the political status quo is well known, but for all the bluster and bravado that he exhibits so often, what he plans to do once in power is much more nebulous. While Trump’s first term was often characterised by anxiety and tension among political spectators nervously waiting for the next offhand inflammatory comment or rash decision from the White House, Trump never fully lived up to this fear. While Trump’s first term put the status quo on temporary pause, a win on November 5 could result in it being uprooted.
When Trump entered the White House in 2016, he had no experience of elected office and no knowledge of the political machine. His only credentials for office were his expert use of flashy, news-grabbing comments. Though these comments played well on the campaign trail, they were not so effective in office. The Trump administration was frequently frustrated by its inability to pass key legislation, such as repealing the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and funding the wall between the United States and Mexico. No matter how politically illiterate you are upon taking office, being president of the United States must leave you with at least some degree of political savvy, which we should expect to see exhibited if Trump returns to the Oval Office.
While Trump’s improved understanding of ‘real-world’ politics would, presumably, result in him being a more effective president, Trump has also wisely surrounded himself with veteran political operatives. Trump’s campaign managers, Suzie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, are well-versed in the bureaucratic machinery that stands between Trump’s often glib rhetoric and a successful vote on a law in Congress. Assuming that key campaign employees would be promoted into White House staffing roles if Trump wins the 2024 election, we could see Trump be more effective in implementing his vision for America.
While the differences between the Trump campaign of 2016 and that of 2024 indicate that Trump may be more effective in implementing policy, the question then becomes what these policies would look like and just how dangerous they could be. The answer to this may well lie in the policy document Project 2025.
Some of those who have worked closely with Trump, such as Janet Yellen, have publicly criticised the former President for his poor understanding of nuance and policy discussions; Project 2025 may solve this problem for Trump. Project 2025 is a policy paper published by The Heritage Foundation and outlines something of a ‘wish list’ for the conservative right in America. While Trump has denied having any involvement with Project 2025, many political analysts are sceptical.
In this 922-page document, which aligns remarkably closely with many of the policies Trump has said he would like to implement, several potentially dangerous notions are floated. Project 25’s recommendations on abortion, defence and healthcare, to name a few, run contrary to the increasingly liberal values of voters in the United States and around the world. While implementing these policies would pose a real and imminent danger to the values and ideals of American democracy, America’s system of checks and balances which limit presidential power would likely prevent this.
Worryingly, perhaps the most dangerous aspect of Project 2025 is a set of policies designed to undermine this very system of checks and balances. These policies instead seek to concentrate power within the executive branch of government – the Presidency. Project 2025, under the subsection ‘managing the bureaucracy’, advocates an expansion of Trump’s previous Schedule F executive order, which would make it easier to fire impartial civil servants and replace them with partisan loyalists to the president. Doing so would turn otherwise independent federal organisations, such as the Environmental Protection Agency or the Federal Communications Commission, into partisan bodies. Such a move would be a major blow to the current system, meaning the executive could face far less resistance to the implementation of controversial policies.
A second Trump administration would likely implement key aspects of the Project 2025 agenda, doing so with a more politically adept staff and a plan to circumvent the Constitution’s limitations on the power of the president. It is hard to see that as anything other than dangerous. If we accept that the system of checks and balances, which has thus far been successful at preventing tyranny in the United States, is under threat, then the very fabric of American democracy is also in the crosshairs. Elections are held to choose a president, not a king. Trump’s lust for power and individual success represents a danger to the American state, American civilians, and world security if it is allowed to go unchecked.
