Photo: Carl Roose/AFSC
In his inaugural address, President Donald Trump laid out an agenda that threatens to further harm marginalized groups, undermine rights and civil liberties, accelerate climate change, and more. Soon after, he signed a series of executive orders to begin implementing these threats.
As a Quaker organization that believes in the divine Light within every person, AFSC will continue to work alongside communities to resist these harms and build a more just, peaceful world.
Here are six takeaways from his inauguration and first day in office:
1. Trump’s immigration policies will dismantle long-held rights, put long-term residents in danger, and make it nearly impossible for people to come to the U.S.
Our U.S. immigration system should be welcoming, dignified, and fair. But Trump has promised to massively expand deportation and detention across the U.S., violating human and civil rights and putting families and beloved community members at risk.
He plans to close the southern border and suspend the admission of refugees to the U.S., shutting the door on people seeking safety and opportunities. He is deploying the military to the southern border. And he is attempting to revoke citizenship from some U.S.-born children of immigrants—a right protected by the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.
2. The administration’s economic agenda will deepen inequality and exacerbate climate change.
Economies should work for all people and our planet. They should also promote thriving communities. Under the Trump administration’s proposed agenda, the inequality produced by our current system would worsen exponentially, and damage to the common good would be unfettered.
The new White House chief of staff is a former corporate lobbyist responsible for managing an administration filled with a record number of billionaires who have made clear that they seek to consolidate their breathtakingly outsized wealth even further. At an inaugural address attended by billionaires worth a combined $1.35 trillion dollars, the Trump administration promised to “drill baby drill,” declaring a national energy emergency. Their economic agenda would give massive tax cuts to the rich while slashing vital social programs for people in need. It would undermine workers' rights, potentially reversing tremendous gains in recent years.
The president later signed an executive order again withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, under which nations work together to reduce greenhouse emissions. He also signed orders reversing clean energy initiatives and weakening environmental protections, polluting our environment to the benefit of fossil fuel companies. He issued orders undermining federal workers’ rights and highlighted coming cuts to federal programs with the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency.
3. The administration’s militarized approaches and “America First” policies will bring a surge in military spending at the expense of vital social programs.
The federal budget should prioritize human needs, not war and militarism. But for decades, presidents from both parties have presided over enormous increases in the Pentagon budget even while slashing spending for human needs under claims of fiscal responsibility. While Trump expressed a desire to be remembered as a peacemaker, he announced plans to deploy the U.S. military to the southern border and threatened to take over the Panama Canal. He promised to “again build the strongest military the world has ever seen” and proudly renewed the language of Manifest Destiny.
As Trump takes office, Congress is pushing for massive increases in military spending—potentially rising to $1.6 trillion annually—while slashing funding for health care, education, environmental protection, and social programs.
4. Democratic institutions and civil society face unprecedented threats.
Freedom of the press, the right to protest, and a flourishing civil society are all important to a functioning and healthy democracy. But Trump and many of his appointees have threatened to jail journalists and use the military against protestors. Congress has already tried to pass a bill giving the Treasury Department broad power to target nonprofit organizations.
Steps are underway to push out federal officials in positions that do not normally change over with new administrations. And an atmosphere of revenge has already begun to impact voluntary behaviors beyond the scope of government. Businesses have been advised to cleanse their websites and corporate policies of language that could be seen as favoring Democrats or their policies, and many gave record amounts to Trump’s inaugural fund. Groups serving the needs of immigrants or other targeted communities are assessing their legal liabilities and seeking counsel.
5. Trump administration policies fuel transphobia and dismiss efforts to address systemic racism.
There should be no tolerance for discrimination, whether based on race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, or other characteristics. But Trump has already issued an executive order rolling back protections for trans and nonbinary people, eliminating funds for trans healthcare, and attempting to erase the existence of trans people. He has ordered the federal government to reject gender identity beyond binary categories and recognize only two sexes: male and female. He has also ordered his administration to dismantle federal programs promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion and end Biden administration that protect transgender people, including in federal prisons.
He has used racist dog whistles in language about urban crime, announced the reversal of Indigenous names to federal sites, and otherwise signaled a sharp turn away from efforts to address systemic racism in governmental policies.
6. None of this is inevitable.
People power—not presidential proclamations—will determine our future. History is full of people and movements who refused to accept the future that those in power tried to impose on them. Today, we have the moral imperative to protect one another, to refuse and resist injustice, and to build something new.
When we take action together, grounded in love, we can make a difference. Right now, people across the country are joining together and taking action in many ways, from developing mutual aid networks to organizing advocacy efforts for migrant rights, economic justice, and peace.
To learn more about concrete ways you can take action, sign up for our “Protect, Resist, and Build with AFSC” webinars every third Tuesday.
