Since November, it’s felt surreal that we would be living through yet again another Trump presidency. Four years ago, people nationwide banded together to kick the now-president-elect out of the White House. In 2024, We’ve gone through a year of blows like the June 2024 Presidential Debate, and Kamala Harris’ deafening electoral and popular vote losses to Trump. We just watched his inauguration, with a front row filled with billionaires, once-beloved singers, and acts like Carrie Underwood. Since we’ve just been thrown into his next term, I’m highlighting what will mostly take place to prepare us all.
the cabinet
The week before his inauguration, Congress grilled Trump’s cabinet picks on things like their leadership skills, integrity, and knowledge about the agency they potentially may lead. Following Trump’s win in November, he made some shocking announcements about the people he wanted to lead, including key and historic government departments like the Department and Justice (DOJ) and Department of Defense (DOD). Each choice sounded worse than the one before and many concluded that surely they wouldn’t pass a senate vote. However, the time has come for Senate Confirmation hearings, and it seems like problematic choices like Kristi Noem will be the head of Homeland Security.
Only a few potential picks have faced the Senate, and the confirmation hearings will continue into the start of a new Trump Presidency. Trump has made a few sane choices like Marco Rubio for Sectrarty of State, who has foreign policy experience. But other choices like Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host, who is deemed problematic, with terrible views concerning women in the armed forces, may potentially lead the DOD. If Trump’s cabinet choices are an indicator of how his presidency will go, it doesn’t seem it go well this time around.
TikTok
I thought I should shed some light on this topic since it’s so close to many of Gen Z’s hearts. During his first term, Trump was the one who started the ball rolling on the Tiktok ban, however, the Biden administration signed a law into effect that forced the sale of Tiktok or its banning in the United States. TikTok is owned by a Chinese company named ByteDance, and many Congressional members were against a foreign nation like China having a claim on American data. The hope was that Tiktok would be sold to an American company like Meta. However, many TikTok users are against this for obvious reasons, one being that Zuckerburg has become closer to Trump and his apps, such as Facebook, are known for misinformation.
A last-ditch effort came about as a case was brought to the Supreme Court that asked for a delay in this ban, yet the justices unanimously voted in favor of keeping the ban. Biden has stated he won’t enforce this law but is leaving office on Monday, a day after the ban will take place. The app was expected to go dark on Sunday, Jan. 19, and Trump appears to be the saving grace.
we the people
Many people following Election Day felt defeated and scared, and it’s very understandable why they would be. The implications Trump’s next term will have on Americans are frightening. Firstly, there will be harsh economic fallout due to his insane monetary policies like tariffs. Economists are declaring that there’s a strong possibility that Trump will cause a recession. There are also looming national restrictions on abortions. Trump has stated that he won’t sign a federal abortion ban but is the sole reason why Roe v. Wade was struck down. There’s a large chance that his new administration will do things that will make it harder for women to access abortions in this country.
There are also his deportations that will break apart families and have huge economic impacts as well. Trump was able to achieve a lot of things during his first term, like a Muslim ban that prevented people from certain majority Muslim nations from entering the United States. He did those things with experienced and coherent people in his administration. This next administration is full of right-wingers with terrible ideologies and beliefs who are also very inexperienced. Many vulnerable groups are at risk during these next few years.
concluding thoughts
This past month and honestly since November, have been full of dread and fear. After living the past four years that have felt like a change, we’re headed into the next, feeling like we’ve been living in an endless cycle. I’m not sure what’s in store for this next term, but it doesn’t seem like it will be good or better this time around. Hopefully, things will be brighter in 2028.