Donald Trump
Bio |
Donald J. Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States on January 20, 2017 for his four year term. Before becoming a politician, he was a successful billionaire real estate entrepreneur and businessman. |
Status and Position |
Former President of the United States of White House Executive Branch |
Political Party and Jurisdiction |
Republican, White House Executive Branch |
Elections |
Election Jurisdiction |
Started Campaign |
Campaign Status |
Poll Rankings (of the vote) |
| 2020 Presidential Election United States | United States | Yes | Running | 43.5% |
Campaign Financing |
In the 2016 presidential election, Trump claimed he did not accept lobbyist donations. Trump has not committed to deny acceptance of campaign contributions from PACs for the 2020 presidential election. |
Voting Rights |
Trump has advocated for increased voter transparency through new voter ID laws and asserted that thousands voted fraudulently due to a lack of voting screening in several elections. Trump stated that no other election security measures should be implemented until voter ID laws have been passed. |
Opinions on Issues
Issues |
Stance |
Summary |
| Universal Healthcare | Against | He does not support universal healthcare. Trump’s healthcare policy can best be described as pro-free market. As President, Trump has made repealing the Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare, one of his administration’s top priorities, under the justification that it prohibited Americans from choosing insurance policies that best met their needs. His administration has also advocated for the ability to sell health insurance across state lines, which was prohibited under ACA regulations. |
| Socialized Healthcare | Nuance | Trump made repealing the Affordable Care Act a central focus of his 2016 campaign but has vowed to maintain pre-existing conditions. |
| Private Healthcare | For | Said he would not eliminate private healthcare but make it stronger. |
| LGBT Rights | Nuance | Has been criticised for some policies regarding the treatment of LGBT individuals but has been verbally supportive. Trump has been criticized by LGBT-advocacy groups for his administration’s treatment of LGBT Americans. In the early months of his presidency, he issued a policy that barred transgender people from serving in the military. He has also been critical of the legalization of same-sex marriage on a federal level, and has claimed that marriage equality is an issue that should be left to the states. |
| Taxes | Against | Supports tax cuts. Trump is an advocate for lower taxes, and was successful in pushing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act through Congress in 2017. This law lowered marginal tax rates and reduced tax burdens for corporations, leading to U.S. companies repatriating over 3/4 trillion dollars in 2018. This led Apple to commit to bring back 20,000 jobs and other corporations similar numbers. Another of his administration’s recent proposals would cut capital gains taxes. Trump has also spoken out against alternate forms of taxation such as carbon taxes. |
| Flat Tax Rate | Against | Trump's recent tax plan maintained a progressive tax rate. Trump is an advocate for lower taxes, and was successful in pushing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act through Congress in 2017. This law lowered marginal tax rates and reduced tax burdens for corporations, leading to U.S. companies repatriating over 3/4 trillion dollars in 2018. This led Apple to commit to bring back 20,000 jobs and other corporations similar numbers. Another of his administration’s recent proposals would cut capital gains taxes. Trump has also spoken out against alternate forms of taxation such as carbon taxes. |
| Abortion | Against | Has said he is Pro-Life, meaning he does not support abortion. Trump is a supporter of the conservative Pro-life movement and anti-abortion laws. He has called for Planned Parenthood to be defunded, and has spoken out in support of state efforts to limit abortion access. Many of his judicial appointments are pro-life or have been critical of the precedent of Roe v Wade. |
| Gun Control | Against | He is a supporter of 2nd Amendment gun rights, although he recently spoke in support of background checks. While running for president in 2016, Trump promised to protect the Second Amendment and clearly spoke out against assault weapon bans and expanding background checks. While in office, he has promised to veto certain pieces of gun control legislation in the event that they passed through the Senate. Unlike his pro-gun control counterparts, he has blamed mental illness for America’s gun violence epidemic, rather than access to guns. He had also supported efforts to arm teachers to prevent school shootings. After several consecutive mass shootings in August 2019, however, he softened his stance and began to engage in negotiations to pass gun control legislation that would mandate more comprehensive background checks. Following a major mass shooting in Las Vegas, he began similar efforts to ban bump stocks. |
| Assisted Suicide | For | Has said it should be allowed, after a psychological exam. While running for president in 2016, Trump promised to protect the Second Amendment and clearly spoke out against assault weapon bans and expanding background checks. While in office, he has promised to veto certain pieces of gun control legislation in the event that they passed through the Senate. Unlike his pro-gun control counterparts, he has blamed mental illness for America’s gun violence epidemic, rather than access to guns. He had also supported efforts to arm teachers to prevent school shootings. After several consecutive mass shootings in August 2019, however, he softened his stance and began to engage in negotiations to pass gun control legislation that would mandate more comprehensive background checks. Following a major mass shooting in Las Vegas, he began similar efforts to ban bump stocks. |
| Government Interference | Against | Generally believes that government should have little interference in private matters. |
| Planned Parenthood | Against | Has made efforts to defund Planned Parenthood and remove its Title X status while in office. |
| Welfare | Against | Does not believe welfare programs should be expanded. While serving as President, Trump has made reductions to welfare programs to help encourage self-reliance. For example, his administration made efforts to reduce eligibility for welfare programs such as food stamps and Medicaid. He denied funding from several states seeking to expand their Medicaid programs. He also supported a recent policy, which would impose income standards on visa and green card recipients in order to limit welfare allocations to immigrants. |
| Welfare | Against | Banned fetal tissue research. |
| Death Penalty | For | Supports the death penalty. Trump reinstated the federal death penalty, has advocated to expand death penalty eligibility. |
| Mandatory Prison Sentence | Nuance | Has advocated for mandatory minimums for immigrants caught crossing the border illegally, but has also been supportive of bills that would reduce mandatory sentence periods. |
| Military Spending | For | Has increased national security spending as President. |
| War on Terrorism | For | Following the 18th anniversary of 9/11, Trump declared that the War on Terror would remain a priority under his administration. |
| Foreign Policy International Interaction | Nuance | Trump has adopted a generally isolationist foreign policy strategy but on occasion has gotten involved international conflicts. As president, Trump has adopted an ‘America First’ foreign policy strategy. He has withdrawn the United States from international trade agreements, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and has been critical of international institutions such as the UN. His support of Brexit and criticism of the European Union has remained consistent with his other nationalistic foreign policy measures. |
| United Nations power | Against | Said at during a speech at a UN general assembly he rejects globalism. |
| Nationalism | For | Has embraced an 'America First' platform. |
| Free Markets | Nuance | Supports domestic free markets in realms such as business, healthcare and education including supporting lower business regulation compared to Democrats, but has demonstrated general opposition to international free trade. Trump has been a major proponent of protectionist trade measures, which he has exercised against adversaries and allies alike. For example, he has levied tariffs on most major Chinese imports, as well as tariffs on metal imports from Canada, Mexico, and the European Union. |
| Brexit | For | Supports a no-deal Brexit and offered support for U.K. independence from the E.U. |
| Affirmative Action | Against | Has taken steps to reverse Obama-era Affirmative Action policy. |
| Government Spending | Nuance | Has reduced government spending on public services, but has supported increased spending on defense. |
| Charter Schools | For | The Department of Education under the Trump Administration has been extremely supportive of charter schools. |
| Common Core | Against | Opposes national education standards. Trump campaigned on the promise to get rid of Common Core standards, but has not yet made any material changes. |
| Clean Energy | Nuance | Trump has supported fossil fuel development but also clean energy technologies and privatization of clean-coal, emission-free nuclear reactors, offshore wind, and underwater energy turbines. Trump has frequently spread misinformation regarding renewable energy alternatives and has supported conventional, non-renewable energy sources such as coal and oil. However, the energy department has been making changes to funding and international agreements to push clean energy innovation in the private sector. |
| Religious Freedom | For | Has been hailed as a defender of religious freedom for primarily Christians, but his record shows he has continually supported proposals for the exercise of religious freedom for all religions in America. Trump’s protection of religious freedom is applauded by many. His policies and protections of religious freedom have allowed all religions more freedom by protecting prayer in schools, burdensome religious grant and funding application requirements that Obama set into place, reversed Obama-era policy that didn't provide disaster relief funding to religious organizations, and established the Faith and Opportunity Initiative. On the other hand, Native Americans protest that development of sacred lands was a violation of religious freedom. Likewise, Muslims have expressed that policies such as the travel ban are aimed to disadvantage their specific religion. |
| Separation of Church and State | For | Has supported measures to allow prayer in schools but has supported keeping separation of church and state. |
| Slavery Reparations | Against | Has said he doesn't see it happening. |
| Border Control | For | Supports measures to prevent illegal immigration. One of Trump's key 2016 campaign promises of building a border wall which is slated for development. |
| Passenger Profiling | Nuance | Has said that profiling may be helpful in combating terrorism. |
| DACA | Against | Has taken steps to weaken DACA protections as President. |
| Sanctuary Cities | Against | Has made efforts to remove the allocation of federal funds to sanctuary cities. |
| Legalizing Marijuana | Nuance | Trump has supported initiatives to treat legalization of marijuana as a states’ rights issue. |