Tag: Trump

President-elect Donald J. Trump’s Policies: International Relations

By John Bonus, Transcript Reporter

As president of the U.S., one of the largest responsibilities is to represent the country on issues of international relations and foreign policy.

On the topic of international relations, Donald Trump takes a stance that conflicts Barack Obama’s tactics. His agenda will likely undo many of the deals and policies that Obama has put in place.

Immigration has been one of the most foreign policy issues Trump’s campaign has addressed.

Trump said he believes that the U.S. needs to take stronger measures in preventing immigration. When he announced his candidacy, he revealed part of his plan includes building a wall across the border between the U.S. and

Mexico and having the Mexican government pay for it.

On the subject of nuclear proliferation and Iran, Trump plans to throw away the Iran Deal. The deal would relieve Iran of $100 billion in international sanctions if it halts its nuclear program.

Trump referred to the deal as, “one of the worst deals I’ve ever seen negotiated in my entire life.”

The Islamic State (IS) is a key issue and Trump has not revealed much about his plan to fight the terrorist organization. He has claimed to have a secret plan that he will not reveal until after his election and that he knows more about IS than U.S. generals do.

He does plan to increase U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria while also working with the military of European and Arab countries.

National security is an issue that Trump will take a big stand on. His policies will include keeping the Guantanamo Bay detention center open and using interrogation tactics like waterboarding on people suspected of terrorism.

Where North Korea is concerned, Trump plans to put pressure on China to urge North Korea to stop its nuclear weapons development program.

In January, Trump told Fox, “China has total control over North Korea. And China should solve that problem. And if they don’t solve the problem, we should make trade very difficult for China.”

Trump plans to continue U.S. support of Israel. He hopes to be a medium in negotiations between Israel and Palestine.

Russia is an issue on which Trump differs greatly from many Americans, especially Republicans.

According to Business Insider, Trump has repeatedly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has suggested that Putin is a better leader than Obama and when Putin praised Trump, he happily received the support.

Trump has heavily criticized the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and wants to encourage European countries to put its own pressure on Russia for its attempted intervention in Ukraine.

Cuba is one issue that Trump and Clinton have not differed on this election. Trump will continue what Obama has started in lifting the Cuban embargo and establishing normal diplomatic relations with the country.

Trump: he loves me, he loves me not

By Areena Arora, Managing Editor

Little did we know what scarce Onesidential candidate Donald Trump declared at a rally in Edison, New Jersey that he “is a big fan of Hindu, and a big fan of India.”

Flash back to April 2016, he mocked Indians for our accent when discussing call centers and outsourcing at a rally in Harrington, Delaware.

Thank you, sir. Your transformation has been unreal; impressive even.

As a Hindu Indian, I should feel relieved now. But I do not. Maybe because I am a woman, too, and in 2013 he tweeted sexual assault in the military is to be expected “when they put men and women together.” Or, maybe because more recently, Trump claimed that ‘grabbing a woman by the p***y is only locker room talk.’ But I get it. As his wife Melania Trump said in an interview to News 18 on Oct. 18, he was “led on,” and “it was only boy talk.”

Maybe I should look past that. But as a foreigner here to study, this presidential election has been an especially peculiar experience. I had been looking forward to when I came here two years ago, but little about this election has lived up to my expectations.

With candidates’ emails being leaked, personal taxes being discussed and policies being sidelined, I’m not sure if this is really what I was looking forward to.

I grew up in a democratic country, the largest one by seats in fact, I understand politics can be a mad jungle, and baseless allegations about opponents is not new. However, Trump’s transformative approach toward Indians is unreal.

As an outsider, I was hoping to hear about actual working policies and not how high the wall will be, or who will pay for it. As an economics major, I thought Trump would talk about the labor force, employment and you know, other smart-sounding things, but instead he chose to spew hate on immigrant labor-force.

Two weeks ago, my parents feared for my safety if he is elected – you know, he seems to dislike women, and immigrants. But they’re at peace now. For 48 hours, as of writing this, he has declared us to be best friends, and you might wonder why the sudden change?

According to a 2014 Pew study, 65 percent of Indian Americans were democrats or leaned toward voting democratic. Since there’s about 3.5 million Indian Americans, it seems that Trump’s transformation is merely a product of vote mongering.

I wonder, though, if this 240-year-old democracy is barely dependent on vote and popularity hunger.

Boston Globe columnist talks presidential candidate concerns

By Evan Walsh, Transcript Reporter

Some of those who watched the first presidential debate may have been asking themselves: how did we get Donald Trump (R) and Hillary Clinton (D) as our presidential nominees?

Michael Cohen, a columnist for the Boston Globe and World Review, addressed the concerns ordinary Americans have about the candidates before students and faculty Wednesday, Sept. 21 in Merrick Hall.

Cohen, who has covered both Clinton and Trump’s respective campaigns for the last 15 months, began with a quote from William Faulkner about history repeating itself: “The past is not dead, it’s not even past.”

He then elaborated on those similarities this year’s election shares with another famous, though controversial, election year: 1968.

According to Cohen, Trump, the GOP’s nominee for president is not unlike Alabama’s George Wallace, a Dixiecrat, who divided the Democratic party prior to the General Election of 1968.

Both Trump and Wallace, considered outsiders to Washington’s establishment politics, have a history of using “strong but hateful rhetoric” to appeal to the interests of their constituents.

Citing his most recent publication, “American Maelstrom: The 1968 Election and the Politics of Division,” Cohen criticized the explicitly racist and misogynistic overtures coming from Trump and his supporters.

“When it comes to Trump, it’s not a matter of issues or ideology; it’s about fear … existential fears,” Cohen said.

Brian Goldaber, a politics and government major, said he enjoyed Cohen’s analysis and felt Cohen’s comparisons between Wallace and Trump were appropriate.

“They both capture a sense of frustration with the established political order and they overtly say a lot of things that conventional politicians would never say,” Goldaber said.

Jenny Holland, assistant professor of politics and government, moderated the event and led a Q&A once Cohen concluded his speech.

One audience member, soliciting Cohen’s opinion on gender’s impact on the race, wanted to know how “Trump supporters [those he’s met while covering the campaign] have responded when they were asked about the possibility of the first ever female presidency.”

Tyler Iffland, who remains unsure of which candidate he prefers, said he does not think that gender matters as much as each candidate’s lack of transparency.

“How can I confidently vote for Clinton when she can’t release her emails, and how can I confidently vote for Trump if he’s hiding his tax returns?” Iffland said.

Members of the Arneson Institute for Practical Politics and Public Affairs organized the lecture.