By Jordan Beaubois, News Editor
Trump at the Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. – Photo by The New Republic
A historic day has been jotted down in the history books as President Donald J. Trump was inaugurated for his second non-consecutive term on Jan 20, 2025. Trump is the first felon to be elected and inaugurated, the second President to serve a non consecutive term, and has begun making himself and his loyalists busy with copious amounts of executive orders in just seven days.
One of the many executive orders that Trump has done thus far is the removal of Executive Order 11246 which required Affirmative Action and prohibited federal contractors from discrimination. The reversal of this makes it so that federal contractors in the future could be less likely to hire people based on potential discriminatory categories (skin color, ethnicity, citizenship status, sex/gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, political affiliation, etc). Trump has been vocally adamant about the removal of anything related with Affirmative Action, further emphasized by removing DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives in government, mostly those during President Joe Biden’s administration.
Continuing actions that have faced heavy criticism has been how the president chose to pardon those who participated in the failed coup d’état at the capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 four years ago. Palmatier Endowed Professor of Political Science, Doctor Roger Durham said, “President Trump’s first week in office is indicative of his authoritarian tendencies. Most egregiously, he pardoned about 1,500 people found guilty of the violent attack on the democratic process of Jan. 6, 2021. Among those pardoned is Enrique Tarrio, leader of the racist and anti-semetic Proud Boys.”
President Trump raises his fist in the air after his inaugural speech – Photo by ABC News
President Trump’s attempt to eradicate the 14th Amendment which reads that, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States… Are citizens of the United States and of the State they reside in.” Which has received mixed reception by many Americans and those wishing to become Americans. Similarly this has raised concerns to American citizens who hold more than one citizenship, the United States allows Dual (or Multiple) citizenship to be carried by said persons. If Trump is unsuccessful in the attempts to repeal this amendment, it is not out of the realm of possibility that the president would persuade, coerce, or force citizens to choose their loyalty to only one country by making it illegal to hold two or more citizenships.
Those who have yet to attain citizenship are concerned as to their current status whether it be a refugee or a migrant (legal or illegal). The president has already issued that Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) conduct raids within the United States borders to detain, deconsecrate, and deport those who are here illegally. Which has already begun in the accumulation of people of various ethnic backgrounds, mostly of the Latin America nation-states.
Trump has inherited the presidency in a world of grand upheaval. A world in which President Biden left office after having successfully assisted in reaching a cease-fire with Israel and Hamas. Regardless of said ceasefire, the uncertainty of the future of Israeli and Palestinian affairs remains contentious and conflicting. Currently Trump has asked Egypt and Jordan to take in Palestinian refugees, questioning the sanctity or ability of their return to their homes in Gaza. It appears affairs are far from over and fraught with the feckless political motivations.
The Saint 