Elected as the 45th president of the United States on Tuesday, November 8, Donald Trump promised in his victory speech to focus on economic growth, domestic policy, and foreign affairs when he is sworn into office in January 2017. In his speech, Trump outlined his bold plans for America, especially for the economy.

“We have a great economic plan,” he promised. “We will double our growth and have the strongest economy anywhere in the world.”

In the midst of his campaign, Trump admitted the issue of the economy was not a problem he looked forward to tackling. In an interview, he offered up a bleak assessment of America’s current economic states and explained that it is a task he would rather skip. “We’re in a bubble,” he claimed, “and, frankly, if there’s going to be a bubble popping, I hope [the problems] pop before I become president, because I don’t want to inherit all this stuff. I’d rather it be the day before rather than the day after, I will tell you that.”

Despite Trump’s uncertainty, Patrick Feng ‘20 feels confident in Trump’s pledge to fix the economy, stating, “I think Trump will be able to stay true to his promise, given his business acumen.”

As president, Trump will now be tasked with accelerating economic growth and fixing America’s economic problems. According to his website, he plans on “creating a dynamic booming economy that will create 25 million new jobs over the next decade.” Ambitiously, Mr. Trump also intends to “boost growth to 3.5 percent per year on average, with the potential to reach a 4 percent growth rate.”

Aside from economic actions, The President-Elect also plans to focus his attention on immigration reform. Since the start of his election, Trump has called for a wall to be built between Mexico and the United States and demanded the deportation of eleven million undocumented immigrants. However, this plan has been incredibly controversial. A number of industries that depend heavily on cheap immigrant labor would be devastated — especially in the agricultural industry. John McLaren, professor of economics at the University of Virginia, notes, “There would be an abrupt drop in farm income and a sharp rise in food prices.”

Companies that manufacture with the immigrant population as their market group would also be affected, leading to decreased revenue for local businesses and a loss of American jobs. “Immigrants, whether they are legal or illegal, always spend a portion of their earnings in the location where they have their jobs,” McLaren explained. “And in a lot of our urban centers, this is actually an important part of the economy.”

Furthermore, Trump’s proposal to build a wall across the southern border and “make Mexico pay for it” may be more difficult to achieve than he anticipates. This can mainly be attributed to the fact that Congress needs to pass new legislation in order to legalize this action. Furthermore, the issue has sparked massive human rights protests, illustrating that a large part of the country does not support Trump’s decision.

Trump’s election has also raised questions about the future of NATO, an alliance designed to protect America’s closest social, political, and economic allies. Trump has repeatedly criticized NATO as “obsolete” and asserted that European nations were “freeloaders.” Concerned, some members of NATO claim that the president-elect will be the first president since World War II to challenge the fundamentals of the alliance. An early test in Trump’s presidency will be whether or not his administration continues with the Pentagon’s current plans to increase America’s military footprint.

Earlier in his campaign, Trump proposed a ban on Muslims that called for the “extreme vetting” of individuals from countries where terrorism is prevalent. This proposal immediately sparked intense controversy, and garnered a significant amount of backlash towards Trump. Additional screening and other executive actions (such as “temporary suspension”) could grow into a legitimate ban — a source of concern for many Muslim Americans and human rights activists.

Alyssa Lin ‘19 staunchly disagrees with Trump’s plan, pointing out that “this ban on minorities will ultimately be harmful to the foundation of America and its democratic values.”

At the end of the divisive election, Mr. Trump sought to mend the jarring divide in America. In his conciliatory victory speech, he insisted that “now [is] time for America to bind the wounds of division… To all Republicans and Democrats and Independents across the nation, I say it is time for us to come together as one united people…For those who have chosen not to support me in the past, for which there were a few people, I’m reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so we can work together and unify our great country.”

Trump’s proposed plans have created intense controversy in the nation, but now that he has been elected, it is time for the nation to unify once more and discuss Trump’s actions in office.