THE SET-UP: "I was saved by God to make America great again." - President Donald J. Trump in his second Inaugural Address.
If I had to come up with a takeaway from Trump’s speech, that’s the line I’d point to … because it underlines all the policy goals he listed in his culture war victory speech. As you will see below, the majority of his “day one” agenda items are battles in his wide-ranging culture war.
The evolution and growth of the culture war is inexorably intertwined with the forty-plus year old marriage of Evangelicals and the GOP. What started with Reagan has been consummated by Trump. Or, perhaps more accurately, it has been perfected by Trump.
In the past, Republicans made culture war-based promises to get votes … and then used the ensuing electoral win to implement their Neoliberal/Neoconservative agenda. With Trump, on the other hand, the culture war is not a spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down. It’s the main course.
Yes, he—and many in the GOP—are going to pursue policies that hurt Trump’s lower income supporters. But it won’t matter if they are getting their information about it from inside Trump’s social media-podcasting bubble or FOX News. And he knows full-well that an audience willing to believe God saved him (but, by the same logic, let the other guy die) is an audience that’s suspended disbelief.
And that makes them marks who’ll buy nearly anything he’s selling … including a “Golden Age” that’s only golden for those who already enjoy an embarrassment of this economy’s riches. - jp
TITLE: Trump has been sworn in. Here are all the changes he has promised to make on Day One.
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-day-one-agenda-executive-orders-inauguration-day-2025-1
EXCERPTS: "The golden age of America begins right now," Trump declared in an inaugural speech that lasted roughly 30 minutes. He announced a flurry of executive orders, including declaring a national emergency at the southern border, establishing an External Revenue Service, and more.
25% tariffs on all Mexican and Canadian goods: Just before Thanksgiving, Trump said he would levy significant tariffs on the US neighbors due to illegal immigration.
A 60% tariff on all Chinese goods: On the campaign trail, Trump discussed raising tariffs as high as 60% on all Chinese goods. He's also mused about other wide-ranging tariffs.
The creation of an external revenue service: In his inaugural speech, Trump said that he would establish a new agency to collect tariffs and other foreign fees. "It will be massive amounts of money pouring into our treasury coming from foreign sources," Trump said.
The start of mass deportations: Immigration was one of Trump's signature issues in the 2024 campaign. He said numerous times that starting on his first day, he would take action to begin "the largest deportation operation" in the nation's history.
Repeal birthright citizenship: Trump has pledged to end birthright citizenship, a protection enshrined by the 14th Amendment.
Increase fracking and oil drilling: Trump has said he will "drill, drill, drill," starting immediately after taking office.
Remove civil service protections for federal workers: Trump has said he will return to his sweeping first-term policy that would have made it easier to fire tens of thousands of federal workers.
Move federal agencies out of DC: As president-elect, Trump said his administration would go to court to force federal workers to return to offices. His allies want to move 100,000 jobs outside of the nation's capital.
Create the Department of Government Efficiency: Elon Musk has already begun hiring staffers to help the outside organization Trump created to advise on ways to cut federal spending.
Pardons for January 6 protesters: Trump has repeatedly said he would pardon supporters who were convicted of offenses related to the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot that briefly delayed the certification of Biden's victory.
Ban minors from receiving gender-affirming care: In January 2023, Trump pledged a series of actions to restrict minors from receiving certain types of healthcare.
Ban transgender people from military service: In December, Trump told conservative activists that he would take several actions to "stop the transgender lunacy," including restoring his first-term ban on transgender people openly serving in the US armed forces.
Ban transgender people from military service: In December, Trump told conservative activists that he would take several actions to "stop the transgender lunacy," including restoring his first-term ban on transgender people openly serving in the US armed forces.
Prohibit funds from going to schools with vaccine mandates: In August, Trump said, "not one penny" would go to schools that require mandatory vaccinations.
Revive a presidential commission focused on patriotic education: Trump has said he would reinstate his 1776 Commission, created in the wake of The New York Times' publication of an essay project dubbed "The 1619 Project," which sought to reframe the story of the US' creation around slavery.
TITLE: Do US adults support Trump’s agenda? Here’s what an AP-NORC poll shows
https://apnews.com/article/trump-poll-pardons-tariffs-taxes-drilling-climate-7fa453197520f091feb8956737feb278
EXCERPTS: Here’s what Americans think about some of the major actions that Trump has promised — including some that could start to take effect as early as Monday.
· About 8 in 10 U.S. adults favor deporting all immigrants living in the U.S. illegally who have been convicted of a violent crime – including about two-thirds who are strongly in favor – and about 7 in 10 support deporting all immigrants living in the U.S. legally who have been convicted of a violent crime.
· Deporting immigrants who are in the country illegally and have not been convicted of a crime is a much more divisive proposal. US adults are slightly more likely to oppose this policy than to favor it, and only about 4 in 10 are in support.
· According to the AP-NORC poll, though, almost half of US adults “somewhat” or “strongly” oppose imposing a tariff, also known as an import tax, on all goods brought into the U.S. from other countries. About 3 in 10 are in favor, and about one-quarter are neutral, saying they neither favor nor oppose this policy, which indicates that opinion could move in either direction if the tariffs are implemented.
· According to the AP-NORC poll, about 2 in 10 US adults “somewhat” or “strongly” favor pardoning most people who participated in the attack. A much larger share — about 6 in 10 — “somewhat” or “strongly” oppose this move, including half who are strongly opposed, and about 2 in 10 are neutral.
· The poll found that just over half of US adults “somewhat” or “strongly” favor eliminating taxes on earnings from tips, while about one-quarter are neutral and about 2 in 10 are opposed. The proposal is more popular with Republicans than Democrats, and it also has particularly high levels of support with adults under age 30.
· The AP-NORC poll found that about one-third of Americans “somewhat” or “strongly” favor increasing oil drilling on federal lands, while about 4 in 10 are opposed. The rest — about one-quarter — say they neither favor nor oppose this move.
· About half of Americans “somewhat” or “strongly” oppose [pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement], and even Republicans aren’t overwhelmingly in favor, according to the poll. Only about 2 in 10 US adults “somewhat” or “strongly” in favor of withdrawing from the Paris agreement, while about one-quarter are neutral.
· [T]he new poll found that opposition is higher than support for eliminating protections for transgender students under Title IX, the federal law that prohibits any high school or college that receives federal funds from discriminating on the basis of gender. Almost half of U.S. adults “somewhat” or “strongly” oppose getting rid of these protections, while about 3 in 10 are in favor and the rest are neutral.
· About half of U.S. adults oppose eliminating the debt ceiling, while about one-quarter are in favor and about 3 in 10 are neutral.
TITLE: How MAGA Is Taking Back the Culture
https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/how-maga-is-taking-back-the-culture-e76a7b1d
EXCERPTS: A new generation of Trump-friendly comedians and wellness influencers is populating YouTube and other social media, while a snippet of audio featuring Barron and Melania Trump has become one of the hottest online memes, with celebrities such as Paris Hilton and brands including Frontier Airlines using it in their TikTok and Instagram posts.
“Every time I walk on campus, I see a few MAGA hats. That’s definitely new,” said Carson Carpenter, 19, a senior at Arizona State University. Conservatism, he said, “has really become intertwined in our pop culture…. It’s really showing that conservatism is cool now.”
Gallup found an uptick in Americans calling themselves socially conservative, with the share reaching a 10-year high. Some 38% identified as conservative, and 29% as liberal.
Moreover, social conservatives are making gains in their long battle to reverse what they believe has been a liberal takeover of Hollywood, academia and the hiring and investment policies at big businesses.
Businesses are rolling back diversity efforts that gained urgency after the murder of George Floyd by police in 2020 led to a focus on racial inequities. Universities are adapting to the Supreme Court’s ban on considering race in admissions, and programs designed to help minority students are under legal attack, facing claims that they discriminate based on race. In some Republican-led states, officials feel newly empowered to press for Christian-theme curricula in the classroom.
Conservatives have long complained that free speech was censored on social media. This month Meta Platforms announced the end of fact-checking and restrictions on certain types of speech across Facebook and Instagram.
Among the business leaders with prominent seats for Trump’s swearing-in are Apple’s Tim Cook, Elon Musk, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon.com’s Jeff Bezos and Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai.
Coca-Cola, which markets to an especially broad consumer base, recently unveiled a commemorative Donald Trump Diet Coke bottle to mark the inauguration. While the company has made similar bottles for the prior five inaugurations, it couldn’t cite another time that its chief executive presented the bottle personally to the incoming president before this year.
The commemorative bottle, which isn’t for sale, is notable given that the company sharply criticized Trump over his immigration policy in 2017 and called the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol “an offense to the ideals of American democracy.’’
Many political analysts have said Americans are becoming more open to conservative ideas because of fatigue with a “cancel culture’’ that some found stifling and overly sensitive to gender and racial identity. The rise of social media is another important factor. By appearing on YouTube, Instagram or other platforms, content creators avoid the gatekeepers of legacy media and can build like-minded audiences.
Trump’s personal popularity has had an effect. The meandering nature of his speeches was welcomed by many supporters as a feature, not a flaw, in his campaign appearances. His joyfully awkward dance moves were widely copied. “If you don’t think Trump is funny and perceived as funny, it’s going to be hard to crack the puzzle” of how Democrats can better respond to him, said Liam Kerr, co-founder of WelcomePAC, which supports centrist Democrats.
Kevin O’Leary, the “Shark Tank” investor, said a postpandemic shift to direct-to-consumer marketing led some business owners, like him, to take note of social-media attention to Trump’s goofy dance moves and viral videos featuring Trump’s voice.
“Trump magically, by happenstance—and I don’t think intentionally—made himself hip,” O’Leary said.