From immigration to abortion: What to expect from a Trump presidency

Donald Trump has declared victory in the closely fought US election and looks certain to return to the White House in January as President of the United States.
Trump becomes only the second person in history to be elected to the presidency in non-consecutive terms, with the other being Grover Cleaveland who won the 1884 and 1892 elections.
A Trump administration is expected to upend most of the policies of outgoing President Joe Biden.
Aside from all of the policy, the image of a divided United States will remain and allies across the globe are bracing for the return of a more isolationist America.
Here are some of the things we can expect from a Trump presidency in the key policy areas of the election.
Immigration
Immigration was at the centre of this campaign and it was the most important issue for many voters.
The Republicans made immigration their central platform and relentlessly criticised Biden and Harris for their handling of illegal immigration.
With Trump now set to be in control of the White House he has promised to launch the largest domestic deportation in US history, echoing promises he made during his 2016 election campaign.
He has promised to use the National Guard to carry out deportations and said hundreds of thousands of immigrants who came to the US under two of Biden’s schemes will be removed.
Trump has also pledged to expand a travel ban targeted at Muslims and end “birthright citizenship” for those born in the US to parents who are illegally in the country.
Economy
Trump’s plan for economic growth involves cutting taxes for corporations and the wealthy to encourage investment expanding a similar policy he passed in 2017. He has also planned a universal tariff of up to 20%, using the investment to build factories.
He has also proposed getting rid of taxes on tips earned by workers, and on social security benefits. On housing, Trump aims to lower the cost of housing by opening up federal land to development.
Trump wants to apply tariffs to almost all goods imported to the US from abroad, particularly on China, on which he has suggested applying a 100% tariff in a significant ramp-up in tension between the two powers.
Abortion
The Democrats had hoped anger of the restriction of abortion rights under the right-wing controlled Supreme Court in recent years would win them votes, but it did not help them enough on polling day.
Trump’s stances on the issue have varied throughout the campaign he has both claimed to be a “protector” of women, who will “no longer be thinking about abortion” but he has also taken credit for overturning Roe v. Wade.
However, he has ruled out a national abortion ban, and said he would not block access to abortion medication. Despite criticising existing abortion bans for being “too tough”, he has said individual states should have the power to decide.
He has expressed full support for “the three exceptions”, confirming he believes abortion should be available in cases of rape, incest and when the mother’s life is endangered.
LGBT and trans rights
The former president wants to end government diversity programmes, using federal funding as leverage, and there are fears he will target existing protections for LGBTQ individuals.
On transgender rights, he has promised to end “boys in girls’ sports,” a practice he insists, without evidence, is rampant. Trump would reverse Biden’s extension of Title IX civil rights protections to transgender students and ask Congress to allow only two gender choices at birth.
The protections required schools to protect students from sex discrimination and Biden expanded this definition to include discrimination related to pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics.
Climate change
Trump has falsely claimed that climate change is a “hoax” and he says Biden’s spending on cleaner energy is designed to reduce US reliance on fossil fuels.
Trump has also said he does not oppose electric vehicles, but promises to end incentives that encourage EV-market development and he would lower fuel efficiency standards. He also wants to anchor energy policy on fossil fuels.
Foreign policy
Trump has promised a return to a more isolationist foreign policy but also wants to ramp up military spending.
He has promised to end both the wars in Ukraine and Israel quickly although he has not revealed much about how he would achieve this.
He has criticised the US’s support of the war in Ukraine and there is a large chorus of Republicans who want to stop funding Kyiv.
Trump is expected to provide even firmer support for Israel and back their current hardline stance on Hamas as opposed to the Biden administration which has repeatedly tried to establish a ceasefire in the region.
Project 2025
Project 2025 is a controversial policy platform that has attracted a lot of backers on the right of American politics.
It proposes sweeping changes to the US government by sacking anyone seen as disloyal to the administration, upending education policy and promoting a nativist form of Christianity through federal policy.
The Democrats had seized on the project, which has been designed and backed by people close to Trump, to raise alarm about the sweeping changes it could bring to daily life but the president-elect has repeatedly said he does not support it.
During the presidential debate, he said: “I haven’t read it. I don’t want to read it — purposefully.”
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