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US election: What will a Donald Trump presidency mean for the world?

By Washington bureau chief Zoe Daniel

Donald Trump will be the 45th president of the United States of America.

So, how is he going to Make America Great Again? And how will his election affect the world?

Immigration

The centrepiece of president-elect Trump’s campaign has been immigration reform.

Central to that — his vow to build a wall along the southern border with Mexico and temporarily closing US borders to all Muslims until we “figure out what the hell is going on”.

Will the wall start going up tomorrow? No.

Mr Trump will need Congress to approve funding for the mammoth project and even then, construction of the wall would face numerous legal obstacles.

Economy and trade

Mr Trump has run largely on his business pedigree — although his opponents rate that as dubious.

He promises to introduce major tax cuts and bring jobs back to America.

How? That remains unclear.

He has inspired millions of disaffected American workers, who agreed with his anti-trade rhetoric.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership, which he previously called “the rape of our country”, is certainly dead.

He has threatened 35 per cent tariffs on American companies who manufacture offshore and a 45 per cent tariff on Chinese imports.

Foreign policy

President-elect Trump has been particularly critical of President Barack Obama’s foreign policy, calling it a “complete and total disaster” more than once.

He plans an “America-first” strategy, which includes threats to walk away from NATO allies if they fail to carry more of the cost of protecting America and themselves.

He has suggested that Japan and North Korea should have nuclear weapons.

His relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin has been scrutinised at length.

He has spoken favourably of the Russian leader and suggested the two countries would “get along well”.

Drain the swamp

President-elect Trump has pitched himself as an outsider that will break up the political establishment.

He has preached a five-point ethics reform plan in recent weeks, which includes a major crackdown on lobbyists.

He is also planning for fixed terms for members of Congress.

Supreme Court

Since February, the Supreme Court has been without a ninth member, and Republicans have blocked President Obama’s nomination for months.

President-elect Trump will move to replace the late Antonin Scalia with a like-minded justice, one with conservative values to advance the conservative agenda.

He has suggested his Supreme Court appointees will reverse Roe versus Wade — a landmark court judgment that allows for late-term abortion when there is a risk to the health of the mother.

This post originally appeared on ABC News.


© 2016 Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved. Read the ABC Disclaimer here

Image via Getty. 

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Top Comments

laura__palmer 4 years ago 1 upvotes
Reading this in 2020 is surreal. America is crumbling under his watch, it's like the worst case scenario.
I remember all the pro Trumpers on here, then. I wonder how many have changed their tune?