The United States has entered a new era of Authoritarianism.
The Inauguration of the 47th President of the United States
On January 21, at noon Eastern time, Donald J. Trump was inaugurated for a second time as the 47th president of the United States. Trump is the second president to serve a nonconsecutive term, second only to Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th President. On Inauguration Day, Trump was surrounded by his closest friends and family. Most were tech billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and of course, his shadow Elon Musk. Before the inauguration, billionaires like Bezos and Zuckerberg made significant contributions to the Trump campaign. They preventively secured their spot on Trump’s Tower of Praise.
The United States Government is becoming increasingly comprised of unqualified billionaires and extreme ideologies. One can’t help but question the future of this poppycock Democracy for the next four years. What will it be like for the 334 million people in the U.S.?
4 Years of Regression in 24 Hours
In the 24 hours that followed Donald Trump’s inauguration, he signed 26 Executive Orders. This was the most ever signed by a President on their first day in office. Executive Orders are official wishes. They are not law. Congress and the courts must review them to ensure compliance with the United States Constitution.
There are two Executive Orders that stick out to me the most. First, there is the order to end birthright citizenship for children of undocumented parents. This is not only problematic but simply unconstitutional. In the United States we have a system of checks and balances in place to stop actions that are unconstitutional. The proposed end to birthright citizenship will die. This happens because our system works. If it doesn’t work, there will be many legal issues that Trump and the entire Administration will face. The two major consequence of ending birthright citizenship would be A. a president can now change the meaning of the constitution, and B. this would change what it means to be American and who qualifies as an American.
Secondly, the residence of the 2021 Title IX order prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. This order would prevent people who identify with a different gender. It would also stop those with a different sexual orientation from listing that on official government documents. Additionally, it would state that the federal government will only recognize two genders: male and female. Unfortunately, I do see this order being the most likely to pass. However, we tend to forget about States’ rights and their ability to block Executive Orders. They can do so if they deem these orders unconstitutional to their state’s constitution. For anyone who is apart of the LGBTQIA+ community, do not fear your Democratic states have your back.
Daddy Issues in the Tech Industry
Moving on from executive orders, I want to mention the countless bootlicking Tech Billionaires briefly. They have been shoveling money to the Trump campaign for months now. These billionaires, such as Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos, are trying to secure their platforms. They are aligning with the MAGA agenda. AKA ending fact-checking for Meta and Twitter, now known as X. Additionally, in terms of TikTok, the CEO, Shou Zi Chew, was also in attendance. The push to ban TikTok started way back in Trump’s first term. He believed TikTok was a national security risk. Four years later, he has changed his mind and “has a soft spot for TikTok”. When the app went dark on January 19th, the Supreme Court ruled to uphold the ban. Trump was very public. He was eager to state that he was going to be the savior of TikTok. Not even 24 hours after the app went dark, it reappeared with a very pro-Trump message.
Many users quickly point out this as a blatant manipulation by the Trump Administration. It was an attempt to rally Gen Z, of which he lost about 11%.
Elon Musk and DOGE
I want to circle back to tech billionaires, especially Elon Musk, also known as Trump’s shadow. Elon had been very prominate in the campige of Donald Trump. During the last few months of the election, he bribed voters in key swing states. They could win 1 million dollars if they voted for Trump. Now, he has done Trump’s dirty work. He gets to be in charge of his own department. The department is called the Department of Government Efficiency, conveniently abbreviated as DOGE. I also want to quickly mention the “Roman Salute” he did not once but twice post-inauguration. If you support the “Roman Salute” and claim it is not a symbol of Fascism, you should read any history book from the late 1930’s to the 1940’s. The craziness continues with Trump’s second cabinet pick.
Trump’s Problematic Cabinet Pick
Pete Hegseth, for instance, is in line to be the Secretary of Defense. This is a very crucial role in the Presidential cabinet. He is known as a misogynist and supposed extremist. Hegseth is the furthest thing from qualified you can be to head up this position. Yes he was in the National Guard for roughly 14 years. He appeared on Fox News. He also led a Veteran organization but was kicked out for being too extreme. Additionally, there are allegations of alcohol abuse and sexual misconduct. If Hegseth is confirmed to be the Secretary of Defense, the United States has lost all moral grounds.
Trump’s Golf of America
Speaking of stupid ideas, Donald Trump went on a renaming rampage. He signed an executive order to rename the tallest mountain in North America, Mt. Denali, back to its previous name, Mt. McKinley. I, quite frankly, do not see any real purpose in doing this. It seems to undermine the History of Native Americans in the region. Additionally, he signed another order changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Again, stupidity seems to be a very dominant feature in all of Trump’s actions. Trump has a sense that the United States needs to bring back the principles of Manifest Destiny and start expanding. As I mentioned in an earlier post, he intends to acquire Greenland. He also wants to make Canada perhaps the 51st and 52nd States in the Union. It is like I am being told these outlandish stories. They cannot be accurate, but the words come straight from the horse’s mouth.
Concluding Thoughts
I am going to be honest. These next four years are going to be challenging. They will be stressful for many of us. Having a government that is controlled by the 1% does not and will not benefit the other 99%. Trump has made that very clear. We can see this at the inauguration, which was held indoors. Only the top of the political food chain was allowed to view this spectacle.
Resources
ABC News. (2025, January 21). Read Donald Trump’s inauguration speech transcript. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/US/read-donald-trumps-inauguration-speech-transcript/story?id=117903564
Al Jazeera. (2025, January 21). What is an executive order and what orders did Trump sign on day 1? Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/21/what-is-an-executive-order-and-what-orders-did-trump-sign-on-day-
France 24. (2025, January 21). Musk repeatedly makes gesture likened to Nazi salute at Trump rally. France 24. https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20250121-musk-repeatedly-makes-gesture-likened-to-nazi-salute-at-trump-rally
VPM. (2025, January 20). Trump promises an executive order allowing TikTok to keep operating. VPM. https://www.vpm.org/npr-news/npr-news/2025-01-20/trump-promises-an-executive-order-allowing-tiktok-to-keep-operating
WTTW News. (2025, January 20). Donald Trump: Populist president flanked by tech billionaires Bezos, Musk, and Zuckerberg. WTTW News. https://news.wttw.com/2025/01/20/donald-trump-populist-president-flanked-tech-billionaires-bezos-musk-and-zuckerberg