Now that Donald Trump has been elected the next President of the US, the focus has shifted to his policies. He has promised the biggest deportation of immigrants in American history, sweeping new tariffs on imports, curbs on climate-related regulations and an overhaul in the education system.
While these remain larger goals, there is an anticipation of what he will do on day 1 of his Presidency. Going by his statement, Trump will be a "dictator" but "only on day 1".
On whether he was promising to not abuse power as retribution against anybody, Trump said: "Except for Day 1." "I want to close the border and I want to drill, drill, drill. We're closing the border and we're drilling, drilling, drilling," Trump said. "After that, I'm not a dictator."
These are things Trump said he would do on Day 1.
1) Fire Jack Smith, the special counsel: Trump has promised that the first on his hitlist is special counsel Jack Smith, who has brought two federal cases against him, "within two seconds." The latest update is that Smith is reportedly closing down the criminal cases against Donald Trump before he takes office.
2) Free Jan 6 rioters: The Republican has said that he believes many of those who took part in the Jan 6 riots were "wrongfully imprisoned" and will pardon them. "I am inclined to pardon many of them. I can't say for every single one, because a couple of them, probably they got out of control," he said on his social media platform in March.
3) Mass deportations: Trump is going to embark on a mass deportation drive on day 1 of his office. He has promised to "launch the largest deportation programme in American history" and "rescue every city and town that has been invaded and conquered."
4) Do away with climate restrictions: Trump has promised to cut curbs, especially to help the US car industry. He has not only pledged to increase production of US fossil fuels but also wants to open areas such as the Arctic wilderness to oil drilling. He has also revived his "drill, baby, drill" slogan during this campaign.
5) End the Ukraine war: Trump, in his victory speech, has made it clear that he is going to stop the wars, though he didn't allude to Ukraine or Israel. He doesn't want the US to be entangled in foreign conflicts and has vowed to bring Zelenskyy and Putin to the negotiating table.