Anna Rhoads ’19 and Kayla Sirlin ’19
The GOP headed to a pre-congress retreat in Philadelphia on Jan. 25. The retreat lasted three days with the agenda of deciding what the party wants to accomplish and examining the executive orders Trump has been making.
On Thursday the 26 at the retreat, Trump gave a speech that highlighted his main priorities. These included investigating voter fraud during the election, the building of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, repealing the Affordable Care Act, and cutting off funds to organizations that provide abortion services.
These priorities “exemplify what he promised during his campaign, and that is to make some drastic changes to the government and put America first,” Will Casey ’18 said. Casey elaborated on this point, stating, “he is shaping his view of how America should be run from this point on, and he’s running it almost as a business which is new to a lot of people which I think, among other things, has people anxious.”
Meanwhile, as the Republicans cheered during Trump’s speech, Democrats were having a somewhat mysterious meeting of their own in West Virginia.“Aides declined to even give the location, let alone the agenda of the two-day event. Many staffers, left back in Washington, weren’t aware of the agenda for the event at all.” CNN said.
According to CNN, the purpose of this meeting in West Virginia was to discuss how to block some of Trump’s policies, how they lost the election and how to make a comeback during the midterm election.
Many similarities can be seen between Trump’s speech at the retreat and the executive orders he has made so far. Thus far, there have been 15 executive orders, each with ranging impacts. These include reinstating the Mexico City policy and prioritizing the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline and others.
Some students at Staples have been skeptical of these impending changes. “It’s ironic how he wants to make America great again when in reality, all he has done so far with the new immigration policies is be ridiculously un-american,” Zoe Hulina ’18 said.
On the other side of the spectrum, some students are in favor of these orders. Casey argued that “with Obamacare, some of it had to be changed.” As a result of “privatizing health care, the money made will flow back through the private sector and enhance the economy which is a major plus,” Casey said.
Due to the numerous executive orders Trump has proposed in a short period of time, high-ranked Republican officials feel obligated to control his Twitter and social media. A recent article from Fortune states that, “though Trump still dictates tweets to his press team, including spokeswoman Hope Hicks, they now vet and edit those communiques.”
