The Golden Trident

By Lila Qualteri

Hopefully you have heard the news that former president Donald Trump is running for office again in the 2024 election, against democratic opponent Kamala Harris. This and the election prior have divided Americans. Extremely controversial issues have circulated, and Trump has a stance, and important policies on all of them. 

One of the most controversial issues of both Trump’s last presidency and his plan for if he is re-elected, is his policies on immigration. The border crisis has been debated on for a long time, some even arguing about whether or not it is a crisis at all. The border crisis refers to the surge of immigrants flooding in from Mexico and Central American countries. Since July of 2023, 11.7 million undocumented immigrants are estimated to be in the United States. Illegal immigration comes with a whole host of issues. One of these is that illegal immigration destabilizes the U.S. population and makes it far more unpredictable. Furthermore, illegal immigrants have begun to take jobs and educational opportunities from U.S. citizens. They tend to accept dangerous jobs that violate American law codes. In addition to this, they will accept work for lower wages, therefore driving down the average American wage. Since illegal immigration rights have risen, so too have crime rates.  The danger of illegal immigrants is becoming too prevalent in America. Homeland House Security shows that the Biden Administration is on track to have almost 10 million border encounters by the end of the fiscal year. Trump has shown through his first presidency that he will put this to an end. 

Another extremely controversial topic dividing the United States is that of gun control. With mass shootings reaching record numbers, the panic among Americans regarding guns and their owners has skyrocketed, with many Democrats calling for bans and more control. This is not the answer. People have no more access or gun rights than they did before shootings like Columbine in the 1990’s. So what has changed? Mental health. Due to things like the Covid-19 pandemic and other circumstances, mental health issues, especially in youth, are at an all-time high. Through trends alone, we can see that the issue is the people, not the guns. Someone who wants to use a gun for evil will find one, and gun control will not stop that. Trump has said that it is an American citizen’s “God-given right” to own a gun, as given by the Second Amendment in the Constitution. However, Trump has pushed for more background and mental health checks before the purchase of firearms and is pushing for “red flag” laws, which allow a state to temporarily remove a gun from a gun owner if they believe they are dangerous. 

These are just a few of the major American issues currently, and Trump has shown his solutions to all of them. Trump has proven himself to be a spokesman for the American people and their beliefs. In his time in office, he has done a great deal for this country and will continue to do so if elected. Standing for citizens’ rights is exactly what a president must do to protect the people, and Trump has proven his ability to do that.