With everything that’s going on globally since the US elections in November 2024, new member of the Somerset Youth Parliament, Layla has put together a great article about the new President of the US and his impacts on Americans and the world at large.
Donald Trump is a powerful figure in Modern Politics today – but who is he, and what is happening because of him? I’m Layla, and I’m a member of the Somerset Youth Parliament Advisory Group. In this article, I will be discussing Donald Trump’s impact on the world, and us, the youth.
Note: This article has been quoted from the BBC and other reliable news sources – everything has been fact checked.
🗽So who actually is Donald Trump?
Trump is the 47th president of the United States. This is his second term as president – A president can only serve for two terms, and each term is 4 years. His first term was 2016-2020, and in 2020 he lost the election to Joe Biden. However, in 2024, he successfully won office again, after winning with 77,302,416 votes, which is equivalent to 49.8%. Some consider him a dangerous person since regaining office, comparing his approach similar to those of dictators.
Before he was in politics, Trump graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1968 with a bachelor’s degree in economics. He became the president of his family’s real estate business in 1971, renamed it the Trump Organization, and began acquiring and building skyscrapers, hotels, casinos, and golf courses. The famed Fifth Avenue became home to Trump Tower, arguably the mogul’s most famous property and his home for many years. The rundown Commodore Hotel was restored as the Grand Hyatt.
His rise continued in the entertainment world – first as an owner of the Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA beauty pageants, then as creator-host of NBC reality show The Apprentice. Trump is credited as the writer on several books, appeared in movies and pro-wrestling programming, and sold everything from beverages to neckties. But his net worth has dropped in recent years, with estimation that he is currently worth around $4bn (Just over 3.9 billion in sterling), a still batty amount of money!
Trump has filed business bankruptcies on six different occasions, and several of his ventures – including Trump Steaks🥩, Trump University🎓 and the Trump Casinos – have collapsed among others!
He has also shielded his tax information from scrutiny, and reporting in 2020 showed years of income tax avoidance and financial losses.
Trump married his third and current wife, Melania Knauss, in 2005. They have one son, Barron Trump and he has four other children that we know of – Donald Jr, Ivanka, Eric and Tiffany Trump.
However, allegations of sexual misconduct and affairs have followed Trump for years now. Last year, two juries ruled that Trump defamed writer E Jean Carroll by denying her accusation of sexual assault. He’s been told to pay her $88m in total but has appealed. Trump was also convicted on 34 felony counts for falsifying business records to cover up a hush money arrangement with actress Stormy Daniels over an alleged extramarital encounter in 2006.
Trump was among the most vocal believers of “birtherism”, the conspiracy theory questioning whether Former President Obama had been born in the United States. He finally admitted this was a lie in 2016 yet never apologised.
Under the ‘Make America Great Again’ slogan, he muscled past rivals in the Republican Party to face off against Democrat representative Hillary Clinton. The campaign was marred by controversy, including a leaked audio tape of him bragging about sexual abuse, and he was behind in opinion polls throughout the election. However, he managed to be sworn in as the 45th president on the 20th of January, 2017.
From his first hour, he was known for his dramatic tendencies, making formal announcements on Twitter and openly speaking against foreign leaders. He withdrew from Climate agreements, banned travel from seven Muslim-Majority countries, issued other hard immigration restrictions, started a trade war with China, implemented record tax cuts, and reshaped Middle Eastern relations.
Trump became just the third US president in history to be impeached, over accusations that he pressured a foreign government to dig up dirt on Democratic rival Joe Biden. Impeaching is a charge of misconduct made against the holder of a public office
He faced intense criticism for his handling of the Covid crisis, as the US led the globe in deaths and infections and for controversial comments, like suggesting research into whether the virus might be treated by injecting disinfectant into the body!
Though he eventually received 74 million (from an approximate 255 million adults of voting age in the USA) votes in the next round of elections – he lost the race to Former President Biden in 2020, by more than seven million votes. Refusing to accept the results, Trump rallied supporters in Washington in January 2021, urging them to converge (riot) on the Capitol as Mr Biden’s victory was to be formally certified by Congress. The riot placed lawmakers and his own vice-president in danger and led to a historic second impeachment- which was, again, acquitted by the Senate. Four people died during this event
Trump began the general election of 2024 facing 91 felony charges across four criminal cases but his strategy of delaying legal cases largely succeeded. Three cases would no longer take place before the election, and his sentencing in New York – on the weakest set of charges – was delayed until late November.
On 13 July 2024, a gunman attempted to assassinate Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania. Thomas Crooks fired eight rounds from a rifle from atop a nearby roof, wounding Trump in his right ear before Crooks was killed by counter-snippers.
Days later, at the Republican National Convention, the party praised him and officially coronated him the Republican presidential candidate for a third time, setting up a rematch with Mr Biden – before Mr Biden stepped back and Kamala Harris took over.
So…what has actually happened since he took office?
In Trump’s victory speech on 6 November, he made it clear he intended to keep the promises that sent him back to the White House: “I will govern by a simple motto: Promises made, promises kept.”
He promised:
- Reduced Prices
This is considered his biggest challenge and a large campaign promise that remains unfulfilled. In his inaugural address, he promised to “marshal the vast powers” of his Cabinet to quickly lower costs and prices but has not been clear how. He says he will increase drilling to reduce energy costs.
- Mass deportations
“On day one, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out.”
Possibly his main focus since taking power, with over a dozen executive orders targeted at overhauling the system, Trump’s plan to deport foreign nationals in the country illegally, starting with those convicted of crimes, has widespread public support. It is uncertain whether he will meet his promise to deport as many as he has said…some raids have made headlines but the people being removed doesn’t seem to be record-breaking, according to the daily figures. In his first month, the USA deported 37,660 people – less than the monthly average of 57,000 removals and returns in the last full year of Biden, data obtained shows. Interestingly, Nationwide border encounters decreased by 66% in January 2025 compared to 2024, according to the White House.
- January 6th pardons
Hours after taking the presidential oath, Trump issued pardons that released more than 1,500 people convicted or charged in connection with the US Capitol riot mentioned above
- Ending Ukraine War
Trump initiated the first talks between the USA and Russia since the start of the war, but Ukraine has vowed they will reject any deal made without it, and there’s been an angry exchange between leaders. President Zelensky fears Trump delivering on his campaign promise to end the war but on Moscow’s terms. There is anxiety in European countries that they are sidelined, and that Trump may dismantle some of the sanctions put on Russia as punishment for the invasion.
- Ending Birthright citizenship
One of the first acts Trump made at the start of his second presidency was an end to the automatic right to a United States citizenship to (nearly) anyone born on US soil. The right was established by an amendment to the US Constitution 160 years ago. Most legal scholars say Trump doesn’t have the right to change it.
- Blanket Tariffs on Canada and Mexico
Trump announced on 21 January – the first day of his second term – that he would impose blanket tariffs on his neighbours on 1st February, connecting them to the flow of drugs and migrants into the States. The president has long seen tariffs (tax on imports) as a way to protect domestic industry and increase revenue. Canada and Mexico said they would enact retaliatory taxes on US imports. There had also been quick change in the markets – warnings from economic experts that these actions could cause prices to rise. This led to Trump rolling back his tariffs.Trump And Europe
On the 28th of February, there was a heated Oval Office exchange between US President Donald Trump, Vice-President JD Vance and the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after which, President Zelenskyy left the White House, meaning a deal around Ukraine’s mineral wealth was not signed. During the meeting, Trump accused President Zelenskyy of not being thankful for American support. He warned the President of Ukraine: “You’re either going to make a deal or we’re out, and if we’re out, you’ll fight it out. I don’t think it’s going to be pretty.” as well as seemingly accusing Ukraine of being responsible for the war with Russia and drawing attention to the fact Ukraine has not held a presidential election since 2019, later repeating the claims in a post in which he called the Ukrainian leader a “dictator without elections”. Trump appeared aware that it had been a frequent Russian allegation, saying: “That’s not a Russian thing, that’s something coming from me, from other countries.”
Ukraine has been under martial law since the Russian invasion in February 2022, which means elections are suspended. This suspension of elections during wartime is fairly common, including in both England and France during World War II.
Zelenskyy has vowed to hold a new election once the conflict ends. He has not said whether he intends to stand, and I can imagine that is not his main priority right now. He has previously said it would be irresponsible to hold elections in the middle of the conflict.
For other EU leaders Trump’s second term in office could signal trouble ahead on security, trade and climate change.
Emmanuel Macron (France) said he had agreed with Chancellor Scholz (Germany) to work towards a “more united, stronger, more sovereign Europe in this new context”, amongst other leaders wanting to ‘make investments in our European security big.’
But specifically in the UK, what could be the consequences of Trump’s plans?
There have been suggestions Keir Starmer and his team will be worried about upsetting. Trump and what the consequences might be.
In regard to Tariffs, The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) has assessed that in the UK, the measures would result in
- halved growth,
- rising inflation and
- higher interest rates.
NIESR said that the level of impact depends on whether affected countries introduce retaliatory tariffs. Some analysts are less concerned, highlighting that a relatively low proportion of UK goods exports overall go to the US. Michael Saunders of Oxford Economics said the UK is not “in the front line of countries” that would be impacted.
But, if a trade war started between the USA and any large EU exporters, like Germany, there would still be knock-on effects for the UK. Immediately after the win, it was said that fixing the UK’s broken relationship with the EU is even more urgent than before. With the EU constituting the UK’s largest trading partner, it’s argued that the UK should strengthen trade and defense cooperation across Europe to help protect ourselves from the damage Trump will do.
In the case of Allies, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said at the Lord Mayor’s banquet in December 2024 the idea Britain must choose between its allies is plain wrong, and that the national interest “demands” that the UK work with both Europe and the US.
There are other ways we may be affected by Donald Trump’s presidency, but politically those seem to be the biggest concerns.
So as youth people, why should we care about what’s happening politically?
Well, this is the world we are being passed on one day, or potentially already. We need to be aware of what’s happening now, so that when our time comes to care for it we know why the world is the way it is. It helps build understanding, empathy and logic. And everyone has a voice, so if you see something in the news you don’t think is right you can do something about it, like protesting. If you don’t know what’s happening you can’t make a difference.
In summation, people might believe that Donald Trump is a very dangerous and powerful man. What he has done, what he’s doing and what he’s planning to do, has the potential to shape and change our world politically and environmentally forever!
Everything I have written has been fact checked and sourced from reliable, central news sources like the BBC. I have kept my personal opinions largely out of it, so it is purely factual. However, we are in a period of constant intensity from the news right now, and if you feel affected by anything happening, there are places to get help. If you can speak to a Parent/Carer, Teacher, or trusted adult, and if you feel you can’t talk to them, there are online organizations like Kooth or Tellmi to help young people feeling anxious.
If you are curious about our changing world, democracy, global or national issues and feel the urge to speak out and /or ask questions you can also join Somerset Youth Parliament where you can get involved and help make a difference locally and even nationally.
Layla
Not just elected members
Did you know that Somerset Youth Parliament isn’t just it’s elected members? Any young person in Somerset aged 10-25 years can become a member of the Somerset Youth Parliament Advisory Group.
For more information about becoming a member of the Somerset Youth Parliament Advisory Group and to join, visit our Join Us page.
