Trump’s election pledges: Peace in Ukraine in 24 hours, prosecuting Biden, expelling migrants

Contents

• Deportation of migrants
• Prosecuting Biden and purging the civil service
• Ending the war in Ukraine in 24 hours
• Not Defending NATO countries from Russia
• Universal tariff

Deportation of migrants

Immigration has become a key issue in Trump's presidential campaign. He promises to "stop the invasion on our southern border" (with Mexico) and to "begin the largest domestic deportation operation in American history." According to the candidate, this could involve 15-20 million people. This includes not only those who are in the US illegally but also legal migrants who "harbor jihadist sympathies." Trump also promises to reinstate an almost absolute ban on immigration to the US from several predominantly Muslim countries.

During his successful 2016 election campaign, Trump also focused on immigration, promising the most brutal measures against illegal immigrants, building a wall on the Mexican border, and more. However, during his tenure, fewer migrants were deported than during each of the two terms of his predecessor, Barack Obama.

Prosecuting Biden and purging the civil service

If elected, Trump has directly threatened severe consequences for the current president and his election rival, Joe Biden. Trump threatened to appoint a special prosecutor if he were re-elected "to go after the most corrupt president in the history of the United States of America, Joe Biden, and the entire Biden crime family."

Moreover, he promises a comprehensive effort to combat the "deep state" with a complete overhaul of the civil service. Trump plans to fire tens of thousands of civil servants from the executive branch. The Project 2025 plan, created by a group of influential conservatives, outlines a plan to reboot the US government machinery following a Trump victory, which includes replacing these officials with ideologically correct conservatives.

Trump's opponents openly claim that he plans to establish a personal dictatorship of a Christian-conservative-nationalist nature in the US, relying on a loose interpretation of the American constitution, which allegedly gives the US president absolute control over the executive branch. Trump himself has expressed a desire to become a "dictator on the first day in office," although he later said this was just a joke.

Ending the war in Ukraine in 24 hours

One of Trump's most vague promises is to end the war in Ukraine in one day, in 24 hours. Repeated attempts by journalists to find out exactly how he plans to achieve this have been unsuccessful: Trump has only mentioned that he plans to say certain things to Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin.

According to the most widely circulated theory, in the US and Ukraine, Trump's overall plan might look like this: he would aim to roughly fix the border along the current line of contact between Russian and Ukrainian forces. In doing so, he would threaten Kyiv with a complete cessation of aid, while conversely, he would sharply increase support for Moscow if Russia did not comply with Washington's conditions. Trump's plan assumes that at least part of Ukraine's territory would be "fixed" in favor of the aggressor country. At the very least, his public comments over the past ten years indicate that Trump sees the forcible redrawing of Ukraine's borders as entirely permissible.

RBC-Ukraine has also heard another version of Trump's plan for Ukraine: Trump has no plan and will start formulating one only if and when he wins the election.

Not defending NATO countries from Russia

"Everybody's gonna pay"—this principle extends to many international issues for Trump, from aid to Ukraine to interactions within NATO. In February, Trump caused an uproar in Europe by recounting his conversation with a European head of state, to whom he said: "You're not paying? I would not protect you"—and implied he adheres to this approach.

According to Trump, European countries should not rely on the US for defense but increase their own defense spending ("pay up"). In one of his speeches, Trump went even further, stating that he would "encourage them to do whatever the hell they want" (with European countries).

American media have long discussed whether Trump might withdraw the US from NATO if he wins the election—he has repeatedly made vague hints in this regard. Overall, the Republican candidate's position is that the US will stay in the Alliance on one condition—if Europe "pays bills."

Universal tariff

If elected, Trump promises to adopt an extremely protectionist policy, shielding the American market from cheap foreign imports. Specifically, he proposes implementing a universal tariff of 10% on almost all goods imported into the US. On Chinese goods, Trump takes an even tougher stance—he suggests imposing a tariff exceeding 60% on products from China.

Many, including both American conservatives and liberals, believe that implementing such ideas would not only cause enormous damage to global trade but also significantly increase the cost of many goods for Americans themselves.

In the shorter term, perhaps the most significant threat is what Trump does not promise to do—to accept his defeat in the election if it happens. He declared that they would have to fight for the country's rights if things didn't go pretty.

Trump's opinion will be the criterion for "fairness" in the election. Last time, after the 2020 election, Trump's belief in fraud, which allegedly "stole his victory" (unsupported by facts), ultimately led to the bloody storming of the Capitol by his radical supporters. This time, the Republican candidate does not intend to stop at anything either.

Earlier, RBC-Ukraine wrote about whether Donald Trump has changed his attitude towards Ukraine.

Sources: CNN, AP, NBCNews, The Washington Post, and unofficial comments from RBC-Ukraine's sources in government.