Regressive Trump Policies
Regressive Trump policies, seeking to ‘turn back the clock’, would harm America and the whole world – but the outcome is unpredictable.
Having regained the US Presidency in January 2025, President Donald Trump’s inauguration speech indicated that he wants to take America back in time, He said that he “was saved by God to make America great again” and he wants to “begin the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense”. The words “great again” and “restoration” point to the past.
His early actions show what he wants to do:
“Trump outlined a series of sweeping executive orders, the first steps in enacting a far-reaching agenda to expand America’s territory, curb immigration, boost fossil fuel production and roll back environmental regulations.”
Return to the policies of President McKinley
Trump’s inauguration speech promised a “golden age”. It included praise for President McKinley, whose term began in 1897:
“…we will restore the name of a great president, William McKinley, to Mount McKinley, where it should be and where it belongs.
President McKinley made our country very rich, through tariffs and through talent. He was a natural businessman and gave Teddy Roosevelt the money for many of the great things he did…”
An Economist leading article, America has an imperial presidency, described McKinley’s time in office:
“McKinley was an imperialist, who added Hawaii, Guam, the Philippines and Puerto Rico to American territory. McKinley also loved tariffs, at least at first. Before he was president, he pressed Congress to pass a bill to raise them to 50%, a level exceeding even Mr Trump’s (admittedly hazy) plans. He was also backed by the commercial titans of the time: J.P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller both donated about $8m in today’s money to his campaign.
The new “golden age” Mr Trump envisions thus resembles the Gilded Age, at least superficially.”
Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg each donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, and Elon Musk spent $277 million to back Trump and Republican candidates. The use of tariffs, the support of billionaires, and the imperialist tendencies, are three features of McKinley’s “Gilded Age” that explain Trump’s admiration.
The use of tariffs
Trump sees tariffs as a source of government revenue. He wants to cut taxes on incomes and he sees tariffs as an attractive alternative. Another article in the same edition of The Economist explains why this is not a good idea: Tariffs will harm America, not induce a manufacturing rebirth. It would “make the world poorer—and America, too”:
“More than 90 years ago Franklin Delano Roosevelt surveyed the wreckage of the Great Depression. He pointed to one of its causes: sky-high tariffs had put America on the “road to ruin” by inviting retaliation and suffocating investment. It was a painful lesson, and it took decades of sustained global effort, led by America, to bring tariffs down and let commerce flourish. From our vantage in 2025 the perils of protectionism should still be abundantly clear. Tragically, if Donald Trump gets his way, America risks repeating the errors of the past.”
The support of billionaires
Trump’s previous tax cuts disproportionately benefited the wealthy (including himself). Billionaires have an interest in seeing the cuts extended. The ultra rich want to be even richer – but the use of tariffs to help pay for income tax cuts would harm the working people whom he professes to support. Tariffs would increase the prices that people pay, and they are regressive taxes: poor people spend a higher proportion of their incomes on goods than rich people.
Trump’s knowledge of history is selective. He mentioned Teddy Roosevelt as inheriting a strong economy – but Roosevelt felt the need to introduce ‘The Square Deal’ to address the problems faced by the poor under McKinley. Teddy Roosevelt would be a much better (and more enduringly popular) role model for Trump to try to emulate.
Trumpian imperialism
Trump’s MAGA slogan – Make America Great Again – is also regressive. He wants America to throw its weight around again, as McKinley did. He has announced an interest in annexing Canada, buying Greenland and “taking back” the Panama Canal.
It took two world wars to teach nations that a rules-based order is better than conflict. Trump’s announcement predictably caused consternation in the three territories concerned. It seems unlikely that he can be taken literally, so perhaps this is just his way of starting negotiations.
Civil rights
As described by Heather Cox Richardson, regressive Trump policies, initiated by executive orders, are taking America back to a time when racial segregation was widespread:
“In his determination to get rid of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) measures, Trump has …revoked a series of executive orders from various presidents designed to address inequities among American populations.
Dramatically, he reached all the way back to Executive Order 11246, signed by President Lyndon Baines Johnson in September 1965 to stop discriminatory practices in hiring in the federal government and in the businesses of those who were awarded federal contracts. Johnson put forward Executive Order 11246 shortly after Congress passed the Voting Rights Act to protect minority voting and a year after Congress passed the Civil Rights Act, both designed to level the playing field in the United States between white Americans, Black Americans and Americans of color.”
Trump claimed to have had “dramatic increases in support from virtually every element of our society …African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans…”. It can only be assumed that many of these voters did not realise that Trump was going to reducetheir civil rights.
Regressive approach to green transition
Trump has repeatedly referred to climate change as a “hoax”. He does not seem to believe that a green transition in the use of energy is necessary, or at least he thinks that it is not urgent. He doesn’t want to encourage electric cars or the use of renewable energy sources:
“We will drill, baby, drill.
…We will be a rich nation again, and it is that liquid gold under our feet that will help to do it. With my actions today, we will end the Green New Deal and we will revoke the electric vehicle mandate, saving our auto industry and keeping my sacred pledge to our great American autoworkers.
In other words, you’ll be able to buy the car of your choice. We will build automobiles in America again at a rate that nobody could have dreamt possible just a few years ago.”
But Trump cannot hold back the tide of change. Most of the rest of the world is investing in renewable energy. Wind power and solar power generate cheap electricity. Electric cars will then be much cheaper to run than those with internal combustion engines. American autoworkers would benefit from investment in electric cars, rather than losing competitive advantage to Europe and China. And the world’s fight to combat climate change would benefit.
Reasons why people voted for Trump
It might seem that people knew what they were voting for when they elected Trump in 2024 (this will be his second term as President). That assumption is false, though, if people were misinformed. A Brookings report, How disinformation defined the 2024 election narrative, described how American voters had misconceptions about who really won the 2020 election, the scale of immigration, the level of crime by immigrants, and the state of the economy. Many voters felt that the Biden Administration had managed the economy badly, for example, despite its strength compared to all other major economies. Much misinformation was spread by Trump himself, and it was amplified by Elon Musk on X (formerly known as Twitter).
The most likely explanation for Trump’s win has been described on this website as the politics of resentment. People were unhappy with their economic situation. President Biden was a poor communicator, failing to explain where his policies had helped – and that failure undermined Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign to succeed him.
Likely outcomes from regressive Trump policies
Trump’s advisors may be able to persuade him not to take some of the most damaging regressive actions. And, as noted by Reuters, Trump faces stiff challenges delivering on his promised ‘Golden Age’:
“President Donald Trump faces an arduous task delivering on his Inauguration Day promise of a “Golden Age of America” in the face of a closely split Congress, inevitable lawsuits and recalcitrant world leaders.”
It is impossible to forecast how many of his policies will be implemented. He is notoriously unpredictable and dishonest. His comments on Gaza trigger tensions with his Arab-American supporters, for example: he had told the Arab Americans for Trump lobby that he was “personally committed to a two-state solution”, but “Over the weekend, President Trump suggested that Gaza could be “cleaned out” and that Palestinians could be moved to Jordan or Egypt.” He cannot be trusted.