On January 20th, Donald J. Trump was appointed into office as the 47th President of the United States. On his first day in office, he passed a total of twenty-six executive orders, 12 memoranda, and 4 proclamations, making a new record for the most signed on the inauguration day of a President.
Due to the fact that the weather was below freezing, the inauguration took place inside of the U.S. Capitol building, although many who planned to attend the event ended up outside, starting at 11:30 CST and lasting roughly an hour. This was the 60th presidential inauguration, this is going to be Trump’s second term in office after serving as the 45th President originally, his first term ending just a week in advance due to impeachment. The long-lasting tradition included a swearing-in ceremony, a signing ceremony, an inaugural luncheon, a first honors ceremony, and a procession and parade at Capital One Arena.
The ceremony has gotten a fairly similar reaction from students here at Lively; Izzy Reed, an eighth grader, was asked for her opinions on Trump and if she supports him as well as what he stands for said, “No. Not at all. He’s said a lot of terrible things about trans people, LGBTQ+ people, black people, and he’s just been outright about his lack of support for those things which just sucks.” and when asked the same, O’rion Holmes Robinson, a seventh grader attending Lively said “I don’t want him to be President again.”
When touching on Trump’s deportation plans, Magdelena Sustaita, along with many others, is very much against it and hoping his promises are bluffs, on the other end Miles Severson says, “I don’t think you should be able to come into a country illegally, and there’s not really any other country in the world that is successful that just lets anybody in. I feel like you shouldn’t be allowed to cut in front of the line while other people are coming into this country properly.” Regarding deportation, Trump has leaned toward similar views to the ‘Alien Enemies Act’ of 1798, which made it easier to arrest illegal immigrants without criminal records and to detain more people with final deportation orders. The Justice Department issued a memo allowing ICE officers to arrest migrants at U.S. immigration courts, rolling back a Biden policy that limited such arrests, along with many more new policies and changes. “We shouldn’t start immediately immigrating people; We should just let people live here that want to live here.” Seventh grader, Emmett Holesnworth says.
Trump’s stance on abortion is unquestionably a touchy topic. During his first term, he appointed Supreme Court Justices that were sympathetic towards the idea of overturning Roe v. Wade, which later led to a U.S. ban on abortion that has only spread through the States since. He took down the Women’s Reproductive Rights website mere hours after taking office. Sustaita also had a lot to say on this subject as a woman who will likely face these sorts of struggles throughout her life: “They don’t realize how traumatic childbirth can be physically and emotionally. It’s not just you pushing it out and you’re done; it’s extremely painful, and there are many effects during and after pregnancy. To put a child through that is unethical when there’s a way around it. Even if you were trying to get pregnant, you could realize, ‘Wait, I don’t think I’m ready for this, and it’s not fair for me to bring a child into the world where they’ll be at a disadvantage. To be a human, you must have your own thoughts and be more than just a couple of cells inside someone’s body.”
Studies at Elon University have found that most of those who voted for Trump anticipate that tariffs will lead to higher prices for consumers and challenges for U.S. exporters, however, this is offset by a majority of Trump voters who see tariffs as something that will strengthen American manufacturing and jobs. By next week, prices will go up rapidly due to the tariffs being placed on all goods from Canada and Mexico. This will affect the school system because things such as public school funding will be cut down, supplies will go up in cost, and things as simple as gas will be difficult to afford. Ramses Planco said, “I think tariffs can sometimes be unnecessary because Trump is using tariffs on our main trading routes.”
President Trump is planning to “unleash American energy” by ending Biden’s policies of climate extremism, streamlining permitting, and reviewing for rescission all regulations that impose undue burdens on energy production and use, including mining and processing of non-fuel minerals, he has pulled out of the Paris Climate Accord, and he wants to end leasing to massive wind farms that degrade our natural landscapes and fail to serve American energy consumers.
Many students are finding themselves scared and dishearted at the Trump Administration’s views on LGBTQ+ rights, and rightfully so as ‘The President will establish male and female as biological reality’, forcing many Americans to de-transition and no longer legally be identified as their preferred gender identity, taking away insurance for those transitioning, legally keeping those under the age of nineteen from transitioning medically -including going on Testosterone-, very vocally wanting to ban same-sex marriage, and many more policies against the community. Minh Dao, a queer student at LMS gave a great perspective on Trump’s Policies. “Considering what Trump said in 2016 about gay and trans rights, ‘I will do everything in my power to protect LGBTQ+ citizens.’ He’s a liar; here we are in 2025 realizing he really didn’t mean a single word he said. Trump has stated he will make sure there are only two genders from day one. We as Americans need to fight back and bring up our rights because we know Elon Musk will do whatever he can to hurt us, considering he has thrown out his own daughter from his family and referred to her as non-existent just because she is trans, we know he is not afraid to take away others rights. Not to mention Trump’s Vice President, JD Vance is directly associated with Project 2025, which states some scary things for the LGBTQ+ community.”
Although opinions differed quite a lot based on the specifics, there is one thing Lively interviewees agreed on almost unanimously, how America should approach politics. Students don’t like that voting has become based on whether or not you like the candidate when it should really be about what they stand for. They also agree on the fact that you should keep others’ best interest in mind, not just your own. Sustaita says, “Rich white men are mainly people’s only interest,” when considering who to vote for and that states should have more say in what happens in their cities as every city is different and needs a variety of policies.
Overall, it’s obvious that Lively is filled with young voices that are ready to shout; These are a few out of many of Trump’s policies and just a small cut of his plan, if you’d like to read more about the system, and better educate yourself visit thewhitehouse.gov to see current policies and interviews, to get into details and stay updated watch news, read unbiased articles, listen to podcasts, do whatever you can to stay accurately updated with politics. Right now, it is most important.
