Anybody who knows me can positively say I don’t know my facts when it comes to politics and presidents. It just so happens that I don’t know which president or policy does/did what. For example, I said that JFK was the one in the wheelchair when in reality it was Ronald Reagan who in reality was New York Police Commissioner. And I also believe that with high schoolers, it’s difficult to read politics and stay interested on some mainstream news sites.

This is why I took it upon myself to find two resident AHS’ers who actually have a clue what’s going on in today’s crazy world of politics.

Junior Gabe Martinez ranks himself at a 4 on the Political Scale I created (seen below) and junior Luke Hohenberger is a self-appointed 7. 

President Donald J. Trump has signed 12 executive orders and has taken actions to complete his campaign promises among other things. Whether in agreement or disagreement with the president, there’s always something important.

PERCEPTION OF THE PRESIDENT

There are mixed feelings throughout the country on how the Trump Administration is doing so far. Whether it be his activity on Twitter, what him and his administration have done so far, or just his overall portrayal to the public eye, Donald Trump has made quite the impression in the short time he’s been in office.

Q: What are your thoughts on Trump’s presidency so far?

LUKE: I think he’s definitely off to a good start. He’s really followed through on what he’s said. A lot of other presidents or candidates wouldn’t have done that, and he’s done a lot.

GABE: He’s very controversial. The fact that his approval rating in the polls these past 2 month to this day are telling what people think of this. Not a lot of faith in him. There should be, but it doesn’t look very optimistic for the future of his leadership.

What do you think Trump has done well? What could he improve on?

LUKE: His effect on the economy is incredible. No other president, when they have taken office has had Dow Jones increased that much. And that’s one reason why i think he was voted in. People are concerned for their economy, and they want it fixed. BAD: He needs to delete his Twitter and stick to the teleprompter. A filter. He doesn’t say what people want to hear, but what they need to, and sometimes they need to hear the truth, but not all the time. He should reword himself in more of a professional manner.

GABE: Let’s start with the bad. The expansion of executive orders are not a good start. I think that gives a president too much power in executive orders. But, he’s a man of his word. He’s really putting in an effort to complete his campaign promises and that shows that he’s motivated.

What are your thoughts on the feud between Trump and the media?

LUKE: I think he needs to ignore them, because it gives him a bad look.

GABE: Trump is infamous for his egregious comments that the media paints as inappropriate for the head of state, and they are right with many of his comments in this regard. At this stage in his presidency it has much less purpose as criticizing his character does little to bring about any change for his administration, and should focus on informing the public on his policy as his character has been tested to be immune to controversy.

TRADE AND ECONOMIC POLICY

The TPP was originally thrown into the ring as fuel for American exporters in their worldwide competition. It aimed to increase productivity and promote economic growth for the country, all while raising living standards, reducing poverty, excellent labor and environmental protection and government in signatory nations.

What Trump wants to do by leaving the TPP is to slow the wave of jobs leaving the United States and to try other measures before providing an alternative to American companies looking for cheaper labor in other places.

LUKE: I think it’s really good, because all big company CEO’s worry about is money, they don’t think about the working class, the middle class. And I think that’s how Trump can help them, by bringing the big businesses back into America.

GABE: When I first heard of the TPP, I wasn’t too big a fan of the transparency in the copyright laws. Will it harm the US economy? Yes, the world needs to work together. Doing this may bring jobs back, but the United States makes more money overseas. More American companies in American manufacturing harm how much we make. Corporations outsource for a reason. There’s also the worry that this will give China the ability to become more powerful, and it doesn’t give the US a foothold in the eastern Asia market. We won’t see the effect yet, we’re just losing out on potential money we could be making.

TRAVEL / IMMIGRATION

What are your thoughts on the travel ban? How do you believe that both the Trump administration and others handled the situation? Do you believe it was handled well or it could have been handled differently?

The most controversial of the executive orders was the travel ban placed on majority-Muslim countries, which included Iran, Iraq, Syria (until said otherwise), Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen from entering the United States for 120 days. Several federal judges declared it unconstitutional, releasing hundreds stuck in limbo in US airports. The White House released a claim, stating it “is not about religion” but “protecting our own citizens and borders”. This order caused thousands to protest, and for top Republicans to split ties with Trump.

After multiple states filed suits to block Trump’s order completely, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals denied that there were any acts of terrorism caused by any person of the 7 countries, and allowed members of the countries with visas and paperwork to travel to the United States.

LUKE: It’s a strict order but I see it going both ways. I do believe there should be extreme vetting on suspicious immigrants, though I don’t believe in an absolute ban of a country. There are however a select few who could very possibly become a threat.

GABE:I think it missed its mark. No recent act of terrorism on the United States was accomplished by these countries. The ban of Saudi Arabia is very bias. Shutting out people with residency in the US, who are trying to come back from vacation or business is a waste of potential value of labor. But that only applies with green cards and visas.

EDUCATION POLICY

Trump declared January 22-28 as National School Choice Week. This aims to encourage people people to demand school-voucher programs and charter schools. Opponents of this program state that it weakens public schools and fund private schools at the cost of taxpayer dollar.

Is this good or bad for the US education system and for the next generation?

LUKE: I wouldn’t disagree with Trump. They’re looking for bigger or inner city students who have the potential to excel. They want good students to get into good schools, and bring state scores up. This obviously wouldn’t affect small town Iowa, as there isn’t a struggle in the school system. I see nothing wrong with public schools.

GABE: (Agreed with Luke)

BORDER SECURITY AND MEXICO

Running 1300 miles long, 40 feet high, and weighing in at 19 million concrete tons, Trump’s wall has been estimated to cost anywhere from $10-15 billion including the consideration of uncertainties in construction.

Mexico has said they will not pay for the wall, but Trump may come up with a different way for them to. It’s called border adjustment, and it’s only an example of how Mexico could pay but is very plausible.  The US would raise the improt tax on Mexican goods by 20 percent gaining around 13 billion a year. Many fear this could damage relations with Mexico, the United States 4th largest oil supplier and 3rd in goods.

Do you think that the border adjustment would be an efficient way to pay for the wall?

LUKE: Yeah, obviously we’ll pocket the cash from Mexico and build the wall. Definitely a solution with the higher tax and trade.

GABE: Will it pay for the wall? Yeah, probably. The only problem is it makes things more expensive. We have trade deals with Mexico, and all that means is the prices will go up. It’s actually somewhat interesting because Republicans want less spending and cheaper economy, so it’s definitely an interesting twist.

How do think Trump is doing as president?

• Awesome (27%, 13 Votes)
• Good (27%, 13 Votes)
• Terrible (23%, 11 Votes)
• Okay (17%, 8 Votes)
• Not well (6%, 3 Votes)

Total Voters: 48

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LUKE: I’d have to say yes and no, because the wall will definitely intimidate people. And they’re talking of building a canal, I think, so that the wall can’t be tunneled under, and it obviously won’t be able to be climbed over. But with the big cartels and organizations, there’s always a way.

GABE: I also have to say yes and no. People are clever. There’s already ways to get out, tunnels, boats. And this is just hearsay from what I’ve heard on the news, but from the looks of it, lots if not most of the illegal immigrants are only invalid visas or green cards.

LUKE (cont.): I think instead of building a wall, that money could be used to relocate or deport the illegal immigrants already in the country. I saw a story of a 24 year old mother with three kids who was being deported, and many were supporting her, but they overlooked the fact that she was a felon. Obviously an illegal immigrant felon isn’t going to get much appreciation. I think they should all go through the process like anybody else.

The next four years will definitely be worth watching, as Trump changes America. Maybe he’ll make it great again, but he might not. It’s always good to know what’s going on in the world around you, especially when it could one day affect you.