Social policy of Donald Trump

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The social policy of the Donald Trump administration was generally socially conservative. As of 2016, Donald Trump described himself as pro-life with exceptions for rape, incest, and circumstances endangering the life of the mother.[1] He said he was committed to appointing justices who may overturn the ruling in Roe v. Wade.[2] Trump appointed three Supreme Court justices during his presidency. All of them later went on to vote in the majority opinion of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the Supreme Court case overturning Roe v. Wade and ending federal abortion rights nationwide.

Before his presidency, Trump made contradictory comments on same-sex marriage.[17] Whereas he largely avoided commenting on LGBT issues as a candidate, his administration rolled back numerous LGBT protections.[18] He ordered a ban on all transgender personnel from serving in the military during his presidency.[19] Trump supported a broad interpretation of the Second Amendment and said he was opposed to gun control in general,[20][21] although his views have shifted over time.[22] Trump also supported removing the federal government from determining the legality of recreational marijuana and supported states that have legalized medical marijuana.[23][24]

In terms of criminal justice, Trump has stated to be "tough on crime" and for "law and order". He frequently praised law enforcement officers and was critical of the Black Lives Matter movement amid the George Floyd protests, calling the words "Black lives matter" a symbol of hate.[25] He favored capital punishment,[26][27] as well as the use of waterboarding saying his administration would do "a hell of a lot worse" if he was elected.[28][29] In 2018, Trump signed the bipartisan First Step Act in law, a bill aimed at reforming federal prisons and sentencing laws.[30]

  1. ^ Wright, David (April 21, 2016). "Trump: I would change GOP platform on abortion". CNN. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  2. ^ de Vogue, Ariane (November 15, 2016). "Trump: Same-sex marriage is 'settled', but Roe v Wade can be changed". 60 Minutes. CBS. Archived from the original on November 19, 2016. Retrieved November 30, 2016 – via CNN.
  3. ^ Maggie Haberman, Donald Trump's More Accepting Views on Gay Issues Set Him Apart in G.O.P. Archived April 5, 2019, at the Wayback Machine, New York Times (April 22, 2016).
  4. ^ Samuels, Robert; Johnson, Jenna (July 26, 2017). "'It's not my thing': A history of Trump's shifting relationship with the LGBT community". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  5. ^ "Trump congratulated Elton John on his civil partnership in 2005". Washington Blade: Gay News, Politics, LGBT Rights. April 4, 2016. Archived from the original on October 14, 2019. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  6. ^ Svachula, Amanda (July 6, 2018). "Record Breaking or Not, Trump Crowds Get Elton John on Repeat". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 12, 2019. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  7. ^ Uy, JD (February 15, 2011). "Donald Trump says he's against gay marriage". Metro Weekly (DC). Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  8. ^ Amira, Dan (March 9, 2011). "Does Donald Trump Support Civil Unions or Not?". Intelligencer. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  9. ^ "Donald Trump on the Issues". www.ontheissues.org. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  10. ^ Ehrenfreund, Max (July 22, 2015). "Here's what Donald Trump really believes". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 23, 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  11. ^ "Donald Trump is against same-sex marriage". PolitiFact. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  12. ^ "Donald Trump punching back". MediaBuzz. Fox News Channel. July 5, 2015. Archived from the original on January 26, 2017. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  13. ^ Coleburn, Christina (January 31, 2016). "Trump criticizes Supreme Court for same-sex marriage decision". MSNBC. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  14. ^ Trump, Donald (October 1, 2016). "Trump Letter to CatholicVote.org" (PDF). CatholicVote.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 20, 2018. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  15. ^ Donald Trump says the law is settled on gay marriage but not on abortion Archived July 13, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, The Economist (November 17, 2016).
  16. ^ Eli Stokols, Trump says he's 'fine' with legalization of same-sex marriage Archived February 4, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, Politico (November 13, 2016).
  17. ^ [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]
  18. ^ Sosin, Kate (October 10, 2020). "Trump has gutted LGBTQ+ rights. Could a Biden presidency undo the damage?". USA Today. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  19. ^ Edelman, Adam (July 26, 2017). "Trump Bans Transgender People Serving in the Military". NBC News.
  20. ^ Gorman, Michele (May 20, 2016). "A brief history of Donald Trump's stance on gun rights". Newsweek. Archived from the original on July 31, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  21. ^ Official website. Protecting our Second Amendment rights will make America great again Archived January 7, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. "There has been a national background check system in place since 1998 ... Too many states are failing to put criminal and mental health records into the system ... What we need to do is fix the system we have and make it work as intended." Retrieved: October 21, 2015.
  22. ^ Krieg, Gregory (June 20, 2016). "The times Trump changed his positions on guns". CNN. Archived from the original on August 25, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  23. ^ Halper, Evan (June 8, 2016). "Trump says he is likely to support ending blanket federal ban on marijuana". LA Times. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  24. ^ February 27, 2015. (Excerpt from Donald Trump Remarks at CPAC). Donald Trump on Marijuana. Archived January 15, 2016, at the Wayback Machine C-Span. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  25. ^ Kevin Liptak and Kristen Holmes (July 2020). "Trump calls Black Lives Matter a 'symbol of hate' as he digs in on race". CNN. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  26. ^ Diamond, Jeremy (December 11, 2015). "Trump: Death penalty for cop killers". CNN. Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  27. ^ Foderaro, Lisa (May 1, 1989). "Angered by Attack, Trump Urges Return Of the Death Penalty". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 16, 2016. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  28. ^ McCarthy, Tom. "Donald Trump: I'd bring back 'a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on February 8, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
  29. ^ "Ted Cruz, Donald Trump Advocate Bringing Back Waterboarding". ABC News. February 6, 2016. Archived from the original on February 9, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  30. ^ Lopez, German (February 5, 2019). "The First Step Act, explained". Vox.