He Pledges to Drain the Swamp and Switch to One-Day In-Person Voting
Talk surrounding Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential candidacy centers on his mounting criminal indictments and his brash responses. Buried underneath his all-caps Truth Social posts is an actual agenda, which draws little attention. It should.
Referred to as Agenda 47, the Trump platform includes planks to rebuild the American economy, ensure fair trade for American workers and unleash energy dominance. He reprises earlier calls to secure the border and wants to wage war against drug cartels. He also pledges to end censorship, protect parents’ rights and upgrade care for veterans.
In addition, Trump’s Agenda 47 includes planks titled “Reject Globalism and Embrace Patriotism”, “Free, Honest and Lawful Elections” and “Drain the Swamp of Washington Corruption”.
Draining the swamp, according to Agenda 47, requires “dismantling the deep state and restoring government by the People, just as he did during his administration. President Trump will conduct a top-to-bottom overhaul of federal bureaucracies to clean out the rot and corruption of Washington D.C.”
Regarding elections, Trump promises to “reform our election laws to verify the identity and eligibility of all voters to ensure faith and confidence in all future elections. We will pass a bold range of critical election integrity measures that include banning unsecure drop boxes and ballot harvesting.”
The plank about globalism and patriotism is most notable for what it doesn’t include – any reference to the Russian invasion in Ukraine or how he would deal with heightened tensions with China. The section blames President Biden for a “humiliating defeat in Afghanistan” (without mentioning Trump’s role in negotiating the pullout with the Taliban). It ends by promising, “Under President Trump, we will restore our standing in the world and American leadership abroad” without offering any details.
The section titled “Renew American Strength and Leadership” offers to replace “the failed policy of never-ending war, regime change and nation-building with a bold vision to pursue peace through strength.” Trump pledges to keep the United States out of “unnecessary foreign wars”, rid the military of “Biden’s radical left ideology” and rehire military personnel discharged for failing to be vaccinated for COVID. He also pledges “to protect our people from the threat of nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles” by “building a state-of-the-art, next-generation missile defense shield.”
On the campaign trail speaking to loyal followers, Trump gets more specific about his intentions. He threatens to strip Civil Service protections from federal workers and only hire people loyal to him. He supports executing drug dealers, moving homeless people to tent cities, deploying federal troops to deal with local crime and protests, taking over Washington DC, eliminating the Department of Education and restricting voting to a single day with paper ballots. So far, he hasn’t ruled out the use of vote-counting machines.
“We’re going to have a well-trained cadre of people that will hit the beach Day 1.”
Campaign Planks Taken Seriously
Groups like the America First Policy Institute take Trump campaign pledges seriously. The Institute says it is “preparing political appointees” whom Trump can install immediately to begin the purge of federal workers. “We’re going to have a well-trained cadre of people that will hit the beach Day 1, and their No. 1 thing is to start taking apart the federal bureaucracy brick by brick,” according to Steve Bannon, who continues to advise Trump on political strategy.
The underlying reason to dismantle the Department of Education and dispatch its 4,400 federal workers is to clear the way “to implement strict prohibitions on teaching inappropriate racial, sexual and political material to America’s schoolchildren in any form whatsoever,” Trump said at a Conservative Political Action Conference meeting.
In rallies, Trump promises revenge if elected in 2024. “In 2016, I declared, ‘I am your voice,’” Trump told a crowd in Maryland. “Today, I add: I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution.” He doesn’t hide his view that no one been wronged more than him.
If returned to the White House, Trump and his allies have implied they would go after Special Prosecutor Jack Smith, cut off his investigation if it’s still ongoing and pardon those who have been indicted, convicted or jailed in support of Trump. Though unspoken, a pardon also would apply to Trump himself for wrongful prosecution.
Running Regardless of Convictions
Trump has made clear his intention to remain in the presidential race even if convicted in any of the four separate sets of criminal indictments he faces. He has called the indictments politically motivated, claimed the Department of Justice has been weaponized and more recently asserted the charges are attempts to thwart his freedom of speech as a presidential candidate.
The first GOP presidential debate is scheduled for August 23 in Milwaukee. Trump has signaled he won’t participate. He defends his decision based on his refusal to endorse anyone but himself as the party’s 2024 standard-bearer. The real reason is more likely that he holds such a commanding lead over the rest of the field, he has nothing to gain by engaging them – or letting them spend the night pelting him.
In character, Agenda 47 merchandise is for sale on Trump’s campaign website.
