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Donald Trump is the only official candidate in the 2024 presidential race right now, but he's already unveiling what he plans to do if elected to a second term.
Since his November 15 announcement, Trump has made several campaign promises and suggested that he's prepared to bring back the policies of his previous administration and enact new measures that will address the existing political climate.
He will also begin rolling out a new leadership team. Earlier this week, Trump said he will hold his first public campaign event of the year in Columbia, South Carolina, on January 28 with Governor Henry McMaster, Senator Lindsey Graham, members of the state's congressional delegation and state lawmakers. At the event, he will announce his South Carolina leadership team, the Associated Press reported. South Carolina holds an important early primary in the race for the GOP nomination.
As Trump ramps up his 2024 campaign, here's what the former president says he has in store if he returns to the Oval Office.
Restrictions on China
In a video posted Wednesday to Truth Social, his social media platform, Trump vowed to enact "aggressive new restrictions" on Chinese ownership related to American energy, technology, farmland and other assets.
He urged the U.S. to stop all future purchases in these "essential industries" and force China to sell all existing holdings that threaten national security.
"If we don't do this, the U.S. will be owned by China," Trump said. "When I'm president, I will ensure that America's future remains firmly in American hands, just as I did when I was president before."
Tech Companies and Content Moderation
Last month, Trump vowed to ban using federal money to label domestic speech as "misinformation" or "disinformation."
As part of his promise to crack down on "domestic censorship," the former president said he would fire federal officials who have been involved in disinformation efforts and cut federal funding for universities that have engaged in "censorship activities."
Trump said in a video posted to Truth Social that within hours of taking office he would "sign an executive order banning any federal department or agency from colluding with any organization, business or person, to censor, limit, categorize or impede the lawful speech of American citizens."
He also urged House Republicans to send letters to the Biden administration and "every Silicon Valley tech giant" ordering them "not to destroy evidence of censorship."
U.S.-Mexico Border
Republicans have seized on the unprecedented number of migrants coming to the Southern border since Biden was inaugurated as president, and Trump has promised to respond to the immigration issue by going after the drug cartels.
"Our country is being poisoned from within by the drugs and all of the other crime that's taken place. The drug cartels are waging war in America, and it's now time for America to wage war on the cartels," Trump said in a January 5 video.
"In this war, Joe Biden has sided against the United States and with the cartels," he continued. "Biden's open border policies are a deadly betrayal of our nation. When I am president, it will be the policy of the U.S. to take down the cartels."
Trump also said he would order the Defense Department to use special forces to "inflict maximum damage on cartel leadership, infrastructure and operations" and declare those groups as foreign terrorist organizations.
Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment.
About the writer
Katherine Fung is a Newsweek senior reporter based in New York City. She has covered U.S. politics and culture extensively. ... Read more