I don’t see how Trump’s plans will make America great again

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David L. Levy is a retired physician who practiced nephrology in Bangor for 38 years.

Now that a majority of Americans have voted to return Donald Trump to the White House, I’m excited to see what he will do to “Make America Great Again.” Honestly, I thought America was pretty great, but I think there’s always room for improvement.

Trump has made a number of promises and threats, and it will be interesting to see how he follows through on them. Trump and I have one thing in common: Both of our paternal grandfathers were immigrants who came to America in search of a better life. Millions of foreigners have now immigrated to our country for the same reason. Unfortunately, Trump has demonized them and promised to subject them to the largest deportation in US history. The human cost of this will be incalculable, and the true financial cost to American taxpayers will be billions of dollars.

Another of Trump’s promises is to pack the Justice Department with his own people and use it to prosecute his political enemies. It is unclear whether the armed forces would be asked to take part in this purge, as he suggested using the army to fight “the enemy within.”

Many media networks are also on Trump’s enemies list, and Trump has called journalists “enemies of the people.” Is he planning to shut down the free press?

Another of Trump’s stated goals in his first term was to repeal the Affordable Care Act. With a majority in Congress, he could now be able to accomplish this, leaving millions without health care.

During his final term in office, Trump filled the Supreme Court with judges who opposed abortion rights. Now he may have the opportunity to sign a federal law that would allow the government to override a woman’s right to decide what happens to her body.

One promise not included in his campaign ads, but which he is sure to keep, is to further cut taxes for billionaires. Of course, this adds to the trillions by which he increased our national debt in his last term in office. But don’t worry, many of his supporters in Congress plan to cut benefits (including Medicare and Social Security) to compensate.

Inflation is said to be a main reason why voters chose Trump. Ironically, a key feature of his economic plan is to impose high tariffs on many imported goods, which will most likely lead to higher prices.

At the international level, Trump has promised to end the war in Ukraine before he takes office. Having expressed his deep respect for Vladimir Putin, one can imagine that his proposed solution will not be a happy one for the Ukrainian people.

I’m not sure how Trump’s handling of the above issues will increase America’s greatness, but certainly the majority of our citizens knew what they were voting for. Right?