March 2025: Trump Admin’s Four Priorities
As winter recedes and spring emerges, the Trump administration continues its aggressive pace. I strove to blog earlier in March than I did in January and February, but time makes fools of us all. This post will attempt to bring readers up to speed on four key priorities of the Trump administration: tariffs, land acquisition, Russia-Ukraine peace and deporting illegal/undocumented migrants.
No one is exempt from tariffs, not even our longtime ally and neighbor Canada, relations with whom have worsened as of late. Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed the rationale for tariffs on Face the Nation today:
“…We have de-industrialized this country. De-industrialized the United States of America. There are things that we can no longer make and we have to be able to make in order to be safe as a country and in order to have jobs. That’s why we have a rust belt, that’s why we have suffered all these important jobs that once sustained entire communities wiped out by trade that basically sent these factories, these jobs, this industrial capability, to other places that cannot and will not continue.”
Thus, the tariffs on Canada and the international community are part of wider strategy to bring fairness back to U.S. trade deals and rebuild the post-WWII economy that uplifted many middle class families. From this view, Canada needs to become a state to be exempt.
The joint combo of tariffs and threats of annexing Canada has demonstrable effects already. From Canadians booing the U.S. national anthem at hockey games to fewer Canadians traveling to the U.S., our two nations are facing a low in our relationship- something not on my 2025 bingo card. Weirdly enough, the Trump admin and Mexican government seem to be getting along. Perhaps it’s only a matter of time before tariffs bring us to conflict.
Trump is as focused on acquiring land as he is on tariffs and renegotiating trade deals. Last week, he met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who was previously served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands. On Friday, Rutte praised Trump for motivating NATO members to increase their defense spending and providing a framework for a Ukraine-Russia ceasefire. However, when Trump suggested that NATO intervene in the USA acquiring Denmark, Rutte sidestepped.
Some observers, myself included, were shocked that Trump would try to involve NATO in this matter. If past is prologue, Trump doesn’t let things go. He will continue to push for Greenland. In their election last week, Greenlanders “tried to ignore Trump and focus on issues that were important to them” according to Professor Carina Ren, although new Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said “we don’t want to be Americans.” Rutte and NATO can’t sidestep forever.
Turning to the Panama Canal, Trump defense officials reportedly requested multiple options for taking it back, including a military invasion. Military force is “still unlikely at this time.” Trump has mostly refrained from talking about the canal in public, aside from stating that the USA is in the process of “reclaiming” it during his address to Congress in the first week of March.
Contrasting with their annexation aims, the Trump administration is pushing towards peace between Ukraine and Russia. After the remarkable showdown between Zelensky, Vance and Trump a couple of weeks ago, Ukraine has agreed to a 30 day proposed ceasefire. Russian President Vladimir Putin was more cagey, indicating openness while having several reservations and conditions. Trump and Putin are supposed to speak this week, which might lead to a ceasefire and eventual peace.
Finally, the Trump administration has sought to ramp up deportations of illegal/undocumented migrants. First, they argue that a 1798 law entitled the Alien Enemies Act allows the president “wide powers to imprison and deport non-citizens in time of war.” In our 250 year history, it has been used four times: during tensions between USA and France, the War of 1812, World War I and World War II. It justified Japanese internment camps. A judge has temporarily delayed its use.
Second, Rubio utilized a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) “which denotes individuals whose presence poses serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States as deportable” to justify the detention of pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil. Khalil’s situation has become a flashpoint for both sides, as Rubio and others argue Khalil is a Hamas propagandist and critics contend that charge is untrue and Khalil’s First Amendment rights are being squashed. Nationwide protests are scheduled for the upcoming week.
Of course, there are a host of other issues, but I felt these four were the most important. Hopefully, I helped clear up some of the mess that is politics and current events!