(Forbes) Former President Donald Trump vowed Friday to impose the death penalty on human traffickers—his latest in a series of campaign promises as he looks to maintain his grasp on the Republican party amid a slew of challengers in the run-up to the 2024 presidential primaries.
Mandatory Stop-and-Frisk: Trump also said he would require police departments nationwide to implement a controversial policy called “stop-and-frisk,” a police tactic of detaining and searching civilians for weapons and contraband items, even though the tactic was deemed unconstitutional by a federal judge in New York in 2013 and faces widespread criticism for discriminating against people of color, following up on a campaign promise he made as a then-candidate in 2016.
Gender Affirming Care: Trump said he will call on Congress to pass legislation to punish doctors who provide gender-affirming care to minors—a GOP-backed initiative decried by Democrats and LGTBQ organizations, after a slew of states enacted laws restricting gender-affirming care for trans children or banning trans children from using bathrooms that match their gender identity.
Critical Race Theory: Trump also pledged in January to cut federal funding for schools that teach critical race theory, gender identity or “inappropriate” political, racial or sexual material, after Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), Trump’s biggest 2024 rival, signedcontroversial restrictions on classroom instruction on sexual orientation, gender identity and race.
School Discipline: In addition to restricting classroom instruction, Trump vowed to push the Justice Department and Department of Education to overhaul federal standards on school discipline and “end the leftist takeover of school discipline” (while in office, Trump rescinded an Obama-era policy to ensure students of color were not disproportionately disciplined).
Baseline Tariffs: Trump said in March he plans to implement universal baseline tariffs on most foreign products, amid worsening tensions between the U.S. and China and a push to stem outsourcing to foreign countries (Trump imposed 25% tariffs on Chinese exports during his presidency).
Death Penalty for Drug Offenses: Trump has also proposedinstituting the death penalty for drug dealers, smugglers and traffickers, even though he had pardoned multiple people convicted of selling drugs during his time in the White House.
Freedom Cities: In perhaps his most unusual policy proposal, Trump outlined a plan to create so-called freedom cities on federal land, holding a contest to design as many as 10 new cities built around “hives of industry” and futuristic vertical-takeoff vehicles, calling the initiative a “quantum leap in the American standard of living.”
