Trump's Unpopular Executive Actions

Don't believe all the hype, Trump has done some unpopular things on Day 1.

Jan 21, 2025

President Trump signed 26 executive orders that dramatically shifted federal policy.

We must admit that Trump’s overall narrative is popular. The public is very open to upending the status quo, support for immigration has dropped significantly, and a New York Times/IPSOS poll found that nine in ten Americans believe the political system is broken, and a majority support mass deportations.

Trump is skilled at playing to this message, and many of these executive actions are glorified press releases aimed at playing to that message. But he has also done some genuinely unpopular things, and we should make sure people know about these.

Below, I’ve categorized some of the orders by impact and popularity.

Unpopular Actions - Tell The World!

Donald Trump signed two executive orders that are very unpopular with the general public. One is getting a lot of attention, and the other is not getting much.

Healthcare Executive Orders:

Donald Trump issued executive orders halting prescription cost-saving efforts created during the Biden administration. These executive orders will raise healthcare costs and cost taxpayers billions of dollars a year. This is a huge deal that is not getting enough attention.

Trump has paused the government’s ability to negotiate drug prices for Medicare enrollees. Under Biden, the first round of negotiations saved US taxpayers 6 billion dollars per year. This will pad the pockets of Big Pharma by billions of dollars and cost Medicare patients more money. American first? Seems like Big Pharma first.
Trump also signed an executive order that ended the extended enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act. Under the Biden administration, these policies nearly doubled ACA enrollment to about 24 million people.

The bottom line: These executive actions were gifts to Big Pharma and Health Insurance companies. Neither of those entities is very popular. Donald Trump started his presidency by raising healthcare costs for millions of Americans.

Pardoning January 6 Insurrectionists:

Donald Trump issued a broad blanket pardon for 1500 of his supporters charged with committing crimes during the Jan 6th attack on the US Capitol. The general public is NOT supportive of pardoning violent insurrectionists who attacked police officers:

These pardons did not distinguish between people who engaged in violence and those charged with nonviolent offenses.
Trump has also directed his attorney general to seek the dismissal of 450 pending Jan 6th cases. 60% of those cases are felony cases involving violent attacks against police.
Two individuals pardoned were Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, the former leader of the Proud Boys, who was sentenced to 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy, and Kelly Meggs, a leader of the Oath Keepers, who played a pivotal role in organizing the group’s attack on the capitol.

The bottom line: Trump promised to restore law and order, yet on his first day, he pardoned convicted criminals who attacked police officers.

Glorified Press Releases

This action is basically a glorified press release.

End of Birthright Citizenship: Trump signed an executive action to terminate birthright citizenship. This is not how the constitution works. The Fourteenth Amendment is clear here: the Constitution protects birthright citizenship. This only has merit because four Supreme Court Justices are firmly in the pocket of Donald Trump.

Scary and Dumb Stuff

National Immigration Emergency: Trump declared a national emergency to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, including deploying military forces and designating drug cartels and migrant gangs as terrorist organizations.
- Just to be clear, there is NO national emergency at the border. Illegal border crossings are down 80% from last year and are lower than they were when Trump left office.
- Trump is doing this because it opens up more funds for mass deportations.
National Energy Emergency: Trump declared a national energy emergency, rolling back restrictions on oil and gas production and eliminating mandates for electric vehicles.
Withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord: Initiated withdrawing the United States from the global Paris Climate Change Agreement.
Establishment of the External Revenue Service: Created a new agency tasked with pursuing tariffs and duties to bolster domestic revenue. 25% sales tax is coming!

Just Plain Dumb

Renaming of the Gulf of Mexico: Ordered the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America." I mean. . . I guess he can do this.

To Recap: Day 1 of Trump’s presidency, and he has made 25 billion dollars off a scam meme coin, pardoned violent insurrectionists, raised your healthcare costs, and signed executive orders that violate our constitution. Tell your friends.