Trump Ceremonially Rolls Back Hard Fought Protections in WWE Style Spectacle

Did you ever watch Friday Night Wrestling as a kid? We used to love it, regardless of the ostentatious behavior and the bad acting and the more outlandish, the better. It was like everyone was in on the joke, except the main wrestlers who were hurling insults faster than the occasional metal folding chair.

That is what Donald Trump’s inaugural after party at the Capitol One Arena was like — a freaky trip back to the 80’s where the political process had been fully reimagined as a WWE face-off. Donald Trump would sign Executive Orders as the announcer of the match would hype the crowd with our rights being ceremonially rolled back in real time. Trump and his team made sure to package this Civics lesson in palatable bite sizes that included no sense of tradition or reality. I turned on the news at this exact portion and I thought I was having a fever dream.

Everything will be for show from here on out and we can expect this MAGA-mutated derangement to turn everything upside down. Only the people who have taken the time to educate themselves in their civic duties will understand the punchline. This is such a dangerous time because it is too easy to look away on the basis that none of it is serious or real, but the theater of it is meant to camouflage one essential fact: this is really happening.

Within the complete spectacle and show of yesterday’s anointing of the ruling class, the Trump administration set out their massive agenda to roll back the rights and liberties that the Republican Party has determined aren’t deserved by all American citizens. While an Executive Order is more of a missive than an actual law, those hard at work in this new Trump administration are counting on people getting lost in the show of it all.

All of these new Trump mission statements pertain to issues that they intend to fight in the Courts, the very ones that Donald Trump had a heavy hand in creating from all of his Republican Judicial Nominees at the lower and appellate court levels to his stacked US Supreme Court. These are the cases that Donald Trump intends to flood the lower courts with, and all of his judges will feel obliged to do what he put them there to do: blindly and unequivocally rule in his favor, regardless of the ramifications for the actual people in the United States of America who have to abide by these laws.

January 6 Defendants Pardoned and Released

Donald Trump issued pardons for offenders and commutations related to the January 6 attack on the Capitol and has directed the Department of Justice to dismiss any current cases still being litigated. Trump said at his rally that he has pardoned about 1,500 defendants charged in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol and issued six commutations.

Ending Birthright Citizenship

President Trump has signed an executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship in the US — a right guaranteed by the US Constitution and affirmed by the Supreme Court more than 125 years ago. Trump is targeting automatic citizenship for US-born children of immigrants in the country illegally, to begin 30 days from today.

Trump’s Tale of Two Genders

In a complete reversal of Biden-era policy, Trump signed an order to remove “gender ideology guidance” from federal government communication, policies and forms. The order makes the erroneous concept that there are “only two genders, male and female” the official federal policy.

Leaving the World Health Organization

Donald Trump has signed an Executive Order pronouncing his intent to leave the World Health Organization (WHO). The United States is the biggest financial backer to the United Nations health agency, but will nevertheless leave the WHO in 12 months’ time and stop all financial contributions to its work.

The Gulf of America

Donald Trump has ordered two name changes: the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska’s Mount Denali. Trump ordered the Gulf of Mexico to be renamed the “Gulf of America,” something he promised earlier this month at a press conference. He will also rechristen Alaska’s Mount Denali as Mount McKinley, a change first made by Barack Obama in 2015 to reflect the traditions of Alaska Natives as well as the preference of many Alaska residents.

Firing More Federal Employees

In keeping with the Project 2025 agenda, Trump has reclassified thousands of federal employees as “political hires,” making it much easier for them to be fired, by reinstating his “Schedule F” Executive Order from his first term.

Rescinding 78 Biden-Era Executive Orders

Trump ordered 78 Biden-era executive actions to be rescinded, including at least a dozen measures supporting racial equity and combating discrimination against gay and transgender people.

Paris Climate Agreement Nixed

Trump issued an Executive Order withdrawing the United States from the 2015 Paris agreement, along with a letter informing the United Nations of the decision. Exiting the Paris Agreement is part of Trump’s broader efforts to roll back climate protections and policy. In 2017, Trump exited the Paris agreement. Upon taking office in 2021, Biden rejoined. Monday’s order makes good on a Trump election promise to withdraw from the 2015 global treaty seeking to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis.

Declaring a National Border Emergency

Trump signed an order at the White House declaring an emergency at the southern US border, along with several other immigration-related policies. Immigrant communities across the country are bracing for Trump’s promise to carry out the “largest deportation program in American history,” beginning as early as Tuesday morning.

Creating a “National Energy Emergency”

Trump declared a national energy emergency as part of a barrage of pro-fossil fuel actions and efforts to “unleash” already booming US energy production that included also rolling back restrictions in drilling in Alaska and undoing a pause on gas exports. This declaration will allow his administration to fast-track permits for new fossil fuel infrastructure, as it continues to roll back climate policy, and battle legal challenges that will inevitably arise.

Here is the complete list of Executive Orders, signed by Donald Trump yesterday, in his first day in office, with the original titles used by the Trump administration.

• GUARANTEEING THE STATES PROTECTION AGAINST INVASION

• Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness

• Designating Cartels And Other Organizations As Foreign Terrorist Organizations And Specially Designated Global Terrorists

• Reforming The Federal Hiring Process And Restoring Merit To Government Service

• Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing

• Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism And Restoring Biological Truth To The Federal Government

• Establishing And Implementing The President’s “Department Of Government Efficiency”

• America First Policy Directive To The Secretary Of State

• Protecting The United States From Foreign Terrorists And Other National Security And Public Safety Threats

• Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential

• Protecting The American People Against Invasion

• The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Global Tax Deal (Global Tax Deal)

• Organization of the National Security Council and Subcommittees

• Reevaluating And Realigning United States Foreign Aid

• Temporary Withdrawal of All Areas on the Outer Continental Shelf from Offshore Wind Leasing and Review of the Federal Government’s Leasing and Permitting Practices for Wind Projects

• Declaring a National Energy Emergency

• Restoring Accountability for Career Senior Executives

• Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture

• Restoring The Death Penalty And Protecting Public Safety

• Putting People Over Fish: Stopping Radical Environmentalism to Provide Water to Southern California

• Securing Our Borders

• Protecting The Meaning And Value Of American Citizenship

• Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program

• Unleashing American Energy

• Clarifying The Military’s Role In Protecting The Territorial Integrity Of The United States

• America First Trade Policy

• Memorandum to Resolve the Backlog of Security Clearances for Executive Office of the President Personnel

• Declaring A National Emergency At The Southern Border Of The United States

• Holding Former Government Officials Accountable For Election Interference And Improper Disclosure Of Sensitive Governmental Information

• Restoring Accountability To Policy-Influencing Positions Within the Federal Workforce

• Withdrawing the United States From the World Health Organization (WHO)

• Application Of Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act To TikTok

• Granting Pardons And Commutation Of Sentences For Certain Offenses Relating To The Events At Or Near The United States Capitol On January 6, 2021

• Putting America First In International Environmental Agreements

• Delivering Emergency Price Relief for American Families and Defeating the Cost-of-Living Crisis

• Hiring Freeze

• Regulatory Freeze Pending Review

• Return to In-Person Work

• Ending The Weaponization Of The Federal Government

• Restoring Freedom Of Speech And Ending Federal Censorship

• Initial Rescissions of (President Biden’s) “Harmful” Executive Orders and Actions

• The Inaugural Address

• Flying The Flag Of The United States At Full-Staff On Inauguration Day

• President Trump Designates Chairmen and Acting Chairmen

• President Trump Announces Acting Cabinet and Cabinet-Level Positions

• President Trump Announces Sub-Cabinet Appointments

• President Trump Announces Cabinet and Cabinet Level Appointments

• President Trump’s America First Priorities

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Amee Vanderpool writes the SHERO Newsletter, is an attorney, published author, contributor to newspapers and magazines, and an analyst for BBC radio. She can be reached at avanderpool@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @girlsreallyrule.

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