COLORADO, USA — The results for the 2024 presidential election are in, and the nation has decided Donald Trump will serve a second term as the president of the United States. We took an in-depth look at how America's choice for president will impact our state.
During the Republican National Convention, we focused on policies that Trump said he would implement in a second term. The information comes from Trump's written campaign platform, the RNC's official platform, Trump's remarks along the campaign trail and the governing blueprint put together by Trump's allies at the Heritage Foundation, a 900-page policy plan meant to be the foundation for the next Republican administration.
How would immigration change under another Trump presidency?
In 2016, Trump ran with a promise to build a border wall and tighten immigration policies. Many of his plans met challenges in the higher courts and never fully came to fruition. On a third election bid, Trump promised even more stringent immigration policies.
On his campaign website, Trump shared in a video he would ban automatic citizenship for children born to parents without legal authorization to be in the United States. He has also vowed to terminate all work permits for undocumented people while also beginning a mass deportation effort of as many as 15 million people.
During the presidential debate, Trump falsely claimed that Venezuelan gangs had "taken over" Aurora, Colorado. Weeks later at a rally in Aurora, Trump said that if he wins the presidency, “we will have an Operation Aurora at the federal level to expedite the removal of the savage gangs.”
As he has done previously, Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 law that allows the president to deport any noncitizen who is from a country that the United States is at war with.
At that same rally, Trump advocated imposing the death penalty on any migrant who kills an American citizen.
Trump's campaign site also threatens to cut funding to "sanctuary jurisdictions," which would include cities like Denver.
Donald Trump's plans for Colorado's air, land and water
It's no exaggeration to say the president can impact the air we breathe, the water we drink and where we can set foot in Colorado. The president has the power to set aside land, limiting how Coloradans can use it.
"Nobody has more liquid gold under their feet than the United States of America, and we will use it and profit by it,” Trump said in a video on his Agenda 47 campaign website.
Utilizing federal public lands for energy independence was the focus of the Department of Interior section of Project 2025, a collection of conservative policies that are being recommended for Trump to follow.
Trump's campaign site also says he would cut "costly and burdensome regulations," to reinstate Trump's "Deregulation Policies," which in his previous presidency included cutting back on environmental regulations and regulatory agencies, like the EPA.
How Donald Trump's policies would impact Colorado's economy
Trump is promising a radical change to America's trade policy that would impact how Colorado's agriculture industry works.
Trump has promised to impose retaliatory tariffs toward any country that taxes U.S. exports. It would change the way our country trades with the world. Trump argued it would force nations to repeal all tariffs if they wanted to continue trading with America. Trump is also proposing a 10% baseline tariff on all imports.
On Colorado's eastern plains, politics can impact business. Nick Colglazier with the Colorado Corn Promotion Council said this past summer that beef is Colorado's top export and corn is crucial for feeding the beef. Tariffs that backfire or are imposed in the wrong way could be detrimental.
How a second Trump presidency could impact Coloradans' rights
Under a second Trump presidency, Coloradans' rights could change. If Republicans control the presidency and Congress, personal rights could be more restricted than they are today.
Abortion
In 2022, Democratic Gov. Jared Polis signed into law abortion access rights for people in Colorado. Nothing changed, it was just solidified in state law.
In November, a ballot issue asked Colorado voters to put those same rights in the state constitution, making it harder to change in the future. The ballot issue passed.
LGBTQ+ rights
Another focus under another Trump presidency could be LGBTQ+ rights. Trump has called for punishments for teachers and educators who allow gender neutrality. His platform also states that Trump will "ban taxpayer funding for sex change surgeries and stop taxpayer-funded schools from promoting gender transition, reverse Biden’s radical rewrite of Title IX Education Regulation."
Gender and sports
Part of the Trump platform calls to “keep men out of women’s sports.”
“I do believe that if you are biological male that you should participate in men’s sports, not women’s sports,” said state Rep. Lisa Frizell, R-Castle Rock.
An in-depth look at Donald Trump's campaign promise of retribution
Trump has vowed to reshape the federal government into a powerful force loyal to him and to use that power against his enemies.
Purging anti-Trump civilian federal employees is a major part of the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, created by Trump advisers and allies as a blueprint for his second term. Trump is trying to distance himself from Project 2025 after previously praising Heritage's strategy.
A Heritage-funded project is now investigating civilians who work for the federal government, promising to publish a list of federal employees who are disloyal to Trump.
Mario Nicolais, an election law attorney in Colorado and former Republican who is now general counsel for the Never Trump Republican group, The Lincoln Project, said Trump's plan isn't just a purge of anti-Trump federal employees, but a wider campaign of vengeance.
