The New New York Times

TIME Magazine posted the above photo in their collection of the magazine’s top 100 photos of 2024. The image caught my attention. I asked myself, “What are they clapping for?” I wanted to find out what policies Trump was promising that elicited a standing ovation at his rallies, and granted him the presidential victory.

To better understand the promises Donald Trump made to win the election, I turned to a PBS article that outlined the statements Trump had made at speeches and rallies. Unsurprisingly, he proposed policies surrounding many hot button issues that were of importance to both parties during this election cycle. All issues were especially controversial because of the direct effects on children in some way. Though all parties are genuine in their attempts to protect children in the ways that they conceptualize to be correct, the conservative party’s child protection rhetoric has a dark history. Researcher Gillian Frank emphasizes the ways that modern rhetoric around protecting kids from gay influences is similar to how historically “a strong emphasis on child protection ran through white conservative opposition to both racial and sexual minorities that helped legitimize and popularize conservative ideas and activism.” It is vital to consider whether the conservative party is using child protection rhetoric to legitimize oppression against minorities.

In an attempt to display a visual narrative of the potential effects of the promises Donald Trump has made, below is a compilation of the most important issues that Trump has alluded to solving. These include gay and transgender education, gun rights, climate change, abortion, and immigration.

Trump on Gay and Transgender Education

Trump is one of many politicians who is concerned with Gay and Transgender topics being taught in schools. In Florida, Governor Desantis enacted the “Don’t Say Gay Bill” which puts significant limits on teachers to talk about sexuality in schools, and even limits them in answering questions kids may have. The conservative party, as the picture above depicts, is convinced of gay and transgender education being a way to radicalize children. In the same vein, children are in danger when these conversations are banned. For example, according to statistics from The Trevor Project , “LGBTQ+ young people are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers.” The potential banning of education and resources on queer identities in schools is a significant danger for LBGTQ+ youth, as it reinforces the idea that there is something wrong with their identities.

Trump on Gun control:

Donald Trump has long been a defender of gun rights in the United States. Even after he was almost assassinated with a gun, he has continued to promise that the second amendment is a right that should be granted unrestrictedly. Gun rights are an incredibly controversial topic in our country today. Some groups believe that there should be no restrictions on guns, while others believe access to guns should be restricted. Trump’s promise to fully uphold the second amendment is problematic to children because of the relevance of school shootings. To show the prominence of gun violence against children in our country, let us turn to this devastating fact published by statistica : “the United States recorded 57 times as many school shootings compared to other high-income nations and as of 2019, became the only major industrialized country in which firearms are the leading cause of death for children and teens.” The conservative party has continuously built their campaign off protecting children from various harms, yet they are unable to address the thing that is the lead cause of death against children; guns.

Trump on Climate Change:

In 2023, it has been reported by statistica that 95,000 people worldwide lost their lives due to natural disasters. This is a devastating number, and this is the highest number of deaths due to natural disasters since 2010. Scientists have been adamant that an increase of natural disasters is likely to result from climate change for four big reasons; increase in the Earth’s temperature means more extreme rain, hotter and longer heatwaves, longer droughts, and more wildfires .

As quoted above, Trump does not believe in the seriousness of climate change actions and has publicly ridiculed plans to mend the effects of climate change. This is a massive issue considering the climate disasters we have seen this year that have taken many lives. And to return to the children, when deciding to not take action on initiatives to save the planet, Trump is making it more likely that those who are children at this moment will inherit a planet that is less viable. Some climate scientists believe that we only have eight more years to try and fix the issue of climate change before it creates dire consequences for the planet. Trump will be in office for four of those years.

Trump on Abortion:

We see the names Candi Miller, Amber Nicole Thurman, and Josseli Barnica written on the signs above. These are all women who have lost their lives due to abortion bans. Trump is one of many responsible for the federal abortion ban that allows states to decide on abortion laws, and many states have instituted rules to make reproductive care almost impossible to access. The conservative party has long been against access to abortion because they believe it is taking away innocent life. The party has again built their policies off the idea of saving children, yet the irony of protecting innocent life while living, breathing human beings are dying is not lost on many of us.

Trump on Immigration:

The effects that deportation and border policies have had on families and children throughout history in the United States is tremendous. Recent presidential elections have been especially focused on immigration, starting in 2015 with Donald Trump’s campaign. Trump built his campaign around the idea that immigration posed a large threat to Americans, and famously stated that he would be building a wall. Trump’s harsh and dehumanizing immigration laws led to thousands of children being systemically separated from their parents by the United States government. According to American Oversight, “as of mid-June 2018, the federal government had separated and detained more than 2,000 children, housing many of them in chain-link cages in temporary facilities set up along the border.” The title of a Washington Post article from May of 2024 tells us that 1,400 children have still not been reunited with parents after the atrocities that were committed at the border. Trump has threatened to continue harsh immigration policies, and we should believe him, seeing as he has followed through on his promises in the past.

To conclude, various policies that Trump has promised to uphold in his second term are under the guise of protecting children. Each photo speaks for itself when considering the potential danger children might be in under a second Trump presidency. I urge you all to consider whether the rhetoric of protecting children is being used to validate hate and discrimination. I also urge you to ask yourself if these policies aim to protect all children. It is my belief that all children are potentially unsafe because of gun laws and lack of climate change intervention, but LGBTQ+ kids and immigrant kids, especially, will experience uncertainty if Trump upholds the policies he has promised. Are these policies something to clap for?