Donald Trump is back. The American public has thrust the reality TV star, convicted felon and self-professed "dictator on day one" into the presidency once again.¹

He takes office in January. Here are seven of his threatened policies.

1. Send them back. The moment he enters office, Trump has promised to launch the largest deportation operation in American history. He will also order the completion of the MexicoA country in the southern part of North America. It shares a long border with the USA. Most people in Mexico speak Spanish. border wall he began in 2016.

2. Drill baby drill. Trump wants to scrap Biden-era support for green energy and instead ramp up fossil fuelFossil fuels, including coal, crude oil and natural gas, are made from decomposing plants and other organisms. The non-renewable fuels are burned for energy, emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. production. It is thought he will once again pull the US out of the Paris AgreementAn agreement signed by 196 countries to try to limit global warming. on climate change too.

3. Tariffs for all. Trump blames cheap labour elsewhere on the loss of American manufacturing jobs. So he wants to slam tariffsA form of tax on imports. Each product will have a different tariff - for some EU dairy products, such as French cheese, tariffs in the UK will be more than 30%. on all imports to the US, especially those from China.²

4. Great replacementA racist conspiracy theory devised by French author Renaud Camus. It is also known as "white genocide". In Europe, it is particularly associated with Islamophobia. The theory also has anti-Semitic undertones: its advocates often allege that Jewish groups are responsible for orchestrating the replacement.. Trump advisors have suggested firing 50,000 government employees. Billionaire businessman Howard Lutnick claims that jobs should only go to those who pledge loyalty to Trump himself.³

5. Snip snip. Elon Musk will be asked to make $2tn cuts in government spending. Everything must be slashed, including the agencies that protect the public from unsafe food and dangerous vehicles.

6. Abandon ship. The US has provided over $64.1bn in military assistance to Ukraine since Russia's invasion in 2022.⁴ Trump has vowed to stop this. He says he can force the countries to make a deal "within 24 hours".

7. Sweet revenge. Trump has spent years threatening retributionA punishment given to somebody who is perceived to have done something wrong. on those who have obstructed him. Now he has the power to get his vengeance.

Some think that these threats might just be hot air. His policies are often broad. James FitzGerald at the BBC says: "He has given little detail of how he might achieve his aims." 

Plans might have to be scrapped because of their unpopular side effects. Many experts think his tariff plans will cause severe inflation for ordinary Americans, for example.⁵

Trump and his team have had four years to prepare their revenge. One former advisor compared him to a Jurassic Park velociraptorA type of small dinosaur., which is able to learn while hunting its prey. 

Are they hot air?

Yes: Trump promised to unite the country in his victory speech. And in his first term, Trump was persuaded to back down on some of his wildest instincts by advisors. This could happen again.

No: It is folly not to take him at his word. The effects of his chaotic first term are still felt today. There is no reason to believe that a better prepared Trump will not deliver on his promises.

Or... As so often with politics, Trump's campaign probably contains kernels of truths amid exaggeration and mistruths. He will undoubtedly follow through on some of his threats, in spirit if not to the letter.