Readers of The Epoch Occasions have known border safety, fiscal duty, and nationwide protection as the highest priorities for President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming management.
A ballot of 26,740 readers, carried out between Jan. 10–13, issues to those problems as key spaces of center of attention, reflecting fashionable fear over unchecked immigration, financial instability, and world safety threats.
In the meantime, write-in responses by means of readers of The Epoch Occasions highlighted sturdy make stronger for presidency reform, coupled with opposition to revolutionary insurance policies akin to range, fairness, and inclusion (DEI).
Border safety and deportations crowned the checklist, with 90 p.c of respondents bearing in mind it “extraordinarily essential.” This aligns with Trump’s marketing campaign pledge to release what he has described as the biggest deportation operation in American historical past, set to start out straight away after his inauguration on Jan. 20.
But even so vowing to deport hundreds of thousands of unlawful immigrants, Trump additionally plans to finish birthright citizenship, through which somebody born in america is lately given automated citizenship, together with to oldsters of unlawful immigrants.
Fiscal Self-discipline and Financial Balance
Govt spending and debt aid ranked because the second-highest precedence, with 82 p.c of respondents highlighting the desire for fiscal self-discipline.
Considerations over the ballooning nationwide debt—now at $36.22 trillion—is a key fear. The president-elect has stated he intends to deal with those problems via measures akin to chopping wasteful spending and reforming federal businesses.
To spearhead those efforts, Trump has proposed the advent of the Division of Govt Potency (DOGE)—with Tesla CEO Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy tapped to steer the initiative. DOGE goals to slash $2 trillion from the federal funds.
“Your cash is being wasted,” Musk stated at a Trump rally in New York in October 2024, underscoring Trump’s dedication to take on executive inefficiency and minimize wasteful spending.
Thus far in fiscal 12 months 2025, which runs till the top of September, the federal government has already spent $1.79 trillion.
If left unchecked, this emerging debt is predicted to sluggish financial expansion, build up passion bills to international collectors, and restrict lawmakers’ flexibility to deal with long term fiscal and financial demanding situations, consistent with the CBO.
Strengthening Nationwide Protection and Securing Elections
Army energy and nationwide safety emerged because the 3rd maximum essential precedence, with 77 p.c of respondents bringing up it as “extraordinarily essential.”
Considerations over world threats from adversaries akin to China and Russia have amplified requires bolstering The us’s protection functions.
Trump’s proposed “peace via energy” time table emphasizes modernizing the army, expanding operational readiness, and reinforcing U.S. deterrence at the global level. At the marketing campaign path, Trump vowed to reform the U.S. army, criticizing “woke” insurance policies that he says undermine the country’s warfighting capability.
Rounding out the highest 5 priorities to Epoch Occasions readers had been election integrity and vote casting rules (72 p.c) adopted by means of power independence and fossil gasoline manufacturing (70 p.c).
Respondents expressed a powerful need to safeguard the vote casting procedure amid long-running issues about election safety. In a similar fashion, power independence was once noticed as crucial, an purpose Trump has known as key for each financial balance and nationwide safety.
At the marketing campaign path, Trump stated time and again that his “drill, child, drill” time table of ramping up home oil and gasoline manufacturing would narrow power costs considerably, assist decrease prices around the U.S. economic system, and supply aid to American families from years of top inflation.
Different Priorities and Write-In Responses
The survey additionally highlighted different priorities, together with crime aid and public protection (66 p.c), immigration regulation and visa reform (66 p.c), and judicial independence (63 p.c). Inflation and the price of residing had been additionally cited by means of 63 p.c of respondents as urgent problems.
Decrease-ranked subjects incorporated inexpensive housing and loan charges (23 p.c) and infrastructure modernization (20 p.c). Local weather alternate and renewable power funding, a key precedence for revolutionary politicians, gained little make stronger, with best 7 p.c ranking it as “extraordinarily essential” and 61 p.c deeming it “now not essential.”
Respondents had been additionally given the chance to indicate their very own priorities, and federal executive and company reform emerged as the most typical write-in factor, with 1,168 mentions. This seems to mirror dissatisfaction with bureaucratic inefficiencies and a need for higher executive responsibility.
Different notable mentions incorporated pro-life insurance policies, protective First Modification rights, and opposing DEI tasks.