Donald Trump must now work with those he rose to power railing against

Updated January 22, 2017 10:16:24

Photo: New US President Donald Trump now has to get down to business. (Reuters: Lucas Jackson)

"We will no longer accept politicians who are all talk and no action — constantly complaining but never doing anything about it," President Donald Trump said in his inaugural address.

"The time for empty talk is over. Now arrives the hour of action."

His time for talk is also now over. Now, he and his team are expected to get down to the business of governing.

Trump's presidential promises

From ending terrorism to unlocking the mysteries of space, here are some of the promises Donald Trump made in his inaugural address.

The Washington outsider has promised to drain the swamp of political insiders, and now he must learn to work with those very politicians he rose to power railing against.

Mr Trump has real power — Republicans control both houses of Congress.

However, his clear electoral victory and mandate to govern has been overshadowed by his loss to Democrat Hillary Clinton in the popular vote.

"One factor here is that Donald Trump's approval rating is very, very low," Niall Stanage, associate editor at The Hill newspaper said.

"It's the lowest of any incoming inaugurated president of modern times.

"That is the kind of thing that could decrease his leverage with his Republicans if his popularity does not improve," he said.

Tearing apart Obama's legacy

For now, the Trump administration has an ambitious agenda, much of which includes tearing apart former president Barack Obama's legacy.

Just hours after he was sworn in, Mr Trump signed an executive order regarding the Affordable Care Act — a healthcare policy that now protects millions of Americans.

The order was signed "to ease the burden of Obamacare as we transition from repeal and replace," press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters.

Mr Trump has promised to replace it with something "much better" but has not provided details.

Video: 'America first': Donald Trump delivers his first speech as POTUS (ABC News)

"I think the question is how do you address the 17 to 20 million Americans who will lose health care they have under Obama care right now?" Brian Walsh, a Republican strategist, told the ABC.

"The President has indicated that he will find a way to craft a plan that gives them health insurance. The question is who pays for that, and how?

"So I think we just don't know yet. And I think that is a question facing republican leaders on Capitol Hill as well," Mr Walsh said.

Putting America first again

On the foreign front, Mr Trump told the world in his speech: "From this moment on, it's going to be America First".

"Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs, will be made to benefit American workers and American families. We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies, and destroying our jobs."

Mr Trump's fixation on American jobs — particularly manufacturing ones — means America will pursue a more isolationist, inward looking approach over the next four years, even as the US unemployment rate is just 4.7 per cent.

"I think he has to be careful not to overreach because, for example, if he were to enact massive tariffs, our trading partners could do the same thing and that could end up backfiring and hurting American workers," Mr Walsh said.

On immigration, Mr Trump still plans to build a wall along the US-Mexico border, although he did not mention that or deporting illegal immigrants explicitly in his inaugural address.

"I do think there is a huge outstanding question about what does he do with the roughly 10 million people here illegally," Mr Walsh added.

"During the campaign he indicated he would perhaps round them up and deport them, but that is completely unrealistic".

Mr Trump has an ambitious agenda and promises to work quickly.

"I think there will be a big honeymoon period among conservatives for him," Mr Walsh said.

"But if he starts in their view, capitulating on some issues to get things done, there could be a backlash.

"So, he is going to have to toe a very fine line maintaining support from the core base of his party but also trying to get things done".

Topics: us-elections, world-politics, united-states

First posted January 22, 2017 10:03:32