Baala Shakya, Staff Photographer

In January 2017, more than 1,000 Yalies congregated in front of Sterling Memorial Library to denounce President Donald Trump’s executive order banning immigration from Muslim-majority countries. This time around, there have been no large protests nor widespread social media outcry.

The News spoke to students across the political spectrum about the early days of the second Trump presidency. While many expressed alarm at Trump’s actions, as well as outrage and concerns regarding the effects many of Trump’s executive orders will have on Yalies and the University itself, most said that they were not surprised.

“It’s all been very distressing, but no, I’m not surprised by any of it,” said Yale Law Democrats President Gevin Reynolds LAW ’26. “Trump told us he was going to do these things. Many of them were in the pages of Project 2025. Millions of people voted for him either because of or in spite of his promises.”

Reynolds added that he thinks the president will not reverse course on any of his policies and expects the next four years to be “quite painful.

Like Reynolds, Felix Myers ’28 said that while Trump’s policies and executive orders have been “terrifying” and “disgusting,” they are ultimately “unsurprising.”

“It was well paved out what Trump was going to do, and he’s been doing exactly that,” said Myers, who as a dual citizen found himself infuriated at Trump’s immigration policies.

Echoing Reynold’s and Myers’ sentiment, Raymond Perez LAW ’26, vice president of membership for Yale Law Dems, also emphasized the predictability of Trump’s actions.

“While I believe these policies are harmful to the country, the reality is that elections have consequences,” Perez said.

Yale Republicans President Manu Anpalagan ’26 agreed that Trump’s recent political actions align with his campaign promises.

Anpalagan, however, is “impressed” with the Trump administration’s quick work and what it has been “able to accomplish in just two short weeks.”

Several students interviewed by the News said that specific actions, however, went beyond what they expected from Trump.

Yale Democrats Treasurer Zach Pan ’27 expressed his disgust that in just two weeks, Trump has carried out “untold damage to innocent people.”

“He has targeted migrants, terrorized trans people, and torn apart the lives of hard-working civil servants,” wrote Pan. “Has anyone confirmed, does Donald Trump have a heart?”

Yale Political Union Chief of Staff Joshua Blake ’28 said that he finds worrying Trump’s policies of increasing tariffs and withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accords and World Health Organization especially.

He added that Trump’s attacks on the programs federal government “will affect the wellbeing of [the American] people.”

Zachary Clifton ’28 feels that the Trump administration uses a media strategy to purposefully mislead the public. Per Clifton, Trump “flood[s] the airwaves daily” with the announcement of “toothless, hand-waving non-policies” to take up media attention and “obscure his next odious act.”

For Natalia Armas Perez ’28, a first-generation Mexican American student, Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies have been particularly troubling.

On the other hand, Yale Federalist Society President Jake McDonald LAW ’25 told the News that he found it “heartening to see actions taken that reflect and restore the original meaning of the Constitution, both in the exercise of governmental power and in the availability of constitutional protections to all Americans.”

McDonald, who believes that restoring the balance of power in government to reflect the will of the people and the approved constitutional structure is necessary, found many of the executive orders to be a “sight for sore eyes given the administrative actions we saw from the last four years.”

Some Yalies said they expect the administration to continue its controversial initiatives.

“These first two weeks are definitely indicative of the tone of Trump’s presidency, but not necessarily the actions themselves,” Blake wrote. “So while I fully expect the craziness and spontaneity of EOs, policies, and government actions to continue, I think it will be less of a consistent four years of ‘Breaking New!!!’ every time you pick up your phone.”

Some called for resilience.

The Democratic party has “an opportunity to learn” and “offer an alternative to Trump focused on actually delivering for working people,” Reynolds believes.

“I think the worst thing we can do right now is give into the hopelessness that this blitzkrieg of awful executive orders and policies is meant to inspire,” said Dylan Shapiro LAW ’26, vice president of elections for Yale Law Democrats. “Just because we can’t stop everything doesn’t mean that there won’t be opportunities to stop the worst of whatever parade of horribles this administration has planned over the next four years.”

Returning to the Oval Office, Trump signed a record 36 executive orders in his first week.

BAALA SHAKYA
Baala Shakya covers Student Life and Campus Politics for the News. She is also a staff photographer and writes for the WKND. Originally from San Antonio, Texas, she is a first-year in Trumbull College majoring in History.
NORA MOSES
Nora Moses covers Student Life for the News. She is a sophomore in Davenport College.