MARCH 4, 2025
Donald Trump threatened American students with arrest for taking part in “illegal” protests in his latest controversial move.
The US president said on Tuesday that all federal funding will stop for colleges and schools that allow “illegal” protests and that agitators will be imprisoned or sent back to the country they came from.
“American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on the crime, arrested,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
Students have a long history in America and other countries around the globe in taking part in demonstrations, some which are declared “illegal”, and in pushing for change.
They have played a key role in landmark social change including the civil rights movement in the US.
Trump will stand before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday to give an accounting of his turbulent first weeks in office as a divided nation struggles to keep pace, with some Americans fearing for the country’s future while others are cheering him on.
It will be the latest milestone in Trump’s total takeover of the nation’s capital where the Republican-led House and Senate have done little to restrain the president as he and his allies work to slash the size of the federal government and remake America’s place in the world.
With a tight grip on his party, Trump has been emboldened to take sweeping actions after overcoming impeachments and criminal prosecutions.
The White House said Trump’s theme would be the “renewal of the American dream,” and he was expected to lay out his achievements since returning to the White House, as well as appeal to Congress to provide more money to finance his aggressive immigration crackdown.
“It’s an opportunity for President Trump, as only he can, to lay out the last month of record-setting, record-breaking, unprecedented achievements and accomplishments,” said senior adviser Stephen Miller.
Democrats, many of whom stayed away from Trump’s inauguration in January, were largely brushing aside calls for boycotts as they struggle to come up with an effective counter to the president.
Instead, they chose to highlight the impact of Trump’s actions by inviting fired federal workers as guests, including a disabled veteran from Arizona, a health worker from Maryland and a forestry employee who worked on wildfire prevention in California. They also invited guests who would be harmed by steep federal budget cuts to Medicaid and other programs.
“Rather than focusing on American families and kitchen table issues, President Trump’s first month in office has focused on tax cuts for billionaires, paid for by the very people he promised to help,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.
Trump also planned to use his speech to address his proposals for fostering peace in Ukraine and the Middle East, where he has unceremoniously upended the policies of the Biden administration in a matter of just weeks.
On Monday, Trump ordered a freeze to US military assistance to Ukraine, ending years of staunch American support for the country in fending off Russia’s invasion.
A 25% tax on goods from Canada and Mexico went into effect just after midnight Tuesday – ostensibly to secure greater cooperation to tackle illicit fentanyl trafficking and on stemming illegal immigration – triggering immediate retaliation and sparking fears of a wider trade war. Trump also raised tariffs on goods from China to 20%.
Trump has also not ruled out sending US troops to seize Greenland and has called for the Gulf of Mexico to be renamed the Gulf of America.
Courtesy/Source: Evening Standard
