COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – As Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th president, a Colorado Springs political scientist is looking at the impact this has for Coloradans.
Sara Hagedorn is an assistant professor of political science for UCCS. She said she made her students watch the historic inauguration on Monday, despite having no class.
“This is only the second time in our country’s history we have a president that is coming back after being out a term,” Hagedorn said.
President Trump promised to sign hundreds of executive orders into law, continuing a long standing tradition of presidents undoing work from the previous administration.
She said the number of orders from Trump seems larger, but that is, in part, due to the fact Trump’s second term comes after a four-year gap.
“So it’s a little bit of a returning to 4 years ago, a lot of these executive orders,” Hagedorn said.
She said as President Trump signs his orders and begins his term, she will be watching for policy related to immigration and the economy, which are two key issues she said she believes are on the minds of Coloradans. They are also issues that have largely influenced the campaigns of local and state politicians.
“We’ve been seeing the nationalization of campaigns in politics for a couple of decades now,” she said. “We see local candidates running on these broader issues because they know that’s where the attention is. With the world of 24-hour news media, social media, people are paying attention much more than ever before to these bigger issues.”
But she said while Monday was historic, and there is a lot of anxiety and enthusiasm about Trump’s actions, these new national policies from a new administration shouldn’t overshadow the importance of Colorado’s own policies.
While some federal policy does directly impact Coloradans, Hagedorn said it’s local lawmakers that will make more of a difference.
“I definitely urge people to pay attention to what’s going on under the gold dome up in Denver, pay attention to what’s going on at city hall here in Colorado Springs, absolutely,” Hagedorn said. “The Dobbs decision, for instance, gave that power back to the states, but we still are not paying attention to who represents us in the state House, who our governor is, who our city council, county commissioners, and they’re making all of these decisions that impact us every day.”
Hagedorn urges everyone to give local politics the same enthusiasm they give to national politics, as those are what will have a larger impact.
Nonetheless, she still joined the nation in watching the inauguration of the new administration. She said she liked what she saw.
“I think what we saw today is hopeful,” Hagedorn said. “What we saw this morning in the Capitol rotunda in Washington, DC was an exceptionally peaceful transfer of power. That’s important, that’s one of the great hallmarks of American democracy.”
She said no matter how anyone aligns politically, it’s that peaceful transfer of power that stood out.
“That is hopeful, that is what we need to focus on is that when it matters, Americans can come together and watch a new president be sworn in,” she said.
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