A bipartisan discussion took place on Wednesday, Nov. 13, as part of Bridge UWYO’s overarching series about committing to bipartisanship in the face of the nation’s staunchly polarized political landscape.
The discussion took place in two phases, with the first phase having well-known representatives of various political organizations on campus discuss their thoughts on various issues pertaining to the upcoming Trump administration. These included Gabe Saint, president of Turning Point USA, JW Rzeszut, leader of Young Americans for Liberty, a Libertarian student organization, Sam Reilly, representing College Democrats, and Hayden Mackenzie, representing Bridge UWYO. The second phase took those discussion topics and allowed audience members to provide their input in a small group environment with other members of the audience.
One question presented to the debaters was about how Trump’s term would affect the economy. Both Rzeszut and Mackenzie stated that while they believed Trump’s policy would be more tariff-heavy, it wouldn’t change all that much in comparison to the United States’ current economic policy. Saint took a heavily pro-tariff position, stating that they were required to bring manufacturing jobs back to the US, and noting that the US survived solely on tariffs until the implementation of the income tax in 1909. Reilly stated that any tariffs would be tremendously bad for the US economy, driving up inflation even more and increasing the price of goods for everyday Americans.
The topics of abortion and immigration were also brought up. Most of the panel members, except Reilly, believed that Trump intends to leave the abortion issue up to state legislatures to decide, and believe that this is largely a good thing. Reilly on the other hand wasn’t as convinced that an abortion ban wouldn’t make it through the current Republican Trifecta and argued that it was many in the party’s end goal to ban the practice wholly. On immigration, Reilly and Rzeszut agreed that Trump’s policy could be harmful towards further GDP growth, while Mackenzie stated at least the president had a policy on the matter, unlike the current administration. Saint argued not only for Trump’s immigration policy, but also for a reduction in legal immigration, stating that we should only take in specialists from countries who are culturally aligned with the United States, and in limited quantities.
On the climate, Reilly stated that Trump’s policy would ultimately be bad for the globe, further speeding up climate change and decreasing the US’ competitiveness concerning renewable energy technologies. Rzeszut and Mackenzie both argued largely the same point that while the US should utilize fossil fuels to remain competitive in the short term, eventually renewable solutions would have to be sought after. Saint argued for an across-the-board increase in fossil fuel production as well as an investment into nuclear energy, stating that there was a lot of evidence that more carbon was beneficial for life on Earth, not detrimental. Foreign policy-wise, Reilly stated that the United States should continue in its role as protector of the free world, and support for Ukraine specifically was vital at this time. Rzeszut and Saint stated that the US should adopt a far more isolationist stance regarding its world policy, and questioned why it was the job of the US to intervene in these countries. Mackenzie took a more moderate approach, stating that while some things will certainly change under the Trump admin, he doubts that we’ll get into many wars.
After the panel had concluded their pseudo-debate, the same questions asked during it were posed to the audience. Audience members then had several minutes to find a group and discuss their opinions on each of the respective issues. The dialogue, despite having many varying and contrasting opinions, was very civil, even with certain members taking up their spotlight to talk about opinions entirely different to those on the panel. The discussions continued to take place even after the official end of the debate, with many audience members eager to share their opinions.
Bridge UWYO’s bipartisan discussion showed how important it is to have open and respectful conversations about the tough political issues we currently face as a country. Despite the range of opinions and emotions, the discussions stayed polite and thoughtful. Events like this remind us that understanding each other is the first step towards working together for a brighter and better future for everyone.
