To say that the majority of Trump’s executive orders have been failures would be an understatement. To really decide whether his acts have been a failure or success we must define what success means for the United States. Success for this country means that we must unify, ensure safety, and demand equality for the people. This is why I say that Trump’s first week in office has been a failure. He has successfully pulled out of not only the World Health Organization but also the Paris Climate Change Agreement. Those are just a few things he has done to jeopardize the safety of this country. He has also declared war on migrants and put the anti-discrimination federal government on paid leave. Is this ensuring unity and equality for this country? Because if these are acts that are going to lead our country into the future, then I am not sure I want any part in it.

Let’s start by breaking down his plans for unifying the people of America.  He has put the anti-discrimination federal government on paid leave. This part of the federal government specifically ensures that diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility are integrated in the way that our country runs. By putting them on paid leave, Trump is sending the message that we will no longer be prioritizing these values, which will inevitably cause us to begin to take steps back. Already the commander of the Coast Guard, the first woman to have this position of leadership, has been fired due to his sexist ideas. Bringing back the old idea that a woman cannot do a man’s job is going to send us back. The fact that the White House said they were going to scrap diversity, equity, and inclusion is just baffling. In sixty days, those programs will be dismantled. If we begin to think of each other as unequal, then how are we supposed to move forward when those ideals have been holding us back for years? Separation is not success.

Safety, not only for the people of today but also for the people for tomorrow, is something every president should strive for. Safety for the United States includes caring for our health and the health of the world. With Trump pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement, we have no way of keeping in touch with those whose entire job is to research how we can heal what has been broken. This is not the first time we have pulled out of the organization but when we look at the facts we need to be in the discussion, America is the second biggest cause of planet-heating pollution. Not only that, but Trump has been working to increase fossil fuel production and put that on the forefront of the agenda. Does success mean destroying our country to make a buck? Even if we ignore what he is doing to harm our planet, we still can’t ignore the fact that he is also hurting the people. Considering his domestic actions, he has also decided to pardon those involved in the January 6 attack on Congress. Fifteen hundred people were involved in this insurrection but about 250 of those citizens committed violent assaults on police officers. Those officers were just trying to do their job and protect the government building. He is pardoning those citizens from their felonies just as everyone has pardoned him from his. This is not success for America.

Recommitting to the death penalty—is that justice? A life for a life? There’s fervent debate over this topic, but I say that there is no justification to killing someone. Everyone should have a fair chance to change and prove their worth, whether that’s a lifetime in prison or a decade to see how much they can change. A life is a life. It is such an extreme to kill someone when there are other ways to solve a problem without violence. How can one solve violence with more violence? Another problem he has chosen to solve with violence is sending a war on migrants. He not only is targeting those who are trying to earn citizenship but also those who have citizenship. Birthright citizenship is protected under the fourteenth amendment, but that doesn’t seem to stop Trump from trying to do everything he can to get around that amendment. Ripping families apart and stripping people of their rights and their homes is inhumane and heartless. This is not humane—rather, it is traumatizing to those families.

So this is what people are calling success? In this first month of his presidency he has managed to bring back old sexist ideas, put people in a box, separate us from foreign aid, and break families apart. If this isn’t a failure towards the overall good of our country, I don’t know what is.