What will Donald Trump's second term really be like?

Count me among the many who have carefully observed Donald Trump’s first days as president-elect for hints about what his presidency will be like.

It’s odd that this question is still on the table after Trump’s near-decade close to the center of American political life and his four years in the White House. And during the campaign, Trump didn’t mince words about his plans for a second administration. He was elected in 2016 as a disrupter, and his reelection in 2024 implies that Americans are amenable to more disruption. The most prominent watchwords of his campaign suggest that Trump will give them what they seem to want: mass deportation, massive tariffs, close the border, abolish Obamacare, the end of woke, America First and, most ominous, retribution.

One thing that Trump supporters say they like about him is that he says what he means and means what he says. Still, I suspect that many Americans voted for him while harboring the assumption that he’s really not going to do everything that he says he is.

For example, will he really use the National Guard and military to raid businesses, schools and homes to round up 20 to 25 million undocumented immigrants (the real figure is closer to 11 million) and confine them in holding camps until they can be deported to their home countries?

Trump was emphatic about this, but questions remain: Do Americans actually have the stomach for this flagrant use of force against millions of people, nearly all of whom — while certainly illegal — are just working hard to make a better life for their families? What will happen when the idea of mass deportation collides with the practicality and expense of such a policy? Will the Trump administration begin to listen to the many economists who argue — quite reasonably — that the abrupt removal of even part of our nation’s large undocumented workforce will have significant inflationary effects on our economy?

What about Trump’s promise of retribution? During the campaign, Trump was clear about his intention to impose revenge on his political opponents. Among many other threats, last year Trump said, "I will appoint a real special prosecutor to go after the most corrupt president in the history of the United States of America, Joe Biden, and the entire Biden crime family."

The Trump campaign, realizing the recklessness of such a threat, walked it back, arguing that Trump’s retribution will be a successful administration.

Still, one wonders. On the Sunday after the election, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who’s known Trump for 22 years, said that Trump has an essential instinct for retribution. On the other hand, Trump also wants "to be loved," which, according to Christie, will work against Trump’s instinct for retribution. But if the election is any indicator, millions of Americans are on board with Trump’s retribution and they would reward him with love for attacking his political rivals.

Further, Trump’s Cabinet picks indicate the seriousness of his threat of mass deportation: Former acting ICE director Tom Homan, who advocated for separating children from their undocumented parents, "will be in charge of all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin," Trump announced on social media. And Stephen Miller, nominated for deputy chief of staff, is well-known for his intense anti-immigration attitudes.

And if retribution is Trump’s goal, who better to pursue it than the volatile, but intensely loyal, man-child Matt Gaetz as his attorney general? If Trump sends Gaetz after his political rivals, we can be sure he won’t hesitate, nor be restrained by the slightest scruple.

In short, nearly half the country voted against what Trump said he will do when he gets into office. A significant portion of the other half voted for Trump with the expectation that he won’t do everything he says he will. Another significant portion of the majority of voters hopes he does.

So, at this point, we can’t be certain what Trump will do when his term starts. Even Trump may be unsure about how far he plans to go.

John M. Crisp, an op-ed columnist for Tribune News Service, lives in Texas and can be reached at jcrispcolumns@gmail.com.