In a recent speech in Phoenix, Arizona, President-elect Donald Trump unveiled plans for a new anti-drug campaign aimed at showing just how destructive drugs like fentanyl can be. “We’re going to show people how bad drugs are for you,” he said. “They ruin your appearance – your face, your skin, your teeth.” His goal is to make people think twice before getting involved with drugs.
Though he didn’t provide many details, Trump emphasized that his administration would invest a “lot of money” into the campaign, though he called it a “relatively small” amount compared to other government spending. He compared the effort to running a political campaign, aiming to spread a strong anti-drug message.
This new initiative brings back memories of the 1980s “Just Say No” campaign, led by Nancy Reagan, which also sought to convince young Americans to avoid drugs.
The fentanyl crisis has been a major issue in the U.S., with 50,000 to 60,000 Americans expected to die from synthetic opioid overdoses this year. Fentanyl, in particular, has claimed thousands of lives, and Trump has made tackling this crisis a key focus of his 2024 campaign. It’s worth noting, however, that opioid deaths more than doubled during his first term in office from 2017 to 2021.
Trump also revisited his pledge to label Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations. He said, “I will immediately designate the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations,” a move he originally considered in 2019 but delayed after Mexico’s president requested U.S. support in fighting drug gangs, rather than military intervention.
If Trump follows through on this plan, his platform promises to bring the full force of the U.S. military into the fight. He says he would use special forces, cyber warfare, and other strategies to target cartel leaders, infrastructure, and operations.
In summary, Trump’s new anti-drug campaign aims to highlight the personal damage caused by drugs, while also continuing his tough stance on drug cartels, all with the goal of making the U.S. safer from the opioid epidemic.
