This summer is the summer of surprise politics. From the shocking and unknown territory of the Britain leaving the European Union, the attempted military coup in Turkey and, more domestically, the 2016 Presidential race. This political cycle has been surprising for several reasons. For starters, the surprise popularity of Donald Trump’s openly aggressive and mostly divisive political rhetoric. Even in the Republican party there is a large faction of dissenters that are staunchly opposed to Trump’s head on tactics. It seems that with the rise of Trump there has been a race to keep up with the insulting and outwardly non politically correct comments that he has been so quick to espouse during his speeches, not to mention his fierce attacks on any detractors or naysayers. Labels aside and regardless of his earlier methods the long and the short of it is that Trump has gone down the long gauntlet of the political selection process and stands as the lone Republican Nominee at the Republican National Convention this week. With the possibility of four years of a Trump presidency it is worth looking into how certain sectors of government and industry could change under his watch.

Effect of a Trump Win on Defense and Telecommunications

One of Trumps most popular talking points is his emphasis on having a strong military defense. Many of his recent plans seem fairly bravado laden rather than practical and it is still unsure how he would accomplish this task. Trump has spent a good deal of energy denouncing new Lockheed projects such as the F-35 Joint Strike fighter, one of the biggest and expensive projects currently in the defense supply chain, as inadequate. Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, praised it as innovative, although military spending isn’t a cornerstone of her platform. Regardless of who wins in November, the selection of a Secretary of Defense will be pivotal in deciding the direction of future military spending and tactics.

The Looming Threat of Terrorism

With the string of terror attacks that have been happening overseas there is an increasing desire by the American people for a leader that will be able to stop not only the current terrorists, but also the active recruiters that are convincing the downtrodden and dejected to join their causes. While there have been several strides in the telecommunications sector in trying to prevent recruitment online, it still seems that social media is the most effective tool that extremists have. One venue that many people forget when thinking of terror is the internet. Cyber crimes and cyber attacks that have terrorist backing are increasing. Much of the pirating and theft that occurs on the net directly funds terrorism. This is another important function that the Department of Defense serves: cybersecurity, tracking and investigating ways to prevent these crimes. In many ways telecommunications may be the next important battle front in which the war on terror is fought.

During the political cycle it is easy to tune out the constant barrage of political rhetoric, more so when it seems like there is an increased media presence for the candidates, as in the case of this election. But, it is important to keep in mind that the election has much wider implications on the direction of the country. We covered only a small portion of how the political landscape might change, do more research on the candidates positions and the ripple effects it may have on national and state policy. This election season be an informed voter.