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Jerry Trooien: 2018 Election Guide

WCCO Campaign 2018 Election Guide

Welcome to WCCO.com's 2018 political guide!

We reached out to all Minnesota candidates running for U.S Senate, Governor, U.S Congress, Attorney General, Secretary of State and State Auditor this fall. Candidates were asked to provide a two-minute video discussing their platform as well as answer a set of our viewer's questions.

Below are the answers Jerry Trooien provided. This is not a paid advertisement nor does WCCO endorse any candidate.


Responses from Jerry Trooien Independent candidate for U.S Senate:

Should Immigration Customs Enforcement -- ICE -- be abolished, and replaced with a different agency to control immigration crimes?

No. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) is on the front line when it comes to protecting our legal immigration process, fighting the international drug cartels, human trafficking and in particular child sex trafficking. Additionally, ICE prevents the proliferation of illegal trade, weapons and explosives from entering our country. I do not subscribe to the notion that eliminating law enforcement will somehow eliminate crime, quite the opposite in fact. I fully support the brave men and women in law enforcement who protect us all. What is also critical is the necessity of professional training and continued improvement in ICE operational practices to insure they perform their duties properly. They represent America in a difficult assignment.

When politicians refer to negative stories as "fake news", do you believe it?

A negative news story depends on the perspective of the reader and my view would depend entirely on the news story, source and real or perceived bias and most importantly on a case by case basis.

Should the President be permitted to unilaterally raise tariffs on US imports, or should Congress be required to vote before tariffs are imposed?

The Constitution grants certain powers to each of the three co-equal branches of government to protect the separation of powers. Over the last 80 years congress being led by both of the two major parties has seeded much of that authority to the executive branch. The United States currently is dealing with a $500 Billion trade deficit in part because our international trade partners levy tariffs on the goods we export to their countries. While it is easy to express there should be a perfectly level playing field (and it would be ideal) we have to be careful not to be self-defeating. In addition, some economists have suggested that intellectual property abuse is perhaps more important than the tariffs.

Should able-bodied Medicaid recipients be required to work?

This is not a simple yes or no question.

Do you believe North Korea will "denuclearize," as President Trump says it will?

I believe that the Reagan policy of "Trust, but verify" is the right approach to take with North Korea. Any President should be supported for efforts to denuclearize the DPRK and it is my hope we will be successful in maintaining peace in the region. We clearly need to engage China, South Korea and Japan in our efforts.

Do you believe in climate change, and should the U.S. rejoin the Paris climate accords?

Yes, I believe the evidence of human influenced climate change must be acknowledged. The United States is still a part of the Paris agreement until November 5, 2020. I will be watching closely to see what progress the Paris climate accords have accomplished in that time before advising the next president what decision I believe he or she should make.

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