Political commentators are fond of saying that local elections matter more than federal ones, something repeated often on these pages. While that remains true, the effects of a second Donald Trump presidency will certainly have ripple effects here in Hampton Roads.
As a major hub of military power and a region heavily dependent on federal spending, our area is more sensitive to the whims of Washington. That makes Trump’s plans more important here than in many other parts of the country.
Begin with the military. Trump campaigned on building up the armed forces while also reducing our entanglements abroad. For Hampton Roads, that is likely to translate into increased spending on hardware, such as ships, which would be an economic boost to the region.
As has been documented, military shipbuilding is beset with problems at the moment, marked by lengthy production delays and even problems with the work itself, as shown by the discovery of faulty welding on two dozen ships constructed or repaired by Newport News Shipbuilding. Defense officials in a second Trump administration must make correcting those issues a priority.
Altering long-standing military alliances would also have a profound impact here. Norfolk is home to the only NATO installation in North America, a point of pride for the city and region, but Trump has repeatedly criticized the organization and threatened to withdraw the United States from the alliance.
Not only would that affect America’s standing abroad, it could very well lead to the departure of international military personnel who call our region home. That would be both an economic and cultural hit to the region. Trump does not value the NATO alliance and believes it is a detriment to American interests rather than a benefit. How that plays out in his second term should be closely monitored.
For active-duty service members here, Trump’s win could also lead to personal reckonings. Several top military officials in this first administration warned that Trump was rebuffed when he ordered the use of U.S. forces against his political critics, the media and members of the public. Those guardrails may not be there in a second term, which could mean those in uniform are deployed against their fellow citizens. How service members handle that, or whether young people want to join a military where such a thing is possible, remains to be seen.
The president-elect’s trade policies will also affect activity at the Port of Virginia, another key driver of the regional economy. Trump has threatened to impose massive tariffs on foreign imports, which would drive up prices for American consumers and could trigger a trade war with Europe or China. If he pursues an aggressive stance, it would likely reduce traffic at our port and those around the country.
Hampton Roads is among the coastal areas most at risk due to climate change, but it has worked to turn that crisis into opportunity by developing a burgeoning sector of the economy around green energy, anchored by Dominion’s wind project off Virginia’s coast that is poised to be the largest offshore wind farm in the nation.
The president-elect has been a climate change skeptic throughout his public life. He has called it a hoax and pushed policies throughout his first term that loosened regulations on polluters, harmed the environment and emphasized oil and gas production over renewable fuels.
Given the advances in wind, solar and nuclear power, it could be that Trump comes to understand their value to the nation’s energy portfolio and to the economy. But a lack of backing from Washington could arrest the growth of the green-energy sector here in Hampton Roads, as well as abandon communities threatened by rising seas.
Federal policies have outsized weight here, unlike in many places, so a new president matters a great deal. Trump has made campaign promises that would have a profound effect in our region. Whether he pursues them, and how Hampton Roads adapts, are questions that will soon be answered.