The social policy of the first Donald Trump administration was generally socially conservative. , Donald Trump described himself as pro-life with exceptions for rape, incest, and circumstances endangering the life of the mother. He said he was committed to appointing justices who may overturn the ruling in Roe v. Wade. Trump appointed three Supreme Court justices during his presidency. All of them later went on to vote in the majority opinion of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the Supreme Court case overturning Roe v. Wade and ending federal abortion rights nationwide.

Before his presidency, Trump made contradictory comments on same-sex marriage. Whereas he largely avoided commenting on LGBT issues as a candidate, his administration rolled back numerous LGBT protections. He ordered a ban on all transgender personnel from serving in the military during his presidency. Trump supported a broad interpretation of the Second Amendment and said he was opposed to gun control in general, although his views have shifted over time. Trump also supported removing the federal government from determining the legality of recreational marijuana and supported states that have legalized medical marijuana.

In terms of criminal justice, Trump has stated to be "tough on crime" and for "law and order". He frequently praised law enforcement officers and was critical of the Black Lives Matter movement amid the George Floyd protests, referring to the slogan "Black Lives Matter" as a symbol of hate. He favored capital punishment, as well as the use of waterboarding saying his administration would do "a hell of a lot worse" if he was elected. In 2018, Trump signed the bipartisan First Step Act in law, a bill aimed at reforming federal prisons and sentencing laws.

Law enforcement and justice

Capital punishment

Trump has long advocated for capital punishment in the United States.Matt Ford, Donald Trump's Racially Charged Advocacy of the Death Penalty , The Atlantic (December 18, 2015). In May 1989, shortly after the Central Park jogger case received widespread media attention, Trump purchased a full-page ad in four New York City newspapers with the title "BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY!" Five defendants (the "Central Park Five") were wrongfully convicted in the case and were subsequently exonerated. By June 2019, Trump stood by his previous statements about the case, saying "You have people on both sides of that. They admitted their guilt. If you look at Linda Fairstein and if you look at some of the prosecutors, they think that the city should never have settled that case. So we'll leave it at that."

In December 2015, in a speech accepting the endorsement of the New England Police Benevolent Association, Trump said that "One of the first things I do [if elected President] in terms of executive order if I win will be to sign a strong, strong statement that will go out to the country, out to the world, that... anybody killing a police officer—death penalty. It's going to happen, O.K.?"Verbatim: Donald Trump Promises Death Penalty in Killings of Police Officers , New York Times (December 10, 2015). However, under the current U.S. legal system, these prosecutions usually take place in state court under state law, and the president has no authority over such cases.Fact Checks: Donald J. Trump: "One of the first things I do in terms of executive order if I win will be to sign a strong, strong statement" that "anybody killing a police officer—death penalty." , New York Times (December 11, 2016). Furthermore, nineteen states have abolished the death penalty, and mandatory death sentences are unconstitutional, as held by the Supreme Court in Woodson v. North Carolina (1976).

On September 3, 2020, Michael Forest Reinoehl—suspected in the killing of a member of a far-right group in Portland, Oregon a week earlier— initiated a shootout with law enforcement which wanted to arrest him; he was fatally shot. On September 12, Fox News aired an interview in which Trump endorsed the police shooting of Reinoehl. "There has to be retribution when you have a crime like that,” Trump said, referring to the killing of the far-right activist, a crime for which Reinoehl had not been tried. “This guy was a violent criminal, and the U.S. marshals killed him, and I will tell you something, that's the way it has to be."

Under Trump, the American government executed 13 prisoners.

First Amendment and defamation law

Trump has called for police to arrest those who protest at his rallies, saying that fear of an "arrest mark" that would "ruin the rest of their lives" would be a deterrent and that then "we're not going to have any more protesters, folks."Jenna Johnson, Donald Trump demands that police arrest rally protesters , Associated Press (March 12, 2016). Geoffrey R. Stone, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School, notes that opponents and disruptive individuals may be removed from Trump rallies consistent with the First Amendment, but opponents have a First Amendment right to protest Trump outside the venue.Geoffrey R. Stone, Donald Trump, Protest, and the First Amendment , Huffington Post (March 16, 2016). Stone writes that it is unclear whether it would be consistent with the First Amendment for Trump to "order the removal of those who oppose his candidacy from his political rallies if he does not announce in advance that they are open only to his supporters", noting that the answer to this question depends not on the First Amendment, but on the nature of open invitations in the law of trespass.

Trump has said that if elected, he would loosen defamation laws so that when journalists write "purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money." The Associated Press reported that this proposal to weaken the First Amendment protections for the press is at odds with "widely held conceptions of constitutional law". The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and other First Amendment advocates condemned Trump's proposal, which would make it easier to win lawsuits accusing newspapers of libel.

Trump has expressed support for adopting English-style defamation laws in the U.S.; under UK law, it is easier for plaintiffs to sue newspapers and other media outlets.Tom Kludt, Donald Trump says he wants libel laws more like the UK's , CNN Money (October 24, 2016).Callum Borchers, On freedom of the press, Donald Trump wants to make America like England again , Washington Post (October 24, 2016). In 2016, the American Bar Association (ABA)'s committee on media law created a report that was critical of Trump's support for expansive defamation laws and his use of libel suits in the past. The committee concluded that Trump was "a 'libel bully' who had filed many meritless suits attacking his opponents and had never won in court".Adam Liptak, Fearing Trump, Bar Association Stifles Report Calling Him a 'Libel Bully' , New York Times (October 24, 2016). The ABA's leadership blocked the report from being issued; the organization did not contest the committee's conclusions, but expressed concern about the possibility of being sued by Trump.

On the campaign trail in 2015 and 2016, Trump frequently antagonized the press, referring to the media as "the most dishonest people" and "absolute scum". The Trump campaign has barred reporters (from Politico, The New York Times, The Des Moines Register, The Huffington Post, and Univision, among others) from its campaign events, "often in the wake of critical coverage". In October 2016, NBC News reportedly held off on airing a video of Trump making lewd and disparaging remarks about women due to concerns that Trump would sue the network.

At a rally in June 2020, he said he believed that people who burn the American flag should be jailed for at least a year, though he acknowledged that this would potentially violate "freedom of speech."

Privacy, encryption, and electronic surveillance

On National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance, Trump says he "tends to err on the side of security" over privacy. Trump supports bringing back now-expired provisions of the Patriot Act to allow for the NSA to collect and store bulk telephone metadata.Jesse Byrnes, Trump sides with Rubio over Cruz in NSA surveillance debate, The Hill (December 1, 2015).Eric Bradner, Trump: 'Err on the side of security' , CNN (December 1, 2015). Trump said: "I assume that when I pick up my telephone, people are listening to my conversations anyway."

In February 2016, Trump urged his supporters to boycott Apple Inc. unless the company agrees to build a custom backdoor for the FBI to unlock the password-protected iPhone connected to one of the perpetrators of the 2015 San Bernardino shooting, a move that Apple argues would threaten the security and privacy of its users.Jeremy Diamond, Trump calls for Apple boycott , CNN (February 19, 2016). Trump himself still used his iPhone to send out tweets.Brian Fung, Trump wants you to boycott Apple — but he's still tweeting from an iPhone , Washington Post (February 19, 2016). In April 2017, Trump signed a bill that repealed a rule for internet service providers to get a user's consent to sell their information. In May 2020, Trump reversed his stance, stating that "warrantless surveillance of Americans is wrong", and threatening to veto reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

Rights of the accused

In a 1989 interview with Larry King Trump said, "The problem with our society is the victim has absolutely no rights and the criminal has unbelievable rights" and that "maybe hate is what we need if we're gonna get something done." In 2016, Trump decried the fact that Ahmad Khan Rahami, a U.S. citizen charged in connection with the bombings in New York and New Jersey, would be provided with medical treatment and the right to counsel, calling this "sad".

At the second presidential debate, which took place in October 2016, Trump said that if he was "in charge of the law of our country", rival presidential contender Hillary Clinton would "be in jail".David Morgan, Clinton campaign manager likens Trump to a dictator , CBS News (October 10, 2016). In the same debate, Trump also pledged that if elected he would direct his attorney general to appoint a special prosecutor to "look into" Clinton. Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook called the remark "chilling" and said: "Trump thinks that the presidency is like some banana republic dictatorship where you can lock up your political opponents." The remark was viewed as part of "a litany of statements [Trump] has made during the campaign that many legal specialists have portrayed as a threat to the rule of law".Charlie Savage, Threat to Jail Clinton Smacks of 'Tin-Pot Dictators', Experts Say , New York Times (October 10, 2016). The remark was condemned by a number of prominent Republican lawyers, such as Paul K. Charlton, Marc Jimenez, and Peter Zeidenberg,Josh Gerstein, GOP ex-prosecutors slam Trump over threat to 'jail' Clinton , Politico (October 10, 2016). as well as David B. Rivkin and Michael Chertoff. Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said the "jail" comment was merely "a quip".

Later that October, Trump spoke fondly of the "lock her up" chants at his rally, saying "Lock her up is right." He also said Clinton's legal representatives "have to go to jail". However, in November, after winning the election, Trump told reporters from the New York Times he would not recommend prosecution of Clinton, saying it was "just not something [he] feel[s] very strongly about" and suggesting that Clinton had "suffered greatly". He repeated this stance in public at a rally in Michigan the following month, responding to "Lock her up" chants from the crowd by saying: "That plays great before the election—now we don't care, right?"

Trying U.S. citizens in military tribunals