First, ignore press conferences.  Their only purpose is to pacify or inflame, depending.  The "news" media like it that way, and the "reporters" have neither the knowledge nor the skill to extract information even if there were the will.

What about the things government officials say and write?  It depends on the party.  Ever since Carter left office, the Democrats have been a windsock trying to blow in all directions at once, so statements from that side of the aisle are meaningless, or at most palliative.

On the Republican side, the goal is fairly straightforward: a platform reminiscent of the Romanian Iron Guard, with fundamentalist Protestantism (and Opus Dei Roman Catholicism thrown in) replacing Eastern Orthodoxy (If the modern Republican Party is one thing, it's consistent.).  What to watch for, though, depends on whether you're observing the Talibagger storm troopers or their Ueberklass masters.  The Talibaggers say what they say and do what they do because they are stupid, sadistic, and scared.  They do what what demagogues tell them even if it is directly against their own interests.  Typical rank and file for any fascist movement.

The Ueberklass, on the other hand, is acting in its own interest, at least short term.  It wants to exploit everyone else and maintain its position.  While there is considerable sadism involved, along with a substantial dollop of stupidity, fear is still being suppressed by a record-setting level of denial.  The Ueberklass is playing the largest game of kick-the-can in history (probably the largest that will ever be played) and betting all on the belief that, when the wheels fall off the wagon, IBG/YBG (I'll Be Gone/You'll Be Gone).  They quite literally believe they can keep kicking the can until the Sun expands and swallows the Earth.

So, you can't tell what the Democrats want to do because they don't know themselves, and it's obvious what the Republicans want to do, and if they ever do it, you'd better move into a bunker.

And if you want to know what is actually going to happen, whether anyone wants it or not, watch Langley and the Pentagon.  Just don't try to work out causes and reasons; that folly will drive you mad.  Those people have about as much control over their actions as an infant has over its bladder.