Since Super Tuesday on March 1st, Donald Trump has been winning Republican caucuses and primaries in many different states around the nation. When Super Tuesday was created in 1988, the election process on that day has helped determine the superior candidates in each party. This year the winners were Donald Trump on the Republican side and Hillary Clinton on the Democratic side. Though it is not finalized, Super Tuesday results predict that these two candidates will end up taking the nomination for their parties.
Because of the success that Donald Trump has portrayed around the United States recently, I feel that it’s appropriate to formally address the problem this will be for the country. It’s time for people to start taking the election seriously. To start looking at this, it’s important to consider the role of the Presidency and the power that the position as President holds. From being the commander in chief, responding to national crises, chief legislator and so much more, the power that the president has is ultimately the most important position in the entire world. That being said, that power can also be a very dangerous thing when put into the wrong hands. Is Donald Trump really the person we want to be in full control of our lives?
This issue goes beyond political affiliation. Whether you are a Democrat or Republican, it is understandable for different people to have different ideologies — but it is not understandable to blindly follow a candidate who has openly shown many tendencies of being hateful, sexist, and racist. If you would not consider yourself any of those qualities, how can you support a candidate that upholds them? Donald Trump has successfully marginalized entire religions and races based on the actions of select individuals and is openly discriminating minorities on a daily basis. I personally do not feel comfortable with having a man as president who has no respect for other religions and ethnicities, as working with other people plays a large role in the position of the president.
A recent trend in this year’s election has been for voters to pull away from the political establishment. It’s natural for people to want change, but electing a business entertainer to lead the most powerful political establishment in the world is a very risky choice. Remember the criticism President Obama still receives to this day about being rather “under-qualified” as president? Why would the solution be for his successor to have zero political experience, besides probably funding many campaigns over the years. No, Donald Trump has not personally gone into bankruptcy, but on four separate occasions from 1991 to 2009, Trump’s businesses were going through difficult times and did declare bankruptcy. From what it looks like, not even Trump’s leadership skills in ownership of companies could withhold the financial crisis they endured.
Not only is this dangerous for the sake of the power that the Presidency holds, but Donald Trump has changed his views on almost all of his issues over the past years. Granted, every politician is likely to have some shift in views during their careers as elected officials, but Trump has been known for a multitude of changes in just months. In August of 2015, The Washington Post published an article that defined 20 different times that Trump had changed his mind on issues in the course of just two months. This is especially concerning for someone who could potentially be in office for four years. Once Trump is sworn into office, those decisions can no longer be easily withdrawn or flipped. Not only has his views changed, but various things that Trump has said in his speeches and debates have ended up not being true based on fact checking generators.
From what I can see, Mr. Trump has not shown any work towards his goal of “Making America Great Again,” but rather has shown many characteristics of trying to tear our country down. Since Trump had declared that he was running for president, the citizens of the United States have become far more divided and hostile toward each other. In a time where partisanship and extreme division between the nation is at its highest, Trump entering the office is not a good idea if our country plans to move forward and make advancement on the social issues that have finally been receiving attention. It’s time for people to get past the idea that Donald Trump is the right candidate because he “tells the truth” and is a “strong candidate.” When you look past the idea of Trump telling the truth to citizens, you can see that what he is saying is degrading and downright condescending to many groups of people. As for Trump being a strong candidate, I have heard him declare many times in speeches and interviews that he was going to sue various people for what they say about him. Mr. Trump, citizens are guaranteed their First Amendment rights, and when Russia or North Korea does something that upsets you, I don’t think you will be able to sue Putin or Kim Jong Un.
I always tell people that it’s important to get out and vote and make your voice heard when it comes to politics, but this year’s election needs it more than ever. Please vote in your state’s primary if it has yet to happen and make sure you start researching candidates that align with your views and vote in the general election this November. An important message that I’d like to point out to all Republicans, please do not support Donald Trump if he becomes the Republican nomination if you do not support him as a candidate. There is no need to tie your dedicated political affiliation to a man who can cause such separation in our country.
To finish, I'd like to just post highlights of some of the most absurd things Donald Trump has said publicly:
1. “An ‘extremely credible source’ has called my office and told me that Barack Obama’s birth certificate is a fraud."
2. “You know, it really doesn’t matter what the media write as long as you’ve got a young, and beautiful, piece of ass.”
3. “My fingers are long and beautiful, as, it has been well documented, are various other parts of my body.”
4. “I have never seen a thin person drinking Diet Coke.”
5. “I’ve said if Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her.”
Just think, this could be the future President of the United States of America.
