In the early weeks of this endless race, when Trump's orange head stood out among the white-on-white (and Ben Carson, I guess) GOP presidential candidates, I was fascinated by him. By no means did I want him in the Oval Office, but I wondered what his strategy was. What did he really think of the issues at hand? Was he just putting on a show to appeal to the bitter, uneducated voters who didn't want John Kasich because he has the personality of a Trefoil Girl Scout cookie, or didn't want Ted Cruz because he may or may not be the Zodiac Killer?
Sadly, the truth is boring. When people get boring, I stop taking them seriously. Unless he's rolling a 20-sided die of trademarked Trumpisms, or has a miniature David Axelrod tucked into his breast pocket, Donald Trump is not stupid. He's just your run-of-the-mill ignorant narcissist.
Many of those who support him can make rational arguments for why they do so, and I can respect that. Because he is not a traditional politician, they believe he is free from the influence of lobbyists. Because his campaign is "self-funded," they believe he will cater to the people, rather than to those with the big wallets. Although he is admittedly narcissistic, a buffoon who thinks he can coast through an entire presidential race using just his "business smarts" and throwaway one-liners that show so little forethought it might as well be high school improv, it's not like he can do any real damage, not while surrounded by all of his (self-appointed) experts and advisors.
In fact, Trump is skeptical of experts, and doesn't find all that much value in reading.
So, rather than educating himself on the issues, he instead relies on fearmongering, and it's finally catching up to him. Of course, in the heat of the moment during those passionate rallies, no one is going to stop and wonder if what he's saying is true. They just care that someone on a stage is finally voicing their fears. But the off-the-cuff method can only work for so long.
I know, at this point, mere days before the election, those who have not already been swayed are not likely to be affected much by articles such as these. Admit it, fellow Hillary supporters, you just clicked on this link for the homophily.
There are parts of America that many of us are lucky enough never to see — places of extreme isolation from our democracy, places of extreme poverty that breed a sense of injustice and distrust of the government. For an alarmingly high percentage of the population, Donald Trump is seen as a break from the norm — no more corrupt politicians.
Fortunately, to run a country, you kind of need experience with politics. Discussing the war in Iraq with Howard Stern doesn't count.
So, however you got here, I just wanted to let you know that I'm angry — with myself. I wish I had spent more of this election cycle covering LGBT media and women's issues and the Black Lives Matter movement, but instead I am here. So many Trump supporters or undecided voters fail to look at the most basic deciding factor of this election — Trump is not qualified. If anything, these debates have been the final three nails in the coffin.
Since everyone is so keen to have the dusty Constitution stapled to their foreheads, let's review what Article II requires of our President:
1. Chief of State - symbolic leader of the country.
For many of his proud supporters, Trump is the symbolic leader of the "silent majority" of racists, bigots, xenophobes, people who've been so privileged they've never had to question their place in this country. I could pull up his quotes that have inspired and encouraged this kind of attitude, but they are literally everywhere you look, much like his hairpiece.
Toupee jokes aside, is this the face we want to represent all 319 million of us? Maybe I'm blowing this a bit out of proportion, but has any other presidential candidate faced this much shit this close to the election? Well, probably not: The man's been charged with sexually assaulting a thirteen-year-old girl in 1994.
Oh, and after a mass shooting in Oregon: "These things happen."
2. Chief Executive - executes the laws, appoints key federal officials, grants pardons and reprieves
He's rich! What are laws? He invented an entire university so he could dodge federal income taxes.
3. Commander in Chief - runs the armed forces
Apparently John McCain's not a war hero because he was captured. For some reason, Trump also thought it necessary to attack the grieving parents of a fallen soldier. Also, his only strategy for defeating ISIS is to shut down the Internet and carpet-bomb the entire Middle East.
4. Chief Diplomat - negotiates with other countries
Building a giant wall (only between us and Mexico, not Canada, because Canadians are white and speak French so they must be civilized, right) and asking our neighbors to pay for it really says a lot about our ability to negotiate.
"Putin has no respect for America; I will get along with him" (Sep 2015). Also, don't forget that in Russia, you don't hack Putin, Putin hacks you.
5. Chief Legislator - signs/vetoes legislation, works with Congress on the budget
From Business Insider: The Republican presidential front-runner said he was outraged after Fox News host Sean Hannity asked him about the budget deal reached on Capitol Hill this week.
"You look at what's going on with our budget process, it's a disaster. It's a joke. It's a joke. If it weren't so hurtful, you'd all start laughing right now," Trump said.
"It's very, very sad," he added. "These are people — do they know anything about a budgetary process? I don't think so."
...Instead, Trump said, his party's congressional leaders immediately fold in order to avoid a government shutdown.
"I've never seen anything like it," he reflected. "And you know if there's a shutdown, it won't be very long. The biggest problem is every time anybody mentions that just as a threat, immediately the Republicans say, 'It'll never happen. It'll never happen.' So now they've already lost the negotiation."
If there was a bus big enough to cover all the Republicans in Congress, Trump would throw them under it without a second thought. Anything for airtime.
6. Superpolitician - helps his/her party.
Trump's candidacy has divided the GOP in a way that hasn't been seen since the damn Whigs, and he hasn't made much of an effort to kiss and make up.
So, we got 0 for 6 here. Maybe Donald Trump is what some people want, but he is not what we need as the face of our country, especially in this time of global turmoil (see: Brexit, ISIS). The highest position in our country requires some degree of professionalism, of which Trump has none.
Even if you don't think your vote will make a difference, this upcoming election will also let you vote for local officials and propositions, which can have just as much of an impact on your community.
We fought hard for the right to vote. Exercise it.
However, now is not the time to vote third party; a vote for Johnson or Stein is a vote for Trump. Read this to find out how you can trade your votes with those in safe states if you're still iffy.
It's literally mathematical. Please don't fight math. It didn't work for you during high school, and it sure as hell won't work for you now.
