An open letter to people voting for Trump on the basis of “never Hillary”

Don’t get me wrong: I, in no way, think Hillary Clinton is honest or moral. I recognize she has made horribly unethical decisions that move far past deleted emails. However, she demonstrates a genuine interest and passion for women’s rights. All too often, in political debates, anti-Hillary arguers will cite the story of Hillary allegedly volunteering to defend an accused rapist in court, accusing the victim of fantasizing about older men, and then laughing when his charges were dropped. According to a reliable fact checking source (factcheck.org), Clinton did defend a rapist in court, but did not volunteer to do so, and did not laugh about the charged being dropped. As an attorney, Clinton had a job to do, which was to defend her client. Comparably, if she wins the presidential election, she will have to make difficult decisions. Many of which will be morally questionable. However, this is the job of any politician.

When speaking with Trump supporters, I often hear them say things like “Trump may be brutal but at least he’s honest” and “Trump really isn’t that bad. So what if he says things that are offensive, at least he didn’t ____” (insert rumor about Hillary Clinton here). Not only is Trump misogynistic, racist, and offensive in every possible sense, he’s incredibly dishonest. Arguably, more dishonest than Hillary.

For years, Trump refused to release his tax returns. Why is that? Because he was not paying taxes. In the first presidential debate, when Clinton mentioned Trump's lack of showing his tax returns, he claimed that not paying taxes makes him “smart.” How could a potential leader of the country possibly think not paying taxes makes him “smart?” If the leader of our country is not following basic laws, how can anyone else be expected to?

Many people seem to believe that because Trump spent his career as a businessman that somehow makes him not only successful, but qualified to be the president. Trump has a history of bankrupting businesses. Per CNN Money, “no major US company has filed for Chapter 11 more than Trump’s casino empire in the last 30 years.”

As if his financial and business track records weren’t enough to deter anyone in their right mind from voting for Trump, he openly makes horrendous comments about women. By now, I am sure everyone has seen the video of Trump joking about raping women. When I first watched this video, I was so disgusted that I had to physically leave the room. I genuinely don’t understand how any person especially a woman, can stand behind Trump after saying such awful things.

I have heard people claim that the video is not sufficient evidence against Trump because it is so outdated. Yes, the video was over a decade old, however, Trump has not changed. When asked to apologize for making such horrific remarks, Trump merely apologized for “offending anyone.” Trump did not apologize nor take back his comments.

Trump also has a more recent history of misogyny. In 2013, Trump blamed sexual assault on the fact that men and women cannot live together. Trump stated in a Tweet “26,000 sexual assaults in the military—only 238 convictions, what did these geniuses expect when they put men and women together?”

Hillary Clinton is far from perfect. She is dishonest, immoral, and has no relation to the middle class like she claims she does. However, she is an incredibly experienced politician. Donald Trump is a racist, misogynistic, mediocre businessman.