OK, first things first, this isn’t going to be a Trump-bashing article. Even though the idea of a walking punch line like Donald Trump not only running for leader of the free world, but also beating serious candidates like Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio in the polls, is absolutely hilarious to me, this isn’t going to be a satirical article either. As the likelihood of a Trump nomination at the Republican National Convention is increasing by the day, I thought I’d take an objective look at what his presidency would actually mean for the United States and the world, without a hint of sarcasm. Wish me luck; I’m going to need it.
When Trump announced his presidency a few months ago, he surprised his audience with his comments on illegal immigration “When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists, and some, I assume, are good people.” Despite numerous corporations and organizations cutting their ties with him, as well as strikes from the Mexican immigrants working on his latest tower in DC, Trump still proudly announced that he would win the Latino vote. He also criticized the idea of path to citizenship for illegal immigrants and supported building a wall along America’s borders. So, if a zero-tolerance policy on immigration is your cup of tea, you’ll find support in Donald Trump.
When it comes to abortion, Trump shares his views with most other Republican candidates. He supports a ban on late abortions, with exceptions for rape, incest and health issues for the mother. The interesting thing about that is he was pro-choice for years and only changed his stance on the issue in 2011, when a close friend was unable to abort and ended up loving his child (as most parents should). If nothing changes his mind again, President Trump will likely ban abortion for the entirety of his presidency.
Much like current Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump is a strong supporter of the death penalty. “A life is a life,” he says, “and if you criminally take an innocent life you’d better be prepared to forfeit your own. My only complaint is that lethal injection is too comfortable a way to go.” Does that mean that he would like to see more ruthless techniques, such as the electric chair or the guillotine, during his time as President? I don’t know, but he does think that the death penalty is an effective deterrent to violent crime, as “100% of the people who are executed never commit another crime.” Kind of stating the obvious but, as I said, I’m not here to judge.
Given that a majority of Republicans deny the existence of a phenomenon proven by a majority of scientists, Trump’s position on climate change shouldn’t be surprising. What is surprising, though, is how he chose to voice his skepticism on Twitter in 2012. He claimed that global warming was a hoax invented by the Chinese to suppress the U.S. economy (and no, I’m not making that up). He brought this theory to Fox News, the number one news network in the world (for white Republicans who don’t know any better), in 2014 and shows no sign of backing down. In a country where as much as 23% of the population is skeptical about global warming (in other words, wrong about something), President Trump saying “you’re fired” to science could be appealing to a lot of people.
Finally, let’s talk about war. After his controversial John McCain comment, Trump was suddenly being badmouthed by veterans, the media, comedians and regular Americans. But, what exactly is his position on America’s recent missions abroad? Well, he opposed the invasion of Iraq by the Bush administration, but he also supports hitting ISIS “so hard and so fast that they wouldn't know what happened.” In an interview for Fox News, he said that he would send limited troops to fight the group, if all of his military advisers said it was a good idea. Basically, Trump’s presidency would be a much more aggressive approach to foreign policy than the pacifism of his predecessor.
So, now that we’ve given him the benefit of the doubt, is it really a surprise that Trump is doing so well, leading Jeb Bush by ten points and the clear frontrunner of the Republican Party? Well, his poll numbers are impressive, but I’d say that the Trump momentum isn’t one meant to last. He reminds me of a five-year-old kid saying he’s going to fly to the moon by tying balloons to his house. Yeah, he can convince all his friends and buy the balloons, but he won’t really get anywhere. Even though he is making the 2016 race more interesting, Donald Trump will likely get cast aside as another story we can laugh at.
