Is Trump REALLY that bad?
Coming from a predominantly leftist liberal background here in SoCal, it’s a pretty acceptable thing to say how Trump is not at all a fitting role as President-elect. After his win, it broke the hearts of many.
Let me first state that I was neither a Trump nor a Clinton supporter. However, I would like to highlight the majority of responses that I have personally heard regarding the election and they were all summed up in three main statements:
“He’s a racist”
“He’s a bigot”
“He wants to build a wall? The hell’s wrong with him?”
Essentially, these are the types of reasons I hear that unequivocally disqualify Trump as the new president of the United States. This is not to say that Trump is now justified as president for being a racist womanizer, I do believe he should come out and apologize rightly for his words. But very seldom do I hear about global issues that surround this 2016 presidential campaign.
Growing up in Florida (Bible-belt region), I am naturally conservative-leaning at heart. Not to spark controversy but an issue that I feel strongly about (that I also feel is relevant to the topic at hand) is the issue of abortion as I am a pro-life. Trump claims that he wants to defund Planned Parenthood, which is something I am in line with. Lots of people view it differently and I have to respect their choices. I’m certainly not one to impose my values onto anyone else. Indeed, I do not have that right.
Not to put Trump on a pedestal, but what about the fact that Trump refused a near half-million dollar presidential income? Doesn’t that speak volumes of his intentions not to be susceptible to political corruption? Yes, he is wealthy anyway. But who in their right mind would refuse that much free money?
“But Donald Trump is a hater.”
Yes, I agree. Although this is an immensely important issue, is this the only issue of importance? Or is being a hater enough to dismiss a president-elect? This reasoning, to me, is a very similar type of reasoning to how former president Bill Clinton was impeached due to his affair with Monica Lewinsky. Yes, his action was unlawful but was his impeachment deserving? I could argue that it wasn’t.
This election reminded me of the pre-industrialization era when Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson were at odds with each other concerning capitalism in the United States. Hamilton basically pushed for industrialization, machines producing mass quantities, and maximizing profit. Jefferson, on the other hand, wanted to keep the ideal (at the time) way of subsistence farming and taking only what you needed. Aside from the controversial aspect of these two schools of thought, what would have happened to the United States had the Jeffersonian mindset prevailed?
I know I’m speaking of two different eras and completely different political issues, but it definitely makes me wonder if our emotions get the best of us sometimes. I sincerely wish that Trump did not say the hurtful and racial comments that he did but I also don’t believe that this makes him unfit to see to other issues that are not just centralized around racism or bigotry. In a sense, I’m seeing the flaw of the liberal side for allowing emotions to supersede the political spectrum of reasoning. It’s like WEB Du Bois’ “double consciousness that illustrates perfectly how I see this controversial debate of Trump as president-elect. On the one hand, I understand why Trump is hated so much. On the other, well, I feel I shouldn’t say. It’s as if a metaphorical wall has been built by the Democrats since hundreds of years past and then suddenly broken down by the polar opposite Republican Party whose candidate is an asshole. Do people really hate Trump because of his political views or is it merely his personality?
For the record, I believe that trump is an asshole. I think the wall is ridiculous. I think no man has the right to talk about women the way he did. I think he should apologize appropriately and address these issues. But unfit for presidency? Let’s take a step back and reassess the political issues correctly. After all, this is our civic duty as citizens of the United States.
