Making America Desolate Again: The United States Under Trump
The terrifying reality of a potential Trump presidency
By Sunwoo Park
The Progressive Teen Staff Writer
LIKE WEIMAR GERMANY, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA faces a confrontation with the very being that the Founding Fathers of the Republic dreaded and feared so much that American politics was constructed to stop said creature.
Donald Trump, the avatar of America’s right-wing populism, has risen to threaten the very foundations of American democracy. The Founding Fathers feared populism and understood that pure democracy was an invitation to tyranny. As Politico notes, “The drafters of the Constitution distrusted the opportunist who played on popular emotions in the quest for political power.” The Founding Fathers knew those who rode on the tides of populism used emotion, not reason, to govern. Donald Trump uses explosive rhetoric to fire up emotions and garner more popular support. This is a man who does not rely on his brain but on his heart, and the Founding Fathers, students of the Enlightenment, knew just how dangerous those who lead from the heart could be.
Throughout the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump has relied far more on emotion and baseless rhetoric than evidence or reason to back his arguments. Despite the Census Bureau reporting that real median household income rose by 5.2% and poverty rate fell by 1.2%, Trump continues to claim that income stagnation is a symptom of American decline. Donald Trump continues to argue that the Obama presidency is one of the worst in modern history. During the first presidential debate, Trump claimed that the market is in “a big, fat, ugly bubble” with no concrete evidence whatsoever.
Trump is setting a dangerous precedent by encouraging future politicians not to rely on facts. For decades, politicians needed to show the public that they understood the issues confronting America. Now people can see that people like Trump can rise to the presidency using little to no facts to support their assertions.
ONE OF THE BOLDEST AND MOST FRIGHTENING CLAIMS MADE BY TRUMP IS HIS TAX CUT PROPOSALS. During the presidential debate, he claimed that he would cut corporate taxes from 35 to 15%. According to CNN, Trump’s economic plan would cause 3.5 million Americans to lose their jobs. Housing prices and the stock market would also plummet. Moody’s Analytics concludes that “the super rich would get richer and everyone else would be worse off.” Trump’s constantly criticizes President Obama for the large government debt. Ironically, economists predict that Trump’s plan would add nearly $10 trillion to the debt over ten years. It is very obvious that President Trump will only bring ruin to the United States and revive America’s Gilded Age.
America does not need a society in which the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. We need a president who can work toward creating a society that enables honest, hardworking people to become rich while ensuring that those who struggle financially have the means of succeeding. Trump is not the man fit for the job.
“We need a president who can work toward creating a society that enables honest, hardworking people to become rich while ensuring that those who struggle financially have the means of succeeding.”
IF AMERICANS WANT TO SEE HOW A TRUMP PRESIDENCY MIGHT APPEAR TO THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY, they must look no further than Filipino President Rodrigo Durtere. The world saw the aftermath of electing a candidate who ran on “law and order” when Rodrigo Duterte won the 2016 Philippines presidential election. Duterte waged a brutal, relentless war on drugs, going as far as to call for citizens to be vigilantes and kill drug dealers. He was remarkably like Senator Joseph McCarthy, the man who ruined thousands of lives on baseless allegations during the Red Scare of the 1950s. Duterte has used the drug war as an excuse to claim that at least 1,000 Filipino politicians are involved in the drug trade. Duterte has earned his nation condemnation and humiliation from the international community for his tyrannical and unjust actions.
Electing Donald Trump will result in the collapse of America’s international reputation, which President Obama has so painstakingly worked to rebuild after President George W. Bush damaged American credibility by invading Iraq. One of the most damaging aspects of a Trump presidency will be his continued praise for strongmen such as Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin. It is hypocritical for the President of the world’s oldest democracy to draw inspiration from men who have murdered and oppressed those who have opposed them.
TRUMP WILL SERVE TO WEAKEN OUR STANDING AS THE WORLD’S ONLY SUPERPOWER. President Trump will desecrate American prestige by questioning and attempting to renegotiate our ties with our NATO allies. NATO’s core principle is collective defense; NATO’s Article 5 states that “an attack against one Ally is considered as an attack against all Allies.” Article 5 was invoked only once after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, yet Donald Trump continues to claim that our NATO allies have done nothing for America. Donald Trump has already shaken our NATO allies’ trust on America’s dedication to collective defense and electing him will only serve to destroy one of the world’s oldest and strongest alliances.
The most frightening aspect of a Trump presidency would be his effect on race relations. The majority of Americans believe that race relations are getting worse. After the Khans spoke out against him during Democratic National Convention, Trump stated that Ghazala Khan, the grieving mother of late Army Captain Humayun Khan, was forbidden to speak because she was Muslim. Trump has built up his campaign using xenophobic attacks against Muslims. Despite the contributions Muslim Americans have made on American society, Trump wants to deport thousands of Muslim Americans and has often associated Islam with violence. Trump’s behavior has only encouraged violence and hatred towards Muslim Americans and their future looks dark should Trump be elected.
Another group Trump has repeatedly targeted is the Mexican American community. I remember when Trump declared that “We are going to build a wall and make Mexico pay for it.” I was even more horrified when Trump stated that “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” He believed that Mexicans were a group of thugs, criminals and rapists; he was insulting the millions of hard working, loyal Mexican Americans who believed in the American dream. That was when I decided that the consequences of a Trump presidency were too grave. America is a nation built on diversity and tolerance, and the last thing our nation needs is a President with an extensive history of racism. America needs bridges, not walls.
HILLARY CLINTON MUST BE ELECTED PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES because she is the last thing standing between Trump and the crumbling, antiquated defenses against tyranny. Trump comes at a moment when American democracy is weak, crippled by bitter partisan struggles, a deadlocked Supreme Court and a demoralized and out-of-touch political establishment. All the barriers the Founding Fathers forged to protect the nation will give way. Republicans such as Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell have bowed to Trump, preferring to work with the devil rather than fight him. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives and Senate will bow to Trump, recognizing political reality, should he emerge victorious.
What many Americans fail to understand is that political elites provide the very ingredients required for a stable democracy. They offer the stability and calm that populism never can, and their presence is required for our democracy to survive. Americans are infuriated with the political elite for constantly swindling them and never taking the common people seriously, but electing Donald Trump president is the worst way to express this type of anger.
An active politician throughout her life, Hillary Clinton is in many ways representative of the spirit of American democracy. Donald Trump’s mere presence shakes the pillars of this and should he win, American democracy will take a fatal hit from which it may never overcome. Hillary Clinton is our best and possibly last hope to preserve the democracy that our Founding Fathers fought so hard for.
