In this piece, I’m not going to tackle subjects that I don’t know much about, and I’m going to remain as genuine as possible. I’m simply trying to share why I am so passionately against Donald Trump. At times I will be completely objective and even say why I like some of the qualities he brings to the table. For example, as an 18-year-old independent, I like that Trump isn’t a purebred Republican. When Republicans criticize him for having a few too many liberal viewpoints, and for his Democratic views of the past, it doesn’t bother me much. That being said, there are PLENTY of things that do bother me about Donald Trump.
Donald Trump is an extremely dangerous candidate for a multitude of reasons. Is it too far to claim that his mentality and identity is the same as those of a ruthless dictator like Adolf Hitler? Yes, it absolutely is. Is it too far to draw alarming connections between his rise to power, his insensitive and cruel statements, and some of his policies to those of Hitler? Unfortunately, no it is not too far to do so. Let me be very clear; I do not believe Trump is anywhere remotely close to the level of Hitler–that is not the purpose of this article, and quite frankly, it is unintelligent and embarrassing if you think that. That being said, let’s get started with my criticisms of Trump, and why his rise to power is so alarming.
One of Trump’s most important and self-publicized policies is with regard to crime in the United States. Trump makes it seem as if crime is a significant issue that is making America suffer worse than ever and must be addressed immediately. However, it is a proven fact that crime rates are at the lowest they’ve ever been – and by a wide margin – since 1990. Yes, of course, crime is horrible and we need a strong leader to do his or her best to soften the issue, but check out this chart. Look, I don’t know what policies Washington has implemented—if any at all–to reduce crime rates over the past 25 years, but whatever they have done, it’s been working! We don’t need your “outsider’s perspective” to come in and save us from this! LOOK AT THE FACTS!
In order to gain power, Trump has brainwashed the American people into thinking crime is hurting our country like never before. He needed a few selling points to gain voters and he made this issue–that comparatively speaking, is less of an issue now than it’s ever been–seem like it must be resolved in order to make our country great again. His campaign is extremely misleading! The fact that he is misleading the American people into thinking that politicians have done a horrible job with regard to crime is just flat out wrong.
With regard to illegal immigration and Trump’s infamous wall, my criticisms lie with how he has handled the idea more so than the idea itself. Let me start by saying I’m a huge advocate of controlling our borders and preventing illegal immigration in the future. There’s no doubt that American jobs should belong to American citizens. However, Trump’s plan is far too radical, and it is clear that after illegal immigration rates increased dramatically from 1990 to 2007, they have been on a steady decline under the Obama administration.
Trump’s plan to get Mexico to pay for the wall has been criticized by many, including President Obama, who has been negotiating deals with foreign leaders for 8 years. Whether you believe he’s done a good job at it or not is your decision, but he’s been the man on the job for nearly a decade; at the very least, Obama knows what the job entails. Mexican leaders have been strongly opposed to Trump’s notion that they will pay for his wall. His arrogance with regard to the issue won’t help him either. Arrogance may be a strong tool for Trump in his business negotiations because quite frankly, he probably deserves to be arrogant in his business negotiations; that he’s been extremely successful and his track record as a businessman is irrefutable. However when it comes to political negotiations with foreign leaders, he has no track record for them to look at, and he certainly isn’t gaining any respect from the Mexican leaders whatsoever by arrogantly claiming they will pay for his wall. Furthermore, if you’re going to build a wall, institute policies that prevent future illegal immigrants from entering our country. Don’t separate the millions of families who are living in America and contributing to our nation’s economy. That is inhumane, unconstitutional, and dare I say it–it is representative of Hitler separating Jewish families in the 1930s. Is it ideal or fair that people are living illegally in our country? Absolutely not. However it is most definitely NOT fair for one man to separate millions of families who are simply trying to live a better life. That sounds far more like Nazi Germany than it sounds like the great country of America. My main point here is that while the wall is not a terrible idea, the manner in which Trump has approached it has been concerning, and the idealistic idea of separating the families of all illegal immigrants completely contradicts everything about what our country stands for. Trump must compromise on this matter; a key word that is crucial to American politics, and it is unfortunately something that Donald Trump doesn’t seem to do too often. Build your wall, lock down our borders, and encourage legal immigration to the United States, but don’t make Mexico pay for our wall, and don’t separate the families of those already living here. Compromise, Donald.
Oh, and with regard to illegal immigrants, don’t say, “They’re bringing crime. They’re bringing drugs. They’re rapists.” This is the classified definition of a racial stereotype. Do you want your President making racial stereotypes? Isn’t this the type of comment we’re striving to move away from? We want the next generation to grow up under the leadership of a man like this? A President should be a model citizen, yet this comment is one that makes Donald Trump sound like the complete and utter opposite of a model citizen. It is completely unacceptable for OUR LEADER to be the one making racial stereotypes. It is not beneficial for the health of our country domestically, nor is it beneficial for our reputation in the eyes of political leaders.
It’s unfortunate that this isn’t the only time something like this has happened. Remember when Trump claimed that he didn’t get the favorable verdict in a lawsuit simply because the judge was Mexican? Trump claimed that his unfavorable policies towards Mexicans were the root causes of the verdict. There are two extremely alarming problems with this. First of all, claiming that someone cannot do his or her job properly because of race is the definition of racism, which, oh by the way, is one of the most pressing issues in our country that we are striving to limit. We want our President to be the one making racist comments like this? What kind of example does that show? If our President makes racist comments, won’t that make others think it’s acceptable to make racist comments? Secondly, Trump essentially acknowledged that his attitude, policies, and lack of sympathy towards Mexicans caused a judge of Mexican heritage to rule an unfair verdict upon Trump, a white man. If our President, whether it is intentionally or unintentionally, is provoking racism instead of preventing it, isn’t that frightening?!?!? Of course, he doesn’t mean to provoke racism, BUT HE IS!! He unintentionally even said so himself! In his mind, his policies are causing Mexicans to act racist towards him! We want that? A President’s policies should unite people, not tear them apart. This is a prime example of how Trump’s policies are divisive and dangerous.
Speaking of racism, divisiveness, and prejudice, Donald Trump’s ban of all Muslims is outrageous. Put yourself in the shoes of an innocent Muslim family from the Middle East looking for a better life, which is a similar stance that every single one of your ancestors was once in, regardless of your heritage. Innocent Muslims are not to blame for the threat that ISIS imposes on the world. It is unconstitutional and stereotypical to prevent a certain demographic from entering America simply because of their religion. It sounds crazy to even say that out loud. Think about it: America, the country that prides itself so passionately about being the land of the free, the home of the brave, and the nation of opportunity for all types of people, is banning an entire religion?! Letting foreigners come to America in search of a better life is one of the foundations of our nation’s history and a core principle that cannot be altered! Dare I say that preventing an entire religion from entering our country is somewhat similar to when the Nazis blamed the Jews for their troubles? Once again, this is of course not the same as Nazi Germany, but it is much more similar to their principles than it is to America’s, and that’s scary. Very scary.
Combating ISIS is an extremely difficult challenge, and I have no clue which strategy is the best to do so. But I sure as hell know that banning all Muslims isn’t the right way to do so. And I sure as hell know that I don’t trust an egotistical real estate genius to defeat them. We’re trusting a businessman–who has no prior experience in tackling the challenges of global politics–when he says he’s the best option to defeat ISIS? He may have good plans, but HOW DO YOU KNOW?!?! All of those who believe he is the best to defeat Islamic terror are blindly trusting him because he’s been successful in the business world and because he acts so confident when he speaks. Fighting a foreign terror organization isn’t remotely close to anything Trump has done in the past, so how can his supporters have so much faith in him to do so?! The blinding support of his followers, which is nearly half of the entire nation, is eye-opening and scary because of the historical situations it is reminiscent of. I’m no fan of Hillary Clinton, but I feel much safer under a former Secretary of State with decades of political experience than I do under a volatile businessman.
One of the most frightening aspects about a Trump presidency is his reluctance, and at other times, refusal, to listen to other people. Reports surfaced that Trump desperately wanted to verbally attack many of the DNC speakers that had criticized him during their convention. His campaign advisors strongly urged Trump to only go after Hillary, and after originally rejecting their advice, Trump reluctantly complied. This is a minor story, but isn’t Trump’s stubbornness and reluctance to listen to others quite alarming? A President must hear out its people, and so far it seems as if Trump has had very little desire to do so. He’s spent his whole life running his own business, and if he runs America like it’s his country, our political system may lose its democracy values. It is OUR country, not HIS country. Look, I’m not saying “If Trump becomes President, he will act as a dictator, and America won’t resemble a democracy,” but I’m certainly not willing to take the risk! I don’t want to take the risk that our nation loses the slightest bit of its democratic principles that make it so great. There is no denying the fact that Trump’s attitude, policies, and remarks have resembled a dictator more so than any other American President in recent memory. After all, he said at the RNC, “I alone can fix this.” I’m going to give Trump the benefit of the doubt and believe that the comment slipped, and he didn’t fully mean what he said, but even if he partially meant it, I don’t want any part of it. If my high school history courses have taught me anything, it’s that America’s democracy is its greatest attribute. We can’t afford to risk letting any bit of it slip away.
Donald Trump is one of the most intelligent individuals in America; there’s a reason his business is so successful, and there is a reason he has gotten so far in this election season. He deserves a lot of credit, and it is remarkable how he as fared so well with the American voters. I’m a Trump supporter in terms of who he is as a businessman and as a human being. In terms of successful business leaders, he is one that I can learn from. However, that does NOT mean he is fit to lead our country. Running a business is NOT the same as running a country. There are certain qualities that a President must possess that a businessman does not necessarily need, and Trump does NOT have those qualities. Donald Trump becoming President can be a very dangerous thing. I don’t believe Donald Trump is an evil man; I just don’t believe his political unprofessionalism, his inexperience, his radical ideas, and his misleading campaign is beneficial for our country.
Trump has acquired power by instilling fear in the American people. Even though the economy has improved by nearly every measure over the past eight years, he makes it seem as if the economy is in one of the worst states it’s ever been. He is a phenomenal public speaker, and he is excellent at getting people to believe what he says. THAT is what has gotten him this far, and THAT is what makes him so dangerous. Similarly to what Adolf Hitler did to Germany during the Great Depression, Donald Trump is painting a dark picture for his country, and he is promising to fix it. You may want to believe it, but I certainly won’t fall for a non-politician’s claim that America is in a horrible place as a country, and that he is the only one fit to get us out of it.
It also frightens me that Donald Trump has no political experience. In what industry can a man with ZERO experience step in and take over the entire industry?!?! It’s unacceptable for that to happen to any industry, so we must make it unacceptable for that to happen to our ENTIRE COUNTRY.
Donald Trump is a risky choice for President, a risk I certainly won’t take. Hillary Clinton is no sunshine at the end of the rainbow, but she is Not Donald Trump. Therefore this November, the first Presidential Election I will ever get to vote in, I will be voting for the lesser of two evils. Essentially, I will be voting for Not Donald Trump, and hopefully America does too.
