Monday, October 24, 2016

Presidential Candidate Review: Donald Trump

As part of my political review for this election year, I will be review each of the presidential candidate. I will present a brief bio followed by a brief overview of his or her stance on the issues and reasons why I would and would not vote for each candidate. Today I will be reviewing Donald Trump:


Donald John Trump was born June 14, 1946 in Queens, New York to Fred and Mary Anne (nee MacLeod) Trump. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1968. He took control of his father’s real estate and construction firm in 1971 and renamed it “The Trump Organization.” Everyone is familiar with Mr. Trump. He has lived a life of luxury and often showed it off in television shows like Entertainment Tonight and Inside Edition. In the 90s and 00s, he had a popular reality show, The Apprentice, where he’d utter his famous line, “You’re fired.” In June 2015, he announced his candidacy for president and received the Republican Party nomination in July 2016. He is controversial to say the least.


His stance on the social issues is wide. He is pro-life with exceptions for rape, incest and the health of the mother. He opposes legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. He feels that same-sex marriage should be left up to the states. Trump supports a broad interpretation of the 2nd Amendment and opposed to gun control in general. He supports fixing the federal background checks by adding criminal and mental health records to the system. He opposes legalizing recreational marijuana but supports medical marijuana. For economic issues, he has called for the reduction of the corporate tax rate and the elimination of various business loopholes and deduction. Trump favors repealing the Affordable Care Act and replacing it with a different free market system. He also supports upgrading the Veterans Affairs facilities and getting rid of the backlogs and waitlists affecting the veterans. Trump supports school choice and local control for primary and secondary schools. He opposes the Common Core State Standards Initiative. He has pledged to cancel the Paris Climate Agreement which he claims treats the United States unfairly and favors countries like China in reductions of carbon emissions. The biggest issue Trump has talked about is immigration. Everyone is well aware he has proposed to build a wall on the US-Mexican border and plans to deport approximately 11 million illegal immigrants. Although in August 2016, he has hinted he has softened his position on the deportation. He now wants to focus on deportation for criminals, those with expired visas and other security threats.


I take issue with his campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again,” what America is he referring to? The America where if you weren’t a WASP, you weren’t considered important enough. The America where your country of origin, your religion, and your language mattered if you found a job, livable housing or even receive the other basics of life. The America where women didn’t have a voice except through their fathers and later their husbands. The America where children were forced to work in horrible conditions for little wages and no education. However, Trump isn’t the first one to use the phrase. Bill Clinton made the same statement of Making America great again in 1991, 1992 and in 2008 during Hillary’s US Senate campaign. Ronald Reagan also used the phrase in his 1980 presidential campaign. So a better slogan “Making American great for our future.”


I searched online to see what people were saying their reasons to vote for Trump. Some of the reasons were seriously laughable and I realized that I had to really think why I would vote for Trump. The main reason why I would vote for Donald Trump is he is the anti-politician. He isn’t the career politician that we are used to. Many supporters are tired of the status quo which had gotten our country nowhere. So much so that people are willing to radically vote for someone who is willing to challenge the status quo. If he can or will is another story. He is brash and in your face. He tells it like he sees it and doesn’t beat around the bush. However, the main reason why I would not vote for Donald Trump is he is vulgar and condescending. I don’t see him being respectful in a diplomatic situation. He’s a very toxic person. Another reason why I would not vote for Trump is he is thinned-skinned and vengeful. I don’t trust him as President especially with foreign leaders. I’m all for transparency; however I do not like Trump’s brand of candor. I will support someone who means what he says; however, I will not support someone who doesn’t do so calmly and respectfully. To do so without demeaning others is a quality of leadership.



Overall, I agree with his stance on some of the issues. I agree that the way things have been done is no longer working and this country needs a radical change. However, I don’t agree with all his proposals to implement those changes. My main concern about Mr. Trump is his personality and the way he behaves in the public arena. This is the man we truly want to represent us as the United States of America? I’m not sure. Is he the lesser of two evils? I’m not sure. What I am sure about is I will put more thought, consideration and prayer into my vote for president than I have in previous elections.   

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