Donald Trump: everywhere you look, from your Facebook and Twitter feeds to cable news channels, you cannot escape his name. Ever since announcing his candidacy for the presidency on June 16th, 2015, Donald Trump has dominated conversations across the United States. At first, his candidacy was easily dismissed by the political pundits as a mere publicity stunt to increase revenue for his businesses. At the time, nobody expected his meteoric rise and eventual nomination by the Republican Party after the primaries this summer. However, in a few days, American citizens will visit the polls and millions of people are expected to vote for Donald Trump.
No matter what your political beliefs are, whether you lean right, left, or are independent, you have to agree that Donald Trump is not the prototypical presidential candidate. Personally, I do not think he inspires the same confidence and trust that past presidential candidates have. Simply put, he does not have the composure or temperament to lead as the President of the United States.
However, Donald Trump’s disposition isn’t the only think that makes me uneasy about him. His language, antics, and his tendency to easily bend the truth to favor himself are all factors that should make anyone hesitant about voting for him. For example, during the 15 months of his campaign thus far, Donald Trump as done the following. First, during his speech in which he announced his candidacy, Donald Trump generalized Mexicans as being rapists, only some of whom, he assumes, are good people. Second, he has called for a complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States (which is entirely unconstitutional). Third, he has encouraged supporters at his campaign rallies to physically harm any protesters, and later saying he would pay for their court fees. Fourth, he gloated about sexually assaulting women, and when confronted, he completely dismissed the issue. Fifth, he has openly mocked a disabled New York Times writer at a rally. It still blows my mind to think that, even after saying and doing all these things, people are still seriously considering voting for him as president.
Over the past several weeks as we have gotten closer to this week’s election, I have tried to think about how we got to this point with Donald Trump as a serious presidential candidate. I mean, how could a person who has said and done all the things he has ever be taken seriously? How should we expect foreign dignitaries to respect his leadership? How can we trust him to faithfully execute the highest office in the country and to lead as the leader of the free world? I believe that one of the reasons why Donald Trump has been so popular and has garnered so many supporters is due to his words. His often hate-filled speech appeals to people’s implicit biases, and it makes people think that using vitriolic language is acceptable. After all, if a presidential candidate from a major party can call Mexicans rapists and laugh off sexual assault accusations, why can’t the average citizen? Essentially, he has destigmatized racism.
I am excited, yet also scared, about what the election results will hold come Tuesday night. All I can do now is hope and pray that the people of the United States will think carefully before voting for their next president.
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