OPINION: Trump, Underneath the Orange Skin

By Simran Kalkat, Courier Managing Editor

With less than two weeks left until the Election Day, Americans are left to choose between candidates that might just be two of the most disliked contenders for the presidency: Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Donald John Trump. This article is not meant to endorse either candidate, but to share my opinion on why Donald Trump does not deserve to be our next president.

There shouldn’t be any doubt in saying that Donald Trump does not have the same experience that many presidential candidates have usually had. Although the Constitution only requires a candidate to be at least 35 years of age, a resident “within the United States for 14 years” and a “natural born Citizen,” it would not be logical for us to elect a man with very little experience in the political world.  

Many have argued that Trump’s business career will be a valuable asset to the country’s economic growth. However, it is important to remember that a businessman with a reputable name isn’t the same as a qualified president. Furthermore a study by an independent research institution, Tax Policy Center, has concluded that Donald Trump’s tax proposals would be responsible for the fall in federal revenue by $6.2 trillion in the first decade, and an increase in federal debt by $7.2 trillion.

Donald Trump has also proven that he is unfit to make decisions for this country’s foreign policy. In July, Trump shocked many Americans, Republicans and Democrats alike, when he said that he might not honor the NATO military alliance. His reasoning was that unless the countries meet the mandatory two percent commitment of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to defense, they cannot expect to rely on American assistance. What Trump has failed to acknowledge is that if Russia gets any indication that the United States would not intervene in a conflict with one of their NATO allies, Russia will be more likely to their assert military influence. This is just one example of the many highlighting Donald Trump’s lack of knowledge in international relations, and ignorance on policy issues, therefore making him unfit for the presidency.

However, there is nothing worse than the fact that Donald Trump shows complete disrespect for almost every American citizen. It is not okay for a potential President to call an entire group of people rapists or criminals. Trump brags about being the President that will bring revolutionary immigration reform with his “extreme, extreme vetting” process, completely forgetting that United States is already the nation with the strictest and longest resettlement process. He wants to implement a religious test, which might make the United States one of the only nations with a religious test to enter the country.  This country was based on religious freedom for all Americans. However, with Donald Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Even Serge Kovaleski, a reporter with a disability, couldn’t be spared from Trump’s disparaging and derogatory remarks. It was never okay for Donald Trump to have made any of these comments, no matter what the context might have been. It doesn’t matter if these statements were somehow supposed to be lighthearted or not literal.

A few weeks ago a 2005 recording of Donald Trump made its way into the public. This tape is not problematic because Donald Trump talks about his attraction to women, regardless of its explicit content, but rather because he boasts about kissing women without their consent. Trump goes on to say that his stardom allows him to “Grab [women] by the p—y”. This is sexual assault, a crime that cannot be tolerated from anyone, especially a presidential candidate.

Although this incident occurred ten years ago, there is a very small chance that Trump might have changed since. The sexual assault allegations against Trump aren’t isolated incidents. There are many women that have come out with sexual assault allegations against Trump before and after the tape was released. Defending Trump’s remarks as ‘locker room talk’ doesn’t justify anything, as it just perpetuates a culture in which such actions are permissible. The real way to know what someone’s character is to know who they are when nobody’s watching.

Trump is a sexist, a racist, and a bigot.