I’m tired of arguing with people over why Trump is unfit to run a country and not someone to be idolizing or supporting. I’m not trying to argue that being a good person will make you a good president, but the person who runs our country should care about everyone within it. In November of 2024 Trump has claimed he will once again be running for office and I, like many others, am overwhelmed by fear and despair that this is still even a possibility. Nobody should be supporting Trump after the things that he has said and done, and we need to prevent him from returning to office.
When I mention how Trump has said and done horrible things, I don’t mean just a long time ago. I don’t even mean just recently. This man has consistently managed to further oppress marginalized groups for decades and wreak havoc with his privilege and money as tools. One of his more public wrongdoings was the profiting and exploitation of the Central Park Five Case, a case in which five young men of color were wrongly accused of the rape and assault of a jogger in Central Park in 1989, to which Trump decided to speak on for his own gain. Trump put out what is depicted below, amidst expanding his father’s business and growing a name for himself.
https://images.app.goo.gl/MeWFf6btEvjAd6cU6
By placing his harsh views in the public eye (and in multiple newspapers with his name written across it), he was able to paint himself as a defender of the law, and paint five- later proven innocent- boys as guilty, calling them reckless, dangerous, and worthy of being “executed.” Each man (all boys at the time) wrongly spent between five and six years or over in prison. Within this Trump also defended police brutality and tried to validate its existence. He was about forty-three years old at the time. He never apologized and has said more recently that he never will.
Now, it’d be difficult to name all of Trump’s negative impacts on society, so I’m going to rapid fire a few. While in office, according to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Trump benefited from racial ideologies that, “amplified existing structures of enforcement and inhumane treatment of Latino immigrants.” This includes, but is not limited to, campaigning building a wall with border security, signed an order to increase ICE agents, used, “racist and dehumanizing rhetoric and policy actions,” and has influenced a “Trump Effect,” which is the encouragement and empowerment of individuals prejudice as a result of Trump’s influence. He and his administration also failed to take the Coronavirus pandemic serious, resulting in higher death and unemployment rates. He has openly had anti-vaccination attitudes and stated as well as promoted his anti-abortion (or pro-life) beliefs. If you still aren’t convinced Trump is a horrible person, here is a link to some quotes on things he has said about women.
https://theweek.com/articles/655770/61-things-donald-trump-said-about-women
What’s scariest about all of this is we let this man represent the United States AND RUN IT. So, how do we prevent this from happening again (other than pleading people to please just listen to the outcries of the groups oppressed by trumps influence)? Educate and advocate. Majority of Trumps voters, which were his key to success according to the Vox, were white, non-college educated voters.
https://www.vox.com/2021/5/10/22425178/catalist-report-2020-election-biden-trump-demographics
So, their lack of increase and, contrary to this, white college educated voters increase in voter turnout, proved useful to Biden in the next election. The relationship between education and voters for Trump can likely be attributed to things like bandwagon, propaganda by Trump, self interest, false information and an overall lack of understanding. However, many voters do probably know exactly what Trump has said and done and just don’t care because they are indifferent to others suffering, as many people are. What we need to do is get people to care. It’s not easy convincing people who don’t need help to offer it to those who do but generation by generation we are breaking down these poor values and analyzing the prejudices imbedded in our society to better it. This means advocating for better representatives who will cast more thoughtful votes, posting and reposting awareness to all sides of our politicians in order to help regulate knowledge about them, and boosting the voices of those being negatively affected by who runs our government- because the oppressed know and can identify the oppressor best so we should always believe them and listen.
ShoutOut! James Madison University 