When the word “president” comes to mind, I think of a leader. I think of someone who fights for the rights of Americans. I think of a role model who treats people with respect. What I don’t picture in a president is somebody who disregards the less fortunate, somebody who bluntly disrespects others, and above all, somebody who goes against what America represents: hope.
The race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump to be the 47th president of the United States has divided our country. One of the most common reactions I’ve heard from voters this season is, “I don’t know who to vote for, they’re both bad.”
Are they both bad? Or — as is my opinion — is one candidate clearly the most unprofessional presidential candidate in history?
Trump is utterly unfit for the role of president.
The most obvious answer as to why he is unfit is that Trump is a convicted felon. In July, he was found guilty of 34 felonies for falsifying business records. This scandal involving Trump and his then-attorney Micheal Cohen orchestrated involved thousands of dollars of hush money that Trump concealed over months of false business entries. In Trump’s bank account, 11 phony checks were found, with his signature on nine of them, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
It’s ironic how we have a convicted felon running against a former prosecutor, and people still question who the lesser evil is.
Additionally, treating others with respect isn’t very hard to do. For Trump, it’s a hard phenomenon he can’t seem to master, especially when it comes to women. Some of his interests include peeking into pageant dressing rooms full of underage girls, according to BuzzFeed. Former Miss Vermont Teen USA, Mariah Billado, told the website, “I remember putting on my dress really quick because I was like, ‘Oh my god, there’s a man in here.”’ There is also the infamous video footage of Trump saying horrible lewd and sexual things about women in 2005 while preparing for a “Days of our Lives” appearance. At one point, the footage shows Trump saying, “And when you’re a star they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab ‘em by the pussy.” Still, in this day and age, women’s bodies are disrespected — especially by Trump, who is trying to take away the right for women to have access to abortions.
There is even more video evidence of Trump being blatantly disrespectful to immigrants and people with disabilities. At a 2016 presidential rally, he mocked a disabled reporter, moving his hands and face in a derogatory way, even changing the way he spoke. The footage is available on CNN’s YouTube page under the title, “TRUMP MOCKS REPORTER.” In the most recent presidential debate between Trump and Harris, he made wildly racist and false claims against immigrants, saying, “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there.” Immigrants are humans and it is extremely harmful and dangerous to be projecting those types of false claims onto minorities.
Power is a very scary thing because when it’s in the wrong hands, a lot can go wrong. Trump is a terrible influence on the American people. He spoon-feeds the MAGA cult lie after lie. It’s at the point where his followers refuse to hold him accountable for anything. He almost literally led a MAGA mob to raid the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021, following a rally he held in protest of the 2020 election results, which he claimed were rigged. The last words of his speech were, “We fight. We fight like hell and if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore. So let’s walk down Pennsylvania Avenue.” At the Capitol, MAGA followers had a literal noose waiting outside to hang former Vice President Mike Pence. Approxiamtely 140 officers were injured that day, but in a recent interview with NBC News Trump referred to Jan. 6th as a day of love,” calling the rioters “patriots.”
The uproar among MAGA followers is, in my opinion, psychotic. Trump has given his supporters an excuse to act upon their racist, prejudiced and misogynistic beliefs. If Trump wins, it will change our democracy as we know it. I could write on and on about more horrific and unacceptable things Trump has done, whether it’s his secret phone calls with Vladimir Putin, allegedlycalling fallen soldiers “suckers and losers,” or the multiple connections to Hollywood sex rings of which he has been accused. Trump has and will continue to humiliate himself. With dozens of people coming out to speak against him after working under his presidency, MAGA supporters continue to make up excuses in his defense. I have a piece of advice for the MAGA cult: Just because you didn’t win, doesn’t mean an election is rigged. If you aren’t MAGA, please vote, because we are not going back.