Why Is Donald Trump Really Good/Bad for America? Essay Example

Why Is Donald Trump Bad for America?

by Lively Chante

Background

Have you ever felt so strongly about a topic in which there is a load of evidence supporting your opinion, but you don't know where to begin? I could start with talk of misdemeanors, assault, and racist behavior, years before the presidency. Or I could start with stories of the 2016 presidential campaign where speeches were given telling supporters to assault people with differing opinions or how talks were given behind closed doors with foreign nations. Or I could start with current day politics where reporters are banned from the White House, former presidential staff are being put on trial, and pivotal foreign and domestic humanitarian affairs are glossed over without a hint of empathy. There are so many places to begin in supporting my opinion that the 45th President of the United States, billionaire, playboy Donald John Trump is bad for the United States of America. However, only one place seems right:

Throughout most of my educational journey, my Social Studies courses have discussed the position of the President of the United States. As stated in the United States Constitution, those who take on this position have to be at minimum thirty-five years old, a born-US citizen and have lived in the country for the past fourteen years (Davis, Fernlund, & Woll, 2007). The president at any given moment personifies the nation’s power, purpose, prestige, and heritage (Graff, 1997). For the world, presidents symbolize, at the time of an election, our country’s hopes, expectations, and fears. This position is split into seven separate roles, each equally as important as the last: the Commander in Chief, Chief of State, Chief Executive, Chief Diplomat, Chief Legislator, and Party Chief (Davis, Fernlund, & Woll, 2007). While no president is flawless, I personally believe there has not been one man who has disrespected the duties of each of these seven roles more than number 45. For the purpose of this essay, three of these seven presidential roles (Chief Diplomat, Chief of State, and Chief Executive) will be used as examples of Donald Trump’s unacceptable treatment of the role of president and the road of the disaster he is leading the country down towards.

Research

Although the United States of America is known worldwide as a melting pot of cultures, religions, races, and differences, it has not embraced that melting pot fully. In recent years, our society has drifted from accepting our country’s diversity. This especially came to a turning point on November 8, 2016, when news stations worldwide confirmed Republican candidate Donald John Trump as the winner of the 2016 Presidential Race.

During the presidential race, Donald J. Trump ran on the slogan: “Make America Great Again”, citing his background in business made him more than qualified to be president. However, once put into this highly political role, Trump has floundered in the performative parts of the job, such as being Chief Diplomat and Chief of State. Every time he opens his mouth to play these roles, he only digs a deeper hole for himself and the direction of this country, making the country the opposite of great.

Since I am working on a minor in Global Engagement, I have studied many global leaders, and Donald Trump is not on that list. As the Chief Diplomat, the president is the most important representative of the United States in relations to other nations (Davis, Fernlund, & Woll, 2007). In his past two years in office, Trump’s foreign policy has been to withdraw from key worldwide partnerships/agreements (Trans-Pacific Partnership, Paris Agreement, and the Human Rights Council), produce a travel ban on eight Muslim-majority countries, revisit NAFTA agreements, roll back ties with Cuba, deny funding for DACA and its DREAMers, and belittle other countries online with his twitter account (“Trump’s ForeignPolicy Moments,” n.d.). This is the opposite of a global leader, a person who thinks globally, appreciates cultural diversity, builds partnerships and alliances, and encompasses cooperativity and delegation.

In addition, while over our nation’s foreign policy, Donald Trump has a love-and-hate relationship with many other foreign nations. Certain countries, such as those from the Korean peninsula, the Middle East, and Europe, received his personal admiration and recognition. Trump personally believes he single-handedly brought about the meeting with the South Korean and North Korean leaders, which was validated in a letter for nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize. Repeatedly, he adamantly states Russia has done no wrong in reference to American politics and the 2016 presidential election. Currently, Trump is dealing with the backlash and inaction of the Jamal Khashoggi assassination in Saudi Arabia. While these countries hold his attention, others receive his scorn. Since day one of his campaign, Trump has been advocating for a $5 billion wall across the US-Mexican border, stating the immigrants who cross the border are “drug dealers, criminals, rapists” (“‘Drug dealers, criminals, rapists’: What Trump thinks of Mexicans,” 2018). Then in January 2018 in reference to immigrants from African, Caribbean, and Latin American countries, Trump asked: “Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?” (Barron, 2018). Overall, the consequences of this favoritism and appalling foreign policy are a loss of influence with American allies as well as a loss of credibility in American values overseas (Byman, 2018). Nevertheless, Trump will most likely not see the consequences during his remaining term, leaving this mess for his successor.

On the other hand, as Chief of State, the president is expected to speak for the whole nation and every type of American, expressing the goals and wishes of the American people. They stand for national unity that overshadows the differences between political parties, races, and cultures (Davis, Fernlund, & Woll, 2007). In his first State of the Union address earlier this year, Trump spoke on these values of national unity. Yet surprisingly, none of these values are put into practice as he widens the gap of differences between the American people. For example, many of his campaign supporters were followers of the extremes: neo-Nazi’s, racists, and conservatives, those who come together against those who are different. Since he knows this is his support in the office, he does not openly condemn those people for their actions. After the violence at the Charlottesville white nationalist rally in 2017, Trump said, "You had some very bad people in that group, but you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides,” (Rascoe, 2018). This is one example of many where Trump’s rhetoric lacks empathy and conviction towards those harmed and those in the wrong (Drezner, 2018). In addition, he avoids the facts given for issues, such as climate change. For a country inching towards embracing its diversity and listening to the concerns of all its citizens, Trump’s speeches and actions take America back to a more derisive time. As an African-American woman attending university, I can see the ripples of his rhetoric and actions around campus and in the news every day. This is a world where I have gained fear of what the next day will bring.

Nevertheless, the one role I can see this president has embraced fully is the Chief Executive. In simple terms, they are the head of the Executive Branch with the ability to make broad executive decisions on laws passed by Congress, to execute those laws, to produce executive orders and to appoint up to 4,000 executive branch officials (Davis, Fernlund, & Woll, 2007). Within the first 100 days of office, this president signed 30 executive orders and 13 Congressional Review Act resolutions, as well as enacted 28 laws (“President Trump’s 100 Days of Historic Accomplishments,” 2017). While many of the orders have been revoked as unconstitutional or unrealistic, some of them are still in action. With the singular focus of a businessman in charge, Trump follows his ego for the process of any executive actions done (Drezner, 2018). In his two years in office, Donald Trump has banned reporters from the White House for using their Freedom of Speech, placed people in office with backgrounds of sexual assault and rape, reversed Affirmative Action policies under the Obama administration, reduced funding for environmental programs, banned transgender individuals from the military (Lopez, 2018), and sanctioned a government shutdown (“US domestic policy | US news,” n.d.). Truthfully, even the one role Donald Trump enjoys contradicts against the statures of the other six roles, such as Chief Diplomat and Chief of State.

The position of the President of the United States of America is more than living in the White House and getting to ride in Air Force 1. It is a position enriched with 242 years of history and 44 presidents before this one. This position is broken into seven main roles for a reason, and none of those roles should be taken lightly. To be President of the United States means you have to handle each and every role efficiently. Each role means you are a symbol for someone or something, but the overarching role is to be a symbol of the United States. If the majority of the country is boycotting your policies, actions, and words, then there is a problem. If a majority of your original White House staff and cabinet members have quit or been fired from their post, then there is a problem. If the majority of your actions are done without clearance from your PR team, then there is a problem. If your actions are done as short-term goals without care for the long-term consequences, then there is a problem. As President of the United States, you are no longer representing yourself, but an entire melting pot of differences. But if you cannot respect the roles, you must undertake and the people you represent, then the 45th President of the United States of America is not an adequate symbol.

Conclusion

The question, “Is Donald Trump good or bad for America?”, is one of the most nuanced questions of today’s current socio-political climate. From politicians to your ordinary Joe on the street to those who live halfway across the world, everyone has a different answer and a different perspective every day. For me, I can understand those different perspectives, but only one answer stands out to me based on my experiences, the experiences of my community, and the everyday news. In the short time of two years, Donald John Trump has enabled supporters of hate, placed incompetent people in key positions of power, lied to the press, denied the press access, coined a new phrase (Fake News), and changed the world upside down. He started sending America down a slippery slope of racism, misogyny, discrimination, and ignorance, the opposite of the American values. As the comedian, John Mulaney said, “It’s like there’s a horse loose in a hospital. I think eventually everything’s going to be okay, but I have no idea what’s going to happen next” (“JOHN MULANEY: KID GORGEOUS AT RADIO CITY (2018) - Full Transcript,” 2018). Sadly, everything will get a lot worse before it can even begin to be better. For all these reasons, Donald John Trump is a bad influence on the United States of America I want the next generation to grow up in.

References