The fact that Donald Trump has managed to survive this long in the presidential campaign simply bewilders me. A man who makes enemies of every last group in America (except the subsection of the white population that supports him) should not have made it out the gate, much less outlast some of the vastly better choices for president. But, he’s a serious candidate now, and this is a serious problem, for Republicans and the country at large.
Trump is running as a leading Republican candidate, but he spits on the conservative principles traditionally upheld by the party. For example, consider his plan to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Since there is no way his idea that Mexico will pay for the wall can work, if he wants the wall built, he would have to violate a core conservative concept: small government and low spending. Regardless of how conservatives may feel about the immigration situation which the wall would supposedly fix, they should not even consider a man who would have to spend $8 billion — hard-working white, Trump-supporting Americans’ tax dollars — to get this wall built when Mexico refuses to stand for such a racist demand, which it has done and will continue to do.
Anyone running for a specific political party ought to represent the ideals of that party; Trump endorses quite the opposite in some cases. He has rather liberal-leaning views in regards to abortion, gay marriage, health care and drug laws, issues that are major concerns to many Republicans, especially conservative Christians.
Not only does Trump fail to demonstrate his worthiness as Republican, he has also failed to show loyalty to the party. Trump has changed his political allegiance some five times since the ‘80s. This includes a not insignificant stint as a registered Democrat less than 20 years ago. He’s even previously endorsed Hillary Clinton. Clearly, this is the man Republicans should vote for — one who has endorsed conservatives’ worst enemy.
His changing party loyalties parallel his inconsistent claims and arguments during debates, to the point that he was parodied on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” as debating against himself. His inability to stick to a consistent set of political beliefs means that, with the exception of his more deeply held stances such as his border wall plan, the voters will not know what they are getting if they cast a ballot for Trump. Wild cards don’t make great candidates.
A presidential candidate is logically supposed to seek voters of different races, classes and genders, because this policy promises a maximum appeal to the American public. Trump, however, does nothing to court any type of minority. Granted, the Republican Party is not exactly the champion of much outside white male interests, but at least Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio try to appeal to, say, Hispanic voters. Still, only Trump has insisted on a border wall and failed to reject the Ku Klux Klan’s endorsement, alienating several minorities and therefore a sizable number of potential votes.
Trump is barely qualified to be president. Of course he can be, legally speaking, but he lacks the sort of political experience one can expect from a candidate. Not since Dwight D. Eisenhower has there been a president without at least some political experience — whether it is a term in the Senate, a term as governor or a vice presidency. All of Trump’s Republican remaining opponents have spent at least some time in a significant political office. Trump himself, however, is just a businessman who has never held any elected office. Even as a businessman, Trump has had major failings: Four of his businesses have gone bankrupt, and he has just shrugged the failures off. This isn’t exactly a great sign for any Trump economic policy.
Donald Trump is a bad choice for any Republican. He is not cut out to be a politician. And he is an insult to America. Quite the trifecta, I’d say.
