Saturday 9 April 2016

5 Reasons Donald Trump Could Make a Great President


 
Many people consider Donald Trump an embarrassment and a major liability for America. They can’t believe a man of Trump’s calibre has made it this far in the presidential race. 

To others Trump is breath of fresh air, someone who is not afraid to speak his mind and say what he thinks they want to hear. 

If you fall into the former camp, don’t despair.  While an openly racist, misogynistic and torture-loving president might not seem like good news for everyone, there is always a silver-lining.

Below are 5 reasons why Donald Trump is actually the perfect candidate for the Oval Office.

1.      His privileged upbringing and billionaire status make Trump an ideal representative of rampant capitalism. Many people believe that the Don is a self-made man, but like so much about him, this is false.


Trump built his own fortune on the back of his father’s wealth which was amassed through government subsidies for low-income housing. Trump started out with a ‘small’ $1 million loan from his father followed by an estimated $40 million inheritance in 1974.


It can’t be denied that Trump’s life has been one of extreme privilege and wealth. With no experience or understanding of the struggles of ordinary people, Trump is the perfect person to preside over an economic system which rewards the speculation and greed of the few at the expense of the many.


2.      Trump can rid the nation of the scourge that is political correctness.  By having the guts to claim that the vast majority of Mexicans crossing the border are drug-runners, criminal and rapists he’s made it possible for others to stereotype with impunity. This enables disgruntled white people to lose sight of the real source of their problems by blaming the nearest brown person.


Trump’s views on Muslims are just as enlightened, and his solutions to the problem of unwanted foreigners on American soil are sheer genius.  Building a wall between the United States and Mexico, and halting the entry of all Muslims into the country, may not be even remotely practical measures, but they sure do appeal to the right people, and that’s what counts in politics today.


3.      As if his racist comments and dog-whistle politics weren’t enough to recommend him, Trump’s roots in the race-hatred run even deeper. His father, Fred Trump, was arrested at a Klu Klux Klan rally in Queens in 1927 and he also had a civil rights lawsuit filed against him for refusing to rent his properties to black people.


With much of Europe moving in a rightward direction in its scapegoating of refugees and Muslims, Trump is truly a man for the times.  His racist pedigree and enthusiastic use of race baiting throughout his campaign prove that he would be more than comfortable strutting the global stage with other racist world leaders.


4.      Trump has no commitment to the truth whatsoever. His ability to not just bend the truth but discard it completely is unparalleled in recent history. What makes this even more astounding is that many people know he’s lying and don’t care. For them it’s part of his charm and they are impervious to actual evidence.


The ability to tell bare-faced lies without flinching is an excellent quality for a president to possess. This skill comes in very handy when invading other nations under false pretences, or talking up the economy when everyone knows it’s a pile of dog shit.


5.      The man loves war and is enthusiastic about torture. He’s said as much in interviews: “I’m good at war…I’m really good at war. I love war in a certain way, but only when we win.”

 
While this may set alarms bells off for lefty pacifist types, especially when combined with his other fascistic qualities, it does make him well suited for the role of president.  Trump’s desire to win and his demonstrated refusal to be restrained by any moral and ethical considerations could make for some interesting times ahead!


Donald Trump might not be everyone’s cup of tea it’s true, but his qualifications for the top job are undeniable. Given the chance he could take America to places many had never believed possible.

Trump, Violence and the Right to Free Speech




Given Trump’s enthusiastic support for violence against protesters at his rallies, it’s not surprising that he’s been hit with a lawsuit. Three people have filed a complaint against the candidate claiming they were racially abused and threatened with violence at a rally in Kentucky.

Trump’s encouragement of violence has been well documented. He’s defended the violent actions of his supporters in the past by saying they were overcome by their love for America. From New Republic:

They don’t like seeing bad trade deals, they don’t like seeing higher taxes, they don’t like seeing a loss of their jobs where our jobs have just been devastated. And I know — I mean, I see it. There is some anger. There’s also great love for the country. It’s a beautiful thing in many respects.”

Notwithstanding the belief that liberals love big taxes, this statement could equally be applied to those who are protesting against Trump. Protesters clearly love their country enough to get out there and take a stand against what they see as a very dangerous turn in politics.

To Trump and his supporters the protesters are “professional troublemakers” and “puppets of the institutional left.” Andrew Marcus, a filmmaker who recorded a protest in Chicago, put it in a nutshell. From Hannity.com:

This was a premeditated act of harassment and intimidation to shut down the Trump event but wrapped in a message of stopping the hate.

Trump supporters on the other hand, are seen by opponents as racist red-necks who are more than a little crazy. This impression was reinforced by John McGraw, the 78 year-old white man dressed in cowboy gear, who sucker-punched a protester as he was led away by police. From Inside Edition:

Number one, we don’t know if he’s ISIS…We don’t know who he is, but we know he’s not acting like an American,” he added. “The next time we see him, we might have to kill him.

His victim was RakeemJones, an African-American man who attended the rally as a "social experiment" with a "diverse group" consisting of a gay man, a white woman and a Muslim.


While this conflict seems to symbolize in a potent way the great divide that has opened up in American politics, what is actually does is obscure the middle ground made up of those who are attracted not so much by Trump’s race-baiting but by his promise to bring back jobs and restore manufacturing. These are the people who have been hit hardest by deindustrialization and the loss of job security. Student Kyle Netzle made this clear at a rally in Wisconsin. From Alternet:

What I think is the biggest thing for me is that if he is able to bring back big corporations like manufacturing back to America that would be great. I'm in school for welding so that would be big.

It’s true these supporters are vulnerable to slogans and easy answers, but they also see a vote for Trump as a way of sticking it to the Establishment, which in their eyes includes the proponents of identity politics who they have been taught to see as their enemies.

It’s easy to write these people off as deluded and uneducated, but they have much more in common with anti-Trump protesters than they realize. All of them are angry and worried about the state of American society. All of them are yearning for change. Considering how ugly and divisive the political contest has become, is there a better way of reaching these people?

Fox’s Megyn Kelly may actually have made a good point when she commented on a recent protest in Chicago. From MediaMatters:

Is this the way to shut down the ability of Chicagoans and those who have traveled in some cases for miles and miles and waited for hours and hours to get in, to have their say and hear him for themselves? For all these people know, they weren't Trump supporters. Maybe that gentleman would have walked away saying "You know what? He's not for me." We'll never know now, because they shut down their right to listen.

Do protests at Trump rallies make a real difference or do they create more hostility among the very people the protesters should be trying to reach? It seems Trump’s popularity might finally be waning but the discontent which attracted people to him is still very real and could easily be exploited by another politician. There’s a desperate need for genuine communication in America today. Maybe it’s time to stop judging and start listening.