President Donald Trump Does Not Deserve a Chance

 

 

Photo provided by: The New York Times
Photo provided by: The New York Times
Matt Monroe
Webmaster

Since Donald J. Trump was elected president on Nov. 8, 2016, I’ve consistently heard one excuse about the now-President of the United States: “Give him a chance.” And while this phrase has good intentions, anyone who has followed Trump’s campaign, his transition, and now his presidency can say “no.”

From the beginning, Trump has proven to be grossly incapable of handling the presidency, from his hateful rhetoric, numerous conflicts of interest, Cabinet picks, complete lack of experience in government and the amount of lies he and his team have spewed out over the course of a year and a half.

We, the American people, have essentially just elected a con man. While he ran on an anti-establishment platform, some of the people currently surrounding him in his staff are about as establishment as it comes. Let’s take a look at a few.

Rex Tillerson, Trump’s pick for secretary of state, is the former CEO and chairman of ExxonMobil, the largest oil refiner in the world. Also, he is known for his close business ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who awarded Tillerson the Order of Friendship in 2013.

Then there’s billionaire Betsy DeVos, Trump’s pick for Secretary of Education, who’s a major advocate for charter schools and school vouchers that has never attended or administered a public school.

During her Senate confirmation hearing, she also said that it was “possible” that her family has collectively donated $200 million to Republicans over the year.

And how could I forget Steven Mnuchin, Trump’s pick for Secretary of the Treasury. He’s a former partner of Goldman Sachs and hedge fund manager who initially failed to disclose $100 million in assets before his Senate hearings.

Additionally, OneWest Bank, where he served as CEO from 2009 to 2015, was accused of aggressively foreclosing on homeowners.

Trump’s campaign ran on about three main platforms/promises: Make America Great Again, Drain the Swamp, and Lock Her Up. So far, he’s failed on two of those, as he’s assembled the richest Cabinet in recent history and during a “thank you” rally in Michigan, said that he doesn’t care about prosecuting Hillary Clinton after the crowd chanted “lock her up.”

So, if he’s already seemingly backed down on two of these promises, what makes you think he’s going to keep his first one? For Donald Trump, making America great again means making he and his friend’s bank accounts great again. While he claims to be working for the people, it’s clear to me he’s only working for himself.

And despite how this article comes off, I want Donald Trump to be a good president. I want to give him a chance. However, from looking at the facts, it is impossible to give him a chance. While I’ve already come to this conclusion, I just have to hope the American people come to it too before 2020.

mmmonroe@lc.edu

 

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