Trump is our President

Donald Trump is now the President of the United States of America.  I NEVER thought I would have to make that statement, but whether we like it or not, he has been sworn in and is leading our country...in some kind of direction.  But in what direction will he take us?  I think that is on the minds of at least half of the country.

Some of the most uneducated and closed-minded people I know were huge Trump supporters.  Throughout his campaign, Trump thrived on hate speech and rode on the backs of the close-minded, angry, and ignorant.  He encouraged hatred and incited fear towards Mexicans and Muslims.  Mr. Trump was caught on a hot mic talking about grabbing a woman “by the pussy”.  He gave speeches about how bad America has become and how he can “Make America Great Again”.  The crowds of people who went to Trump’s rallies seemed to be full of racism, sexism, and hatred.  The gun-toting people of the NRA backed his candidacy as did the white supremacists of the Ku Klux Klan.  This made me think the America, which apparently was so great and is no longer, to which Trump would return, would be a time of racism, sexism, anti-Islam sentiments, anti-LBGTQ support, etc.  The progress our country has made in the past few decades seemed like it would be wiped away by a Trump presidency…because of all of the ignorant, angry people in America.

But interestingly, towards the end of the race, I realized some of the most informed and most educated people I know were also Trump supporters.  Let me rephrase that-some of the most well-informed people I know, if only given two choices, would choose Trump over Clinton.  I did not understand how people who supported Bernie Sanders, THE candidate for the people, could possibly vote for Donald Trump!  Trump stands for the complete opposite from humanity and equality.

How can one man attract such polar opposites of supporters?  And why would people who stand for gay rights, women’s rights, tuition free college educations, universal healthcare, and equality for all possibly think Donald Trump was a better option than Hillary Clinton?  Hillary Clinton has government experience, she obviously has the support of many well-educated people, and she is married to a former president!  So I did what I do when I don’t understand something: I researched.

In short, I can tell you why Donald Trump was elected, and I predicted it ahead of time based on my research, rather than just listening to the news stations.  Donald Trump was elected partially by his supporters, but for a large part, he won because many Americans think Donald Trump is less scary than Hillary Clinton; the truth about Hillary Clinton is that she is a scary, war-loving, loose cannon.  She says one thing, puts on a women’s lib and philanthropic front, all the while doing things that directly contradict what she says to the public.  The actions of our country spear-headed by her are killing thousands of innocent women and children on a regular basis.  I watched Clinton Cash and realized how very questionable the Clinton Foundation is.  I learned all about the TPP and found just how much she supported it for YEARS and only decided she did not support it once the public began to become aware of its repercussions to the American public.  I watched the debates and scrutinized both candidates.  It was very disconcerting to me that what I heard Trump arguing were the facts, and what Clinton argued was propaganda and/or outright lies. 

Trump is, well, TRUMP!!!  Here is the big difference between the flaws of Hillary Clinton versus those of Donald Trump: with Trump, for the most part, what you see if what you get but with Clinton, you have NO idea what you are going to get.  Trump’s opinion on different issues varies as much as the tint of orange the makeup artist uses on his face.  The amount of narcissism in that man makes me want to throw up in my mouth.  His immature rants on Twitter are ridiculously unnecessary and unprofessional.  But when it comes to some of the major issues at hand, he actually stands for some of the issues for which Bernie fought so hard. 

What is that you say?  Hillary Clinton is the most progressive Democratic candidate to ever run.  But was she really progressive…or did she agree to basically adopt Bernie’s platform in an effort to win over Bernie supporters? (To her dismay, we are not that dumb.) She called the TPP the “gold standard in trade agreements”, she wanted to enforce a no-fly zone in Syria which would lead to war with Russia (which, might I mention, she contributed to the cause of the Syrian war), she supported the Iraq war, and she lied to Congress.  Bernie Sanders does not stand for any of those ideals.  But Donald Trump opposed the TPP from day 1, he wants to ease tensions with Russia in an effort to avoid war, he did not support the Iraq war (despite the media saying he did), and while he lies about all kinds of things, he has not yet lied to Congress.

Bernie Sanders supporters learned all of the things she has done that have been swept under the rug…and somehow escaped prosecution.  If you don’t know what I am referring to, research Hillary Clinton…the good and the bad.  You will see.

The Bernie supporters-the true, die-hard, Bernie or Bust people-had basically one choice to make after the Democratic National Committee rigged the election: vote for Jill Stein, who had an almost identical platform as Bernie, or vote for Trump, because even with all his bad, he is not as bad as Hillary.  Trump was a bad candidate, and may be a bad president, but he is not evil.  Hillary, on the other hand, has done outright evil things throughout her life and would lead us into war as soon as she was sworn in.

I voted for Jill Stein.  I did believe she COULD win, because numerically, it was possible, but I did not thing she WOULD win because I know Americans do not trust the system enough to vote on platform alone.  This was particularly true since Jill was not running as a Democrat or Republican.

As you know, Donald Trump is now our president.  His acceptance speech was remarkably respectable…compared to his other speeches.  His rhetoric since has seemed to attempt to bring people together from both sides.  His inaugural speech was also an attempt to unify and was quite diplomatic.  Thus far, in his few days of presidency, he has seemed to become somewhat presidential.

But what is the deal with his cabinet choices?  Some of the people he nominated are completely WRONG for the positions!  How could a man who opposes climate change get put in charge of the EPA?  And why would he nominate for Secretary of Education a woman who has no experience in education and has never attended (or had children who attended) a public school?  I hope and pray those candidates do not get the necessary approval and that they are somehow replaced with people more suited for the positions, although I am afraid that will not happen.

If nothing else, President Trump is sure to be like no president in the past; he will do things his way, which is very different from anyone who has ever held that office.  He is sure to bring about some changes, whether good or bad.  I am going to try to give him a chance, and you should too, since he is now our president and we're stuck with him.