Between felony convictions, assisting in setting women’s rights back by almost 50 years and the general spewing of untruthful things during debates, newscasts and rallies, Donald Trump is simply not the right choice for the United States. To start things off, yes, according to the Constitution, Trump is qualified to run for president. He’s over the age of 35, he’s a U.S. citizen and he’s lived in the U.S. for over 14 years. However, when the founding fathers were writing the constitution the possibility of a literal felon running for president was never considered. Just because Trump meets those very basic requirements, doesn’t mean he should be back in office for another four years.
On top of that, Trump running for president just isn’t the best option for the Republican Party, considering that 6% of Trump voters would be less likely to vote for him due to the convictions according to a poll done by Quinnipiac University. That 6% could be the very difference between another four years with a Democrat in office or Trump leading yet again.
Adding to these critical votes, according to another poll done by Bloomberg and Morning Consult, 53% of voters in swing states would not vote for Trump on the basis of his felony convictions. With how close the past few elections have been, losing votes from these swing states could be absolutely detrimental.
Overall, it’s not smart for the Republican Party to push Trump as their top candidate because they’re losing votes from citizens who usually vote red. As seen in the 1920 election, with Eugene V. Debs only winning over 3% of the population, felons obviously aren’t very popular in the polls. At this point, the Republican Party is depending on Trump’s cult-like following to be their only way to bring him out on top.
On a more serious note, Trump’s influences on the Supreme Court over his first presidency were critical. He appointed 3 justices during his four years of running the country, those 3 being Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and finally, Amy Coney Barret who replaced Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
The first two replacements were normal, a Republican, retiring or otherwise leaving the position and having their sport taken by another Republican. But the replacement of Ginsburg was far less casual, after 27 years of serving, Gisburg passed away, leaving her Democratic spot to be filled by a Trump-appointed Republican.
This led to the Supreme Court to have a ratio of three Democrats and six Republicans, solidifying the conservative majority in the court. Having such a majority, the court was able to overturn Roe v. Wade and denied a proposal from President Joe Biden about LGBTQ+ protection in schools.
With some important cases like United States v. Skrmetti to be heard this year many Americans may be affected for the worse.
U.S. v. Skrmetti deals with laws in Tennessee and Kentucky that restrict some medical treatments for transgander minors, questioning whether or not these laws violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Given the conservative group, there is a high chance of a ruling that negatively impacts the young transgender community.
Aside from that, there are also many Kamala Harris and Biden supporters calling for two Democratic justices, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan to retire while Biden is still president to guarantee their spot is filled by another Democrat. No matter the results of Nov. 5, this is a great strategy considering the justices are 64 and 70 so if Trump does take office, he won’t have any more influence over the supreme court’s growing conservative majority.
The citizens of the U.S. should not have to worry about rights they gained so many years ago to be taken away from them. Whether it’s a woman’s rights to her own body and reproductive system or a teenager’s right to become the person they really are, it shouldn’t be taken away after years of having it. Which is why Trump’s influence on the court is so dangerous.
Finally, throughout the presidential debates, Trump has taken his anti-immigrant rhetoric too far by spreading false information saying Haitian immigrants in Springfield Ohio are “eating the dogs, […] eating the cats.” These laughable false claims have caused serious disruption in Springfield with 33 bomb threats being issued throughout schools in town.
Trump has also claimed that Harris is “allowing people to come through an open border, 13,000 of which were murderers.” Saying that immigrants have bad genes and promising to hold mass deportations if he is elected for four more years.
Along with his outlandish comments about immigrants, he has also suggested turning the military against “the enemy from within.” This enemy being the “radical left lunatics,” saying that they are doing more damage than the immigrants “destroying the country.” This is suggesting that everyone other than his supporters are a threat to this country, or rather, his chance of regaining presidential status.
Last week, Trump had a rally in Philadelphia that was interrupted, so he opted to stop accepting questions and instead played his background music louder while dancing on stage. This continued for 30 minutes before he made his exit during the song “Memory” from the musical “Cats.”
Trump’s whole campaign is bizarre between all of his extreme views and pure immaturity when discussing his plans for the country. A convicted felon should never step foot into the office of the president. With the power to deport families, appoint radical judges and turn the military against the people of the United States.
