Why I’m Voting
When Trump was elected president in 2016 I wasn’t sure about him. In the four years since his victory I am now sure that he is a demagogue, which is defined as, “A political leader who seeks support by appealing to the desires and prejudices of ordinary people rather than using rational argument”. Trump has used the “bully pulpit” of the presidency to divide this country and to create confusion on the pandemic leading to the death of more people and threatening the economic well-being of the average American. In my opinion, he is the worst president the United States has ever had.
Trump admires Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln is famous for saying prior to the civil war, “A house divided against itself cannot stand”. Trump is the most divisive president in this country since Jefferson Davis. He has pitted Americans against each other. Our governor was threatened by extremists after Trump called for the liberation of Michigan. There is an ammunition shortage in this country, caused by the overwhelming demand for it, which is a sign of the great fear people have of a rebellion or being assaulted, stoked by the president’s thoughtless rhetoric.
Trump has failed as a leader during the pandemic. He has delegated the fight against the pandemic to the state governors. He has blamed certain governors for the pandemic crisis. The pandemic is a world and national problem needing leadership at the national level. It’s similar to fighting a major war. In World War II if President Roosevelt had let the governors manage the war we would have a much different world today. Trump in his demagoguery has blamed everyone else but himself for his failures. It’s easier to be a critic than an achiever.
Trump claims to be the “Law and Order” president. Al Capone was a vicious criminal but the authorities couldn’t remove him from his criminal empire until they convicted him of income tax evasion. Someone who achieves great wealth and doesn’t pay taxes such as Trump is likely a tax cheat. As an accountant, I know that the tax laws are not that generous. Trump will likely be known in the future history books as the “Tax Evader in Chief”. He also has been implicated in bank and insurance fraud. He obstructed justice in investigations of wrong-doing. He is the biggest con artist to ever have been president. We in Detroit thought Kwame Kilpatrick was a con artist but he had nothing on Don-Con.
Honesty and integrity are core values of civilized people. Trump, in my opinion, thinks these values are for suckers and losers and something to be taken advantage of.
The one area that Trump gets great undeserved credit for is the economy. The economy was built on debt that will eventually have to be paid or defaulted on. While Trump has not been responsible for all the current national debt creation he has contributed the highest amount of debt in a first term of any president in history with $3 trillion in 2020 alone. Any president can create short term economic prosperity by debt spending. Trump’s successors and our children and grandchildren will struggle with having to pay for it.
Donald Trump and his businesses have had 6 bankruptcies. It’s ironic that if he has four more years as president he likely will bankrupt this country. Adolph Hitler spent his last days in a bunker in Berlin while his country was nearing the end of its total destruction. Hitler was a demagogue similar to Trump. In April 1945, as Hitler realized the end was near, in a final bit of trumpery, he was quoted as saying “It is not I who have lost the war, but the German people.” He added that the German people “deserve to perish”. This is what you get from demagogues — lies and ultimately ruin if people believe them and act upon their thoughtless rhetoric.
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men and women to do nothing, like not vote. Donald Trump, as president has taught us your vote is important. That is why, at the age of 64, I am voting for the first time in my life in this election year.
