Trump won. The people have spoken, and I accept the outcome. However, I'd like to clear up the record for those who claim they voted for this man because the last time he was in charge he did a good job. In my view, he did not do a good job. In order to make my case, I will use his own words whenever possible. It is those words and data that I believe will show Trump was a poor choice for president this time around.
"Mobile Morgue" Outside a Hospital in Hackensack, New Jersey U.S., April 27, 2020, COVID Pandemic
Credit: Lawrence Purce. Used under CC 1.0 license.
I'll consider his management of the pandemic, crime statistics, economic factors, his record on peace keeping, his inclination toward violence and his poor understanding of history.
The Pandemic. He led with ignorance, and dishonesty. His lack of transparency led many to behave unwisely and also led to a loss of trust in institutional actions. Here is an article that describes what it was like at Elmhurst Hospital, NY, in March of 2020.
In the video below Trump displays his ignorance of human biology and basic medical principles.
In this video (below) he expresses repeatedly a belief that the virus was inconsequential and would disappear.
While telling the public the virus was harmless, he knew those statements were false. He admitted, later, that he knew as early as February 2020 that the virus was deadly and would pose a serious threat to national well-being. Here is a video in which he admits to having lied and in which he tries to justify lying to the people of the United States.
His ignorance about science and medicine, his inaction and his lies led to a catastrophic death rate from the virus, despite the advanced medical technology U.S. possessed. Note the chart below, which shows how the U.S. death rate from COVID was much higher than that in other developed nations. These are deaths per 100,000 for all ages (Chart provided by Statista).
Crime and Public Safety. It was difficult to find a chart showing rates through 2024. However, below this paragraph you will find a chart from SNOPES which shows crime rates in the U.S. from 1980 to the present. The chart clearly shows that there was no crime spree during the Biden Administration. If you read the article associated with this chart, the data and the historical significance of the data are explained in detail. The article affirms that that there was no violent crime surge by the end of the Biden Administration.
Economy. The sources for the following charts are:
U.S. GDP Historical Data: Macrotrends.net
National Debt: The Balance Money.com
Cumulative increase in hourly wages Statista
Annual Growth of Real Wages, Eurozone Statista
Real Wage Growth Forecast Around the World Statista
In the charts featured on those pages you are offered a snapshot of some economic vital statistics. In the charts, Trump years are compared to Biden years.
- National debt: Highest under Trump in 2020
- Real wages (which figures in the effect of inflation): While these declined under Biden, this was a post-pandemic global phenomenon. By comparison (look at the charts), the U. S. under the Biden Administration did better than the Eurozone.
- Real wage growth forecast. The U.S. wage forecast today, after four years of the Biden Administration, is better than that of almost every other developed country.
- GDP soared under Biden, especially in 2021, and plummeted under Trump in 2020.
No Wars: Trump and his followers often say there were no wars during his first administration. The actions noted below indicate that there was not peace during the Trump Administration. There was significant military action, and Trump was not averse to engaging in military conflict. All events noted below were initiated by Trump. The actions listed are not all-inclusive, but they are sufficient to prove that Trump was not a peace president.
The U.S. conducts the first direct assault on the Syrian government , April 7, 2017
Trump announces expansion of the scope of engagement in Afghanistan. He drops the "mother-of-all-bombs", the most powerful non-nuclear bomb, April 13, 2017.
U.S. war against ISIS. Air support, ground forces (U.S. troops) increase in both Syria and Iraq, 2017-2019.
2017-2019 U. S. conducts air strikes in Libya
"Major escalation of tension" between Iran and U.S.Escalates tension with Iran by ordering air strike on Iranian general in Baghdad, January 2020. Observers express concerns for wider war.
Character/Fitness for Office
Degrading women, and asserting the right to assault them sexually.
Ridiculing the disabled. In the video below he is mimicking a reporter, Serge Kovaleski, who has a condition called arthrogryposis.
- Promoting violence (Many instances, just a few of them noted below).
1.He suggests that former congressional representative Liz Cheney should have rifles pointed at her face.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-attacks-liz-cheney-says-she-wouldnt-be-a-war-hawk-if-guns-are-trained-on-her-face/ar-AA1tjPLS
2.Mocks Nancy Pelosi's 82-year-old husband, who was attacked in his home by a man wielding a hammer
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-mocks-paul-pelosi-speech-212408279.html
3.Suggests to followers at a rally that his followers "beat the crap" out of someone
https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-35793103
4.Tells the police to be 'rough' during an arrest. (The police clap and smile!!)
Autocratic Inclination
1.In this Truth Social post he calls for termination of the Constitution.
2.In his January 6 speech at the Ellipse he calls for ignoring parts of the Constitution that do not suit him.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?507744-1/trumps-jan-6-rally-speech
Poor Understanding of History
The U.S. Civil War. The country spent decades trying figure out a way to live with slavery. Laws were passed (Fugitive Slave Law). Supreme Court decisions were rendered (Dred Scott Decision). Compromises were crafted (Missouri Compromise). But, as the country grew and added more states to the Union, the South became convinced that numerically the slave states would be less powerful and free states would eventually prevail in Congress. It was this reality that impelled the South to secede. The slave states believed it was the only way to preserve their way of life. And yet, Trump cavalierly states that the Civil War could have been negotiated peacefully.
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Trump claims Andrew Jackson would have avoided the Civil War. Andrew Jackson died 16 years before the Civil War broke out. He was a slave holder who bought and sold slaves. He was a strong nationalist. When South Carolina tried to secede from the union in 1833, Jackson was ready to use troops to prevent the secession. Although Lincoln was president in 1861, at the start of the Civil War, and not Jackson, in a sense Jackson was there. Lincoln apparently used Jackson's response to the South Carolina secession crisis as a model to shape his own inaugural address. Thus, we know what Jackson would have done. It was exactly what Lincoln did.
Trump tells Zelensky "This is a war machine you're facing. That's what they (the Russians) do they fight wars. They beat Hitler. They beat Napoleon. We got to get this war over with." In fact, Napoleon's poor strategic planning beat Napoleon, not the Russians. The Russians merely repelled him. He invaded them. They didn't invade him. It is true that the Germans were defeated by the Russians on the Eastern Front, during a multi-front war. However, as one Russian general explained in his memoir, "If the United States had not helped us, we would not have won the war." Russia had assistance in defeating Germany. Meanwhile Russia did lose two wars in relatively modern times. Russia lost the Crimean War (1853-1856), and it lost the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905). Both wars were fought because Russia sought to expand into new territories. The war with Ukraine is a war of expansion. Winning a war of expansion is very different from repelling an enemy on your own territory.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/news/trumps-big-praise-for-russia-military-victories-tells-zelensky-to-back-off-against-putins-army/vi-BB1qGTfw#details
I know many people voted for this president because they agree with his proposed policies. This, for example:
Many people look past the man and focus on what he promises to do. But it is the man who will wield the power. To hand almost unlimited power to such a person, that's quite a risk voters are willing to take.
I wish the best for my country.
That's all I have to say about Trump and the election for now. Thank you for reading. Hive on!