The Debate About Trump

By: Jacob Peterson

Lead Photo Credit:  Ross Sneddon

Is Donald Trump, our current president, as bad a guy as the media paints him to be? I think many people across the country would give an emphatic yes to this question, but I also think many people have decided to think with their hearts instead of their minds. 

This presidency is the most controversial and emotionally charged since Andrew Jackson, a populist who rose to presidency in a surprisingly similar fashion to Trump. The people who live in this country care for it and the ideals it represents deeply, and I believe this care can often lead to a subjective viewpoint of the situation. I offer not objective wisdom, but perhaps a bit of love for one of the most hated men in America. 

Trump has done some objective good for this country, especially for the people that voted him into office. Unemployment has dropped, economic growth has increased, and some five million jobs have been created. From the working-class perspective, Trump has brought great prosperity into this country.

 Some might argue that this country was already prosperous, we just have a habit of spending our money in frivolous ways. Regardless, money is now in the pockets of many that might not otherwise be in that position. This is surely enough to maintain the rural and working-class vote in the upcoming election. 

I believe the most prominent reason for the hatred surrounding Trump falls onto his moral character. I think Trump has spread hate in this country, intentionally or not, and this in itself is perhaps more harmful than all the economic growth in the world does good. In a system without as many checks and balances as ours, a personality like Trump’s could potentially cause a lot of death, destruction, and loss of freedom.

 However, our system still stands in the face of tyranny, and prevents the hurricane of hatred, pride and lust for power that surrounds Trump from rampaging through this country. I am not so sure that this hurricane is itself Trump, or just the lifestyle that Trump has been thrust into. Trump was born a billionaire, and that is a perspective that is likely impossible to grasp by most. The money and power surrounding this man have clearly gone to his head. 

Although this does not excuse any of the hate he spills from his gullet, perhaps it provides a bit of insight into his psyche and life. None of us live perfect lives and many of us would fail at such a monumental task as running one of the most powerful forces in the world. I do not think Trump has entirely succeeded in running this country, but I do not think he has entirely failed either. 

Many things can be said about Trump, and many of those things might be true, but at the end of the day he is as human as you or I. Trump has feelings that can be hurt, he has an ego that can be fluffed and twisted, and he has wants and desires. Sometimes his wants and desires seem to get in the way of running this country for the rest of us, but we have a system that helps guard against abuses of power from people like this.

 We are in no perfect state, but perhaps with enough conflict and resolution, we may finally get humanity to a balanced state of existence. 

Let’s hope we don’t blow ourselves up before that time.