Reconsider voting for Trump

Donald Trump’s campaign for President has taken the United States by storm. Many have bought into his act, and loyally pledge their support to everything he does. This is extremely problematic, mainly because Donald Trump should never be president. The reasons his supporters give for why they like him can be easily contradicted. Many of them like that he speaks his mind, isn’t a politician, is self-sufficient, and knows how to run a business.

The precise reasons that they like him are almost shallow when one remembers that the man is running for president. Many supporters only focus on his personality instead of discussing his policies more thoroughly. If a man is a serious contender to become President of the United States, shouldn’t supporters be more concerned about how his proposed policies might affect them?

First off, he wants to build a wall along the Mexican border to keep illegal immigrants out of the United States, AND make Mexico pay for the wall. Trump plans to make Mexico pay for the wall by restricting the amount of money that Mexican immigrants are allowed to send back to their family and friends. This might not even be possible to do; A New York Times article notes that many of these payments cannot even be tracked, and that it would be hard to enforce any law that Trump could put in place. Even if he could get past these conflicts, he still claims that this will hit Mexico’s economy hard, and they will be forced to pay for the wall. This may sound good in theory, but it will never work. According to an article from the New York Times, if Mexico was hit hard by this, as Trump wants, it would probably encourage EVEN MORE illegal immigrants to cross over the border due to a worse economy. Trump also wants to deport all of the illegal immigrants, which is not a feasible idea. A 2015 study by the American Action Forum estimates that the government would have to spend between 400 billion and 600 billion dollars to deport all 11.3 million undocumented immigrants. Who is going to pay for that? Taxpayers will have to carry this burden, but his supporters don’t think about that.

His reaction to criticism and his way of lashing out at others is also concerning. He seems to have no self-control when it comes to what he says. Supporters say that they like how he speaks his mind. But, with power, especially presidential power, comes responsibility. A President must take things seriously, and understand the consequences of what they say. Meanwhile, Trump spends a good chunk of his time trashing anyone he can on Twitter, including his fellow candidates, reporters, celebrities, and many more. Is Trump a businessman running for President or a high schooler starting drama on Twitter? Every time he is criticized, Trump gets very defensive and lashes out. As a president, Trump would have to deal with criticism; not every person will support a president. If he can’t handle criticism as a candidate, can he even handle it as a president? And what about meeting with other foreign leaders? That could be a disaster if Trump thinks they are insulting him and lashes out at our allies. Can a man with essentially zero foreign policy experience be trusted to be the face of The United States?

Many of Trump’s ideas, like these, appeal to voters who are fed up with the system. The ideas sound good, but only in theory. Realistically, Trump will have a difficult time accomplishing any of his plans in office. Supporters need to look more closely at Donald Trump’s policies  before they agree with everything he says. If we aren’t careful, his policies and personality could come back to haunt us in the future.