Trump is one of the first presidents that has openly shown his thoughts on social media for the world to see. This did help him in the elections because it was free advertising, yet I found that if you look back at so many of his posts that can be summarized as sexist, racist, and endorsing a rape culture in America. We as a country have normalized this behavior from the person that is supposed to be leading us and representing us across the world. We chose someone who does not know how to save face and pick up and clean up after themselves. He continually say outrageous things and has been continually accused of rape, sexual assault, and racist comments. As a society in America we have shown that this is okay solely by having him become President of our country. I find it very interesting that everyone has slowly become okay with him as his approval ratings have actually increased since he was put in office. He might have great economic policies and has helped the country economically, but his overall demeanor is showing young adults that if you act like he does then you can get anything you want, and do we really want more people like Trump directing our country.
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4 replies on “Trump”
Hi Sophia, I agree with many of your points, but I think it is important that we look at the unique set of circumstances regarding how Trump got elected and how his tweets impacted both his campaign and presidency. Trump’s tweeting and social media presence brought a level of intimacy with the American people that had never been available before. Thinking back in history, only Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “fireside chats” appear to share this level of direct contact with everyday citizens. And even these conversations and addresses happened far less frequently than Trump’s Twitter behavior. Still, despite his increased levels of contact, there is no excuse for an obscenities, racist remarks, or open misconduct of any kind. We need to draw a line with being “okay” with having a vocal president and still having standards and expectations for them to abide by. Unfortunately, this has not happened, and as you noted, an opposite trend has actually occurred over the course of his presidency. And while this can be seen as a good thing in terms of national unity, it does not mean that Trump embodies the ideal American president or even man. Granted, perhaps this attitude is beneficial for American global politics in the modern world, but the situation should still be examined in moderation. Trump may not be a model leader, but he has stayed true to his vocal personality and rarely backs down from challenges or opposition, an admirable quality that some nicer individuals would be unable to uphold.
Sophie, I agree with some of what you were saying, but I do not think that we as a country have normalized some of the behavior that Trump has portrayed previously in social media outbreaks. When some of those videos and tweets were surfacing, and the media got their hands on them, I don’t think many, if any Americans were on board with what Trump was saying. This being said I do not have an answer for why he got elected after some of his tweets were found out. Many others have said and done a lot less and have been prosecuted and judged much more.
Sophie, you make a lot of good points that I agree with. Trump does lack a filter in a lot of situations which has shown some of his true ideals. It is unfortunate that despite these slurs and offensive content he still doesn’t really seem to care. Although his approval ratings have gone up it is unfair to say American’s have normalized this behavior. Discriminatory attitudes are held by some Trump supporters but obviously that whole group doesn’t hold these same ideals. I feel like his behavior hasn’t been normalized because there is still a significant group of people that still hate Trump because of these same traits that got him in trouble during his election.
Sophie, your ideas relating to the trade-offs on basic moral examples and precedents that our head of state sets for the nation are not talked about enough. This is especially timely in the current national stage where the me-to movement is very prominent and many men have been heavily prosecuted for behavior that our current president is well-known for. It is important to set high standards for new generations and I would agree that Donald Trump is not the man all Americans should aspire to be however his election may have been influenced by this as well and the placement of trump in the office could be a backlash to the more progressive and liberal ideas that have gained popularity over the past few years. As the next election comes up it is important for the American people to keep a level head when it comes to picking a strong candidate who can be a good example for the young adults of ouyr nation.