Final Trump Thoughts

Throughout the semester, Trump has been the sole person that our conversation has always returned to, and I don’t think that’s unreasonable. Trump is a perfect example of intolerance and illiberal speech. He’s racist, misogynistic, and has the maturity of a 6^th grader. But, apparently, that is exactly what some Americans believe will make a perfect combination for the presidential office. So how do we react to Trump? How do we react to his supporters?

               I think the way to respond to Trump is with rationality. Trump is an entertainer, and he thrives off of the attention that saying outlandish things gets him. Before this course, I probably would have advocated for Trump’s speech to be prohibited and silenced. However, I now recognize that Trump has a right to speak. I don’t think that it does good to laugh or ridicule him though. It seems that when people make fun of Trump, his supporters feel more attached to him. Making fun of Trump makes him look like he is being attacked for his ideas, and Trump supporters like to think that he is the victim. I have an acquaintance that said verbatim “The media makes him look so much worse than he is in person.” Attacking Trump seems to make him more likeable as a candidate, so I would refrain from that. However, we also cannot attack Trump supporters. My experience with Trump supporters is that the moment you question why they have chosen to support him they immediately think that you are attacking their right to believe whatever they want. They snarl something about being a “rotten liberal” and don’t actually answer the question. So there might not be a “right” way to talk to Trump supporters. I think that the best thing you can do is to just appeal to rationality. Don’t try to insult them; don’t act like you’re better than. Just ask simple questions in a non-threatening manner (which is extremely ironic considering most Trump supporters like to talk about how today’s younger generation is made up of pussies). Trump supporters should be questioned about policy, and the practicality of any of his current policies actually being enacted rather than repeating his sensationalized claims. Trump has the right to continue his hateful speech, but, like Cicero would say, it is the American population’s job to see through his claims and ask about his actual policy suggestions. For example, how exactly do you expect another sovereign nation to pay for a wall? Are you willing to enter a war for your wall? Do you realize some of your claims are in explicit disagreement with The Universal Declaration of Human Rights? I keep hoping that eventually people will realize that Trump’s claims are absolutely ridiculous, but I have been consistently surprised by the widespread acceptance for his claims. The only hope is that rationality will lead them to question their candidate’s legitimacy.