Donald Trump is the better of the two electable candidates. He is not a perfect individual by any means, nor is he an ideal candidate even by my own standards, but he is the best option we have this election season, which is why I’m casting my vote for him. It is easy to be dismissive of Trump by labelling him with any number of virtually meaningless buzzwords: “racist,” “sexist,” “Islamophobic,” “xenophobic” — take your pick. The mainstream media has done a great job of demonizing the Republican candidate (as they do every election), but frankly this doesn’t concern me in the slightest, and it shouldn’t concern you either. If you set aside your preconceived notions and put in the effort to look at Trump and his policies with an open mind, I’m sure you’ll find that he’s not as bad as people say.
I first started supporting Trump after seeing all kinds of hateful posts and articles about him while scrolling through my Facebook feed, about a year ago. I didn’t buy into the abhorrence and I decided to investigate a bit on my own by reading nonpartisan news sources, as well as “The Art of the Deal” so I could get a feel for who Trump is as a person. I’m not going to sit here and try to convince you Trump is a good person, because that is something you have to decide for yourself, and there’s nothing I can say to convince you otherwise. However, I can say with relative certainty that he is a better candidate than Hillary Clinton, who is quite possibly the most corrupt and unlikeable politician in U.S. history. While I do personally believe Trump is a moral man, despite the media’s constant slander, this matter is really irrelevant. To quote Nigel Farage, “Trump isn’t running for Pope.” In my opinion, policy should be what primarily guides your decision, so now I’ll be discussing Trump’s policies and will try my best to stay away from subjective nonsense.
While in reality Trump has dozens upon dozens of policies and proposed legislation, I believe his five most important proposals have to do with the following subjects: immigration, trade, terrorism, gun rights and education, which I will go ahead and briefly explain below.
First, let’s talk immigration. As the son of immigrants and a prospective business major, I know firsthand the importance of immigration as a whole. Immigration is what makes America so diverse, and it is the fuel that keeps our economy moving. However, illegal immigration is an entirely different story altogether. It is wrong for both moral and economic reasons. Morally, I believe it is completely unfair to allow people to ignore our laws and enter our country, and then receive benefits for doing so. My parents and many, many others in America’s history spent more than 10 years immigrating to this country and getting naturalized. It is not right to grant amnesty to criminals and to disrespect the sacrifices of so many people. Economically, the U.S. government spends approximately $113 billion per year on illegal immigrants (education, welfare, etc.) but only receives around $12 billion per year in taxes. Effectively, they are nothing but a burden on our society. Illegal immigrants who are willing to work for below minimum wage also do indeed “steal” the jobs of U.S. citizens, who can’t compete with these people. Trump is a candidate who will enforce our immigration laws.
Next, let’s talk trade. Mainly because of NAFTA, which was signed by President Bill Clinton in the ’90s, the United States has outsourced nearly 40 percent of its manufacturing jobs to other countries. The reason for this is simple: if you were a business owner, why would you pay a U.S. worker $7.50 per hour to make a product when you could pay an Indian or Chinese worker $7.50 per day? As a result, jobs are fleeing our country at an alarming rate, which has to do with the rising unemployment rates in unskilled youth, such as the 51 percent unemployment rate for African-Americans ages 17 to 20. Tariffs and good trade deals will help us to secure some of these jobs, but will also have some adverse effects such as more expensive products. A good balance between worker competitiveness and product cost needs to be found, and Trump’s vast business experience equips him for the job.
Third, let’s talk terrorism, more specifically, Trump’s proposed temporary ban on immigration from countries with histories of terrorism, or the “Muslim ban” as the mainstream media likes to call it. From a purely objective standpoint, this is not anything new. Similar immigration bans have been enacted numerous times in history, including recently in 2011 by President Barack Obama and in 1981 by President Jimmy Carter. In addition, it is strictly legal and constitutional according to U.S. Immigration Code 1182. Now, let’s be clear here, I’m not ignorant enough to think all Muslims are terrorists. Still, according to the Pew Research Center, nearly 70 percent of them agree with the rulings of Sharia law. We can’t continue admitting people from these countries into the United States without proper vetting, at least until the threat of ISIS has been dealt with.
Lastly, let’s briefly discuss gun rights and education. Any infringement upon our constitutional rights should be frowned upon, and in this regard, Trump is most certainly the best candidate running. With an endorsement from the NRA, as well as a declaration to nominate only conservative, constitutional justices, it is safe to say our personal freedoms will stay intact. As for education, Trump supports a dismantling of the top-down teaching approach we have in place now, with politicians in Washington setting the standards for the country. He wants to relinquish common core and bring education back down to the local level.
However, this is just the tip of the iceberg. I urge you to do some more research and think about the policies that I discussed, as well as all of Trump’s other important stances, such as veterans’ affairs, abortion, law and order and so on. In addition, looking into Hillary Clinton’s long history of corruption, scandals and criminal activity will reveal Trump is not only the superior candidate in terms of policy, but also the more ethical person.
Milan Bharadwaj is a first-year College student.
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