E110 SCARY STORIES

On November 7, 2015, people around the country tuned into the popular Comedy show, Saturday Night Live, to watch guest host and former republican frontrunner, Donald Trump. Since his announcement to run for the presidency, America has been buzzing with different opinions about him. The idea that a successful billionaire is running for the presidency is comical to Americans, it is hard to take him seriously considering his controversial opinions on present issues and business background. Since this idea is so absurd, it is fitting that he was invited to host Saturday Night Live, allowing Americans to watch an amusing clip of Trump, practically seventy year old billionaire, dancing to the newest Drake song. This man we see seems like an embarrassment, almost as if the republican party is playing an elaborate joke on the country. The threat that Trump brings to the United States is big business itself. Government that is controlled through big business or capitalism is the newest threat to the security of our nation. This government puts the idea of capitalism, and the upper class over the governing of all people in the nation. What Americans need to realize is while we are sitting here laughing at Donald Trump’s dance moves, this man may be the frightening future of our country.

 

Trump, as described by his biography is the “archetypal businessman –– a deal maker without peer”(Donald J Trump). His biography gloats about his success in working with his father in New York, and how he has made his mark in New York city with his prestigious ventures. Some of his projects in the city include the fifth Avenue skyscraper, Trump Tower, Trump Parc, Trump Palace, Trump Plaza, 610 Park Avenue, The Trump World Tower (the tallest building on the East Side of Manhattan), and Trump Park Avenue (Donald J Trump). It as almost as if he is a modern day Rockefeller, a rich, seemingly untouchable business man. Rockefeller essentially had a monopoly during his time in New York city, due to anti- trust laws, Trump has never reached that point of monopoly. However, his run for presidency can bring back the comparison of big business trying to take over parts of the government, in a much more prominent way. One can feel the clear presence he has in New York city when driving past the Trump towers on the way to Manhattan, the looming glass buildings seem to mock the rest of the city, a clear presence of the elite. His hotels have extended to the other prominent parts of the country such as Chicago, Miami, and Vegas. While John Rockefeller had a monopoly over New York City, similarly Trump’s run for president is a business monopoly over our government.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moreover, Trump’s economic policies are rarely talked about, but when analyzed closely, they are absurd and center on the interests of the wealthy. His often makes exaggerated claims as to how he can create the “greatest jobs” without elaborating on how (Long). So far his economic policy consists of massive taxes on goods produced in foreign countries such as China and Mexico in order to create more jobs for the American people (Long). This seems like a patriotic idea in the long run, but the short term effects could create hardships for Americans who can barely afford these essential goods without the tax. He has also decided to keep the minimum wage the same, which has also caused controversy, as seven dollars and twenty five cents an hour has proven to be hardly sustainable for Americans that are bordering on poverty (Long). He also proposed to cut income taxes for all Americans, proposing a top rate of 15% , and while the idea sounds good, federal tax experts said that this could add the the federal debt (Long). Furthermore, Trump plans to get wall street pros to run the economy (Long). The idea of this sounds absurd, as this could easily turn into a slew of businesses fighting over control of the economy, which eventually could lead to a monopoly.

 

Trump plans to “Make America Great Again”, when he can’t even stop his own business from going under. His claim to be a successful businessman embellishes his accomplishments but hides his many failures. Some of these examples are: Trump Airlines, Trump Vodka, Trump Casinos, Trump Magazine, Trump University and Trump Steaks (Koffler). While a few of these ventures were forgotten due to lack of interest, some of these ventures came to shady ends. Trump University was sued in 2013 by the attorney general for 40 million dollars for allegedly defrauding students (Koffler). Trump Steaks does not exist today, probably because of it’s Las Vegas location being closed down in 2012 for violating 51 health code violations, one of them being serving 7 month- old duck (Koffler). Although Trump has had his success in the business world, he has had a fair share of ventures with disastrous outcomes, and why should we risk our country joining that list?

 

It isn’t just the business side of Trump that is unsettling, his ideal America is simply frightening. In the most recent republican debate, Trump reinforced perhaps his most controversial view, the fact that all illegal immigrants should be deported. In the most recent debate, he asserted that yes, the United States should deport all illegal immigrants and build a wall in order to keep them out (Diamond). This most recent debate was a little different from Trump's first debate, as he gave much longer more in depth responses, however parts of his personality still bled out during the debate (Diamond). During his first debate, he was called out for the offensive comments he made towards women. These women consisted of Carly Fiorina, republican presidential candidate, and Jeb Bush’s wife, Columba Bush (Berenson). Trump made comments about Fiorina’s physical appearance: “Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president”(Berenson). Trump also mentioned Bush’s wife when he addresses Mexico and it’s people, his comment was specifically “if my wife were from Mexico, I think that I would have a soft spot for people from Mexico”(Berenson).  These actions from the first debate were not directly mimicked during the second debate, but Trump’s true colors could not help but show. When Carly Fiorina tried to get a word in during the debate he stated “ Why does she keep interrupting everybody?”(Diamond). Trump’s comments during this debate showcase his views of his own superiority towards women and hs ignorant view of people from different cultures. While other candidates vying for presidency are not without bias, most of them have the political savvy to learn to push some of these biases aside in order to represent the people. Trump simply does not have that kind of political savvy. His actions are that of an ignorant, upper-class business man. He is not a man of the people that the country needs as a president.

 

Trump’s hardline stance on immigration seems to come from a place of ignorance and disregard for the majority of America. His stance on immigration is extreme, he plans to deport the eleven million Americans living illegally in the United States. Furthermore, he plans to deport the  people currently living the United States and to build a wall between the United States and Mexico (Donald Trump Defends). This idea is so ridiculous that the majority of US republican voters disagree with Trump (Donald Trump Wants). According to a 2015 study done by the Pew research center 56% of republicans believe that undocumented citizens should stay if they meet certain criteria. Besides the moral repercussions of deporting eleven million working people with their entire lives in the United States, this task in itself is not an easy one. Collecting all of these people and deporting them would take ample use of law enforcement, military and border control agencies (Donald Trump Wants). This task and the mere thought of flushing out eleven million people showcases the mere ignorance and disregard a businessman has towards our nation’s issues.

 

The hilarity of a billionaire business man running for president has not escaped the American people. Donald Trump was recently a host of the popular nighttime show, Saturday Night Live. Along with his “Hotline Bling” dance, he performed a skit depicting a “what if scenario where he won the election. In this skit the members of the cast poke fun at the fact that Trump uses his money and his business savvy to run a country. It is ironic because they make this idea seem so ridiculous, when in reality this is exactly what he plans to do if he is president. In the second half of the skit the “president of Mexico” comes out to thank Trump for building a wall between the United States and Mexico stating that “there is no better way to bring two countries together than a wall.” While this idea is so ridiculous, that they can make of it in front of Trump himself, it is scary that there are people voting for this man to become their next president. During other part of the episode, there are jokes about Trump being racist and making controversial statements towards people of color. He uses the quote “ I love blacks” in one of his skits to almost seem more people-friendly, and while this comes off as a joke, the reality is Trump has made controversial statements about the black and latino people in the United States. When he was the host of the show, the Celebrity Apprentice, Trump made comments implying that a large percentage of Mexican immigrants were rapists or killers bringing crime into the country (Stahl). Somehow it seems perfectly fine to poke fun at Donald Trump and his very real issues that go along with him being a presidential candidate and possibly running our country, without considering the frightening consequences that his presidency would bring to the United States.

 

The fact that Donald Trump was the republican frontrunner was a testament to the mindset of our nation.The real trouble with Trump is how he reflects poorly on our country as a whole .It sheds light on the ugly truths of inner hostilities American people still have towards illegal immigrants, and racial biases that sometimes go with these views. It showed the value of money and trust in a successful business man over the basic human morales stating that we should value women’s opinions and political prowess over what their face looks like on a cover of a magazine. The way Trump treats government is similar to how one would treat their fortune 500 company. He is essentially proposing far fetched ideas and expressing his opinions, almost like he is making a complicated business deal for his personal company. The fact is he is not taking the whole country, rich and poor, into consideration when he is making these decisions. While America almost treats his running for presidency as a joke, mocked on Saturday Night Live, the reality of Trump as president is much more frightening.

 

Works Cited

Berenson, Tessa. "Trump Called Out During Debate For His Comments on Women." Time. Time, 16 Sep. 2015. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.

Diamond, Jerry. "Takeaways from the Republican Debate - CNN Politics.com." CNN. Cable News Network, 11 Nov. 2015. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.

"Donald Trump Defends His 'humane' Deportation Plan - BBC News." BBC News. BBC, 11 Nov. 2015. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.

"Donald Trump Wants to Deport Every Single Illegal Immigrant - Could He? - BBC News." BBC News. BBC, 11 Nov. 2015. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.

"Donald J. Trump." Donald Trump Biography: Trump Organization Hotel Collection Real Estate Casinos Golf Clubs Restaurants Merchandise Corporation Company Publications. The Trump Organization, 2015. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.

Gass, Nick. "Trump: My Dad Gave Me a 'small Loan' of a Million Dollars."POLITICO. Politico, 26 Oct. 2015. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.

Koffler, Jacob. "Donald Trump's Biggest Business Failures and Successes."Time. Time, 7 Aug. 2015. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.

Long, Heather. "So What Exactly Is Donald Trump's Economic Policy?"CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 28 June 2015. Web. 05 Dec. 2015.

Stahl, Jeremy. "Here Are All the Racist Comments That Got Donald Trump Fired From NBC." The Slatest. N.p., 29 June 2015. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.