Is THIS The Great America We Were Promised?

Stock Photo of President Trump chosen for comedic purposes.

The New Year celebrations have come and passed, it is the end of January and the month is coming to a close with a new year, new president, and a new fear in our subconscious of the way of the world and what can be expected in the days to come. Now from reading this, I'm sure it comes as a surprise to you that an hour ago I was more so worried about my skincare routine and if i’m eating enough protein than trying to remember what was taught in my 10th grade history teacher’s lessons on dictatorship. The year is 2025, I am a 28 year old girl, and I care about others and the world around me. If I can, why can’t our nation’s leadership?

Hand on the bible, unlike Trump, I can solemnly swear that I am not a conspiracy theorist. I would describe myself as somewhat ignorant of the world. I see headlines on newspaper articles as i’m passing them in the checkout, bumper stickers slapped onto Honda’s of what more worldly people around my age are protesting for, what a tik toker I follow is concerned about because of her family’s heritage - all of this information has been taught to me in snippets but even I can understand that a part of me should be greatly terrified. Like many in this country of vast enterprise including the yearly toyotathon, I don’t know what to think. I don’t know if I should laugh, or cry, or both while trying to figure out what to believe in. When Trump was originally voted in as president in 2016 I remember laughing on the phone in disbelief that the guy from the Apprentice would be our nation’s “great” leader. Never in my 19 year old mind would I have expected that 8 years later I would be calling that same friend and comparing his inauguration speech and Elon Musk’s salute to 1940’s Poland rather than commenting on his game show like celebrity status. 

Here’s all I know about President Trump based on a Netflix documentary I watched while trying to understand his support system. He’s rich and he’s confident, which in turn makes him a wonderful business man and therefore the guy that will restore this great nation’s economy. If this is a statement that relates to your perception, please keep reading. Have you considered the fact that a person can be successful merely by luck and circumstance? Anyone in the world can have confidence and unless admitted, we as human beings have no way to decipher if it is real or fake. Confidence, while not always, is the Christmas bonus added on to the biweekly checks of privilege that some in our nation’s top percentage are allowed to cash without penalty. Confidence alone can out work empathy, intelligence, consistency, diligence and any one of the lesser. Confidence and the desire for power, can destroy even the strongest of good intent. To anyone, confidence is attractive. Confidence is a belief in which we pride ourselves in being well maintained, intelligently minded, and sure of our ability to reason and act. What a wonderful trait a potential leader to have. We don’t have to worry anymore because we have faith that he’ll take care of it. We don’t have to worry about who he is or what he plans, because it’s in our best interest right? If you agree with this statement I urge you to please continue to follow me here. Just because a person says they will do something with the demeanor you would wish they would have, that doesn’t mean that they will actually follow through. Have you ever dated in your twenties and believed everything a man tells you is true? Let’s look at the facts here. 

Trump is proposing tax cuts for business and high earners claiming that it will stimulate economic growth and create jobs, however these cuts tend to increase the federal deficit and national debt without leading to the promised middle class growth that he is promising, these returns generally benefit the wealthy and the corporations that support them. Trump argues that deregulation will ensure that businesses thrive, costs are reduced and jobs will be created, however removing environmental and labor regulations will lead to long term health care costs, damage to our ecosystem, and job losses in industries like renewable energy. Trump’s “America First” stance focuses on tariffs and pulling out of trade agreements to protect US jobs, but these tariffs on things like steel and Chinese goods lead to higher prices for American’s and retaliatory tariffs from other countries which in turn greatly hurts the US economy. Trump is pushing for cuts to social security and supplemental programs such as welfare and food assistance to decrease government spending, but will ultimately harm low income americans, who mind you aren’t just immigrants but also your friends, your neighbors, and honestly your senior citizen family members which will HURT the economy especially at a time when so many americans struggle to meet their basic human needs already. Trump’s policies to limit immigration, especially undocumented workers, are framed as protecting Americans, but what he is failing to note is the importance of them and how they play a crucial role in this nation's economy. Immigrants fill vital gaps in sectors like agriculture, construction and healthcare. Tightening immigration will lead to labor shortages in these sectors leading to slower growth in these industries. Trump’s plans are marketed to boost the economy, but they create more inequality, higher costs long term, and substantially negative side effects for the middle and lower income Americans. 

If you have gotten this far and you’re still supporting him because you believe that he’s honest because he “tells you how it is” you have fallen victim to his false promises. If you ask yourself, “Would my own government lie to me?” just know the answer to that question is certainly yes. We live in a very dark world and it is hard to admit that someone would go so far to present themselves as competent, but leaders such as Trump have. In business if you’re entirely honest you will find success at about 25% the rate as one not as earnest, and quite frankly how do you think someone could become so successful? His entire campaign was aimed at the wants of just average people. What plights do you feel he would actually understand with his upbringing and life having been so lavish in comparison to yours? Do you think this man truly cares for you? What about your car salesman? I’m just a 28 year old girl and even I can see him for who he is underneath his false presentation of security, which is a narcissist with something to gain. The terrifying question at hand is what.