Opinion: Donald Trump does not reflect the values of the Republican Party
Liliana Wendorff holds a sign at First Ward Park during Saturday’s Women’s March on Charlotte, N.C., which drew at least 10,000 people according to CMPD. The mile-long march was scheduled to coincide with a national demonstration Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017 in Washington, D.C., the day after Donald Trump’s inauguration as president. The march started at First Ward Park, traveled down Tryon Street to 4th St. to Church St. and ended at Romare Bearden Park. “The Women’s March on Charlotte is a first step in uniting our communities and in empowering grassroots change,” march organizers say on the march’s website. “We will work peacefully to send a bold message to our elected leaders that women’s rights are human rights.” (Diedra Laird/The Charlotte Observer via AP)
January 25, 2017
Written by Stefson Arnold, Pres. of Loyola College Republicans, freshmen
“Make America Great Again,” was a phrase once used by two great men, both of whom led the United States economy to the highest heights it had ever reached.
Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton echoed the phrase with pride, meaning and valor. They were the epitome of what their political parties and the American people desired. In 2017, there is a new voice to those words.
While the words are exactly the same, the meaning and authenticity are ambiguous and condescending.
There are three things President Trump is not, no matter how hard he tries. Trump is not Ronald Reagan, he is definitely not Bill Clinton and he is absolutely not a Republican.
Repeatedly, Donald Trump has flipped, danced and somersaulted on key issues the GOP hold dear, leaving the Republican Party in disarray. After nearly 50 years of supporting the Democratic Party, Trump started sounding like a Republican presidential candidate. Or did he?
He started by proposing “Reagan-like” policies and even used the same slogan as Reagan. He could have fooled us all if he had stayed on message, but instead he had to show his true colors by using offensive rhetoric and degrading tweets to convey a two-year-long series
of contradictions.
At one point in the campaign, the Wall Street Journal wrote, “President-elect Trump has reshaped what it means to be Republican.”
Really? Has one man really reshaped a party which held most of the same values for 162 years? No, he has not.
Trump has created a platform appeasing a majority of the parties needs, but hanging in the balance are issues that just don’t add up and decades of conflicting statements.
He is not a Republican. He is a phony who has used the Republican Party and American people as a stepping stone to the nation’s highest office by playing along as a conservative.
Yes, many issues voiced by Trump are truly republican ideals, but some are also radical and dangerous. Tariffs, really? Trump would be the first president since the Great Depression to actually promote the express use of tariffs.
The Republican Party did not see Trump as the epitome of their party like Reagan in 1980; the politicians were just being selfish politicians. They adopted Trump’s platform as their own, not because it would be better for the American people, but instead so when the time came, their job would be secure. As one can see, many of Trump’s cabinet picks are politicians or CEOs who gave him unending support throughout
his campaign.
Donald Trump is not a Republican, but he is our president. A vote was held in accordance with over 200 years of history and we as citizens of this constitutional republic must uphold faithfully its traditions and values.
Protest is a beautiful symbol of resistance and truly is a powerful tool within our arsenal as citizens, but we must be at peace with what is done. In November, I cast my vote for the principles of the Republican Party, not Donald Trump. I cast my vote in hope that President Trump, even though a phony, will truly honor his pledge to use the values and beliefs of the Republican Party to resuscitate the American Dream. As I see citizens all around the nation chanting “not my president,” I realize that the is in fact my president, but he does not represent the values of my party.
Daniel C. Garrison • Jan 26, 2017 at 8:11 am
“I casted my vote in hope that President Trump, even though a phony, will truly honor his pledge to use the values and beliefs of the Republican party”
This above comment is an excellent example of partisanship over logic.
Donald Trump is the perfect representation of the modern GOP. His hypocrisy and and lack of concern for fundamental rights highlight the tactics and rhetoric of the Republican part since 2008. The only way i can explain this is through examples.
1. Republicans are anti big government involvement… unless your talking about a women’s uterus. In that case it becomes acceptable to regulate every aspect of the fuction of that part of the body.
2. The call to counterterrorism from the right is often followed talks of “Sharia Law” and how theocratic ideology is a threat to democracy. Ironically a great portion of the GOP would like legal matters to be settle under God’s law( see Pro-lifers , Anti LGBTQ+ legislators,Bring prayer back to schools movement, Ted Cruz, etc) and would force Christian Theocratic law on the whole nation.
3. Mourns the death of civilians and children at the hands of “lone wolf” shooters… then defunds healthcare effors that could improve how we approach mental health by getting people the help and medicine that they may need.
4. Pro Life stance… but in reality is only pro birth as the cut women’s/ baby health services, decrease necessary welfare program to keep newborn babies and their families out of poverty.
5. Espouses tough on crime rhetoric for cities like Chicago… yet supports loose gun laws that allow individual in souriding areas/states to get guns with no background checks, which inherently fosters a gun trafficking industry.
6. Republican Congressmen/women raged about President Obama’s executive orders… those same folks are silent as Trump basically tries to match and surpass that number in his first 100 days.
7. Rallied against HRC for her “failures” on Benghazi … prior to the attacks the Republican led Congress voted agaisnt improveing and increasing security funding for embassies.
The list goes on and on. Trump is a personification of the not so hidden nasty nature of the GOP. To suggest that it was ok to vote for him is to admit that you overlooked sexism,racism, xenophobia,Islamophobia,homophobia in allegiance to a set a of mythical values this gang like party doesn’t fulfill.
The Gop is divisive, spiteful, and hypocritical. They have betrayed the working class of America and continue to preach a prosperity gospel to the poor that the GOP never intends to make good on.
Trump and the GOP were made for each other, but neither were made for this country. Whether you acknowledge it or not people will never be at peace because this man’s every illegitimate action is a threat to our security. That why #notmypresident will continue you to ring on and mark an age of resistance. And we the resistors will do so with pride, in hope of one day telling our children and grandchildren how we saved America from a tangerine tyrant.
Sincerely and with resistance on mt mind,
Daniel C. Garrison
Loyola Class of 2018.
Stefson Arnold • Jan 26, 2017 at 2:46 pm
Mr. Garrison, your hatred for the GOP is well noted. Thank you for the Feedback