This is a runner-up in our Teens Against Trump essay contest. Read more essays from the series here.
When I first heard Donald Trump was running for president, I thought it was a joke. I, like so many other people, wanted to see how far he would take it before dropping out and leaving politics to the politicians. But then his campaign got scarier. He started using methods of fear to persuade Americans to support him. He has proven time and time again that he is sexist, racist, and arrogant. If we elect this man into presidency, we will have turned this nation from a melting pot of cultures and opportunities to a country where we are so desperate for change that we allowed a politically inexperienced businessman to take office. The thing that Donald Trump has to realize is that America is not his business, and its citizens are not his employees.
Look. There are a lot of things that I do not understand about how our nation is run. But I do know that the president is supposed to be diplomatic. Diplomats can't talk like Donald Trump does. They can't refer to a woman they don't like in such brutally misogynistic ways as a "slob" or a "fat pig." Other countries around the world base their opinions of America on the current leadership. If this is the example Trump would set for our country, America would have no allies left. Having Mr. Trump as president would be counterproductive when it comes to forging new political alliances, which is vital in this unstable world we currently live in.
Mr. Trump is by far one of the most arrogant people that I have ever had the displeasure of listening to. The way he speaks, thinking himself some sort of tragic hero who started from nothing (a small loan of one million dollars!), who used his wit and charm to prosper in the business world -- thinking himself the only one who can save America. Anyone who thinks that a million dollars is a small amount of money is not someone we should trust to understand how the typical American lives. The president should be in touch with how the average American household functions.
Trump has called for a complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States. You know what this reminds me of? When Japanese Americans were forced into internment camps during World War II, promoting the spread of xenophobia and fear across the nation.
Fear is something that Donald Trump has been using to his advantage since the beginning of his campaign. I don't think he understands that fear isn't something you should capitalize on. He is trying to gain a position of power by giving voters reasons to be afraid, then saying, Hey, it's OK, if you vote for me, I'll 'find out what's going on.'" But will he? I don't think so. Instead, he'll use that position to spread racism, sexism, and xenophobia across the United States. And to me, that's what we should be afraid of.