Dear anyone planning to vote for Donald Trump in the Missouri open primary on March 15,
Let me start off by saying that I tend to lean right on most economic issues and some social issues, but by no means would I refer to myself as a “right-wingin’, bitter-clingin’, proud clinger of our guns, our God, and our religions and our Constitution” as Sarah Palin has described fellow Trump supporters. I personally cannot vote for Trump because I do not want a misogynist xenophobe with no political background as the president of the United States. However, the sour taste in my mouth for Trump goes deeper.

I understand with the corruption of career politicians and the pressure to be politically correct all the time, Trump seems like a nice change of pace. But let’s get something straight: Trump is a businessman. Since when have businessmen exemplified honesty? While Trump has been successful in the business world, he has also filed for bankruptcy four times. If this guy can barely handle his own expenses, I squirm at the idea of him attempting to lessen this country’s gargantuan national debt.

To those who praise Trump for his unapologetic truth telling, let’s take a moment and consider how truthful his words really are. He wants to put a ban on Muslim entry to the United States until the situation with ISIS has been resolved. “[I am] calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on” said Donald Trump. Not all Muslims are terrorists, just as not all Christians are affiliated with the Westboro Baptist Church. The United States of America was built on principles of religious freedom and immigration in the first place. Does the Statue of Liberty not state “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”?

Preying on the American fear of terrorism that has been building in our anxious conscience since 9/11 is not an ethical campaign tactic. It is petty and desperate and grossly unfair to the non-radical Muslims living legally in America who already face the fallout from 9/11 every time they go to an airport or walk down the street in a crowded city. I can’t imagine watching people stare at my necklace of the Christian cross in fear as I simply walk through airport security. And yet Muslim families have been subject to random checks and scrutiny for their religious beliefs since 9/11. Donald Trump is taking advantage of the subconscious American prejudice against Muslims. Let’s not forget how Hitler began his regime by blaming Germany’s problems on the Jews and eventually on anyone non-Aryan.
His “truth telling” also consists of discriminating against an entire race of people, claiming all Mexicans are lazy and stealing American jobs. I am in no way a supporter of illegal immigration, but I would not go so far as to clump all Mexicans into the group with those who choose to come into the U.S. illegally or to sell drugs. Also, for a Republican to propose using government money to build an approximately $49 billion wall to solve illegal immigration under the assumption that the Mexican government will eventually pay for it is laughable.

Even more laughable are these facts about Trump and his supporters. Trump’s main voter demographic are people without college degrees. This is no surprise, considering Trump uses simple and repetitive diction in every debate and speech. “I went to an Ivy League school. I’m very highly educated. I know words, I have the best words…but there is no better word than stupid” said Donald Trump. I’d like to see you use some of your “best words” one of these days Mr.Trump.

Trump previously identified as a Democrat and donated far more to Democratic candidates than Republican ones in the 2006 midterm election that put Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid in congressional power. When asked to defend his previous support for the Democratic Party in debates, Trump has simply said that being a businessman in New York put pressure on him to identify as a Democrat. I don’t think I can put much faith in a president who folds to peer pressure with thousands of people constantly trying to convince him to vote one way or another on hundreds of bills and executive decisions.
These are only a few of the many reasons I will never vote for this ignorant, hateful, bigoted, sexist, vain, narrow-minded man who many Americans still proudly claim will restore the country to its founding principles. I am struggling to see when America’s founding principles were anti-immigration, anti-religious freedom and anti-justice. A presidency centered around hate and anger is not one this great country needs in a time of fear and uncertainty about the future. Irrational and racist solutions to immigration and terrorism are not in-line with this nation’s founding principles of equality and justice for all.