Trump demonstrates inadequacy to lead

Donald Trump spoke at a Town Hall hosted by NBC’s the Today show on Monday. The Republican frontrunner sought to reassure hesitant voters he is the best candidate running for president. However, like he has done in every other interview, he failed.

This is the second Town Hall hosted this year by Today. The first was with democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, who gave a detailed plan for how she plans to spend her time as president. 

It would only be expected that Trump would follow the same plan, outlining his proposals so voters know exactly what changes he intends to make. Instead, Trump did what he does best by avoiding topics he didn’t have answers to and distracting viewers with a rant about making the U.S. great again.

This was best exemplified in Trump’s disastrous reply to an inquiry on how he plans to handle immigration. As soon as the question left the voter’s mouth, Trump immediately began spewing praise for his glorious wall, which will magically put a halt on immigration. 

This mystical wall will, according to Trump, be completely funded by Mexico. But how? Well, that was a question that predictably went unanswered. Instead of details, or even a basic plan of action, we watched Trump bop his head along to whatever deranged soundtrack endlessly plays in his mind and declare, “I get along great with Mexico, I love the Mexican people.”

He plans to demonstrate this love by rounding up and deporting the 11 million illegal immigrants currently living within our borders. When host Matt Lauer questioned this mass movement, Trump laughed and claimed it wouldn’t be an issue. 

The obviously toupee’d businessman transfers this naive outlook to the Syrian Refugee Crisis. He heavily criticized Obama’s decision to grant them sanctuary within our borders. As president, Trump professed that he would not allow a single refugee to take shelter on American soil, calling the entire situation the “greatest Trojan horse of all time.”

This nation was founded on immigrants — on the backs of those who sought safety and the promise of a brighter tomorrow. Lauer asked Trump if the quintessentially American slogan “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” did not apply to those Syrians seeking our aide. Trump simply replied, “They’re going back.”

He then went on to belittle the U.S. for being “the caretakers of the world.” According to Trump, it is too expensive and not our responsibility to care for the needs of those across the globe.

If Trump ever had a shot at becoming president, he lost it with that outlook. No, those people are not American citizens, but they are humans. It is the responsibility of everyone on this planet to ensure that people in every country, of every race and religion are safe and have access to basic human rights. 

The U.S. has always prided itself on being a leading presence in this society. As such, we should live up to our name and lead by example. Lending a helping hand to those less fortunate is not the weakness Trump deems it. Compassion is not equivalent to stupidity, and Trump’s ignorant belief that isolation will gain us respect will bar him forever from the White House. 

 

Breanne Williams is a junior majoring in mass communications.