I usually pay minimum attention to elections in the United States because, well, I can’t do anything to affect the outcome, but it’s important to know what the sentiments in the United States are because their president is considered the most powerful man in the world. The United States president is considered the leader of the Free World. Although this is a colloquial term developed during the Cold War, it’s still in context today as the United States remains a superpower… although in 2015 Time magazine proclaimed the German Chancellor Angela Merkel the “Chancellor of the Free World,” so it’s not exclusively an American phrase.
Yet, the United States has continued as a World Power with countries watching and taking their cues from them. So, as I read and listen about Donald Trump, I personally worry. His campaign promises in my opinion are sketchy. A quick Google of his campaign promises includes building a wall, which Mexico will have to pay for, between the two countries. The Washington Post reported that Trump also plans to bar Syrian refugees and kick out any that have already arrived, while also creating a database of Syrian refugees.
He apparently also wants to establish surveillance of mosques in the United States, stop space exploration, strengthen the military, be unpredictable, bring back waterboarding, deport the nearly 11 million immigrants illegally living in the United States, and more.
His politics are divisive and have even lead to violence in Chicago between his supporters and protestors.
I was talking to someone the other day and they asked, why Donald Trump was the only candidate that seemed to be in the news. You hear of Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, but what are they promising? And it does seem that the Republican party and Donald Trump are getting the most media coverage, which I personally think is because people seem to love crazy. They want to know what Trump said next because it could be something outrageous, because as Trump said himself, he’s unpredictable.
So essentially, in my opinion, people just reading the news are going to be bombarded with everything Trump and they will either vote for him or against him depending on how they feel about what he’s saying. Even though they might not know what the other candidate and party necessarily stand for, it seems like the country is either with Trump or against him and that will be reflected in the votes.
I’ve seen a variety of things around social media likening Trump and Trudeau, which I think is quite odd as their politics couldn’t be any more different. Trudeau based his platform on inclusion and everyone being Canadian no matter their race or religion, that Canadians help people and that is the Canada he wanted to represent. I would say Trump in contrast is polarizing and has made some bold statements during his campaign.
So, I have a tough time seeing the comparison. For Canadians and the rest of the world, I guess we’ll just wait to see what happens south of the 49th in the next while.
