He is Not My President

On Nov. 8, 2016 history was made.

I am not black. I am not Hispanic. I am not Muslim. I am not a member of the LGBTQ community. Yet Trump’s words have shaken me to my core.

Trump’s policies attempt to change many things about modern America. He has made many disrespectful comments about various groups of people, including women, African Americans, and Mexicans. Trump being elected has had strong impact nationwide.

Obama’s eight years in office were historic. Gay marriage was legalized in all 50 states. Obamacare was passed. These are things Trump opposes. Trump wishes to completely repeal Obamacare and replace it with his own health care plans. He has publicly opposed same sex marriage. His Vice President, Mike Pence supports a constitutional amendment to ban same sex marriage completely. He also supports electro-shock therapy for gay people. Pence signed a bill that would jail any gay person for merely applying for a marriage license.

Trump has also proposed many immigration regulations. America was a country founded on immigration. We are a nation of immigrants. The immigrants who came 400 years ago made this country what it is today. Trying to change that would be changing our identity and who we are as a country.

Trump has disrespected women, African Americans, members of the LGBT community and Mexicans. Trump said “When Mexico sends it people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.” He also accused Mexicans of being “killers”. He publicly scrutinized former Miss Universe Alicia Machado from Venezuela. He called her “Miss Piggy” and “Miss Housekeeping”. He even mocked reporter Serge Kovaleski, who suffers from a congenital joint condition. The reporter’s joint movement is limited due to this condition. Trump made a claim stating that hundreds and thousands of people celebrated the 9/11 attacks. Trump mocked this reporter’s disability when the reporter proved his claim to be false.

Trump claims to be a candidate for the people. Yet, he has publicly insulted a majority of the American people. 17 percent of the United States population is Hispanic, 12.3 percent is black and 50.8 percent of the population is female according to the 2015 United States census. When you think about it like that, it’s a large percent of the population. Having insulted so many people is not going to help him in his presidency. His comments have turned some against him.

There has been a rise in the number of hate crimes committed since the election. This rise seems to be greater than the number of hate crimes committed after the 9/11 attacks according to a representative of an organization that tracks these occurrences. According to the The Southern Poverty Law Center these have been more than 700 cases of hateful harassment or intimidation in the United States between Nov. 9 and Nov. 16. Trump did tell the people committing these crimes to stop. “If it helps, I will say this, and I will say right to the cameras: Stop it,” Trump said in an interview for “60 Minutes”.

There have been protests nationwide following results of the election. Over 25 cities have experienced protests. There was even a protest in Louisville. These protests show how upset people are about the outcome of the election.

When Trump was chosen to be president Americans were shocked. Black people, white people, men, women were all in tears. People were genuinely scared of the outcome of this election. This should not be how people react to an election. People have a right to be disappointed with the outcome, nonetheless Americans shouldn’t be scared for their safety and the safety of their families.

He may be the American president but he is not my president.