From insulting the family of a gold-star soldier to mocking a disabled New York Times reporter, Donald Trump P’00 has proven himself willing to tear down anyone who disagrees with him. He is notorious for taking to social media to respond to any naysayers, most recently starting a scandal after tweeting about intelligence agencies that allowed “fake news” surrounding the Russian hacking allegations to leak to the public. Time and time again, Donald Trump has put his foot in his mouth, by attacking individuals and insulting entire demographics. Yet, the public, especially his fellow Republicans, have somehow always found a way to forgive him. This time, however, Trump may have finally gone too far with his disgusting and disparaging remarks.
On January 14, 2017, a mere six days before Trump took office, the widely respected Representative John Lewis appeared on NBC’s “Meet The Press.” On the show, he told host Chuck Todd that he believed Trump was an “illegitimate president” due to Russia’s alleged influence on his campaign and that he would not be attending the presidential inauguration for the first time in 30 years. Unsurprisingly, Trump took to Twitter to respond. Accusing him of being “all talk, talk, talk — no action or results,” Trump insulted Lewis’s political career by implying he had not done enough to improve living conditions in his district. This outburst is quintessentially Trump — in classic fashion, he criticized the person, not the comment. Usually, this would pass as another of Trump’s many attacks on various political leaders, but this time, Trump made one critical mistake: John Lewis is no ordinary politician, but rather a civil rights hero. One of the famous “Big Six” activists, Lewis spoke at the historic March on Washington and has fought tirelessly for racial equality. Indeed, politicians on both sides of the aisle admire his legacy. Lewis has close relationships with Arizona Senator John McCain and even Trump’s own Vice President, Mike Pence, who have both voiced their support and respect for Representative Lewis in the past.
The problem here is not just that Trump insulted a revered Civil Rights hero, or even that he spoke out against someone who is revered by many members of his political party. Ultimately, the core issue is that Trump doesn’t know when to bite his tongue. Time and time again, he has gone too far in an attempt to exert his dominance. The United States cannot have a puerile president who is more concerned with getting in the last word than doing what is best for the nation. Trump turned the presidential election into a social media sandstorm, and if his actions over the last two months have been any indication, he seems to be poised to maintain this pattern during his time in the White House.
Political beliefs aside, it is undeniable that Trump’s refusal to leave some things unsaid will be a major liability to the United States over the next four years. As the president, Trump is the voice of the people and the representative of American values to the rest of the world. If he continues to slander anyone who dares to disagree with him, he will popularize a culture of censorship that will come to define America. Even worse, if Trump makes disrespectful and derogatory comments about world leaders, he may end up putting many of the strong alliances that America has established (such as our relationship with China) in the last century at risk. His hotheaded nature could easily provoke an attack from our enemies, and considering his well-documented fixation with nuclear weapons, this could spell disaster for the country, and even the world.
From the moment Donald Trump won the election, many Americans began to fear for their safety and equality in this country. However, the biggest threat that Americans will be forced to face over the course of Trump’s presidency is his mouth. If Trump does not develop a verbal filter quickly and soon, the wellbeing of hundreds of millions of hardworking and innocent Americans both at home and overseas will be gravely at risk.
