The title “politician” has become heavily associated with corruption, lying, and pandering, especially recently, thanks to presidential candidate Donald J. Trump. He has heavily campaigned on the image of being an “outsider,” while calling his opponent, Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton part of “the system” or the establishment, giving her the derogatory nickname “Crooked Hillary”.
More than two-thirds of the time, Trump is lying straight to American people’s faces. According to PolitiFact, 69% of Trump’s statement range from “Mostly False” to “Pants on Fire”, as opposed to 27% of Clinton’s. Some of his lies include statements like, “I was totally against the Iraq War” and that President Barack Obama was the literal “founder of ISIS.”
Trump will say anything to attract voters, just like any other politician: he switches positions constantly. During the primaries, Mr. Trump took five different stances on abortion in three days.
March 30, 2016, 2:30 p.m.
“There has to be some form of punishment [for women who get abortions].”
March 30, 2016, 3:30 p.m.
“This issue is unclear and should be put back into the states for determination. Like Ronald Reagan, I am pro-life with exceptions, which I have outlined numerous times.”
March 30, 2016, 5 p.m.
“… the doctor or any other person performing this illegal act upon a woman [should] be held legally responsible, not the woman. The woman is a victim in this case as is the life in her womb.”
April 1, 2016, 6:30 p.m.“I’ve been told by some people that [women who get abortions should receive punishment] was a… basis of an older line from years ago on a very conservative basis.”
“I think it would’ve been better if [abortion laws] were up to the states.”
April 1, 2016, 9 p.m.
“Mr. Trump gave an accurate account of the law as it is today and made clear it must stay that way now – until he is president. Then he will change the law through his judicial appointments and allow the states to protect the unborn. There is nothing new or different here.”
It’s called self-dealing: when someone takes advantage of his or her position and uses it to give money to his or herself instead of his or her clients. According to Politico, Trump’s campaign paid Trump’s businesses $8.2 million as of Sept. 22. The Donald J. Trump Foundation–like the Clinton Foundation–has been surrounded by controversy. According to an investigation of the foundation’s tax returns from reporter David Fahrenthold at the Washington Post.
However, what makes Donald Trump the most despicable, is that he feels that he can get away with doing anything he wants. The tipping point for many Americans was the famous Access Hollywood tape: “I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star they let you do it. You can do anything… Grab them by the p***y. You can do anything.” These words clearly suggest that Trump was bragging about sexually assaulting women, and several have recently come out alleging that Mr. Trump actually did these things to them. Mr. Trump has fervently denied all of these allegations.
