Opening Statement: The election is now over and Donald Trump is president-elect. Should we give him the benefit of the doubt and support him as our next president?
Disclaimer: The following debate contains views that are not necessarily held by the writers. The purpose of the debate is to open civil discussion about today’s most pressing issues.
Round 1:
James Wood – A crowd needs to be fired up to really care about a candidate, they need to be inspired and impressed. Donald Trump’s words weren’t tempered or restrained, but there was a reason for this. He tapped into the emotions of the American people. Their anger and resentment towards establishment politicians for placing international and business interests before the very people who elected them was powerful, so Trump’s speeches were powerful. It was very similar to the way Bernie Sanders’ campaign roused college students into politics with student debt outrage. If you want to be critical of Donald Trump’s off collar statements, that’s fine, but remember that Donald Trump has received more hatred, more establishment opposition, and more death threats and assassination scares than any politician I’m aware of. Yet despite all this, his spirit never faltered.
Peter Nouhan – President-elect Trump is a sick man. He has sexually harassed many women and young girls, criticized war veterans, made fun of a disabled reporter, urged his supporters to beat up protesters at his rallies, and said that we should “take out” the families of suspected terrorists, use nuclear weapons to wipe out entire cities in the Middle East, implement a religious test for people entering our country, and command the U.S. military to commit war crimes. Furthermore, he has avoided paying taxes, refused to pay the contractors that he hires for many of his businesses and swindled college students who attended Trump University. Trump is involved in more than 70 legal battles, one of them regarding his charitable foundation, which he used contributions from to pay himself. Another legal battle involves Trump allegedly raping a 13-year old girl. Trump thinks that someone’s race can disqualify them from being a federal judge or from renting one of his apartments. He has even stereotyped Jews and shared an anti-Semitic meme created by white supremacists.
Round 2:
Peter Nouhan – Trump will become our next president, but in doing so he will legitimize all of the hate, bigotry and misogyny that he has personally used not just during the course of his presidential campaign, but during his entire life. While I accept the outcome of the election, I will not stand by idly while tens of millions of people lose their healthcare coverage, or when Trump appoints a Supreme Court Justice that aims to threaten women’s rights or LGBT rights, or when he deports millions of undocumented immigrants – some of whom have been here since they were children and have lived and worked here for their entire lives. Even if Trump doesn’t act on all of the crazy things that he pledged to do while he was campaigning, he doesn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt. As our president, he will have the responsibility of proving to us that he can deliver on the one pledge that matters most of all; his pledge to bring us together and “be president of all Americans.”
James Wood – That bleeding-heart rhetoric makes you sound like a compassionate guy, and probably makes you feel good about yourself, but it doesn’t make you right. You may believe that the right of a women to abort their unborn children outweighs the rights of the unborn child, but there are many people who don’t. Or that healthcare is a universal human right, or that marriage is just as valid for gay people as for straight, but there are many who don’t. Instead of working against Trump maybe the focus should be placed on convincing people that you are right through logical debate and rhetoric. Then in the next election, if your ideas really are better, the American people will elect officials who will represent those ideas. Opposing Trump from the start is immature and will only steer people away from your side. I’m just asking you to respond to this situation with reason and logic rather than emotion.
Round 3:
James Wood – This election represents an increasing polarization between the left and the right. People have been moving away from opposing points of view to echo chambers that validate their own opinions. Resisting Trump’s victory before he even takes office will only polarize us more. Unity is a two-way street; the president opening his arms to all Americans is only the first step. If we give him our support and he still doesn’t do a good job, then it will be clear what the right decision is in four years. Unity aside, you should at least appreciate that Trump is the first president in recent history who wasn’t hand-picked by a party and funded by big business. If you can’t root for getting corruption out of politics, you might want to reevaluate your priorities.
Peter Nouhan – George Orwell once said, “Power is not a means, it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship.” Trump’s “political revolution” was driven by the rhetoric of fear; fear of immigrants, fear of diversity, fear of change. You talk as if logical debate and rhetoric will make a real difference and change people’s minds, but people don’t act logically when they are afraid. Science tells us that global warming is caused by humans, statistics tell us that immigration helps the economy, and history tells us that democracy only works when there is compromise. Trump embodies everything that is wrong with America; distrust of our democratic institutions, ignorance of science and history, fear-driven decision making. On day one, President Trump should be met with stiff opposition if he takes any action that disregards or disrespects the laws and core values of our Republic.
