The Editorial Board at The Western Front has come to a unanimous decision, Donald J. Trump does not embody qualities we hold to be important as an institution, therefore it is our resounding belief that he is an inadequate candidate to be President of the United States.
As students at a notoriously liberal university that resides in a state that perennially turns blue on election day, this probably comes as no surprise. However, we urge you not to vote for someone who uses toxic rhetoric closely associated with racism, xenophobia and a view of women that promotes acceptance of sexual violence.
Trump on women
On Friday, Oct. 7, a video was released that had a ripple effect of leaders from both parties dissuading Americans to vote for Trump. The video, obtained and published by The Washington Post, shows Trump in 2005 on an Access Hollywood bus describing his advances on a married woman. He uses language that demeans and objectifies her and other women.“And when you’re a star they let you do it. You can do anything. Whatever you want. Grab them by the pussy,” Trump said in the video.
"Let that sink in. A presidential candidate describing sexual assault as 'locker-room talk.'"
This kind of language is deadly, and it’s not because some Americans are offended by the word “pussy.” It’s because of what Sophia Bush, actress and women’s rights activist, said in an Instagram post, that “pussy” isn’t the most offensive word in the clip, it’s “grab.” In the context Trump puts it in, the word grab insinuates a nonconsensual sexual advance, making him a sexual predator.In Sunday night’s televised debate and in an official apology, Trump called his words “locker-room talk.”Let that sink in. A presidential candidate describing sexual assault as “locker-room talk.”Friday’s video isn’t the first time he’s made such a comment, as he has been documented making countless appearance-based comments about Miss Universe contestants, Rosie O’Donnell and even his own daughter.
Why now?
Crime. Rapists. Killers. All of these are words Trump has been using to describe his aversion toward allowing immigrants and refugees into the U.S.Trump has been overtly public about the wall he plans to build on the southern border of the United States in order to keep out Latinos immigrating from Mexico.
"The amount of harbored hatred toward other cultural groups that Trump has shown and built a platform on makes him clearly unfit for the presidency."
In other instances, he used blanket statements on Twitter to describe African-Americans as criminals and inexplicably kept referring to them when discussing inner-cities during the Oct. 9 presidential debate.Trump also wants to create a database for Muslims to register in upon arrival to the U.S., xenophobic behavior that leads Americans to believe “Muslim” is equal to “terrorist.”The amount of harbored hatred toward other cultural groups that Trump has shown and built a platform on makes him clearly unfit for the presidency.
Act now
Trump has no interest in helping you as a middle-class American student, a woman, a person of color, the list goes on. Many Americans feel they are choosing between the lesser of two evils when deciding between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. We unequivocally deny that notion and now is not the time, numerically speaking, to vote for a third party candidate.Nov. 8 is a big day. Don’t blow it.
Solutions by The State News
