Four Years ago, the Sentinal Editorial Board Endorsed Romney.
Why Trump is a terrible choiceby the Editorial Board
Donald Trump unquestionably is a force in politics. But he's not a force for good. His candidacy is fueled by far, far too much hate and anger.
Hillary Clinton is not perfect. But unlike Trump, she is thoroughly qualified and completely fit to be president. Given the choice between the two, it is impossible to recommend that voters choose Trump.
We'll briefly catalog Trump's major faults in a moment. But first, let us acknowledge his appeal.
Trump speaks to a lot of people who feel bypassed in today's economy, especially older workers. But it's simplistic for him to lay the loss of manufacturing jobs squarely on trade deals, which to be fair, have also saved or created a lot of jobs here at home. The bigger truth is that the Internet age, automation and technology, and the global marketplace have forever changed how we work. And Trump cannot change that reality by building walls, strong-arming manufacturers into staying in America or placing prohibitive taxes on imports.
A lot of people also find Trump appealing because they see him as some great businessman. But there's the myth of Trump and the reality of Trump. And his spotty record — think Trump University, Trump Tower Tampa and the Trump casino in Atlantic City, to name a few — shows Trump looks out for Trump, not the little guy.
Trump speaks to a lot of people who feel bypassed in today's economy, especially older workers. But it's simplistic for him to lay the loss of manufacturing jobs squarely on trade deals, which to be fair, have also saved or created a lot of jobs here at home. The bigger truth is that the Internet age, automation and technology, and the global marketplace have forever changed how we work. And Trump cannot change that reality by building walls, strong-arming manufacturers into staying in America or placing prohibitive taxes on imports.
A lot of people also find Trump appealing because they see him as some great businessman. But there's the myth of Trump and the reality of Trump. And his spotty record — think Trump University, Trump Tower Tampa and the Trump casino in Atlantic City, to name a few — shows Trump looks out for Trump, not the little guy.
Even if he were a successful businessman, that doesn't equate to being a successful political leader. In business, your role might be to get the advantage over the other guy. But if the leader of the free world decimates the other guys economically, who is going to buy our products?
Perhaps that's why the prospect of a President Trump has made the stock market quake. By contrast, Hillary's strong debate performance gave it a bounce.
A lot of people also find Trump appealing because they think he will shake up Washington. But it's hard to see how the Republican nominee could end partisan gridlock when he can't get a lot of people in his own party to stand with him.
Trump's promises are an illusion, but the hate and anger that make him unfit are real. We'll begin with the "birther" issue because that was the beginning of Trump's political prominence.
Trump in 2011 became the most important popularizer of the conspiracy theory that President Barack Obama was not born in this country and therefore is not an American citizen. Until just a few days ago, Trump refused to disown this blatant lie, which is an insult to all African-Americans.
Even after Trump finally conceded that Obama is an American, he repeated the lie that Hillary Clinton started the birther conspiracy theory. Clinton was right during the first debate to label Trump's shameful "birther" behavior racist.
And that is not the only evidence of longstanding questionable racial attitudes. His early days in real estate saw his company successfully sued for discrimination against minorities. He insisted during the campaign that blacks today live in the worst conditions "Ever. Ever. Ever," which speaks to his astonishing inability to understand the deep scars of slavery and Jim Crow. Add to this his embrace of "stop and frisk" tactics ruled unconstitutional because they discriminated against minorities.
Trump also shows a disqualifying hateful streak toward women, whom he has called "pigs" and "fat slobs." During his current campaign he made an issue of the appearance of primary opponent Carly Fiorina and Ted Cruz's wife Heidi. Trump's "blood" comments about Fox's Megyn Kelly were outrageous.
Trump's hate extends to Hispanics, Muslims and even the disabled. It's bad enough he called former Miss Universe Alicia Machado "Miss Piggy" for gaining weight, he also called her "Miss Housekeeping" because she is a Latina.
Trump infamously characterized Mexicans as criminals and rapists. He suggested a judge ruled against him in a Trump University lawsuit because of the American jurist's Mexican heritage. Then there's the wall Trump has pledged to make Mexico pay for and his hazy yet callous plans for deporting millions of illegal immigrants.
Trump's attitude toward Muslims is just as awful, from his pants-on-fire claim to have seen "thousands and thousands" of people in New Jersey celebrating the 9/11 attacks, to his un-American plan to exclude immigrants from America if they are Muslims, to his disparagement of a Muslim father and mother whose son was killed in Iraq while serving in the military.
Then, of course, there is the video of Trump mocking the convulsive body movements of a reporter who has a disability that severely restricts his arm movements.
With all that in mind – plus his tendency to urge supporters at his rallies to rough up protesters – imagine Trump trying to offer comfort after a national tragedy.
Trump refused to admit that he mocked the reporter, and he refused to admit that he couldn't have seen "thousands" of people celebrating in New Jersey. Those refusals provide a transition to another of Trump's disqualifying traits – his apparent inability to admit a mistake. A person who cannot admit a mistake cannot learn from his mistakes. Such a person would make a very dangerous president, indeed.
The most infamous example is Trump's continued claim – repeated in the recent debate – that he opposed President George W. Bush's 2003 decision to invade Iraq. On this issue and others, Trump either is knowingly lying or is delusional.
Against that backdrop, Trump's refusal to release his tax returns raises bright red flags. He lent credence to the suspicion he has paid no federal taxes by remarking during the debate that getting away with paying nothing in prior years "makes me smart."
If middle class voters need another reason not to trust Trump, how about the fact he congratulated himself for planning to cash in on the real estate collapse that triggered the Great Recession in which so many people lost their jobs. "That's called business," he said.
Clinton has a self-inflicted trust issue of her own, most seriously because of her email scandal. But, folks, to this point the number of lies Trump persists in telling dwarfs Clinton's truth problem. Clinton, at least, has admitted that she's made mistakes.
In addition to those problems of judgment and temperament, Trump is lacking in basic knowledge and experience. It shows in his foolish comments suggesting that the United States might ignore threats against certain of our NATO allies. It shows in his "bromance" with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. It shows in his dangerously shallow understanding of nuclear policy.
That latter failure is downright scary. Trump has indicated he wouldn't be upset by significant nuclear proliferation. In a debate during the primary he did not know (until Marco Rubio told him) that "nuclear triad" refers to America's ability to deliver nukes via planes, subs and missile silos.
Even in the most recent debate he seemed uncertain both about what America's nuclear policy is and about what his own nuclear policy would be. Trump said that he "would certainly not do first strike," but he also said that "I can't take anything off the table." In other words, he is on both sides of this issue.
Trump's nuclear ignorance is terrifying.
There are many other issues for which Trump's knowledge and experience deficit is serious. And alarmingly, as we saw in the debate, he doesn't put a premium on preparation.
Trump can't overcome his deficits by surrounding himself with top advisers because he wouldn't listen to his advisers. For one of the worst things about Trump is that he is convinced he always knows best.
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