Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.
As the presidential race rages on, Mr. Trump seems to resemble more and more the nursery rhyme than a contender for the US presidency: besides Trump's partiality towards walls, he has had his great fall and shattered his campaign.
As many of you know by now, Trump was caught on tape explicitly bragging about sexually assaulting women and getting away with it:
"And when you're a star they let you do it," Trump said. "You can do anything."
"Grab them by the p***y...You can do anything".
In addition to Trump recounting his attempt to seduce a married woman by taking her furniture shopping of all things, he admits to not being able to control himself around beautiful women. "You know I'm automatically attracted to beautiful -- I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait", he said.
But wait, it gets worse. Mr. Trump nonchalantly apologized in a statement and said that "this was locker room banter."
You read that right. A presidential candidate has not only blatantly bragged about sexual violence but has also dismissed his comments as just talk. It is this type of language making light of sexual violence that feeds rape culture in our society. This is not only an insult to women but to men as well. All fathers, husbands and sons should be outraged that this man tries to pass his misogynism as normal talk among men.
He claims no one respects women more than he does. Well if this is how he respects women, then I'm afraid what he considers disrespecting them is. These lecherous and lewd remarks of a 70 year old grandfather running for president is not only disgusting but downright scary.
What is even worse is that when asked about the tape during Sunday's debate, he deflected and started talking about how awful ISIS is, essentially saying that yes, what he said was bad but ISIS is worse. You know things are taking a turn for the tragic when one uses ISIS as a meter for morality.
As a young woman, I am not only appalled and disgusted to hear a presidential candidate behave in such a deplorable manner but deeply concerned that we have allowed this charade to go on for so long. What is even more disturbing is people trying to defend such a misogynistic man.
Whoever advised Mr. Trump to run for president must have really hated him to look him straight in the eye and enable him in such an endeavor. Friends shouldn't let unqualified friends run for president.
He claims not to be sexist and racist. Fine, let us say he's not, just to humor him. But what has he done to prove him so? Throughout his campaign, Mr. Trump's rallies have encouraged violence, instilled misguided fear, and instigated the flight from our American values. Since the day he announced his bid for the presidency, he's managed to belittle, bully, disrespect, delegitimize and/or ostracize:
- Mexicans
- Muslims
- women
- African Americans
- veterans
- veterans' families
- immigrants
- people with disabilities
- journalists
- judges
- prominent members of his own party
- and President Obama
In other words, pretty much the entire country.
How can we trust someone to make "America great again" who refuses to acknowledge all the things that made America great in the first place. A leader should embrace the beauty of this diverse land and inspire his/her people toward true greatness, not enable the ugly and empower the grotesque. We need a president who has the heart to rise above the murky waters of hatred, not stir it.
These recent developments should not come as a surprise. He has been bent on finding new ways to embarrass himself, the Republican Party, and the US. Anyone with an ounce of common sense will tell you that Donald Trump is under no circumstances fit for any nation's presidency, let alone that of the United States of America.
For someone who has no basic knowledge of domestic and foreign policy, a fundamental understanding of the US Constitution nor an inkling of how to make America great again, Mr. Trump is misguidedly confident in his ability to become the leader of the free world. The fact that Republicans are withdrawing their endorsement and had begrudgingly endorsed him in the first place should be enough evidence of his unsuitability to occupy the most powerful office in the world. His childish temperament, inherent lack of tact, mercurial personality and one dimensional mindset make him an extremely dangerous person to hold office.
Mr. Trump's behavior is not only shameful to his party but to all Americans. Mr. Trump can try to apologize all he wants and excuse this as something from his past. However, his behavior during the campaign proves that he hasn't changed much over the years. He has consistently made extremely disrespectful remarks towards women from the very beginning of his campaign.
The truth of the matter is, Trumpty Dumpty has had his great fall and all the kings horses and the kings men can't put this campaign together again. The only way Mr. Trump can make America great again is to kindly remove himself from the political arena.