Trump's Small America

Before diving into how Trump sees America, let's clarify something first. With regards to the Billy Bush tape, he's not bragging about sexual conquests. He's bragging about sexual assault. He then said the women who have accused him of the things he proudly said he's done in private, "would not be his first choice" to sexually assault. Perhaps if they were more attractive he would have. He also said when Hillary stood in front of him, he wasn't impressed. That's disgusting and that's recent. He also said about a child, after talking to her, that he'll be dating her in 10 years. This is where his mind is when he sees a female. Yes, he has incited racial violence and fear of immigrants. I suggest reading about the black church in Mississippi that was burned to the ground and had "Vote Trump" spray painted on it. He called a supporter a "thug" and threw him out because he was black. That's more than an oops moment. He is a disgusting human being, but it's nothing compared to his policy plans. First, the wall. Physical barriers slow immigration for a time, but do not stop it. Raising economic opportunity at home to a point where the risk of immigrating doesn't match the potential marginal benefit is what keeps people in their home country. To this point, since the last government bankruptcy in the 1990s, Mexico has become economically stable and immigration has dramatically decreased. People aren't pouring across our borders in the masses Trump describes. What "the wall" does is focus our fears and paranoia on one thing, one relatively quick physical solution that saves us from all these trumped up woes. When it comes to the economy, I don't have to criticize his plans, just about every economist respected in the field has done that for me. Environment? He thinks climate change is a hoax created by the Chinese to stifle American business (almost a direct quote). Even if you think climate change isn't a big issue, the level of paranoia and conspiracy thinking should be troublesome. Foreign relations? Our allies are scared he could be President. Use of nuclear weapons will be on the table far more often. The man didn't realize Russia was in Crimea. The man has business ties in Russia... or so we think because he won't release his tax returns. Getting back to the domestic, because who cares what freeloading countries think, the Supreme Court? Who knows? He said his sister would be a good candidate who's incredibly liberal. Voting for him because of Roe v. Wade? The Lancet, one of the most respected medical journals in the world, recently published the largest and longest study on factors affecting abortion rates. Anti-Choice laws have no effect. Economic opportunity, women having the resources to support a child, and access to contraception are what reduce abortions. Whether you like these variables or not, if your end goal is to eliminate abortions, this is what we should be doing. Elections? He thinks they're rigged, though no solid evidence suggest this. Actually, a highly cited study found that out of a billion votes, somewhere around 30 were fraud (remember that whole paranoia/fear and conspiracy thing? yeah). Voter suppression is a bigger problem than voter fraud just given the numbers. Trump supporters are now sending out advertisements to urban areas with high concentrations of minorities that they should just vote by text...You can't vote by text. They're trying to trick minorities into not voting...This is voter suppression. He's stated he may not accept the election results, jeopardizing our peaceful transition of power for two centuries. Trump has suggested restricting what the press can say...this is restricting the First Amendment. He's said he wants to lock up Hillary, not after a trial but right after getting into office. This is starting to get eerily similar to some more infamous and popularly elected leaders. Using an "us/them" tone, questioning our democratic electoral system, doubting the validity of the press, imprisoning political opponents. I don't know much, but I've read enough about "strong men" in developing countries to spot one. If you placed him in another country with weaker government and social institutions, he would be a Mugabe, a Mobutu, or even more likely a Putin. Given the opportunity, he will mark the start of the decline of what America is and what America strives to be. This I have no doubt.