Since the 2016 presidential campaign and election, President Donald Trump has remained controversial both nationwide and internationally due to his bold actions and statements. From his Twitter rants to his undeniably inappropriate and disrespectful comments, Trump’s approval ratings have consistently decreased over time, and, in light of his most recent scandal, has hit an all-time low of 37% with 44% of Americans asking for impeachment hearings, according to Ken Meyer of MediaIte. Although he is nearly at the end of his term, I argue Donald Trump should definitely be impeached, if not for his corrupt nature, then for the fact he is immorally unfit for presidency.
On Sept. 24, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi officially announced the House of Representatives is launching a formal impeachment inquiry against President Trump. According to Will Wilkinson of The New York Times, he is specifically being charged with betraying his oath of office and the nation’s security by seeking to enlist a foreign power to tarnish a potential Democratic opponent in the 2020 election for his own political gain. While his actions are certainly not surprising, Trump abusing his position and power as president for political gain is not only corrupt and unlawful, but it is also distasteful. He shows he is incapable of human decency, and he does not believe he can fairly earn the votes of the American people.
This scandal is another addition to many of his previous actions that have made him unworthy of presidency, including recently in June when, as reported by Christal Hayes, Jason Lalljee and Sarah Elbeshbishi with USA Today, the House of Representatives had to formally condemn his racist Twitter posts where he disgustingly attacked four Democratic congresswomen of color by stating they should “go back” to where they came from, among other things. This behavior is unethical, especially as president. It does not embrace the diversity of the American people, and it encourages a divisive nation, prejudices and hatred for our very own citizens on the basis of race and religion.
Since two-term former President Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about an affair within his marriage, Trump can certainly be impeached for similar indiscretionary acts, considering his long history of publicly inappropriate and repulsive mannerisms. In addition to his actions stated earlier, Donald Trump’s continuous attacks and many of his public statements could be used to further argue his impeachment on immoral grounds. As reported by Ali Vitali, Kasie Hunt and Frank Thorp V of NBC, Donald Trump disrespectfully referring to Haiti and some African countries as “shithole countries,” as well as speaking negatively of our immigrants from those countries, are examples of how a president should not speak or act. Also, Trump has had at least 17 women come forward, both before and during his presidency, and accuse him of some form of sexual harassment or assault, as reported by Meghan Keneally of ABC News.
Though he denies these claims, his arguments are fairly questionable considering how he weakly supports himself with statements such as “she’s not my type” or blatantly lying about not knowing the woman, regardless of any evidence to the contrary.
Who could forget the infamous Access Hollywood tape of him having a despicable conversation about women where he explicitly discusses doing what he wants with women and how he can easily just “grab them by the p*”? Behaviors such as these can and should also be considered when it comes to impeaching Trump. We, as a nation, simply should not allow someone with such disgusting views to represent our country, especially when they have the power to act on them.
Last but not least, Trump is unfit to lead nor represent the American people as his actions have proven he has racially biased views about some of America’s citizens, specifically minority groups and people of color. For example, his failure to condemn the actions of the white supremacists and Neo-Nazis in Charlottesville and even going on to describe them as “fine people” is extremely problematic, especially considering his non-inclusive policies and how he also accepts the ongoing support from the historically acclaimed hate group, Ku Klux Klan.
Also, his demeaning view of Mexicans, reported by Gregory Korte and Alan Gomez with USA Today, describing them as “animals” and “rapists” is extremely offensive and discriminatory against the Latinx population in America, and it has definitely caused an increase in racial tension and false prejudices against Hispanics in the US.
Comments and views like these are very dangerous for a president to have as they could subconsciously influence his decisions about our laws, wars and economy in a way that could be disproportionately discriminatory against a specific group of people. Therefore, how can I, a woman of color, support or even tolerate a president or any leader that boldly shows they have little to no regard for me or my community?
With his problematic campaign strategies and eventual election, it was only a matter of time before Trump went too far. While I do understand he could finish his term and be properly voted out at this point, I do believe if we, as a people, do not condemn his actions now, then it will enable future presidents to repeat such actions. However, I look forward to seeing how the impeachment hearings pan out, and how Trump’s presidency affects our nation in the years to come.