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Trump: Morally Unfit
Donald Trump is morally unfit to serve as president.
Copyright © 2024 by Ari Armstrong
July 6, 2024
Donald Trump undermines the peaceful transfer of power, demonizes immigrants, praises authoritarians, mistreats women, and lies continuously. He is morally unfit to serve as president.
Trump Undermines the Peaceful Transfer of Power
On January 6, 2021, in an attempt to thwart the certification of the presidential election, Trump's supporters violently invaded the United States Capitol and assaulted dozens of police officers.
Although we can argue about whether Trump's incitement of that invasion rises to the level of criminal behavior, no one can reasonably dispute that Trump encouraged the assault. For months Trump spread bogus conspiracy theories that the election was stolen from him. He encouraged his supporters to rally near the Capitol on January 6, and then he publicly urged them to "fight like hell" to reverse the election results.
Over 700 people involved in the January 6 assault pleaded guilty to criminal charges, including over 200 who pleaded guilty to felony charges.
Because of his involvement in attempting to overthrow the 2020 presidential election results and interfere with the peaceful transfer of power, Trump plausibly is accused of conspiring to attempt a coup, which plausibly makes him a traitor to the country. Regardless, Trump actively undermines the integrity of elections and the peaceful transfer of power, and he continues to spread bogus conspiracy theories that the election was stolen from him.
Trump Demonizes Immigrants
Echoing Adolph Hitler and the Ku Klux Klan, Trump said that certain immigrants are "poisoning the blood of our country."
Trump Praises Authoritarians
Trump called Hungary's authoritarian leader Viktor Orban a "very tough, strong guy."
Trump also praised "the look, the strength, the voice" of Xi Jinping, the ruler of Communist China. Trump praised the mass murderer and dictator of the North Korean slave state Kim Jong Un as a "tough, smart guy." Trump also said that he and Kim Jong Un "fell in love."
Trump also praised the mass murderer Vladimir Putin, calling his invasion of Ukraine "genius," "wonderful," "smart," and "savvy."
Trump also has promoted his own authoritarian agenda, including calls for mass deportations of immigrants and a "military tribunal" for Liz Cheney, who has criticized Trump's misdeeds.
Trump Mistreats Women
On May 30, 2024, Trump was convicted of 34 felonies related to a payoff to porn star Stormy Daniels, with whom Trump had a sexual affair. Trump was cheating on his wife, who had recently given birth, while Trump reportedly also was seeing another mistress. Although we can argue about the appropriateness of criminal charges regarding the payoff, no reasonable person can judge Trump's sexual exploits as anything other than morally degraded.
Moreover, "At least 26 women have accused President Donald Trump of sexual misconduct since the 1970s."
Although Trump denies the allegations, in January a jury found that Trump is liable "for defamatory statements he made denying he sexually assaulted the writer E. Jean Carroll."
And the accusations are consistent with Trump's 2005 comment, "I don't even wait. And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. . . . Grab 'em by the pussy. You can do anything."
Trump Lies Continuously
Trump lied or misled over 30,000 times during his presidency. He habitually lied before his election, and he has continuously lied since then, including during his debate with Joe Biden (who also made some false claims). Trump's lies are not, for the most part, unintentional confusions or honest mistakes. Trump lies purposely and continuously, without any effort to correct the record, for the obvious aim of promoting false beliefs. Trump's strategy, as his supporter Steve Bannon has said, is to "flood the zone with shit."
For all these reasons, and many more, Donald Trump is morally unfit to serve as president.