Voicing the Unpopular Opinion in Academia (article)

The 2016 American presidential election was one of the most vitriolic and unpredictable elections in modern history. The amount of insults hurled back and forth between nominees Hillary

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Clinton and Donald Trump, along with the “scandals” each camp promoted about the other, made the entire affair seem like a reality show as opposed to an election to determine who would become the most powerful individual on the planet. Incidentally, this election was also the first presidential election I was old enough to vote in. At many different points during election season, I felt as if I was being asked to vote for the lesser of two evils as opposed to who I believed would be a better president. Personally, it was never an option for me to vote for Clinton, as I believe her corruption and blatant pandering for votes has no place in the White House. The way I saw it, I was left with two options: throw away my vote on a third-party candidate who had no shot at winning the state—let alone the presidency—or vote for a candidate who was only my 13^th choice to win the party nomination. Although Marco Rubio was my first choice, ultimately I voted for Trump, as I believed he was a better fit for the Oval Office than another Clinton.

While Trump was not my ideal candidate in any way, there were many aspects of his platform that did align with my political views. Trump’s neoliberal economic policy better suits the needs of my family, as opposed to Clinton’s heavy tax increases on the middle class, and even as President-elect he kept manufacturing jobs in America. I also see a great benefit in Trump being a successful businessman, as he knows how corporations operate and how to cut down on excessive spending (something our government needs to learn how to do). Then there is Trump’s experience dealing with foreign investors and business owners, an asset that will be essential when dealing with foreign leaders. Additionally, being from a family that has an abundance of police officers and military personnel, I believe that Trump will better protect our veterans and make sure they receive the benefits they have earned and the healthcare they deserve.

Another big factor in my voting decision was keeping Bill Clinton away from the White House. Bill Clinton’s globalization policies and implementation of structural adjustment programs in developing countries is something that most of the world cannot afford to have repeated (not to mention his pastime of preying on interns). While neither Trump nor his wife Melania have political experience, it is my belief that the political establishments need to be readjusted to better serve the American people and take the special interests out of politics. These factors generally outweighed the negatives of a Trump presidency in my eyes, as I suspect that

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most of the outlandish statements made by him on the campaign trail were just to garner attention and most of his outrageous policy proposals will not come to fruition.

As president of the College Republicans (CR) at a liberal college, I am used to receiving backlash for my political views or complete dismissal of them by my peers. I also unapologetically opposed Clinton during the election. However, Trump’s campaign awakened a new type of polarization between Democrats and Republicans, and instilled a new type of fear and uncertainty toward the future of many minority groups. This fear and anger toward Trump manifested itself in anger toward the College Republicans.

Never before had I experienced total strangers walking up to me in the hallways questioning my political beliefs or accusing me of being racist, sexist, Islamophobic, etc. (none of which are true). Students stopped showing up to our events, or yelled insults at us during them (the most confusing was during election night when the CR table was deemed the “Nazi table” by a group of Clinton supporters). This reaction from my peers was even more alarming considering the fact that the Ramapo College Republicans openly denounced Trump and did not partake in any fundraising or campaigning on his behalf (the first time in many years that this club did not campaign for the Republican presidential ticket). After it was determined that Trump would indeed become the next president of the United States, protest marches against his presidency erupted nightly across campus.

As I stood on my balcony and watched the protesters go by, chanting that Trump was not their president or that America had no room for Trump’s hate, I wished I could explain to them the reasons why I voted for Trump. I wished I could have told them not everyone who voted for Trump did so for bigoted reasons; some of us simply have more conservative political values, which Hillary Clinton was the antithesis of. It remains to be seen whether Trump will be the president that I hope he will be, or if I made a terrible mistake with my vote. For now, all I can do is follow the progress of Trump’s transition and hope that he will make good on his promise to “Make America Great Again.”

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