I like Donald Trump, I really do. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the real estate empire he has successfully built, and I am completely addicted to his television show, “Celebrity Apprentice.” His professional accomplishments and business acumen can be lauded, to say the least. However as of late, I’ve been less impressed with Trump the man.
As he has during previous political seasons, Trump has announced that he is considering a run for president of the United States. During this exploration phase, Trump has continuously questioned whether President Barack Obama is truly an American citizen since he didn’t release a long form birth certificate. Trump’s accusations made him one of the more recent “birthers” who don’t have anything better to do than question something that has already been proven.
On Wednesday, the White House released the president’s long form birth certificate in an effort to put the birther claims to rest. Even before the release of the long form, I had dismissed Trump’s and other birthers’ squabbling over such nonsense. As a matter of fact, I say it for what it was: a big distraction that wasn’t worthy of my attention.
But now Trump is making me angry with his latest claims. The Associated Press reported that Trump suggested President Obama “had been a poor student who did not deserve to be admitted to the Ivy League universities he attended.”
Trump went on to tell the AP, “I heard he was a terrible student, terrible. How does a bad student go to Columbia and then to Harvard? I’m thinking about it, I’m certainly looking into it. Let him show his records.”
While Obama himself said he hasn’t always been “an academic star,” the fact still remains that he is an incredibly accomplished man who made the grade. As a matter of fact, after Columbia University he went to Harvard and became the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review and he graduated magna cum laude. I know I’m not the sharpest pencil in the box all the time, but how do those credentials equate to “terrible”?
I am so tired of everyone holding Obama to standards that none of his predecessors were held. The man is president of the United States – elected by the people. Stop the nit picking!
If Trump wants to run for president on the Republican ticket, by all means, go for it. But go about it with a modicum of integrity. I have never been a fan of someone who has to degrade another person to make themselves look good; doing so is a sure-fire way to lose my respect. It is absolutely ridiculous for Trump to continuously focus on obsolete things such as what the president did over 20 years ago. This country has far more pressing issues to be concerned about and whoever the next president is needs to understand that. As of this writing, gas prices are at an astonishing $4.17 per gallon, the United States is still at war, the deficit is ever increasing, and millions are still without jobs! These are just a few of the more pressing issues we should concern ourselves with. Others include the crumbling education system throughout the country, crime, the homeless epidemic, and health care – still.
Trump’s potential candidac y is a joke and I wish he would stop making a mockery of himself by his claims to run for president of the United States. His efforts are a dismal attempt to distract the American public while also promoting himself. It is shameless!
Tuesday is Primary Election Day. Please vote! We have to continuously let our voices be heard.
You can e-mail comments to Shannon Williams at Shannonw@indyrecorder.com.
