Where The Border Wall Grows
For the last issue, let’s take a trip down memory lane to find the pros and cons surrounding the biggest events of the Donald Trump presidential administration this academic year.
We’ll start with the positives. Midterm elections brought about more diversity than ever in Congress. America is beginning to move towards equality, even though it still has a ways to go.
Another positive came from the conclusion of the Russia investigation. Even though we haven’t received the full report, the summary’s out. Trump didn’t collude with Russia to win the election. Sure, Russia interfered, but Trump wasn’t a part of it. Allegedly.
Both major parties are calling for the report to be made public because the Republicans want the Democrats to see Trump’s innocence, and Democrats want to look at the report themselves to make sure it isn’t hiding anything.
Well, that’s all the positives I’ve seen, let’s look at the negatives. The many, many negatives. The trial to elect Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court was arduous and convoluted. Christine
Blasey Ford testified against the nominee; unfortunately, our patriarchy prevailed and believed the words of a man over a woman. What a surprise!
To be fair, Ford’s testimony was pretty much uncorroborated, so it was just a really tough issue to tackle. Now Kavanaugh will be on the court for a long time, swaying the highest law in the land to the conservative side.
Immigration has also been a big ticket item this year. Trump was responsible for the longest government shutdown in history with the final count clocking in at 35 days. He shut down the government in an attempt to funnel money into a border wall dividing the United States from Mexico.
He didn’t meet his goal so he reopened the government, just taking a fraction of what he asked for. But Trump didn’t stop there ... He declared a national emergency to build the wall!
There’s been some outcry with the label because many people living on the border believe there’s not really any emergency and Trump is just saying this to get his money.
Trump could use this issue to fuel his supporters to go out and vote for the 2020 elections. However, there are many Democratic opponents ready to fight.
Most notably, Pete Buttigieg (if you don’t know him, go read the last issue of the Clocktower!) could be one of the best shots at taking Trump down.
As the election season progresses, pay attention to the candidates and their policies. Keep updated so you can make an informed decision November, 2020.
My only request: Please don’t vote for Trump again.
Ashley Bower is a junior studying english language arts education.