by Kendel Christensen, Lifelong Conservative. Twitter: @KendelC
Medium.com Highlight-enabled Link
1. A vote for Trump is a vote against The Constitution. Donald Trump has, on multiple occasions, dismissed, misappropriated, or outright attacked The Constitution of the United States
—the very foundation of America and his Oath of office:
A. Trump has referred to part of the Constitution as “phony”[2]
B. In direct violation of the 10th Amendment, and mocking the very purpose of the American Revolution itself (getting rid of a “king”), Trump has claimed he has “total authority”[3] later even insisting that the Constitution gives him the power to do “whatever I want”. He has repeated this authoritarian claim at least four times.[4]
C. Trump has solicited and accepted foreign interference to meddle in our domestic elections.[5]
D. Trump has repeatedly accepted gifts and money from foreign governments in direct violation of Article 1, Section 9, clause 8 of the Constitution.[6]
E. Trump continually violates the Constitutional principle of separation of powers, attempting to impair the independence[7] of the judiciary branch (harassing several witnesses,[8] at least three sitting judges[9], even individual jury members), but also succeeding in supplanting the separateness of Congress: the Senate Majority Leader admitted that on pending impeachment charges against the President, the Senate would be “coordinating with White House Counsel. There will be no difference between the President’s position and our position as to how to handle this”[10] and more than one senate member kowtowed that, contrary to their oath, they “would not be impartial jurors”[11] in that trial.[12]
F. Despite clear and direct warnings from Congress beforehand, Trump has gone ahead with several executive orders which clearly violate Article I, section 9 of the Constitution bypassing the powers of Congress.[13]
G. Trump has subverted the First Amendment by restricting, discouraging, covertly monitoring[14] (against state wishes—another violation of Amendment 10’s federalism), and even outright terminating Americans’ right to assemble.[15]
H. Trump has openly admitted to using his constitutional pardon power, as well as awarding awards such as the medal of Freedom, as rewards to those who have donated money to him.[16]
2. A vote for Trump is a vote for unrivaled corruption—even against the rule of law itself:
A. Trump has used the power of the government to punish his enemies.[17][18]
B. Not only has Trump openly asserted that he has the “absolute” right to pardon himself[19] (another distortion of The Constitution), but in effect he has done so by commuting the sentence of a criminal who openly has boasted that he withheld/covered up information that would implicate President Trump in a crime. I have no words that capture this level of unprecedented corruption.
C. Trump has corrupted several institutions of the government to favor his will[20] over the laws of the country,[21][22] the safety norms of the scientific community,[23] and most shockingly: steadily removing independent oversight.[24] Anyone who studies history or has lived in a failed state as I have, knows that this fact alone cannot be overstated in its concerning, negative impact.
D. Trump has repeatedly threatened to suspend licenses/shut down news organizations—merely for reporting the truth.[25] And gone after individual reporters for stories he does not like.[26] Trump is even on record calling free-speech opposition to him “treason” .
E. Trump on multiple occasions has instructed his subordinates to break the law[27] including committing felonies[28]
F. While instructing followers to break the law, Trump promised to pardon them[29] (another clear corruption of The Constitution)
G. To condone Trump’s criminal acts, he and his defenders have dismissed or supported: 1) Lying to the FBI 2) Plotting to do criminal acts is acceptable so long as the act is prevented stopped before total fulfilment 3) Covering up clearly criminal acts to ‘earn’ a pardon, and 4) Withholding aid to other countries to receive personal benefits is one of the president’s ‘powers in foreign policy’ (and many other self-serving positions that if adopted would turn America into not a nation of laws, but of authoritarian favoritism).
H. Trump has repeatedly slandered and threatened witnesses, judges, even jury members involved in pending court cases[30] (another clear corruption of the Constitutional pillar of separation of powers)
I. There is evidence that Trump is using the US Attorney General as his personal ‘fixer’[31] and attempting to turn the Department of Justice into a corrupted weapon of his personal agenda that will fight or shield him from any legal consequences and will pretend the guilty are innocent so long as they are friends of the president.[32][33]
3. A vote for Trump is a vote to legitimize full-throated propaganda. Trump and his administration not only lie, but pervert the truth to such an extent that they weave a false reality.[34] The ability to even talk about different “points of view” is presumptive because what used to be obvious fact is now so polarizing that agreeing on “facts” devolves into e.g., either ‘fake news’ or gaslighting—resulting in unprecedented division, unprecedented lack of trust in government[35] and unprecedented chaos
as well as damage to the American brand[36]:
A. Early fact checkers estimated that Trump would end his 4-year term saying about 7,000 falsehoods.[37] With time still to go until the election, he has actually said over 20,000 demonstrably false or misleading things.[38] This tsunami of lies is unconscionable by itself (and unprecedented), but as any seeker of truth knows: “lies fly, the truth comes limping after it.” That is, the vast majority of people have neither the time nor energy to comprehensively debunk every (or any) statement and so lies by default become temptingly easy to believe. Americans need to see this and send a LOUD message that we reject propaganda and being played for fools.
B. The White House has denied and lied about a copious number of reports that were demonstrably true[39]
C. Without evidence, Trump gives oxygen to legions of outrageous conspiracy theories, defying logic and perpetuating the very problem described above, of not even being able to agree on what is a fact.[40]
D. There is evidence that Trump cannot handle the truth,[41] and does not hire trustworthy individuals, but rather people who will tell him what he wants to hear. He has no long-term loyalty to principles and turns on people when they have disagreements, contradicting earlier claims about their qualifications and abilities.[42]
E. Trump speaks out of both sides of his mouth, claiming altruism for donating his presidential salary to charity, all the while illegally funneling millions into his pockets.[43]
F. Trump justified keeping his tax returns hidden (and therefore much truth about his life) with the lie that he “couldn’t” release them because he was “under an audit”—when #1) being under an audit would not have prevented him from releasing them,[44] and #2) still refusing to release them long after any supposed audit would have completed—playing the entire country for fools twice.
G. On multiple occasions Trump has used subtle influence, or outright intimidation and coercion to get scientists and credible independent institutions to make false or misleading statements, change standards that fit political ambition over an unbiased scientific process, even prematurely approve drugs that later proved to be deadly[45]—wholly undermining our ability to trust and act on information when lives are on the line (Ask yourself: do you know when a vaccine is coming? Are you confident that any vaccines that become available will have gone through proper procedure, free from political meddling? Nothing is safe from Trump’s interference).
4. A vote for Trump is a vote against science and nonpartisan research. In a time of pandemic, it is a vote for prolonged uncertainty and unnecessary death:
A. Trump admitted to shamelessly misleading the public[46] about what he knew about Covid-19—including how contagious and deadly it was[47], repeated false and contradictory information (creating widespread confusion that continues to this day), dismissed or downplayed[48] the seriousness of the threat (when he knew full well what he was saying was a lie), & even called the virus a “hoax.”[49]
B. It’s been estimated that if the United States had responded seriously to the threat even a week or two earlier, 83% of deaths would have been prevented, according to Columbia University.[50] As I write this, the USA has FOUR percent of the world’s population and TWENTY percent of the world’s deaths, putting the USA squarely on top in its failure to contain this threat.
B. Even once Trump started responding to the pandemic, his response was still “an unmitigated disaster”[51] marked by lack of testing (and repeatedly lying about it), embarrassingly inept priorities,[52] promises of a quick fix (or that the virus would “magically disappear”), and a refusal to rapidly mobilize American businesses to produce enough P.P.E. for health care workers.
C. Despite calls from every corner of the scientific & medical community, we have no national contract tracing initiative, still no effective testing system, and have lagged pathetically behind many other nations in creating (and using!) protective equipment.
D. I blame Donald Trump personally for his bad example of not wearing a mask, for politicizing the issue of mask-wearing (thereby discouraging people in the foremost effective response), as well as downplaying other appropriate measures[53], and associating refusal to wear them as a badge of honor or patriotism. There is a reason America’s infection rate is so high and this is one of them.[54]
5. A vote for Trump is a vote to reward and encourage politicians
to put their personal interests ahead of the national interest:
A. On a multitude of calls to foreign leaders, top Trump deputies witness that Trump was not only woefully “underprepared” but also “delusional” and “often pursued goals aligned with his own agenda rather than the national interest” [55]
B. To protect his pride or cover mistakes, Trump insults foreign leaders[56], and would arbitrarily detain Americans. [57]
C. Trump reneged background checks for gun buyers — desired by 93 percent of Americans — to please the gun lobby.
D. Many foreign and domestic deals and negotiations are tied with donations and patronage to Trump and his entities.[58][59]
E. Instead of loyalty to principle, purpose, or even party, Trump demands personal loyalty,[60] creating a “cult of personality” or, as Ruth Ben-Bhiat, has said, directly acting out of the playbook of an autocrat bent on destroying democracy.[61]
6. A vote for Trump is a vote against common-sense leadership and wise governance:
A. Trump does not lead. He divides. He does not even consider himself the leader of the whole country but rather only of those who support him[62] or from whom he has something to gain.
B. Among a leader’s principal duties is to lead clearly and inspire cooperation/unity. Trump often does the opposite: leveraging division, nursing petty grudges[63], and encouraging supporters to agitation and even overt violence.[64][65]
C. He actively sows division and leverages divisive, emotionally-charged sensitivities (such as the culture wars) for distraction, pleasure, and power.[66]
D. Trump will punish innocent Americans in the name of punishing his enemies or doing so would advance his personal interests including: 1) allegedly withheld needed resources to ‘Democrat states’ in multiple crises[67], another clear violation of the Constitution and his Presidential Oath. 2) Urged Israel to not allow two Democrats to visit the country then celebrated when Israel complied.[68] And other instances. E. He goes to absurd lengths to avoid taking responsibility. America should demand in their leader a strong sense of moral obligation, urgency, and responsibility. Trump demonstrates none of these, even willing to sacrifice American lives to advance his preferred narrative.[69]
F. Over 70 Republican National Security Officials called Trump “unfit to lead” and voiced that they would be crossing party lines to vote for Trump’s opponent.[70]
Dozens more of lifelong conservative, nationally-elected Republicans have followed suit.
7. A vote for Trump is a vote against global peace and American leadership abroad:
A. Many of Trump’s calls to other national leaders were “such an abomination that if members of Congress knew the content, even Republicans would not have confidence in the President” according to witnesses.[71]
B. Trump has repeatedly been called a national security threat by government agents and agencies.[72] Despite clear and present compromising risks, Trump’s family received special treatment for background checks and security clearances.[73]
C. Trump shares classified information with enemies, compromising US intelligence, in addition to doing so to punish his enemies[74]
D. Trump on multiple occasions has sided with hostile foreign powers above his own intelligence agencies[75]
E. Trump knew that Michael Flynn was working as a foreign agent and under investigation when he hired him as National Security Advisor.
F. Trump was so prone to fits of rage due to US intelligence reports he did not like, that agents became afraid and even gave up briefing him on certain topics.[76]
G. Because of Trump’s mishandling of the Coronavirus, millions of American’s passports became instantly useless as foreign countries rightly banned US travelers due to the high spread and continuous outbreaks in the country.
H. Trump has destroyed several foreign markets for American goods and services, threatened security agreements that have kept the peace for nearly three quarters of a century, offended allies who we will desperately need to face China and other long-term threats to our security and prosperity. All for no good reason other than Trump’s whim.[77]
8. A vote for Trump is a vote against basic decency, against morality, and against the conservative movement being able to make a credible, non-demagogic case for governance again (weakening, in the long-term, issues like ending abortion and human trafficking[78]):
A. Trump has committed hundreds of criminal[79] and morally reprehensible acts[80] (without remorse) and is simply not a moral, good person—according to a large (and growing) number of the people who work with him the closest.
B. Trump paid nearly $2 million in damages for misconduct related to using charities as political tools resulting in restrictions on Trump directing future charities and his children undergoing ethics training.[81] Trump paid millions in damages to defrauded students enrolled in Trump University[82] and undocumented workers[83], and preyed upon vulnerable investors to invest in sham businesses.[84]
C. He has openly supported pro-Nazi demonstrators, given derogatory descriptions of immigrants, has attacked women of color in Congress, demeans descriptions of majority-black cities and even whole African countries.
D. Trump is not even conservative on fiscal policy. Not only will 2020 mark a year where the debt of the government equals the size of the entire U.S. economy,[85] but even before COVID happened Trump increased the amount America went into debt by 74% MORE than his democrat predecessor![86] In my view, the most flagrant violation of his campaign promises and a full betrayal of conservatism.
E. His immigration[87] and family separation policy is objectively dehumanizing.
F. Trump demeans women. In addition to having over 50 sexual misconduct allegations[88], Trump is a proven serial adulterer (who has never even denounced adultery as wrong), has joked that women should prostitute themselves for his benefit–[89] and brags about violating women.[90]
G. Because of Donald Trump, my child’s history class can now teach him about porn stars and paying them off (Trump confessed[91]).
- Let’s become again the “Party of Responsibility” and make him a 1-term footnote to history, not an entire chapter!
[1] I am not saying that Trump doesn’t do good or doesn’t have a lot of policies that I agree with–he does, and I do. But if you identify as conservative and if you love this country as I do, please vote him out of office to prove that our movement cares more about principles than temporary power. Do you really think the policies he will enact (that he probably cares about only to gain his followers’ votes, not because he actually believes them) will last when he is so abjectly offensive to anyone that crosses him? True conservatives know the way to build lasting policy changes is only through gaining the actual consent of the governed. That means being principled and consistent. Trump is neither, and we must reject him as the figurehead for the Republican cause! To believe the argument “it’s all about policy” or “it’s all about the Supreme Court” is to effectively sell our collective soul which is not worth even gaining the whole world (See Mark 8:36). Standing for PRINCIPLES is more important than 4 years of more favorable policy.
[2] Fox News, October 21, 2019 “Trump calls Constitution clause ‘phony,’ lashes out at critics”
[3] “Trump’s ‘total authority’ boast should’ve enraged Republicans. Instead they shrugged.” April 16, 2019
[4] June 16, 2019, June 19, 2019, July 12, 2019, July 23, 2019
[5] “Trump says China should investigate the Bidens” PBS News
[6] “Trump Is Receiving Gifts From Foreign Governments and Violating the Constitution, Ethics Watchdogs Warn” Newsweek
[7] “In His Own Words: The President’s Attacks on the Courts” Brennan Center for Justice
[8] Witness tampering is an impeachable offense
[9] https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-travel-ban-20170208-story.html
[10] “McConnell says he’ll be in ‘total coordination’ with White House on impeachment trial strategy” Dec 12, 2019. The Hill Reporting
[11]“Former Federal Prosecutor Says Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham Are ‘Mocking’ Juror Oath To Do ‘Fair And Impartial Justice’” Newsweek 12/24/19
[12] https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/bagley/2019/12/17/bagley-cartoon-republican/
[13] “Op-Ed: Trump just made another huge and illegal power grab. Be very alarmed” Los Angeles Times
[14] “The unmarked federal agents arresting people in Portland, explained” Vox
[15] “Protesters, Black Lives Matter DC sue Trump for violating constitutional rights” Jurist Legal News
[16] “Trump picks pardon requests from wealthy pals and GOP donors” AP News
[17] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/24/us/politics/jeff-sessions-hillary-clinton-donald-trump.html
[18] “Trump weaponizes the Presidency after impeachment victory” CNN Reporting
[19] Wall Street Journal Reporting, Trump Asserts ‘Absolute Right’ to Pardon Himself
[20] “Trump’s new postmaster general could corrupt a key institution ahead of Election Day” NBC News
[21] “Mapping Corruption: Donald Trump’s Executive Branch” The American Prospect
[22] “The System Failed the Test of Trump” The Atlantic
[23] “Trump, without evidence, accuses FDA of delaying coronavirus vaccine trials and pressures agency chief” CNN Reporting
[24] “This is Trump’s vilest act of retribution yet” The Washington Post
[25] “Trump Threatens NBC License, Blasts ‘Disgusting’ Free Press” Bloomberg
[26] “White House: Reporters Can’t Even Ask How Much Taxpayer Money Trump Is Pocketing” New York Magazine
[27] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-nadler/mueller-report-shows-evidence-trump-committed-crimes-house-judiciary-chairman-says-idUSKCN1UG0IK
[28] “US election: Trump tells North Carolina voters to vote twice” BBC News
[29] https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/take-the-land-president-trump-wants-a-border-wall-he-wants-it-black-and-he-wants-it-by-election-day/2019/08/27/37b80018-c821-11e9-a4f3-c081a126de70_story.html
[30] https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/07/politics/federal-judge-slams-trumps-attacks-judiciary/index.html
[31] Business Insider “It’s Time to Get Serious About Impeaching Attorney General Bill Barr”
[32] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-07/flynn-prosecutor-van-grack-steps-down-from-criminal-case
[33] USA Today, “Trump Justice: He’s Using His Office to Reward Friends, Punish Enemies, and Tarnish America”
[34] Where the only trusted sources are the ones that praise and credit Trump. https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/bagley/2020/09/01/bagley-cartoon-bring/
[35] “Trump Is Lying More Than Ever: Just Look At The Data” Forbes Reporting
[36] “U.S. allies, tired of flattering Trump, now mock him” LA Times Reporting
[37] “Here’s the most incredible thing about Donald Trump’s problem with facts” CNN Reporting
[38] “President Trump has made more than 20,000 false or misleading claims” Washington Post Reporting
[39] “Journalist behind bombshell Trump report speaks out” CNN Reporting September 4, 2020
[40] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_conspiracy_theories_promoted_by_Donald_Trump
[41]MSNBC reporting, Mar. 6, 2020 https://youtu.be/NGGxB5aonkI?t=56
[42] MSNBC Reporting June 19, 2020 “Bridges Burned: Watch Trump Hire ‘Best People’ And Trash Them As ‘Not Qualified’ On Their Way Out”
[43]Forbes Report “Trump Has Now Moved $2.3 Million Of Campaign-Donor Money Into His Private Business”
[44] “The President’s ‘Under Audit’ Tax Excuse Is, And Always Has Been, Bogus” Forbes Reporting
[45] https://khn.org/morning-breakout/white-house-task-force-directed-cdc-to-weaken-covid-testing-guidelines/
[46] “I wanted to always play it down. I still like playing it down.” -Donald J. Trump, On his response to Covid-19. Trump caught in Tape in February revealing FULL danger of COVID while downplaying it in public
[47] Behind Trump’s Failures on the Virus, NY Times Reporting
[48] Washington Post Reporting, “10 Times Trump Downplayed the Coronavirus”
[49] “Trump rallies his base to treat coronavirus as a ‘hoax’” Politico Reporting
[50] Fox News Reporting https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/coronavirus-lockdown-1-week-earlier-in-the-u-s-could-have-saved-36000-lives-new-model-finds
[51] “Brutal Political Ad Calls Out Trump Coronavirus Testing Failures”
[52] “When you test, you have a case. When you test you find something is wrong with people. If we didn’t do any testing, we would have very few cases.” -Donald Trump, May 14, 2020.
[53] “How Right-Wing Pundits Are Covering Coronavirus” NY Times Reporting
[54] “Heroes of the Pandumbic” The Daily Show
[55] CNN Reporting, “Trump’s Phone Calls Alarm US Officials” June 29, 2020
[56] “Trump attacks Danish prime minister for her ‘nasty’ comments about his interest in U.S. purchase of Greenland” Washington Post Reporting
[57] https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-main-concern-about-coronavirus-is-himself-964175/
[58] “Reps of 22 foreign governments have spent money at Trump properties” NBC News Reporting
[59] https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-tmobile-trump-hotel-john-legere-20190313-story.html
[60] https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-demands-loyalty-oath-from-job-seekers-who-criticized-him-during-election
[61] https://www.ias.edu/ideas/ben-ghiat-coronavirus-autocracy
[62] “Trump taunts Democrats in White House speech: ‘We’re here and they’re not’” The Hill Reporting
[63] https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/19/politics/mitt-romney-donald-trump-white-house-task-force/index.html
[64]“‘No Blame?’ ABC News finds 54 cases invoking ‘Trump’ in connection with violence, threats, alleged assaults.” May 30, 2020.
[65] March 14, 2016 Compilation of Times Trump has Called for Violence
[66] “How Trump uses the culture wars as a distraction from the accelerating Covid-19 crisis”
[67] “Politics Should Not Determine if Americans Receive Aid To Combat Coronavirus” Center for American Progress
[68] https://www.npr.org/2019/08/15/751430877/reps-omar-and-tlaib-barred-from-visiting-israel-after-trump-insists-on-ban
[69] “Trump: ‘No, I Don’t Take Responsibility’ For Botched Coronavirus Testing Rollout” Forbes Reporting
[70] “Top Republican National Security Officials Say They Will Vote for Biden” NY Times Reporting
[71] CNN Reporting, “Trump’s Phone Calls Alarm US Officials” June 29, 2020
[72] https://indivisible.org/resource/donald-trump-national-security-risk-here%E2%80%99s-current-trumpthreatlevel
[73] https://www.citizensforethics.org/nepotism-conflicts-interest-jared-kushner-ivanka-trump/
[74] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump%27s_disclosures_of_classified_information
[75] “6 Times Trump Has Sided With A Foreign Country Over the U.S. Government” Washington Post Reporting
[76]“Trump flew into a rage every time US intelligence warned him about Russia, so officials gave up briefing him on it, report says” Business Insider Reporting
[77]Remarks by Former Senator Jeffry Flake (R-Arizona), August 24, 2020
[78] Think of it: Whenever we make a moral plea in the future, a call to do the right thing, the noble thing. The principled thing: ALL OUR DETRACTORS WILL HAVE TO DO is point to the actions of our so-called conservative standard-bearer for evidence of hypocrisy. We are crippling our cause for decades by offering such an easy way out.
[79]“Trump’s 3,500 lawsuits unprecedented…” USA Today Reporting
[80] “A Catalog Of Trump’s Worst Cruelties, Collusions, Corruptions, and Crimes” McSweeneys.net
[81] “Social Posts Distort Facts on Trump Charities” Factcheck.org
[82] “Judge finalizes $25 million Trump University settlement for students of ‘sham university’” USA Today Reporting
[83] “Trump Paid Over $1 Million in Labor Settlement, Documents Reveal” NY Times Reporting
[84] “Trump Persuaded Struggling People to Invest in Scams, Lawsuit Says” NY Times Reporting
[85] U.S. government debt will nearly equal the size of the entire economy for first time since World War II Washington Post Reporting
[86] Trump’s Deficits are Racing Past Obama’s FORBES Reporting
[87] TIME Reporting, “Trump’s New Restrictions on Asylum Seekers Violate U.S. and International Law”
[88] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_sexual_misconduct_allegations
[89]Fox News Reporting, September 2, 2020 “Trump joked Sarah Sanders should ‘take one for the team’”
[90] https://www.foxnews.com/politics/leaked-tape-captures-trump-in-crude-rant-with-tv-host
[91] “Trump Admits To Authorizing Stormy Daniels Payoff, Denies Sexual Encounter” NPR Reporting, May 2, 2018
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