Donald Trump Doesn’t Understand American Values
As our country continues to grow and develop we see constant changes in social, ethical, and political areas. Our current president is a significant example of one of these changes. Donald Trump, the president of the United States, is the first and only president to be elected without any political and/or military background. Many believe that because of his lack in political experience he is unfit to be the president of our developing country. Considering the significant amount of questionable and immature responses that Trump has displayed during serious situations, it is reasonable for most Americans to question whether he truly understands the values of US citizens, or if he is a threat rather than a supporting figure to our freedom of expression, pluralism, and tolerance.
As mentioned in the article “Trump's NFL comments prove he doesn't get American values” published on CNN by Dean Obeidallah, a recent example where Trump displays a misunderstanding of the values of our democracy is his commentary on the current protests occurring with players in the NFL. This protest was initially started by 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. In the article, the author documents Donald Trump when he addresses the recent protesting occurrences in order to appeal to the ideal audience of Trump supporters and convince them of Trump’s misunderstanding. He does so by quoting Trump when he says “Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, say, 'Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out, he's fired!" (Obeidallah).
These players have been kneeling during the national anthem to protest the unfair treatment of minorities, specifically people of color, in the US. The main problem Obeidallah is referring to in stating this information is that instead of President Trump concerning himself with finding a solution for the situation at hand, he insists on being demanding, demonstrating more dictator-like orientation rather than displaying what many consider to be the qualities of a president of a democracy. His comments are not only strongly worded, but they insist that players who take such actions be ejected and removed from the organization.
Though most Trump supporters may see this as a harmless comment, others view this as a current situation in which Trump has shown what they consider to be ignorance towards American values and misunderstanding of an important movement. To elaborate on the exigence of supporters of the protests, Obeidallah says, “What Trump doesn't get is that Kaepernick wasn't taking a knee because he was trying to disrespect our nation. It's because Kaepernick and others like him love this country and want it to live up to the ideals it was founded upon” (Obeidallah).
Many Trump supporters disagree with this and see it to be utter disrespect towards the flag of our nation overall. For those reading the article who share the same standpoint as Obeidallah, this movement is an example of patriotism and Trump being disrespectful to the citizens of the US who are demonstrating peaceful protest and exercising their rights to gain attention for their cause. To them he views dissent as a threat rather than a form of patriotic action. From his actions, Trump chose to address them with force and threat, completely disregarding the intended meaning behind the protest and viewing it as disrespect towards our country. According to Obeidallah, what Trump seems to be misunderstanding is that a vast majority of Americans share the same ideologies, and strongly value equality for all and the ideals that our flag is supposed to resemble.
Even Nike, a multinational corporation for sportswear, has recently decided to support the cause by using Colin Kaepernick’s famous (or infamous) image and their international following to take a stand against Trump’s comments. In September 2018, Nike released an ad campaign with an image of Colin Kaepernick’s face and the words “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.” This advertisement showed Nike’s support and created controversy that led to many non-supporters of the movement to burn/dispose of their Nike brand possessions, but it also helped the cause gain a lot more awareness and increased the amount of supporters.
Many people in, and outside, the US are fond of President Trump because he is extremely blunt when addressing the press and the rest of the country, but his honesty oftentimes shows where his true morals lie as well as his ignorance to certain situations. His constant use of social media to address important issues has been referred to as immature, and even un-professional. The article even presents proof of many occasions when Donald Trump has demonstrated inappropriate and demanding actions towards American citizens. This includes when he publicly demanded that the Saturday night program “SNL”, on FOX Network, be cancelled “because the show mocked him in a way he felt was unfair” (Obeidallah). He has also displayed many times in which he has discriminated against people according to their religion and race. As Obeidallah says in the article, “He demonized Mexican immigrants and stunningly called for a ban on Muslims from American soil” (Obeidallah).
The fact that Trump has refused to denounce white supremacists marching in the streets, and his endorsement by Davis Duke of the KKK until called out has many citizens concerned about his moral character. As soon as a player of color kneeled during the national anthem, Trump demanded conformity and cooperation. These two factors, when compared side-by-side, do not seem to demonstrate Trump having an understanding in the concept of equality for all American citizens. Though the information stated is backed by documentation of specific occurrences, some supporters of Trump still refuse to be convinced or perceive any evidence as negative. This may be changed if they consider the possibility Obeidallah presents, that Trump may also be a threat to their constitutional rights as American citizens. With his mentality and actions currently being so demanding and demonstrating those similar to a dictator, it is reasonable to worry that sooner or later he may attempt to rid of constitutional rights by using the power granted to him as president to disregard them on specific occasions.
Obeidallah compares Trump and former president Barack Obama’s attitudes by quoting Barack Obama’s farewell speech. In this speech Obama discusses the attitudes Americans should continue forward with by saying, ” For that is the true genius of America -- that America can change - Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow” (Obeidallah). Just as the players kneeling value their rights to equality as people of color and want change to support those rights, other Americans value their rights such as freedom of speech and even the right to carry a firearm. Overall, we have witnessed Donald Trump’s true character through his actions and displays of what most consider discrimination. From the evidence presented, citizens may feel as though Trump’s moral values and understanding of American values are unreliable. Obeidallah believes that the way in which Trump shows ignorance in his comments on social media and obliviousness towards certain injustices leaves many questioning whether they should fear for their constitutional rights.
Works Cited
Obeidallah, Dean. “Trump's NFL Comments Prove He Doesn't Get American Values.” CNN, Cable News Network, 25 Sept. 2017, www.cnn.com/2017/09/24/opinions/trump-nfl-american-values-opinion-obeidallah/index.html.
