Why I Won’t Vote for Donald Trump

What makes a good leader? According to an article, “Top 15 Leadership Qualities That Make Good Leaders (2020)” writer Sarmad Hasan, a London based financial analyst, tops his list with honesty and integrity. Also mentioned are empathy, humility, transparency, and vision and purpose. During the last four years the United States has been led by a man lacking all of these ingredients. 

Let’s start with honesty. According to The Washington Post, President Donald Trump has made more than 20,000 false or misleading claims. According to a report by MSNBC, the president lied at a frequency of 2.9 per day in 2018 that jumped to 8.9 per day in 2019. On top of that, the man is incapable of taking responsibility for his actions. He tends to blame others and attacks the source of his humiliation. 

Let’s look at some of these lies. On January 2, 2020 Trump ordered the assassination of top Iranian General Qassem Suleimani claiming he was orchestrating attacks against four US embassies. Iran responded by attacking a US airbase in Iraq with ballistic missiles. Democrats and Republicans wanted evidence that Suleimani was posing an imminent threat. The Trump administration has failed to show any evidence to prove the president’s claim and Trump has changed his claim several times. This action alone could have started World War III.

Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower, 35th President of the United States

Trump even lied about the pandemic. In April, 2020 the president told Bob Woodward in a personal interview, “The virus is a killer if it gets you.” He then turns his attention to the public and says, “The Invisible Enemy will soon be in full retreat.” His supporters believe Trump’s words as gospel. However, his lies and manipulation of the facts during the pandemic have eroded the people’s trust in the government. According to a NBC News/Survey, “”Fifty-two percent of adults say they don’t trust the president’s vaccine comments, while just 26 percent say they do.” Is this the kind of individual you want leading your nation?

Is Donald Trump empathetic, a key ingredient for a good leader. When Mr. Trump was recently admitted to Walter Reed Army Medical Center for Covid-19 Joe Biden, Barack Obama, and Kamala Harris offered prayers and a speedy recovery. How did the Trump campaign react? According to an article in Salon, “Trump’s Covid: Empathy for the world’s least empathetic person?” Trump’s people “blasted ‘Lyin’ Obama and ‘Phony Kamala Harris’” and charged that “Sleepy Joe isn’t fit to be YOUR President.” Is this the way we want our leaders to talk? Is this what we want our children to hear?

A humble leader builds trust and facilitates learning. How do they do this? They listen effectively, inspire teamwork and focus themselves and others on organizational goals. Humility tends to bring people together and embrace a collaborative culture. Instead our president is ignoble. Just look at his recent vulgar response to his stay at Walter Reed. On the Sunday afternoon of his stay, he took a ride in the presidential S.U.V so he could wave to his supporters placing his Secret Service detail at risk of infection. Dr. James P. Phillips, the chief of disaster medicine at George Washington University said, “The risk of coronavirus transmission inside a hermetically sealed vehicle was about as high as it gets outside of medical procedures.” Trump seems to care more about his macho image than the lives of the men and women who protect him. 

Trump claims he’s “the most transparent president in US history.” Then why hasn’t he disclosed his tax return documents breaking decades of precedent, hid personal information from the public, and did not fully cooperate with the Mueller Investigation by rejecting requests for an in-person interview? These actions don’t bolster Trump’s transparent claims, but reinforce the stigma of being a pathological liar. Is this the kind of person you look for in a commander-in-chief?

Trump’s vision and purpose for the United States is an “America First” vision of the world. He wants to be friendly with everyone, but not be taken advantage of by anyone. He doesn’t see the U.S. as the world policeman and would like to see allies like Japan and South Korea develop their own nuclear weaponry to combat North Korea. Many Americans see Trump as a champion of the American people and a true defender of the common man. Putting America First had been the goal of every American president from Washington to Wilson, but the world has changed since World War I.

In his inaugural address on January 20, 2017 the new president said, ““From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land. From this moment on, it’s going to be America First… We will seek friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world — but we do so with the understanding that it is the right of all nations to put their own interests first.”

The problem is complex, for we live in a very interconnected world where each nation’s economy depends on other countries for commerce. We can’t bury our heads in the sand and say, “America first, Canada first, or Israel first.” We all live on a planet suffering from global warming, possibility of nuclear war, and environmental catastrophies. When California had its worse fire season this fall, nations such as Australia, Canada, and Israel sent firefighters to help battle the blazes. The human race is dependent on each other in this interconnected age of the Internet. Declaring that your nation comes first is irresponsible and lacks vision for the continuance of the species. 

If the president’s lack of leadership hasn’t influenced your vote, then take a look at McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, a nonprofit publishing company based in San Francisco. Since President Trump took office, writers Ben Parker, Stephanie Steinbrecher, and many others wrote a 313 page document entitled, “Lest We Forget the Horrors: A Catalog of Trump’s Worst Cruelties, Collusions, Corruptions and Crimes”. The list starts with Trump’s bogus “Birther” myth claiming President Obama was not born in the United States and ends with #923 when on October 5, 2020 Trump endangers the lives of hundreds of White House workers by pulling off his mask for a photo op following his return from Walter Reed Hospital after his bout with Covid-19. 

Prior to a severe hearing loss, I studied to become a middle school principal. Part of our studies was understanding the meaning of leadership. I learned that a good principal takes responsibility for the success and failures of his school. She puts the needs of others ahead of her own, she is empathetic and honest. All readers will agree they would like such a leader at their child’s school. I would assume, these same people would like a leader with these qualities to lead our nation. If you’ve been reading the news from various sources and glancing at President Trumps Twitter action, you can only come away with the belief that this man is not what the United States and the world needs in 2020. Vote November 3.

Michael Thal is the author of five YA novels. You can learn more about him on his website. You can receive his blog posts in your inbox if you sign up with your email address in the orange box at the right of this article.