OPINION: Admit it, Donald Trump is unfit to be president
It’s hard to believe that anyone could continue to support Donald Trump, especially people such as newspaper editors who lecture us on moral values. What part of hypocrisy don’t they understand?
Supporters of Trump go through verbal contortions to avoid the truth, circumventing Trump’s obvious moral depravity. Like all politicians, Hillary Clinton has her faults, but compared to Trump she is a saint.
Trump said he could kill someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose a vote; if Clinton said that the Republicans would come unglued in attacking her character. But Trump says it and gets a pass, simply because he claims to be a Republican.
Trump builds and operates gambling casinos; if Clinton owned casinos she’d be called a moral degenerate, but Trump gets a pass.
Trump has refused to honor contracts for work on his casinos; if Clinton had done that she’d be called a crook, but Trump gets a pass. How many of our local building contractors would do work for Trump, knowing they could be stiffed and not paid for part or all of their work?
What if the rest of us adopted Trump’s business practices, and refused to pay contractors for their services? Would we be admired for our business success?
Trump has business ties with Russian oligarchs who are controlled by Putin, whom Trump admires, and then Trump encourages the Russians to interfere with our democratic process. If Clinton did this she’d be called a traitor, but Trump gets a pass. Trump refuses to release his tax records and then bragged about not paying taxes for nearly 20 years; if Clinton did that she’d be called unpatriotic, but Trump gets a pass.
Trump has had three wives and bragged about his affairs; if Hillary Clinton bragged about affairs, she’d be called unqualified to be president, but Trump gets a pass. Now we have Trump bragging about using his power as a celebrity to assault women, criminal offenses, yet he gets a pass from his supporters.
Everyone in the county has probably received the slick Republican candidate brochure with their cast of characters, with Trump at the top of the ticket. Some Montana Republicans, like Rep. Zinke, campaigned for and continue to support Trump. It’s well past time for Republican candidates and their supporters to denounce Trump, and speak out about his lack of qualifications for office (like courageous Bob Brown has done). If they don’t they’ll forever be tainted by their association with Trump’s foul-mouth and bigotry, and in the process losing all personal credibility.
Many Republicans share responsibility for creating the Trump candidacy. They embraced Trump’s unfounded accusations about President Obama’s place of birth, and many other lies perpetrated against Obama. Promoting lies has serious consequences, and now the proverbial chickens have come home to roost.
It’s time to do the right thing and admit the truth about Trump. He is unfit to be president or to be a role model for our children!
Gniadek is a resident of Columbia Falls.