Donald Trump: The Establishment's Key to Sustainability

The support for Donald Trump is as absurd as it is abundant.

 

The general consensus with his supporters is that they are angry with the corruption, angry with the establishment and angry with the humdrum, business as usual of Washington. So what do they do—rally behind a corrupt, previously self identified Washington insider that not only supported, but funded all the politicians and political positions that got us where we are today.

I know, it literally makes no sense to me either.

Countless people who identify as staunch Conservatives, Republicans and even Evangelicals are completely throwing away the principles and beliefs they said they so dearly adhere to for what can only be described as the best, or more accurately—the worst, Trump scam yet.

No matter how much he pushes the "Lyin' Ted" narrative, Donald Trump remains unmatched in the deception and peddling of blatant lies to the American people. Almost everything he says is categorically false. The briefest look into his record reveals the stark contrast of actual belief and shameless pandering, the latter being the foundation of his campaign. Even polling shows he's managing to make Hillary Clinton seem likable and trustworthy. Which on its own should make you really reconsider who you're actually supporting!

However, this does not seem to change the fact that Trump widely goes unquestioned both by the media and voters. He lies about lying about his lies and for reasons beyond my comprehension people continue to just make excuses for him or disregard it out of what can only be complete ignorance.

So I ask you, when is enough, enough? How many times does this man have to prove his incompetence, his duplicitousness and how completely contradictory and incoherent his philosophies are before people actually wake up to the fact that he is an absolute fraud?

He has questioned Israel's commitment to peace and said many times that he'd remain neutral in a dispute involving our ally, he's said he would make our military commit war crimes, he's said that he's for Socialized medicine, he's said he would expand our government, he's said he would violate the constitutional rights of businesses and individuals. He has proven over and over that he is not the man he is claiming to be. If you looked at this abstractly you would think he was someone trying his damnedest not to become president, it's ridiculous!

I know what I am about to say will undoubtedly antagonize and exasperate some but I am going to say it anyway.

If you fully support Donald Trump for president, stop calling yourself a Conservative, stop calling yourself a Republican and stop calling yourself an Evangelical—you are not one anymore and you may not have ever been one in the first place. 

This is not a man that should ever embody anyone's party or personal values. Again, just take a look at his record. His own actions and statements do much more damage to his credibility than anything else ever could. Trump has never been a champion of Conservatism politically and personally he's never been a model of moral integrity.

As a Conservative, I believe in principles over electability. No matter who the candidate is, it's unquestionably more important for them to stand tall on their beliefs and values then it is to ever win an election. The problem with politicians like Trump is that their beliefs change with whatever might be trending that day. So to his supporters he may seem to stand for everything they want but to those of us not in a fog of delirium, it's quite simple see that he stands for absolutely nothing.

Not to say that electability isn't an important factor, obviously it is—this is an election after all. However Trump is not quite proving to be anything near the rightwardmost viable candidate running nor the most electable. Nearing an almost 70 percent unfavorable rating with poll after poll showing him losing to Hillary Clinton in the general, it's extremely difficult to see the logic behind those saying he's the candidate that can win.

Until New York, Trump hadn't even been winning states with an overwhelming majority. In his home state he lost his own voting district to John Kasich and Hillary Clinton managed to get more than double the votes he did statewide. Trump even got 238,537 fewer votes than a Socialist in his home state. I don't think that's exactly something I would brag about as an exceptional victory.

It's not an isolated occurrence either. In many states Donald Trump is consistently getting far fewer votes than Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. With that and his very poor head to head polling in mind, I would see this as forewarning to what we can expect in the general if

Trump is the nominee—an unequivocal loss!

I can fully understand people defending their candidate of choice. What I can't understand, however, is defending the indefensible and the inexcusable which is exactly what Trump's supporters and an alarming and ever-growing number in the media have been doing throughout this election cycle.  If any other candidate did or said what Trump has they would have been ridiculed, mocked and all but forced to end their bid for the presidency.

Donald Trump epitomizes everything that is inherently wrong with Washington—Lies, corruption, corporate welfare, fraud, shady deals, cronyism and absolute zero accountability. Trump never was and never will be an insurgent or an outsider. He's has been immersed in politics just as long as a career politician.

He is the linchpin of the establishment and progressive foothold. That is why he is getting support from many establishment politicians like John Boehner. They need someone in office that will keep the status quo. If this is not an apparent and eye-opening red flag to the reality of what's really going on then we might as well start swearing Hillary Clinton into office now.

This is truly a time for choosing. Do we continue down this path of ruination that people like Donald Trump have perpetrated and contributed to or do we choose to make a stand against the status quo and reinvigorate our country? 

For me the answer is easy. This is a turning point in our country that we need to take advantage of. A point where we choose prosperity for the many instead of the few. A point where we get back to basics and get the government out of our lives. This is only going to happen with one candidate, Ted Cruz. 

But by all means, if you're happy with the status quo and the direction that our country is headed, feel free to vote for Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders.

Donald Trump: The Billionaire with No Value

Of all the spurious outrage Donald Trump routinely propagates none may be more hypocritical than his criticism of Ted Cruz's "New York values" comment. In the wake of Trump's embarrassing loss in Wisconsin, Trump has now started a calculated retaliation heading into New York that is, not surprisingly, based on reviving the phony umbrage of the Senator's comments.

To start, Ted Cruz did not, I repeat, did not, target the people of New York with his comments as Donald Trump wrongfully perpetuates. Cruz's comment was in direct response to Trump and New York's liberal politicians, only. And if you are outraged at Cruz for saying this, you should be overwhelmingly more agitated at the fact Trump himself made the same exact statement Ted Cruz did in a 1999 interview.

In that interview not only did Donald say almost verbatim what Cruz did, he also said that he was unequivocally for partial-birth abortions. Something Trump still seems to struggle with keeping his story straight on to this day. However, since I'm sure this will not be influential enough to sway the offended masses, let's delve into Donald's New York values.

For someone that was so quick to attack the Senator for a statement he himself made, you would think one must have a pretty impeccable set of principles and values, yes?

So just what are the New York values that Donald Trump possesses? Are they his well documented connections and business dealings with the Mob? Are they his exorbitant debts and failed ventures that have cost New York taxpayers Millions of dollars?

Are these values the same values that made Trump defraud thousands of Americans with his fake university and ACN pyramid scheme? Or why he turned away thousands of American workers to hire cheaper foreign and illegal labor instead?

Was it the New York values that got him into nearly 200 active lawsuits for fraud? Do these values to him, in some extremely convoluted way, justify the absolutely disgusting and repulsive way he's attacked and harassed women?

Are Trump's New York values the reason why he shamelessly brags about his extramarital affairs and the fact that he's slept with other men's wives? Or are these the values that made him vindictively withhold medical care from a sick infant because he was mad at his family?

Maybe it was the New York values that made Donald Trump petition not once, but twice, to have disabled veteran vendors removed from 5th Avenue because they were "clogging and seriously downgrading the area." Was it those same values that made him take money meant for businesses damaged by 9/11, when none of his businesses or properties were affected? Or was it these New York values that made Trump sanctimoniously attack Ted Cruz on New York values and 9/11, even though he didn't make a single donation to any 9/11 charities?

As a New Yorker myself, I look back at Trump's record and I am truly appalled at what I see. These are not my values and I know these are not New York's values, they are a sign of no values!

Response To The Lies Of Donald Trump

 After the last GOP Debate Donald Trump has gone on another tirade of attacking other candidates for pointing out his more than obvious murky relationship with reality and telling the truth. Trump has since continued his onslaught against Ted Cruz with a Facebook post titled, "RESPONSE TO THE LIES OF SENATOR CRUZ." This is my response to Donald Trump's response to Ted Cruz's supposed lies.

Donald Trump calls Ted Cruz a totally unstable individual. Trump says, "He is the single biggest liar I’ve ever come across, in politics or otherwise, and I have seen some of the best of them. His statements are totally untrue and completely outrageous. It is hard to believe a person who proclaims to be a Christian could be so dishonest and lie so much."

Let's just get something straight right off the bat. If Trump's tantrums on the debate stage and on twitter are not enough evidence of a severely unstable individual I don't know what is. As far as the lies go, according to more than a few fact checking websites, Donald Trump lies roughly 93 percent of the time. He's in no way in a position of being able to criticize anyone on stability or truth telling. He is literally at the top of the list of deceiving the American people.

Donald Trump also said "Cruz said I would be appointing a liberal judge when in fact I will appoint a great conservative and I am the only candidate who has gone so far, at the debate, as to suggest two individuals I feel would best represent the conservative values we need to protect: William “Bill” Pryor Jr. and Diane Sykes."

Trump continually praises his sister who is a pro-abortion left wing extremist judge and has said she would be, in his own words—a "phenomenal Supreme Court justice." I get being supportive of your family and I do not have a problem with that except that he has a history of supporting liberal justices instead of conservative ones. Take his stance on eminent domain for example. If Trump really is a conservative he would stand with justices like Scalia who opposed and tried to stop it. Instead, Donald Trump supported the views of the liberal justices.

Trump said, "Cruz says I am pro-choice, when in fact I am staunchly pro-life and have been for a long time. Like Ronald Reagan, on many issues, I have evolved."

I will let Donald Trump's own words shed light on this. His own words do more damage to his credibility than anything else ever could. On NBC's Meet the Press, Trump said the following, "Look, I’m very pro-choice. I hate the concept of abortion. I hate it. I hate everything it stands for. I cringe when I listen to people debating the subject, but you still — I just believe in choice. Again, it might have a little to do with a New York background, because there are some different attitudes in different parts of the country … but again, I am strongly for choice, and yet I hate the concept of abortion. I am pro-choice in every respect, but I just hate it. "

"I am pro-choice in every respect." That does not really leave any wiggle room for interpretation, does it? As far as Trump comparing himself to Ronald Reagan that is about as ridiculous as it gets. Reagan, unlike Trump, had for decades supported, defended and believed in conservatism before becoming president. Trump simply has not. He does not have any history of having conservative view points. He has seemingly changed all of his well documented liberal views overnight to run for president. He is a Republican by title only—the liberal views remain present.

Donald Trump said, "Cruz says I am in favor of ObamaCare, when in fact I have spoken about repealing and replacing this disaster of a system at every speech throughout my campaign and since it’s inception. Meanwhile, Cruz was responsible for getting Bush to put in the judge that failed to vote against ObamaCare twice."

While I do not believe he is truly in favor of ObamaCare, he has on numerous occasions expressed support for a single-payer system. During a 60 minutes interview with Scott Pelley, Trump said, "Everybody’s got to be covered. This is an un-Republican thing for me to say." Donald continued on saying, "I am going to take care of everybody. I don’t care if it costs me votes or not. Everybody’s going to be taken care of much better than they’re taken care of now."

When asked by Scott Pelley who is going to pay for it, Trump said—"the government’s gonna pay for it." So although he may not support ObamaCare, he does support the same healthcare system that his Socialist adversary Bernie Sanders does.

The John Roberts issue has me truly surprised at Trump's absurdity to insinuate either Ted Cruz or George W. Bush are in any capacity to blame for the ObamaCare fiasco. I guess old Democrat habits die hard. It seems like he is taking a page right out of Barack Obama's blame Bush for everything diversionary comeback book.

Donald Trump continued on saying, "Cruz says I will try to take away your second amendment rights, when I am one of the strongest proponents of the right to bear arms and I say so in every speech that I have made for years. I am a proud member of the NRA and so are my sons."

This is a bit of an exaggeration on Trump's part. Though he may have never supported confiscation—Trump has openly supported the assault weapons ban and advocated for extended waiting periods. He has supported stricter gun control in the past and has flip flopped over the years on the issue. Trump even criticized Republicans that walk the NRA line for not wanting any more regulations or gun control laws.

Trump then throws out yet another dig at the senator saying, "Cruz has become unhinged and is lying with the hopes that his statements will go unchecked until after the election and he will save his failing campaign.
In Iowa, Cruz told thousands of Ben Carson voters that Dr. Carson had left the race and to instead vote for Ted Cruz. He apologized when the race was over. Likewise, his fraudulent voter violation form sent to Iowa voters. If Ted is going to continue to lie with such desperation, I have no choice but to fight back"

If there is one thing that is certain it's the fact that Ted Cruz has not lied about anything involving Donald Trump. He has merely restated all the things Trump has publicly espoused as his own view points. I really think that Donald Trump is so conceited that he thinks that he is above reproach and his own statements will go unchecked. Ted Cruz is not cowering to his threats so obviously Trump's next move is to threaten lawsuits and resort to name calling—like a child throwing a tantrum.

The stealing voters issue should not even be an issue, it's honestly ridiculous. Not only did at least three CNN reporters tweet less than clear tweets about Carson moving on with his presidential bid, which I personally saw while it was unfolding, but Marco Rubio's campaign circulated the same news as well. This was far from a deliberate attack on Carson. Trump seems to be suffering from the worst case of sour grapes in recent history.

Donald Trump says one of the ways he can fight back is to bring a lawsuit against Cruz relative to the fact that he was born in Canada and therefore cannot be President. If he doesn’t take down his "false" ads and retract his "lies", Trump will do so immediately. Additionally, the RNC should intervene and if they don’t they are in default of their pledge to Donald Trump.

This man is so narcissistic he actually believes he can dictate how the election, the debates and the media are run. Nobody has not treated Trump fairly. He has been coddled and coaxed by the media as well as the RNC—above and beyond what they would do for other candidates.

The fact of the matter is Ted Cruz is an American citizen no matter how much Trump wishes he wasn't. Cruz has not run slanderous ads or even lied about Trump. Ted Cruz as simply reveled the Achilles heel of Donald Trump—his own words.

Donald Trump wrapped up his response by saying the following:

"I am the strongest on the borders and I will build a wall, and it will be a real wall. I am strongest on illegal immigration, strongest on ISIS, strongest on the military and I will take care of our Vets. I will end common core and preserve the second amendment. I will renegotiate our trade deals and bring our jobs back to our country. I am the only person who will Make America Great Again."

I just want you to take a moment and look at the above excerpt closely. Do you see anything profoundly telling about it? It sticks out quite resoundingly—I, I, I, I, I, I, I! This is a man that is so arrogant he can't see past his own nose. He is the greatest, he does the best things, he is the strongest, he is the only one who will make America great again.

I don't know about you but I happen to think America is great, we never stopped being great. We don't need a president who thinks that we are not great and he is our only hope, we already have that—it didn't go very well. We the people make America great, not a substanceless, self proclaimed savior.

Make no mistake, Donald Trump is not in this for the good of the people. This is nothing more than a sanctimonious conquest of power. The only thing Donald Trump cares about is himself—it is the only thing that has remained constant throughout his entire life.

Duplicitous Donald

Donald Trump seems to remain popular with some American voters because he has made it a point to monopolize off of their fears and concerns. His seemingly pure unadulterated take on politics and how the world works in general has resonated with his supporters. He portrays himself as being anti-establishment, anti-politician and a true outsider. However I would contend that in reality Donald Trump is more of a politician than most career politicians.

Can someone who says they are anti-establishment truly be anti-establishment or an outsider if they openly brag about how they pay politicians to do what they want? Is that not the epitome of why Americans do not trust the government in the first place? Are pay to play politics not at the heart of big business and big government corruption? I just do not think you can say you are part of the answer when you have consistently been a part of the problem. While I do not harbor any resentment towards anyone that does well for themselves no matter how obnoxious, confident or cocky they are, I do not like people that say one thing but do the complete opposite.

I am going to start this whole thing off with the main reason of why I deeply do not like the idea of a President Donald Trump. I have seen many in the media pass off eminent domain as a null issue. However having experienced it first hand and having fought and thankfully having successfully won against it, it is for me the biggest issue I have with him. Besides all of his lies, flip-flops, inconsistencies and in general revolting behavior.

The issues of eminent domain, big business and government overreach is what sparked my interest in politics and the news. During this arduous and nerve-racking 4 year long ordeal, I had the great opportunity of working with almost all of the politicians, both Republican and Democrat, in New York State at the time along with many news networks.

However, it also showed me just how devastating eminent domain can be. Several years ago my father and I spearheaded the fight against a Canadian company that was funded by overseas investors. This company wanted to install a 200 mile long power line through New York State and had tried to use eminent domain to obtain properties that were key to their project. In some cases this project was literally going to wipe out some small towns completely.

All of it started with us just trying to save our own home and business from being taken away because some business man/corporation decided their project was more important than the people standing in their way. Very much mirroring how Trump operates with his business aspirations. As our fight grew, many people along this 200 mile stretch would call our house and plead their plight, asking us to please help them save their homes. I am not sure how many of the people in the media would react if they were suddenly faced with losing everything but it should not be passed off as inconsequential when a Presidential candidate supports what I would argue is big business and big government strong-arming.

For those of you who think it's a silly issue to bring up I want you to try and imagine how it feels to have someone come to you and say that they are going to take everything that is dear to you because it is in the best interests of someone else. Then add onto that feeling, people pleading with you in agony and worry, asking for your help. Have others look to you for help and depend on you to save their livelihoods, their memories, their homes--all while your world is being turned upside down. I want you to try and imagine how we felt when a fight that started out of necessity just for our family ended up being a fight for hundreds if not thousands of families. I promise you, if you had to face this like we did you would be just as passionate as I am on the issue of eminent domain--and just as critical of the man that supports it.

So when Donald Trump says he is for the little guy and says he is against big government, I see that for what it really is--a bold face lie. When you actively use and support the use of eminent domain you are not for the "little guy". Not only does it prove that he cares more about his power rather than the people but it also shows that he is for big government as well. Which in turn goes against the very conservative values he is trying to convince the American people he now abides by.

The last "business man" who espoused the same sentiment of caring about the little guy, while also supporting the use of eminent domain like Trump--was trying to take my home and business away. If I go by Trump's logic I guess it was because he cared so much about me, right? Well I fought against that man and won, that is why I will fight now too. I will fight to show people the hypocrisy of Donald Trump.

Now onto the "self made man" issue. Trump would like everyone to believe that he started from the ground up and became the billionaire he is today because of his genius, his savvy business deals and good ol' hard work. When in reality he was set up for success as a child by his father and has been helped with the most gracious and convenient of bailouts by the people, his father and the government throughout the years.

His father, Fred Trump was a tycoon of real estate and provided him with abundant comfort and security while growing up and continued to do so throughout his life. Trump's father gave him an estimated $1.5 million right out of college and left him with an estimated $40 million to $200 million inheritance. Not exactly chump change. And as far as his business model goes it has not always been peaches and cream.

Trump has filed for bankruptcy four separate times for his businesses since 1991. They were all Chapter 11 restructurings, which Trump constantly brushes off as commonplace in the business world and does not reflect bad business operations. But let's remember, you do not file for any type of bankruptcy unless you are in trouble in the first place. And although he claims that every successful company does it all the time, the facts do not support that. He is the top filer for the last 30 years. Previous to those filings, in 1990, Trump was on the verge of losing everything due to excessive leveraging.

In 1990 The Trump Organization revealed that it was over $5 billion in debt.  If it had not been for a bailout pact agreed upon by some 70 banks, which allowed him to both defer on his debt and let him take out second and third mortgages on almost all of his properties, Donald Trump would have gone completely bankrupt and failed. Not to mention the surreptitious loan from his father which violated casino regulations and resulted in a $65,000 fine.

In 1995 Trump took his Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts Inc. Public. He received a substantial amount of funding from the people. At first he sold 10 million shares at $14 per share and then in 1996 turned around and sold 13.25 million shares at $32.50 a share, that is quite a profit. Without the all of those people that bought into his company, it wouldn't have been such an easy task. They are the ones that made it a successful and stable business venture for him. Once again, someone else gave him the comfort and security to thrive.

So although he likes to think it was all him all the time--he owes an incredibly large part of his wealth and success to those who took the risk of their own money and to the government. Which he consistently seems to ignore or just doesn't care enough to be grateful for. Whatever the case may be, Donald Trump has cost taxpayers, lenders, and share holders millions if not billions of dollars because of his "successful" business deals.

Trump continually says that everyone always got paid when he made his business deals. In essence that may be true, however, the little secret he conveniently forgets to mention is that in many cases the people that invested in him didn't get anything near what they put in back out. It would be more accurate for him to say that he always got the best end of the deal but many times it was at the expense of the "little guys" the "average Americans" he says he cares so much about now.

Another huge problem I have with Donald Trump are his manners. Although it may sound inconsequential to most, for me it is extremely telling of his morals. This is a man that lashes out at other people worse than a child throwing a tantrum. Are we really OK with a man that verbally destroys anyone that doesn't appease his ego?

Trump is famous for being a cut throat guy. You go after him he goes after you, fine--I get that. I own my own business and I tend to be the same way. I defend myself, my brand and my business with vigor. However, you do not get to just spit out ridiculous absurdities about other people first, then get offended when they come back at you, because you are either severely thin-skinned or just a drama queen.

Take the tiff he had with Fox News host Megyn Kelly. Trump had made some  harsh comments about women that Megyn called him out on. Most of these women were verbally demeaned simply because they disagreed with what Trump touts and pretends to be reality. So because of nothing more than a differing point of view, Trump thinks it is justifiable to call women dogs, fat pigs, animals and other crazy things. Is that who we want "negotiating" on behalf of the United States of America? I would hope not.

It did not stop with those 7 women either. After Megyn Kelly called him out, Donald Trump then continued an onslaught against her on twitter. He had also gone after other women like Michelle Malkin and made snide remarks about Carly Fiorina's face. It is simply ridiculous! I do not care what any of them said to him--none of it justifies the utter disrespect and lack of class he chooses to show. Once again, that is not who I want leading my country!

This is a man that is wrought with contradicting principles. He touts hard immigration policies and deportation of illegals--while just last year he had hundreds of illegals working for him on his newest hotel. It wasn't just a one time thing either. There is a history of it. Back in 1990 he had illegals working for him and because of his money troubles, he was not paying them regularly and had threatened them with deportation if they did not continue to work.

Trump always says he wants to bring jobs back to America because all the jobs are going to China and Mexico. Then why in the world would he not lead by example and have his merchandise made here in the United States? Once again he says one thing and does another. His merchandise is made in China, Mexico, Vietnam and other places because it is more profitable for him. That is all he cares about--what is best for himself.

Donald Trump has praised both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for the work they were doing. He said Hillary has done great things as the Secretary of State. He even called himself one of Obama's biggest cheerleaders and in 2009 praised Barack Obama for all that he accomplished with so much opposition in his first year in office. Trump even endorsed the Socialist New York Mayor Bill De Blasio--does any of that really seem like he identifies as a conservative?

Then in 2011 Trump supported a nuke deal with Iran.  He says he is against the nuke deal today but back then his only criticism was that he was afraid that Obama wouldn't get it done fast enough. Trump also said he wanted to negotiate the deal himself because he knew he could get it done. He actually said he would use military threats against Iran to get the deal done. Does that really sound like great "deal making" for a president?  The guy literally said he would bomb another country to force them into a deal--I want you to just marinate on that for a moment.

The list of discrepancies goes on and on with Donald Trump. He has continually identified himself as a Democrat right up until he decided to run for President. His track record speaks for itself, it is one of progressivism not conservatism. He claims that he is beholden to no one and criticizes Ted Cruz for a loan from Goldman Sachs but Trump himself has taken out gigantic loans from every bank on wall street. By his own logic he must be owned by all of the big banks. 

The reality is we already have a narcissistic, egotistical President that does not listen to anyone, tries to destroy the people that oppose him, lies and is not held accountable for his actions and thinks he is good at "making deals".  In my view Donald Trump is the same as Barack Obama only running under a different political moniker. As a 25 year old, conservative business owner I am not willing to gamble on the future of my country, not even for just one term of a man that has proved to be as consistent as a tornado. We need a change in this country and I firmly believe Donald Trump is not that change.