Opinion | Don’t Ignore the Dangers of Trump

In Washington, during April 1951, the Senators (the local baseball team at the time) played the Yankees with President Harry Truman invited to throw out the first pitch. The stadium suddenly erupted in boos due to the recent firing of Gen. Douglas MacArthur as commander of the Far East, which was immensely popular. Michael and Martin, two brothers, were present and witnessed the incident. Martin confessed to their father that he had participated in booing the president before Michael pulled him down, to which their father explained how he should respect the president’s position regardless of his personal opinions. Unfortunately, this idea of respecting the president is now a thing of the past due to Donald Trump’s actions.

Injecting a virus of cruelty into the political bloodstream is what Trump did, using ridicule in his presidential campaigns and his general childish behavior. Even Rupert Murdoch-owned Fox News, which has conservative views, has shown a lack of courtesy towards President Biden, constantly ridiculing him for any perceived weakness.

Republican Senator Mitt Romney has voiced his opinion on Trump’s behavior, saying that he is not fit to be the US President and that he does not support him. Senator Todd Young from Indiana has expressed similar concerns about Trump’s president candidacy, saying that he’s “had enough.”

As a video surfaces of Trump dancing to “Macho Man” following the CNN town hall, it highlights the potential threat he can cause. He has shown himself to be a narcissist with a fixation on numbers, but what’s scarier is his desire to create chaos, and his access to advanced technologies such as A.I. chatbots that could potentially help spread lies and misinformation. During the CNN interview, he exasperatedly exaggerated the size of the crowd on Jan. 6, claiming that it was the largest crowd he had ever spoken to, making the events of that day seem like a beautiful thing. He also called the courageous Black Capitol Police officer a thug when speaking in front of New Hampshire voters.

We need to understand that Donald Trump is an insidious disturbance to our political stability, and ignoring him would only embolden his efforts. There is a need to force Trump to reveal himself and challenge him, for pretending that he does not exist does not solve the problem.

President Biden and his team need to recognize the opposition they face and plan accordingly. They must not underestimate their opponent and must be prepared for a fight.

Simply put, shredding democratic norms ourselves would not save democracy.

“It strikes me as fundamentally wrong to deny voters a chance to see candidates, and particularly front-running candidates, answering challenging questions from journalists and citizens in open forums,” David Axelrod said, emphasizing the importance of challenging the political opposition head-on.