Let’s imagine Trump as President, actually we do not really have to imagine, there is someone very similar, who has already been in a leadership position, that being the former Prime Minster of Australia, Tony Abbott. During his period of leadership, he was considered to be one of the most hated Prime Minister of the world.
In 2013, there were millions of Australians who placed their hope in Abbott, as someone who would put the country back on track after the seven years of economic carelessness, toxic policy failures and political dysfunction. His rating soon dropped as low as 30 percent, there was even a popular hashtag, #morepopularthanAbbott, which suggested that certain things, such as unhealthy food, finger shoes, and exams, were more popular than the Prime Minster. However he was unable to meet the promises he had made and he was removed from office two years in.
Every day citizens watched as he went from one failure to the next. Whether it was being scorned for his daughter receiving a scholarship, his policy failures, wearing outrageous sunglasses, or embarrassing himself through his actions and words. He became somewhat of a sideshow for the Australian people. Let us continue and see who this reminds us of, here, in the United State.
For one thing Abbott was extremely sexist. He made inappropriate comments and remarks. For example he stated that “I think it would be folly to expect that women will ever dominate or even approach equal representation in a large number of areas simply because their aptitudes, abilities and interests are different for physiological reasons.”
Now if we come back to the present, where have we heard something similar during campaigns here in the United States. Some of the worst have been directed at his competitor Hillary Clinton. Trump tweeted that “If Hillary Clinton can’t satisfy her husband what makes her think she can satisfy America?”
Abbott was also very much against immigration. He stated that “Jesus knew that there was a place for everything and it’s not necessarily everyone’s place to come to Australia.”
Then there is Donald Trump, he made this comment in the beginning of his campaign “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
Abbott also had a rocky relationship with the indigenous people of Australia. He was heard stating that “Western civilization came to this country in 1788 and I’m proud of that…” Trump also has a similar if not worse relationship with the Native Americans. This can be seen through his support of the name Redskins for the NFL team.
Both are also very homophobic, and against the LGBT rights. Abbott said that “If you’d asked me for advice I would have said to have – adopt a sort of “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy about all of these things…” Then there is Trump who in an interview that if he was elected he would “Strongly Consider” appointing a judge who would overturn the Same-Sex Marriage Decision.
They also both have a very economic view of climate change and reform. Abbott once stated that “If you want to put a price on carbon why not just do it with a simple tax.” He believed that it was all “crap.” Trump is on the same page with this issue also, saying that global warming was “created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.”
Both really know how to let their mouths run wild and are very consistent in their beliefs, at least they have that. It seems that Abbott chose to ignore reality, and Trump is doing something similar. It seems many people choose to ignore sometimes what is directly in front of them.
The issues mentioned are some of the bigger issues that many people care about, however maybe not enough, as Donald Trump is now the Republican nominee for the Presidency. Let us continue to see if the American people will also have to deal with something similar, or if they will choose to make a different choice. As the election is soon approaching let us continue to watch where the United States will go from here.
Featured Image via Wikipedia
