Eight blocks away from my loft in downtown St. Louis, presidential candidate Donald Trump held a rally at the Peabody Opera House. Walking the distance to the rally I could have chosen a number of different paths, but I made the choice to walk down Locust which led me past one of the many homeless shelters in my area. It’s a warm day on the verge of spring so the outside of the shelter appears abandoned. At night however there will be a mass of people gathered looking for a place to stay. During the recent cold winter nights that crowd appeared larger than I’ve ever seen it.
At the rally I did not expect to hear any mention of the circumstances which lead and imprison people to a life of poverty. The circumstances which compel people to line up outside the soup kitchens in my neighborhood. There would be no mention of income inequality or lack of education opportunities. Donald Trump may talk about racism and bigotry but unfortunately that is only because his remarks tend to come off as racist and bigoted.
Mr. Trump has not run a campaign on the issues facing the majority of Americans, he has run a campaign based on anger and division. Mr. Trump has pandered to his majority white base by painting America’s biggest threat as the dark-skinned people both foreign and domestic. He has characterized our Hispanic population as criminal and threatened to deport 11 million people, he has talked outright of banning Muslims from entering into our country, and he has laid the problems of lower and middle class Americans at the feet of immigrant labor. Trump’s xenophobic remarks have done nothing to “make America great again.” America was already made great once by our immigrants, and it could only be made great again through unity not through division.
The idea that our economy is in ruins because of welfare recipients and illegal immigrants sucking the system dry is a falsity. The amount of money spent in these areas is slim compared to the welfare given out to corporate interests and the blank checks we hand to military contractors. Mr. Trump either knows this and chooses to mislead his voters or is ignorant of the facts. He has promised to rebuild our “crumbling” military while simultaneously promising to make it harder for low-income families to receive government assistance. We currently spend more on the military than any other country on the planet. More in fact than the next ten countries combined. He also looks to extend tax breaks to the wealthy and cut the corporate tax rate to a maximum of 25%. This favoritism of the elite and the lack of proper priorities shows the disconnect between Mr. Trump and the real problems most Americans face.
Today, 47 million American live below the poverty line. 1 in 7 households were food insecure in 2015, meaning that in this country there are children who will go to bed hungry tonight. Government assistance programs are not without their issues, however blaming the poor for being impoverished is not the solution to any problem. Forcing corporations to pay their fair share in taxes, raising the minimum wage, and reallocating some of our bloated military spending to other programs are much more feasible solutions, but not solutions we will ever hear discussed by a republican candidate.
When given opportunities people can thrive, and despite what Mr. Trump and his supporters believe most people on government assistance work for a living already. Unfortunately for many Americans, disproportionally black Americans, opportunities are few and far between. We have made great strides in this country to close the gaps in income and education between the majority white population and the minorities in this country, but we have not gotten it perfect, and there is still much work to be done.
Spotting diversity among Trump supporters at a rally is a game of ‘Where’s Waldo.’ At Trump’s rally in St. Louis groups of black protesters had hate speech hurled at them by Trump supporters. When Trump’s speech was interrupted by protestors who managed to get inside the building, he too spewed insults at them from the podium telling them to “get a job” because “they contribute nothing.” This is the type of rhetoric he has used to ignite the anger of his supporters. The middle class does have a lot to be angry about, but unfortunately putting their vote in for a demagogue like Trump is a tremendous mistake. His policies won’t change American life for the better. Tax breaks for the wealthy and a rollback of social programs will lead to a widening gap of income inequality making the middle class take the brunt of the economic downturn.
Donald Trump does nothing to distance himself from the racists who back him. His policies and his tendency to demonize people outside his key demographic have clarified whose president he wishes to be. Donald Trump wants to be president of white America and in this day and age that is not who the president represents exclusively. America is multicultural at its core. We are not bullies and we do not kick the little guy when he’s down, we help rebuild him. The poverty problem in this country is not simply about creating more jobs. Rather, it strives to bridge the gaps between cultures so that we can function better together as a society. Donald Trump ignores the issues facing poor Americans in the hope that those better off will not notice. Well Mr. Trump, those of us who have will not ignore you.