Charlottesville proves that Trump needs to step down

Belen Sassone/ Contributing Writer

Although it may seem redundant at this point, it needs to be reiterated that Donald Trump is not fit to be president.

His reaction to the events this week is not only disgusting, but shows that he is a pathetic excuse for a leader. White supremacists are openly rallying in the streets, wearing KKK hoods, Nazi symbols and “Make America Great Again” hats.

The results left a woman dead and 19 others injured after a self-proclaimed Nazi charged into them with his car.

While Trump’s rise to presidency is not what made these people believe in these things, it cannot be disputed that he surfaced these hateful ideas and demonstrations. They draw inspiration from his violent speeches and believe that he supports them, especially because he hasn’t done a single thing to denounce their behavior.

When faced with a country that’s in shambles, he acted like a coward in fear of losing his precious Nazi following. His most controversial response to the disaster that erupted in Charlottesville was when a reporter questioned him on the alt-rights involvement in the protest.

“What about the alt-left that came charging at the, as you say, the alt-right? Do they have any semblance of guilt?” Trump said.

This ridiculous statement implies that counter-protesters trying to protect those who white nationalists want eradicated from the earth are somehow at fault.

Unite the Right wants a dark time in history to be repeated, and they are inciting violence and terrorizing those outside of the “superior” race. They are dangerous and no one, especially those in power, should shrug their shoulders at their demonstrations because they are allowed free speech under the first amendment. 

If we had a president that at least supported the resistance and wasn’t afraid to step up and make an effort to stop them, then perhaps we could all laugh at how stupid they look with their tiki torches and move on with our lives.

Clearly, that isn’t the reality that we are living in, and it’s up to the people with some moral ground left in them to stop this and take actions that will get Trump far away from the White House.

Another thing that needs to end immediately are the Trump jokes that humanize him and make it seem like he isn’t a threat to this country. It may have been funny in the beginning to laugh at his ridiculous statements, but they have done more harm than good. He is a purely evil man, who may sound like a third grader in a speech and debate class, but with enough power to cause serious damage.  

More members of the GOP need to separate themselves from him and speak out against these hateful acts. In a country that is being further divided every time he opens his mouth, they need to put political parties aside and focus on the bigger picture.

To the Trump supporters who claim that they aren’t racist because they had one black friend in elementary school — if you stand by a man who refuses to lose the support of white nationalists, you are no better than any of those torch-bearing lunatics.  

 

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Photo taken from Flickr.