By Alexa Mayer

November 8, 2016 marks the date of the 58^th quadrennial United States presidential election. Though there is a variety of different campaigns being run, one man in particular has already caused an incredible amount of controversy amongst the nation. That man’s name is Donald Trump.

Through the time that the presidential campaigns have been in action, Trump has really gotten himself off to a lousy start. For instance, he has already accomplished to upset the diverse culture that America holds by insinuating stereotypical and absurd judgements on people due to their race or ethnicity. One of his Twitter messages in particular holds the accusation that “black and Latino citizens commit the most violent crimes in major cities”. In addition to this comment, he has also made numerous other remarks in relation to the previous. His whole political campaign began on his note of believing that most Mexican immigrants, if not all, were rapists or murderers.

As if the current acts of racism aren’t enough to convince the public that this man is not someone to be running a country, Trump has also been known to have a history with discrimination. In 1973, Donald Trump’s company was sued by the Department of Justice for evidently violating the Fair Housing Act. The Trump Management Corporation was accused of not telling the truth to applicants of color about which living spaces were available, editing the terms set for the leases based on race, and refusing to do business with tenants that were black. Another similar incident occurred in 2000, when Trump’s casinos in Atlantic City were at risk of losing business due to a neighboring St. Regis Mohawk tribe who wished to build a casino in Catskills. Donald Trump knew that the attraction would take away from his own business, causing him to lose money. In turn, he acted on the first thing he thought to do – sabotage. He sneakily bankrolled a series of ads which later appeared in upstate New York newspapers. The ads talked down on the St. Regis Mohawk Indian criminal record and stated that by the casino being built, it would increase the crime and violence in Sullivan County. The ad ended with “Tell him you don’t want Indian Gambling in Sullivan County.” This incident concluded with Trump paying $250,000 for failing to admit to that state lobbying commission that he was behind the ads.

Not only has Trump portrayed himself to have discriminating views, but he has also repeatedly been referred to as “untrustworthy” by investors and buyers. One case in 2013 addresses Mr. Trump of a $40 million fraud. State attorney Eric Scheiderman’s lawsuit against the now-politician accuses him of victimizing at least 5,000 people through Trump University with a “classic ‘bait and switch’ scheme that encouraged them to pay as much as $35,000 for seminars that were largely useless.” Trump attempted to stall the case until mid-December (the process was to happen in September) but was denied his request and only given until the 1^st of November to present his case. It is claimed that Trump abused his celebrity status to appear on commercials and make faulty promises to people who couldn’t afford the program, only to convince them to spend the tens of thousands of dollars on lessons they were never taught.

Whether people side with Trump or not, these few points should have a lot to do with deciding if he is open-minded or trustworthy enough according to the citizens of the country he could potentially run. The history and views of Donald Trump are gradually becoming more prominent in society’s eye and we, as citizens, can only hope that the possibility of living in a world of intense discrimination and endless scams — not to mention lack of education in today’s issues — decreases immensely.

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Header photo from redstate.com