An Independent’s View on Kamala Harris and Donald Trump
By Joseph R.W. DiRienzo
Before I delve into the candidates I would like to start with a disclaimer. I will not be 18 for the 2024 election. Anything I say about one candidate is not an endorsement or criticism of the other.
Former President Trump and Vice President Harris are currently the two most polarizing figures in American politics and one of them will be the next president. Both of them have made claims about how they will make the country better without many concrete or achievable plans. Read along as I give you a registered independent’s view of both candidates.
Let’s start with Former President Trump and his running mate. The Trump/Vance campaign has been an interesting one to follow, mostly because the former president has no filter and J.D. Vance is trying too hard to be a MAGA conservative when he really isn’t. The most important thing to know about Donald Trump is that everything he does is to benefit himself. Trump is a narcissist in the truest sense of the word. He does not care about anyone else or their feelings if they do not affect him. However, despite this problem, former President Trump does make some valid points. I think most Americans would agree that we need to control the border, or at least limit immigration to some degree. President Trump has plans for the mass deportation of illegal migrants and the re-implementation of the Remain in Mexico policy. His plans will involve military support and will allow ICE to raid private homes and businesses as part of his plan. Personally, I think that this plan is a step too far. We need to control the border so that we prevent illegal immigration, and we can control the quantity of people entering the United States. However, President Trump’s plan violates the civil liberties enshrined in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. President Trump has also come up with a myriad of economic and tax-related policies. But he has yet to come up with concrete plans for how to implement them, how they will help the economy, or how the government will pay for them. This is not good enough.
My opinion of President Trump is that he is not fit to be the president of the United States, and it has nothing to do with his policies. Mr. Trump does not respect the Constitution and the rule of law and that was highlighted on January 6th, 2021 when he tested the guardrails of democracy by at the very minimum not condemning an insurrection. A president who does not respect the Constitution is not qualified for the office. President Trump is a polarizing figure, and I know my opinion is unpopular with many. I respect your opinion to endorse or vote for Donald Trump as it is your constitutional, right. However, it is also my constitutional right to speak freely and openly express my opinions for or against any candidate.
Now, let’s get into Kamala Harris. She was not elected in a primary election. This means that she has not been vetted by the American people to the same degree as past candidates. However, what I view as more concerning is that most Americans do not know what she stands for. Americans do not know who they are voting for. Is Kamala the centrist she claims to be? or Is she part of the far-left that has been extremely vocal about nearly every policy? The issue is in most interviews I have watched, she doesn’t tell you anything about her policies. When she is asked to explain she will usually either change the subject or give some extremely vague answer that is usually along the lines of “the people who need to know, know”. This is not good enough. If you want to be the President of the United States, you should be able to give an explanation of your key policies and how they will help people. It may not be intentional but the way the Harris Walz campaign comes off to me is ‘vote for us, we’ll explain our policies after’.
I do think Kamala Harris is well-intentioned, but she needs to be more concrete and honest about what her policies are if she wants the American People to vote for her. I am not a Trump fan, but being better than the alternative by a slim margin is not enough to be elected to the highest office in the country. Kamala Harris is a liberal candidate, that is unwilling to share her true policies. She may not be as bad as many conservatives think, but she hasn’t said enough to prove them wrong.
At the end of the day, these two candidates are the reason why there is so much apathy in American politics. I don’t think I am alone in this thought. Many Americans want more effective leaders who genuinely care about our nation and its people. I will leave you all with this reminder. No matter who wins this election, our country will survive. Both parties have tried to make it seem like the biggest enemy is the other candidate, but they are not. The biggest enemies to our country and way of life are countries like China, Russia, and Iran who seek to destroy everything we stand for. America is the greatest country to ever exist and always will be, and no one person is better than this fact.
Image courtesy of USA Today