Donald Trump speaking in Manchester, NH last February
After Donald Trump‘s big win and Hillary Clinton‘s near tie in the Indiana primaries last Tuesday, given the resulting delegate math, attention immediately turned to the likely upcoming general election between Trump and Clinton. While the criticisms that can be leveled against Trump are many, voters might become distracted if too many such charges come flying across the airwaves. In order to keep it simple, we have identified three areas in which Trump is most vulnerable to criticism and political attack in the general election:
1. Trump hates women and minorities — Trump came out of the gate last June in his presidential campaign announcement, saying that immigrants from Mexico were “rapists” and criminals who were “bringing drugs” across the border. Since then, Trump’s campaign has attacked one group after another, including women, Muslims (proposing that they be banned from entering the U.S., as well as put under surveillance and made to register here), Asians and others. These are the some of the very groups identified by the Republican National Committee in its 2013 “Autopsy Report” as needing positive outreach from Republicans in order to win future national elections. We don’t think Trump’s hate mongering represents the kind of outreach the RNC had in mind.
2. Trump doesn’t know anything — Trump first displayed a shocking lack of foreign policy knowledge in an interview last fall, and he didn’t do much better in a recent prepared speech. Even fellow Republicans are alarmed. And just days ago, Trump proposed that the U.S. default on its debt, an act which many experts say could plunge America and the world into financial chaos.
3. Trump has a record of failure — This is a Karl Rove-style attack, where you hit your opponent on his supposed strength. Trump portrays himself as a man of success. But when you drill down, all he really has is some buildings with his name on them, and a reality TV show. As one analyst determined, Trump could have taken his father’s million-dollar loan, invested it in an index fund, and had just as much or more money today without all the hassles, the firings, the lawsuits, etc. In fact, Trump’s record is one of failure. This includes:
—Multiple bankruptcies for his businesses. Trump has also had numerous failed businesses, such as Trump Airlines, Trump Vodka and Trump Steaks.
—Two failed marriages, including well-publicized episodes of adultery.
—Numerous lawsuits, including one class action lawsuit over his failed Trump University that will be heard this November. At minimum, this indicates that Trump is a lightning rod for controversy and acrimony, neither of which seems well-suited for a White House occupant.
These are three main categories of criticisms against Donald Trump. Obviously, there are many more such criticisms that can be leveled, and we’re likely to hear them in the coming months.
Photo by Marc Nozell, used under Creative Commons license. http://is.gd/YgXgQt
