By Andres Oppenheimer
There are more than a dozen reasons why I would never vote for Donald Trump, but let me share with you six big ones that led me to conclude that he is the worst candidate in the Nov. 5 election.
First, Trump is an authoritarian populist who openly scorns America’s basic values of democracy, the rule of law and racial tolerance. He is an English-speaking version of the Third World demagogues that I hoped to leave behind when I moved to this country four decades ago. Trump is essentially un-American, which may explain why he so eagerly wraps himself around the U.S. flag.
He is the first U.S. president in recent memory who encouraged a coup d’Etat after he lost the 2020 elections, and more than 60 courts ruled that his lawyers’ claims of fraud were unfounded. On Jan. 6, 2021, he sat for several hours at his office watching Fox News instead of stopping his followers from attacking the Capitol in an effort to overturn the election. About 140 police officers were injured, and several people died during and after the attack.
But, to this day, Trump not only continues to falsely claim that he won that 2020 election, but calls the Capitol attackers “patriots” and “hostages” of the Biden administration. He said earlier this year that he may pardon all of the Jan. 6 attackers.
More than half a dozen former top members of Trump’s cabinet and closest advisers, including his longest serving chief of staff, retired Gen. John Kelly, are publicly warning that Trump has no respect for the rule of law. “He’s certainly an authoritarian, admires people who are dictators,” Kelly said. Kelly added that the former president told him that “Hitler did some good things,” and that he wished U.S. generals were more like those who served the Nazi leader.
Even Trump’s former Vice President Mike Pence has condemned the former president’s contempt for the Constitution. Mind you, these are not “socialists,” or “communists,” as Trump likes to brand his critics, but hardline conservatives.
Second, while most politicians lie, Trump is the king of falsehoods. Like Florida Sen. Marco Rubio once famously said before he threw away his democratic principles and embraced the former president, Trump “is a con man.” Trump’s entire 2024 campaign pitch is based on two big lies: that undocu-mented immigrants have “invaded” this country and are mostly criminals, and that America’s econo-my is in a shambles.
On immigration, Trump is conveniently omitting the fact that unauthorized crossings fell by 70% this year, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency figures. And several studies have shown that undocumented migrants on average commit fewer violent crimes than U.S.-born Ameri-cans.
On the economy, Trump’s claim that the United States “is a failing economy” is ridiculous. The Inter-national Monetary Fund reported on Oct. 22 that the U.S. economy is the best-performing of all rich nations, and is set to drive global growth in 2024 and 2025.
The respected British magazine The Economist reported on Oct. 19 that that the U.S. economy is “the envy of the world.” As I’m writing these lines, the conservative daily The Wall Street Journal is carry-ing a front page headline reading: “The next president inherits a remarkable economy.”
Third, as an immigrant from Argentina myself, I could never vote for a man who has said among other things that immigrants “are poisoning the blood of this country,” and that most Mexican undocu-mented migrants are “criminals” and “rapists”.
Or, for that matter, I can’t support a candidate who is supported by Neo-Nazi groups, or whose fans
applauded a comedian who said last Sunday at a Trump rally that Puerto Rico is “a floating island of garbage.” That’s not just plain wrong, but dangerous: it encourages racial hatred and hate crimes against immigrants who, in most cases, came to America to make a better living, and do jobs that most Americans don’t want to do.
Fourth, on the economy, Trump’s presidency was very bad, and his current economic plans are even worse. During his term in office, the U.S. economy grew less than under Biden, and the national defi-cit reached a record high. Trump left office with three million fewer jobs than there were when he started his term, while the Biden administration added 16 million jobs to the U.S. economy, according to official figures.
Granted, Trump’s bad economic numbers were partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but so was the rising inflation during Biden’s first two years in office. The U.S. stock market is at a record high, and inflation is now virtually back to its pre-pandemic levels. Fifth, Trump is at the center of four criminal cases related to his business deals and political actions, and has been unanimously convicted by a jury partly selected by his own lawyers in one of them. And yet, the former president attacks his prosecutors saying he would fire them “within two seconds” if elected — and derides the U.S. justice system almost daily. Is that a role model we want to set for our children?
Sixth, Trump is 78 years old and is not immune to cognitive decline. He is already mixing names and making incoherent statements, and would end his term as the oldest president in U.S. history. Just as I wrote about Biden before he stepped aside as the Democratic nominee, there are reasons to think he no longer has the mental agility to perform what may be the world’s most demanding job. It may be no coincidence that Trump has not accepted a second presidential debate with his Democratic rival and Vice President Kamala Harris, and why he has declined an interview with “60 Minutes” and other news outlets that may ask him hard questions.
Many of my Republican friends concede many of these points, but say they will vote for Trump any-way because he supports the one cause they care most about, be it Cuba, or Venezuela or Israel. I don’t buy that line of reasoning, because Trump has no moral compass. As his former chief of staff Kelly and other former aides have said, his admiration for dictators such as Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un prove that he could easily change course on Cuba, Venezuela Israel or any other issue it if suits his interests.
In short, Trump may win the election, but I don’t see any reason — including his stands on abortion, climate change and automatic weapons — to wish for that outcome. On the contrary, I see plenty of reasons to hope that he’ll lose, and that the Republican party can go back to its tradition of defending democracy, the rule of law and individual freedoms.
Dear Editor,
Trump is best to be elected to be the next president of United States of America from 2024 to 2028, to deal with Russia, North Korea and Iran. l had a dream Donald Trump from the USA, Kier Starmer from the UK, and Emanuel Macron from France was seasoning.
About Russia, North Korea and Iran also many nations and world leaders around the world are monitoring the USA election very closely.
America is one of the great nations. The entire world will be focusing on the USA election 2024.
Cuthbert Bannis
Dear Editor,
I read with great interest the article “New advances in sorting and waste management shown to the media” in the 31 October 2024 digital issue. I believe the new system will help increase voluntary recycling on the island, especially among visitors who are used to recycling at home and wish to recycle while visiting the island.
Our family has been visiting St. Maarten regularly since 2006 and we consider it our “Home Away From Home.” There are many differences between Home and Away but for us one of the most difficult to get used to has been not recycling our used bottles, cans, papers, and such.
On our recent trip the week of October 20 I was able to locate on the Internet a drop-off location near where we were staying, quite near the border on the eastern side of the island. We happily toted our week’s worth of bottles, cans, and newspapers to the location, parked, and approached the large bins.
Unfortunately, the bins are not labeled as to which waste items go into which bins. l could make a guess about the glass based on the broken glass on the ground around the base of the bins, but at this particular location there was no information to help me (in either French or English) place the waste where it belonged. It was the first attempt at recycling and quite discouraging. As we were preparing to leave the next day we didn’t have the time to spend trying to locate another bin nearby and the list we were using was from 2018. We did the best we could.
The new system will benefit us as we stay very close to St. Martin, but perhaps if it works well it will be duplicated in St. Maarten. We’re appreciative and hopeful at the same time. Thank you.
Robin Apostolik
Colorado, USA/Oyster Bay Beach Resort
Dear Editor,
The struggle between loyalty and infidelity is intensifying, significantly. If the population is not paying attention to the subtle way in which this coalition is being undermined, then maybe I’m the one who is completely blind. From the moment NA and UP were dethroned in the January 2024 elections, there is this relentless determination to regain the power and control that they once enjoyed.
So, they devise their plan to pursue the weakest link, and gently attract the chameleon. Doesn’t this unusual desperation warrant an urgent and an in-depth investigation, to analyse the reason behind their intense desire to get back into power? Never in the history of politics, have I seen such extreme anxiety to return to the Executive branch, and never have I experienced this lack of interest, by the judiciary division, to unravel this conundrum.
It is mind-blowing that only former MP Akeem Arrindell is accused of vote-buying, when others enjoying taxpayers money and racking havoc in parliament. If the judiciary branch was doing its job, those MPs of a particular party would not be in parliament today. And, the makeup of parliament would be totally different. Even Rene Zwart from Holland could see that most politicians are just there to swindle the country.
Unfortunately, Prime Minister Luc Mercelina does not have control of this coalition. He is too busy trying to save the Interim Managing Director Troy Washington of GEBE that he doesn’t even realize that one of his own is being coached by the opposition. Luc Mercelina, pay attention! Do not underestimate that photo with MP Sjamira Roseburg and MP Ardwell Irion. Prime Minister, quit sleeping! This is how the petting starts.
Why didn’t she take a photo with her party colleague, MP Richniel Brug, who supported the same motion on Tuesday last? You have 9 members who support the coalition on paper, but not in reality. NA has already won over the imposter and traitor, MP Ludmila de Weever. Don’t forget that private meeting with her, Irion, Doran and her father. Doesn’t she vote against her own party and the coalition, every single time?
So, what makes you think that she will be the only one to commit this infidelity? What about this extreme jealousy that is brewing, to upset the smooth transition of the proposed successor of the Justice Ministry? Either MP Frankie Myers is sleeping as well, or he is playing a game with the opposition; and so I will speak directly to MP Sjamira Roseburg’s competition, Attorney Nathalie Tackling.
Attorney Tackling, I know that you and MP Ardwell Irion are buddies, and MP Sjamira Roseburg and you are colleagues. But frankly, I do not care about either one of them. Anyone who knows me, is aware that I despise injustice, hypocrisy and liars, to the core. Sad to say that these are the traits that define the nature of the majority of our politicians today. MP Irion is the king cobra in parliament and MP Sjamira Roseburg is the emerging butterfly.
Attorney Nathalie Tackling, if you haven’t done so, I urge you to read the opinion page of “The Daily Herald” of Monday, October 28, 2024. Everything that I’ve stated is factual and I challenge MP Roseburg to dispute any of my statements. Attorney Tackling, you will have to work with both MP Irion and MP Roseburg, but do not trust them. There is a difference between friendship and friendship that is genuine.
Ex-Minister Rudolphe Samuel is a victim of this kind of distrust. The ones who he thought had his back, were the ones who destroyed him. As we are aware, trust is the bond that keeps any relationship intact. Without this vital component, any coalition is bound to disintegrate, whether gradually, or rapidly.
Joslyn Morton
Dear Editor,
Seeing it from the perspective that the majority “rules” is the reason that those who need the majority on their side choose the logical thing to do, which is to get the majority. The word that really counts in this case is popular. One could be known but being popular helps. Celebrities are usually popular and their opinion is usually influential, so people follow their opinion. Information is always vital, but not all people give priority to the same things and if they do not have enough time, in this case they rely on the opinion of popular people.
My question is “What makes it that we know that certain people have proven themselves capable to do the work, but that they are still not given the opportunity to complete the job?” We need a lot more Lainas to ask questions in order to get a positive feedback.
Movie stars put in a lot of time into what they do.
We only see the end product.
Russell A. Simmons
