The 'golden rule' and Trump's controversial legacy: A call for ethical leadership
The population of the United States is approximately 350 million. The number of registered voters is about 161 million. According to the latest polls, 48 percent of registered voters — or about 22 percent of the whole population — support Donald Trump. I believe that if you support a person who, in his words and deeds, has shown no regard for The Golden Rule, you, too, have turned your back on it.
What is The Golden Rule? Simply put, it states you should treat others as you yourself want to be treated and is a basic tenet of all the world’s major religions. Christianity states, “In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you;” Islam states, “None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother that which he loves for himself,” and so forth.
Donald Trump’s cruel actions and hateful words are myriad.
In 1973, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Trump and his father for refusing to rent apartments to African Americans in the buildings they owned.
In announcing his candidacy for president in 2015, Trump described Mexican immigrants as predominantly drug dealers, criminals and rapists.
One week after his inauguration, in 2017, he signed executive orders, (later rescinded by federal courts,) that banned people from several Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S.
In 2017, he fired then director of the FBI James Comey because Comey refused to announce publicly Trump was not the subject of any investigations.
Two weeks after the 2020 presidential election, he fired Christopher Krebs, who as director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, asserted the election “was the most secure election in history” and refuted the president’s claims of widespread election fraud.
Trump has spoken of women in the most derogatory and demeaning terms. He described Omorosa Manigault Newman, a one-time contestant on his TV show, “The Apprentice,” who served in his White House, as "a crazed, crying lowlife" and a "dog."
“Birdbrain” was his epithet for 2024 presidential hopeful Nikki Haley, who served during his administration as U.N. ambassador.
He has called former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi “a crazed lunatic” and has described Vice President Kamala Harris as “mentally impaired,” “retarded,” “a bum,” “pathetic,” “so f**king bad,” a “monster” and “totally unlikeable.”
At a rally in 2016, Trump mocked a physically disabled New York Times reporter, Serge Kovaleski, flailing his arms in imitation of the journalist’s affliction.
He has called members of the military who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving our country “suckers” and “losers.” He has denounced, in highly disparaging terms, the many people who served in his administration who now oppose him —t hose he once touted as “the best people” — among them General John Kelly, General Mark Milley, Rex Tillerson, John Bolton, Mark Esper and Cassidy Hutchinson.
Invariably, the people who attend Trump’s rallies cheer and laugh when he makes despicable remarks about individuals and groups. Like Trump, his supporters seem to find pleasure in imagining the suffering of others. How else can we explain their enthusiasm for this man’s overt racism, misogyny, xenophobia and other deplorable traits?
I know some people insist they support Trump because of his stance on some particular issue, but in doing so, they turn a blind eye to his cruelty and hatefulness. They also seem comfortable with his fondness for dictators and authoritarian rule, his unending lies, his extreme narcissism, his disregard for the Constitution and the law, his being a convicted fraudster, an adjudicated rapist and his vows for retribution.
Who among Trump’s supporters would hold him up to their children or grandchildren as a role model? Do they really believe it is fine for someone to serve as president whom they would not want their children or grandchildren to emulate in any way?
