By: Atif Qarni
Atif has been the TIM “go to” Muslim Democrat in our ongoing series here.
The Republican National Convention was unconventional. On various issues, Donald Trump broke away from the usual party platform and many people were impressed by his children. But it is important to look at the mixed messages that Trump and his children delivered. We saw messages focusing on inclusion of the LGBTQ community, addressing inner-city problems, fighting for women’s right to equal work for equal pay and assistance with child day care. In my opinion, this is just a façade to dupe on-the-fence voters. The reality is that there was a consistent message of “gloom and doom.” Trump and his children talked about how America is unsafe, how teachers with tenure are a problem, how cops are being shot down, and how average Americans are economically worse off than before.
Americans and Muslim Americans voting in this election cannot fall into the “Trump trap.” We must not forget that he has continuously made statements about isolating America from the rest of the world. An attack on immigrants is an attack on people of color. Trump in the past has called for a ban on Muslims and for putting up a wall on the southern border to keep Mexicans out. He did not exactly use the same terminology in his acceptance speech, but he did double down when he talked about immigrants being dangerous. He also stated that immigration from countries that have been compromised by terrorism should be stopped immediately. Does this apply to places like France? What about our own nation that has seen its share of terrorist acts?
Trump is hoping that the circus act the convention put on will fool enough people into falling for the Trump trap. Both candidates, Trump and Hillary Clinton, will garner about 45% of the votes each. What will determine the outcome is how the 10% or so voters vote. The election will be determined by battleground states like Virginia, Indiana, Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, etc.
I supported Bernie Sanders in the primary and will be voting for Hillary Clinton in the general election. I urge you to do the same. You do not have to like Hillary, but I strongly urge to you vote against Donald J. Trump. If he is elected, this could be the most dangerous presidency ever.
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