X204 Project

One of many Donald Trump’s famous quotes is, “My father loaned me a small loan of a million dollars.” To anyone in the middle and lower class this is not a small amount of money. Immediately we can get an idea of his upbringing.

Donald Trump was born June 19th, 1946 in Queen, New York City. He attended The Kew-Forest School and at the age of 13 left and was enrolled in the New York Military Academy in Cornwall, New York. In the NYMA Donald Trump achieved the rank of captain.

Trump is a a Presbyterian and went to Sunday school as a child.

Trump has ties in business, television, and currently in the White House. These type of connections can make someone very powerful. Donald Trump’s reported net worth is $4.5 billion which would make him the 113th richest person in the United States and the 324th richest person in the world.

Donald Trump’s upbringing leads us to believe he did not struggle for money, food, housing, etc. His childhood can be translated to his presidential campaign as well when one hears him speak publicly on a more consistent basis. Being in a military school and attaining the rank of captain means he is a leader. He can influence people and will be followed, which we have seen much through his campaign. With the childhood he had you would believe that he would speak in a business manor (i.e. concise and clear). However, after watching his campaign speeches he can be very vague at times and even stray away from the initial question. A leader with a military background is expected to be direct, concise, and have no room for misinterpretation.

For someone who has as much of a business demeanor as Donald Trump you would think his campaign would have more facts about domestic terrorism and more facts about immigration as opposed to just saying the Hispanic community must send their, “best.” around his claims of fear and ego. His speaking tactics of using fear and ego was the base for most of his campaign. The idea that the Hispanic community is coming in and they are taking our jobs, they aren’t, all Muslims want to kill us and impose Sharia law, they don’t, and we need to take America back, we don’t. The type of narrative this creates is scary, to be frank. There have been multiple assaults on people who are Muslim, there has been vandalism of mosques, and there have been many other cases of verbal assault as well. His presidency has sparked an organization known as, “Alt-Right.” Donald Trump claims to have no ties or a relationship with him. My mom always said you are who you surround yourself with, so it will be interesting to see who Mr. Trump surrounds himself with over the next 4 years. A quote by Emma Lazarus tells of the true America: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled yearning to breathe free, the wretched refused of the teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempted tossed; to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door.” The words of this sonnet were placed on the Statue of Liberty in 1903. It does not say, “Give me your Christians, give me those who are fortunate enough to have money to come here. I lift my lamp only to those who are the same as those already here.”

What is scary is not what Donald Trump has said, it is how many people agree with him and give him affirmation to continue to do what he has set forth to do. In these times of hardship we can not forget who we truly are as a nation, and that is a welcoming one.

Cameron Brinkers, Bachelor of Science biology major at IUPUC.