Matt Swihart, Opinion Editor
Jan. 20, 2017, was a day that shocked the world. One whole year ago, America let a sun-dried tomato of a man become the 45th president of the United States.
Donald J. Trump, from the beginning of his campaign, proved again and again how unfit a singular person could possibly be for the top job. Since day one of the Trump presidency, there have been riots, a whole lot of lies, obscene remarks, and still no tax records.
Trump has had me pulling my hair since the campaign and even now, you’ll continually find more and more bald spots on my head. I would say something witty about the whole situation like, “Thanks, Trump,” but it doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.
I just would like to go over a few of the highlights, or lowlights I guess, of the greatest, most mind-boggling moments coming out of Trump’s first year. Donny really started the year off with a bang, issuing travel bans left and right, firing anybody who said boo about him, and alleging former President Obama pulled off a Watergate scandal on Trump towers (Trumpgate?). There was also a lot of whining, and I mean a whole lot of whining, about his victory. Yes, somehow our faithful leader found a way to complain about winning the presidency. Trump started off the presidency launching a mass campaign about voter fraud, a campaign that nothing ever really came of.
Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate Deal for reasons explained as, “I represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris.” Well, Don, global warming does in fact affect both Paris and Pittsburgh. Well done, Mr. President. Trump also blocked immigration from some predominantly Muslim countries, but it’s okay because it’s definitely not xenophobic. Barring immigrants from a bunch of Middle Eastern countries does nothing but perpetuate a xenophobic and anti-Islam vibe across the United States. Trump’s big claim to fame was the wall across the Mexican-American border. You know, the border wall that doesn’t have any funds and probably will never get fully built.
When North Korea decided they wanted to take a jab at the United States, Trump took to his ever-so-wonderful Twitter account, tweeting about the “fire and fury” that will rain down on the North if they so even threaten us. Trump thus started one of the greatest war of words to happen in recent politics. Trump says don’t mess with us, Kim Jong-Un calls Trump a “dotard.” Kim calls Trump old, Trump responds by saying he “would NEVER call him short and fat.” But through it all, Trump, for some strange unexplained reason, maintains that he will become friends with the leader of the North. Well, Donny, I’m not sure you know how to make friends.
Despite the threat of nuclear war constantly looming over all of our heads (Thanks, Trump), America has found ways to laugh at the ridiculousness of our Cheeto-skinned shell of a president. There’s been some fantastic moments, like a White House correspondents dinner, where everyone was given a singular scoop of ice cream except our child leader, who got two scoops. Trump claims he’s in perfect health, but it only takes one glance at his golfing pictures to disprove that. Even simple mistakes turn into perfect opportunities for laughs, such as a tweet with a spelling mistake. “Covfefe,” and no, we still don’t know what it means, was a perfect opportunity for ridicule and memes throughout the internet and television medias.
Having Trump as a president has created turbulent times in the U.S. and its foreign affairs. We now have a president that could actually kick start WWIII just for the heck of it, but let’s just hope he doesn’t. All we can do now is sit and hope that we’ll all still have our sanity by the end of these four long, long years.