Well, it has finally arrived. November 5th, the day of another US General Election, which means the selection of a new president. Trump or Harris is the question on many Americans’ minds, and I am sure the minds of many students. If you look across the page, a contributing writer for The Mirror, Conor Doonan, has laid out his reasoning on why you should vote for the current vice president. This leaves me to offer some reasoning as to why you should consider her opponent in this race, former president Donald Trump.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I do have to tell you that I personally did not vote for Trump, I instead wrote-in current congressman from Kentucky, Thomas Massie. Perhaps a peculiar pick, but one done on principle. Ultimately, neither major party candidate aligned with my interests closely enough to warrant a vote. So, while not a Trump voter, I do believe that if the argument for Harris is being presented in this issue of the Mirror, then the argument for Trump should be as well. Considering I did not vote for Trump, my argument may not match perfectly with how most of his voters would argue his case for the presidency. Despite this, I will attempt to argue on his behalf in good faith and as objectively as I can.
The first promise that Donald Trump lists on his official website is to “seal the border and stop the migrant invasion.” According to a newly released Gallup poll conducted from October 14 to the 27th, registered voters rank immigration as the second most important issue in this election. The influx of illegal migration is a serious concern for much of the American public and it is no secret that Trump has consistently taken a more restrictive approach to the issue than Democrats. The Economist reports, with data from US Customs and Border Protection, that under President Trump the 12-month moving average for illegal migrant encounters at the South-West border never surpassed 100,000, with the average remaining under 50,000 for much of his presidency. Under the Biden-Harris administration, however, this average rose above 150,000, remained above this mark through 2023 and almost surpassed 200,000. A 2023 report from the Homeland Security Committee of the House of Representatives estimated the cost per year to care for these people at $451 billion. A second Trump administration would work to cut off this endless flow of illegal migration and save the American people from paying for it.
The aforementioned Gallup poll revealed that the economy was the most important issue for the plurality of voters. Living in this country over the past couple of years, it is easy to see why this is the case. Let us take CPI, for example, which measures the price level of common consumer goods and services over time. When Trump left office in January 2021, the CPI for “All Urban Consumers” sat at 261.582. The most recent number under the Biden-Harris administration from September 2024 is 315.301. This is a 20.5% increase in the CPI since taking office. The first Trump administration, in contrast, upon taking office in January 2017, inherited an index level of 242.839. This means that under Trump, the CPI rose only 7.7%. To help ease the burden on working class Americans, Trump has promised to eliminate taxes on tips, overtime pay and on Social Security benefits. These are policies which could effectively increase the income of millions of low to middle class Americans overnight. While most likely a political pipe dream, Trump has additionally floated the idea of eliminating income taxes altogether and replacing them with a universal tariff on all imports. Donald Trump’s economic and tax plan promises are focused on materially improving the lives of the average American worker.
Not only would Trump work to improve domestic conditions, but he would also work to improve international conditions as well. Trump has repeatedly promised to end the war in Ukraine before even taking office. During his debate with Harris, Trump remarked, “I will get it settled before I even become president.” Trump has offered a similar sentiment towards Israel. At the end of October, he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza by January. Even more recently, during a campaign stop in Dearborn, Michigan, the former president stated, in regards to the fighting in Lebanon, “We have to get this whole thing over with. We want to have peace.” These pushes for peace are a clear break from the typical neoconservative approach of many Republicans such as Trump’s Republican primary opponent Nikki Haley, and the current Democrat administration which has backed both the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
In order to carry out these plans, Trump must first win. This is where Trump’s coalition approach to this election comes into play. The former president has been reaching out to all corners of the American political landscape to inform his policy and fill his team. In May of this year, Trump attended the Libertarian Party’s convention where he pitched himself to the party’s voters and promised to put a Libertarian in his cabinet. In late August, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed Donald Trump. Kennedy has since become a prominent figure on the Trump team’s campaign trail. Furthermore, 2020 Democratic primary candidate, and arguably the person who ended Harris’s 2020 Whitehouse bid, Tulsi Gabbard has joined the Trump campaign. If Trump wins, America may see a Republican Administration with a Libertarian, a Kennedy and a former Democratic nominee hopeful serving in the cabinet. The 2024 Trump campaign transcends party in both its personnel and its platform in an attempt to achieve a more comfortable future for all Americans.
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