For me, the most concerning comment Trump made was not even about Russia. It was about his desire for the power to hack into and spy on political opponents. He said, "Honestly, I wish I had that power. I'd love to have that power."
As president, he will be given power over the NSA. He will have the power to spy on political opponents. I have yet to see anything from Trump to suggest that he would handle such power with caution and care, and that he would limit the use of his power.
If Hillary becomes president, the worst case scenario is that we risk another 4 years of Obama-style leadership plus a few extra scandals. If Trump is president, the worst case scenario is not something I want to risk. He stated in his pre planned acceptance speech that he will instantly put in place law and order the day he is inaugurated, which to most people suggests martial law. If that's not what Trump meant, once again, then this plain-talk candidate is somehow a crap communicator, who continually fails to communicate what he actually means, and that's not what we need in the White House.
Are some media sources left leaning? Absolutely. Not all are, but many are. That's why the nervous historian in me looks for news that has biases in both directions, and looks for primary raw news feed as much as possible. But I don't think we can keep blaming the media for everything.
I also don't think we need to worry about Trump not getting enough media attention and that the media attention is doing anything to hurt his chances. It's not the opinions of the media that freaks people out about Trump, it's the raw footage of what Trump actually says. Plus, Trump is a wizard at dominating the news cycle.
My goodness, we finally nominated a woman for president for the first time, and what is the first headline the next day? Trump's alleged joke about Russia and creepy claims about the power he wants to have.
None of which should ever be a joking matter. It's simply not funny. He's not running for comedian in chief but commander in chief and it is scary when THAT person starts joking about treasonous abuses of power, and jokingly inviting to have forgien governments screw with our elections and hand over secret documents to the press. It's not funny.
And why would he plan a press conference days in advance to tell the Ameriacn people jokes about Russia manipulating our election? What good did that do for America?
It did do something good for Trump: look at what we are talking about. Is it the history whatever's made by nominating a woman for president? Is it a debate about how women in politics are treated and even if it is a big deal a woman was nominated?
No.
It's Trump and his jokes about forgien spying. While I have many concerns about Clinton, we didn't even pause for a moment as a nation to celebrate.
As a woman who has been active in politics let me tell you, it is harder for women to be taken seriously. I'm not hating on men here. Studies have shown that women can confidently do the same thing as a man, and other women will call it good business if it is a man, and bad business, and the woman will call it bad business and bitchy and bossy if it is a woman. (Source: Freakonomics) No matter who you support, it is is a major moment of celebration for us as a country that we finally can see the possibility of someone in a pantsuit or a dress as commander in chief.
I think Trump has finally found his match in Cliton as someone who can go toe to toe with him. Like when he (jokingly?) said Clinton was playing the woman card... Let's pause. When had playing the woman card ever worked? We have never even nominated a woman president before. The woman card doesn't buy power in politics.
Trump somehow thinks attacking women for being women does gain power in politics and I can not support the way he treats women. Many have critiqued Clinton for staying with Bill, while Trump himself cheated on his first wife and has a lawyer who still currently thinks it's impossible to rape your wife. Then there are all the woman bashing comments Trump had made... So many. It doesn't make any difference to me how amazing Ivank and his wife Melania are. He's not running for father or husband in chief. He's running to run the whole country and to have power over women.
I can't say that Clinton's policies are going to be good for women, but I have no reason to believe Trump even knows how to talk about women with respect, let alone represent us with empathy and understanding.
And then there is minimum wage. I can't even figure out what Trump believes on that anymore. For a plain talker, he certainly has me confused about what he really means.
