What if Trump had been leader in past?

In 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves. What if Trump had been our president at the time? Would he have compassion for the slaves and issue the same order. Judging by his belief in white supremacy, you would think he would never want them freed. He appears to believe African Americans are inferior to the white race and shouldn’t have the same rights. In addition, such an action might have been detrimental to his business interests and cause him to lose money, a thought that he could not live with.

Just imagine it is the spring of 1944. Germany has overthrown France and is preparing to invade England. Winston Churchill has asked Roosevelt for assistance from the United States in battling Hitler’s forces. Further imagine that Trump was then our president, and he is tired of the United States spending so much money defending Europe and decides to withhold aid to teach them a lesson. We all know how the world would be changed if the United States had not sponsored the D-Day invasion: Germany would own Europe and Hitler would be looking at the United States as his next country to conquer. A terrifying thought is that Trump seems to like dictators such as Hitler.

What if Trump had been our president when, under the leadership of Lyndon Johnson, Congress enacted the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited discrimination in employment and education and outlawed segregation in public places? In view of Trump’s racist comments, you know he would never agree to such legislation and he would see to it that such a bill was never enacted. In such a case our problems with minorities would be even worse than they are today, which is hard to imagine.

Suppose Russia and England are on the verge of war. Which side would Trump be on? His love affair with Putin is such that there is no guarantee that he would side with England, especially in view of his attitude about NATO. Why Trump is Putin’s lap dog is anybody’s guess, but common sense suggests Putin has Trump under his thumb because of past personal and/or financial indiscretions. Suppose the shoe was on the other foot. Would our allies be inclined to give us assistance, after Trump had turned his back on them? When you think of Trump’s enormous ego, he might be reluctant to ask for help, which he would see as a sign of weakness. On the other hand he might accept help and blame someone else for the country’s problems, a tactic he has often used in the past.

I am afraid that many voters don’t worry that much about foreign affairs, but they should. In times of trouble, having a good relationship with our allies is essential, and Trump’s lack of expertise in this important area of governing and his bullying personality could turn out to be fatal flaws.

BASS TRUMBO Fayetteville