Sample Personal Opinion Essay: If Trump Wins, I’m Moving Out of the Country!

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The ongoing 2016 Presidential race has, unfortunately, has left some voters feeling like they have no options and is prompting many voters to consider living in another country altogether. This sample politics essay explores the author's opinions about Trump.

Trump as a presidential contender

Okay, I acknowledge that I watched The Apprentice week after week, and was a true fan. And yes, I’ve enjoyed great food and excellent accommodations at the Grand Hyatt, in New York, had fun in Trump’s casino in Atlantic City, marveled at the beauty of Trump Tower, and visited Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach. This aside, if Trump wins the 2016 U. S. Elections in November, I’m moving out of the country!

Trump seemed to be an honorable man who became extremely successful after turning his father Fred Trump’s company into a major success. A rabid self-promoter, who always had something to say about himself. This was not troubling because it seemed to be part and parcel of his image, and par for the course. Perhaps I am guilty of not really examining his personal details, and I certainly did not follow his politics, but enough is enough!

I have had it up to here, and if Trump becomes president, I will take up residence in Uzbekistan, if necessary. In fact, Lindsey Graham's besmirching the integrity of the 2016 Republican presidential candidates is one of the main reasons I am divided (Moody). For example, throughout Cruz’s campaign, Graham said that Cruz could ruin the Republican party, called him a phony, said he’s Obama-ish on foreign policy, joked about his murder by saying:

"If you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, nobody would convict you." and on March 18th said, "I'm going to help Ted in any way I can" (Moody).

Graham’s abrupt turnaround is in response to the possibility that Trump might actually win the Republican nod. Graham said:

"I have doubts about Mr. Trump, I don't think he's a Republican, I don't think he's a conservative, I think his campaign's built on xenophobia, race-baiting and religious bigotry, I think he'd be a disaster for our party and as Senator Cruz would not be my first choice, I think he is a Republican conservative who I could support" (Moody).

Lindsey Graham not alone in her contempt of Trump

Graham is not the only one concerned about a Trump win. Tea Party supporter Nikki Haley, governor of South Carolina, has joined the Stop Trump Train, as well. A former Marco Rubio supporter, Haley stated that she hopes Cruz can do what he needs to do to get where he needs to get (Khan). Haley has been in a verbal war with Trump on a variety of issues, including Trump’s stance on banning Muslim immigrants.

During her State of the Union response, on the topic of immigration, Haley, whose family immigrated to the U. S. said, we should never kill the dreams of others, for some of whom is America:

"During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices...We must resist that temptation. No one who is willing to work hard, abide by our laws, and love our traditions should ever feel unwelcome in this country" (Diaz).

Republican leaders themselves are preparing to derail Trump’s candidacy, by developing a strategy to prevent him from obtaining the presidential nomination (Burns & Martin). It is rare when a political party will do anything it can to de-trump a successful and popular candidate. The plan? A contentious assault in the Wisconsin primary, and from there, a door to door effort to get delegates to understand and reflect on the bigger picture, that Trump would be a horror show for the GOP.

The “insurgents” acknowledge that it is almost too late to stop the nightmare of Trump's presidential campaign, and success can only occur if a meticulously implemented intra-Republican incursion takes place, but many believe the skirmish must occur anyway, at all costs (Burns & Martin).

The “insurgents” are divided, and this dichotomy will not make their journey any easier. Conservatives favor Cruz, while some party elites have become uneasy bedfellows with Kasich. Though, disdain for Cruz is hard to ignore. Since Rubio imploded, only one fellow senator has endorsed Cruz (Burns & Martin). Romney admitted that a vote for Kasich would allow Trump to prevail in the end.

Third party candidacy

Another alternative is to support a third party candidate (Burns & Martin). Some names that have been bantered about are Rick Perry, former Texas governor and Tom Coburn, retired senator from Oklahoma. Yet few will forget the Rubio-esque implosion of Rick Perry, in November 2011, during the debates in Michigan, where Perry could not remember the third government agency that he said he would eliminate if he became president (Burrough).

He was able to come up with Commerce, Education and then could not produce the third agency that would become a victim of his discontent. He struggled for quite some time. Ron Paul, to his left, said that there were five agencies, to which Perry responded “Oh, five,” smiling impishly. “O.K.,” then Romney contributed that he might be talking about the EPA.

Perry, relieved that he now knew the name of the third agency, agreed that the EPA was it, until a moderator challenged him and asked, incredulously, was the EPA actually the agency that he intended to get rid of. Sheepishly Perry said, no, that that was not accurate, and he reiterated he only wanted to change some of the United States' environmental policies.

Now, I am by no means a governmental agency scholar, and I was never a political science wiz, but, can a sitting president arbitrarily get rid of an entire governmental agency, at will? I say no, just off the top! Despite the fact that the GOP is discussing it, even I know Rick Perry will not be the supported candidate for a third party run. Coburn, on the other hand, who has been plagued with melanoma, colon cancer, prostate cancer, (Casteel) and is in another fight with prostate cancer now (Stahl), might be a difficult choice to support.

Brokered convention aimed at Dumping Trump

A brokered convention, is another possibility being discussed to Dump Trump. Brokered conventions occur when none of the candidates have obtained a majority of the delegates during the caucus and primary period before the first vote at the nomination convention, as a result, a majority is achieved through rigorous intra-party negotiations (Frostenson).

Speculation about this possibility occurs often, but we have not had a brokered convention since 1952. The idea of a brokered convention inspires political drama and speaks of behind the scenes wheeling and dealing, arm-twisting, and deal-making. Since Trump says that he will consider paying the attorney fees of a supporter who sucker punched a protester (Robillard), Republicans that go against him may need to consider potential retaliation concerns, if such assaults are ultimately condoned by the GOP candidate.

Super PAC fundraising during the Trump campaign

Another way that Republicans are preparing to thwart the Trump machine is through the use of anti-Trump PACs (Savransky). The Our Principles PAC, whose purpose is to hinder Trump from obtaining the nomination at the convention, has successfully raised money from a number of wealthy Republicans. The PAC received $2 million from Marlene and Joe Ricketts, of TD Ameritrade fame. In addition, the political action committee has successfully obtained $1 million from Paul Singer, a New York hedge fund executive. Warren Stephens, CEO of Little Rock, Arkansas-based Stephens Inc. donated $1 million, as well. The Our Principles PAC is run by Katie Packer, who was formerly a Mitt Romney adviser (Savransky).

In addition, the political action committee has successfully obtained $1 million from Paul Singer, a New York hedge fund executive. Warren Stephens, CEO of Little Rock, Arkansas-based Stephens Inc. donated $1 million, as well. The Our Principles PAC is run by Katie Packer, who was formerly a Mitt Romney adviser (Savransky).

Super PACs and lobbying groups received much attention during the election. However, no one could determine the actual benefit to Trump's campaign because much of the Super PAC's finances are deemed untouchable after recent Supreme Court rulings.

Contested convention and seeking voter support

The split the map, anti-Trump Republican effort is an interesting strategy (Bash). In this instance, Cruz would essentially pander to the eastern states that are most supportive to his perspective, and Kasich would pander to the western states that support his point of view. The philosophy is that Trump needs 1,237 delegates to achieve the nomination, and the best way to waylay his achieving this number is to have only one competitor in each caucus or primary going forward (Bash).

Thus, Cruz would concentrate on Utah, Arizona, Nebraska, Oregon and South Dakota, while Kasich will focus on New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Rhode Island. Both Cruz and Kasich deny this strategy, as expected, because they do not want to appear as though they are incapable of winning in every caucus or primary, but if they do not do well, this would likely be a strategy that each would embrace because the race could still turn out successfully for either one of them, and they would likely appreciate the swell of underground Republican support (Bash).

At this point, the only way that Kasich can win the nomination is if there is a contested convention (Bash). A contested convention similar to a brokered convention occurs if none of the candidates have a majority of the delegates at the time of the nominating convention (Cahn & Joseph). A contested convention occurs if a candidate gains the majority of delegates on the first vote. A brokered convention occurs if multiple bouts of voting must take place to determine the winning candidate.

Kasich is philosophical. Despite his nethermost delegate count, he believes that he is the most electable Republican candidate, when it comes to the actual challenge at hand, that between the Republican party and the Democratic party. In fact, he is not alone in this reasoning (Cahn & Joseph).

Conclusion

The Republican anti-Trump machine is in full swing.But Trump supporters aren't backing down, and voters are flocking towards Trump. Many in the GOP see Trump’s comments on Muslims, immigration, civil unrest and David Duke sounding comments are not good for the country and will thwart a Republican victory. I agree, and if Trump is elected, I will find a fashionable yurt and move to Uzbekistan. I just checked the website and they have camels, as well!

Works Cited

Bash, Dana. "Kasich responds to anti-Trump 'split the map' strategy." CNN. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. 20 March 2016. Web. 20 March 2016. http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/20/politics/john-kasich-republican-convention-donald-trump/.

Burns, Alexander and Martin, Jonathan. "Republican Leaders Map a Strategy to Derail Donald Trump." The New York Times. The New York Times Company. 19 March 2016. Web. 20 March 2016. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/20/us/politics/donald-trump-republican-party.html?_r=0.

Burrough, Bryan. "Rick Perry Has Three Strikes Against Him." Vanity Fair. Conde Nast. 1 December 2011. Web. 20 March 2016. http://www.vanityfair.com/news/politics/2012/01/rick-perry-201201.

Cahn, Emily and Joseph, Cameron. "A contested convention could be the GOP's last hope of stopping Trump." Mashable. Mashable, Inc. 20 March 2016. Web. 20 March 2016. http://mashable.com/2016/03/14/what-is-a-brokered-convention/#oGR5shsETgqo.

Casteel, Chris. "Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn talks cancer, health care, leaving Congress." The Oklahoman. NewsOK.com. 24 November 2013. Web. 20 March 2016. http://newsok.com/article/3907870.

Diaz, Daniella. "Nikki Haley: Anyone but Donald Trump." CNN. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. 17 February 2016. Web. 20 March 2016. http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/17/politics/nikki-haley-donald-trump-south-carolina/.