Story by Mariah Cowsert, Opinion Intern
Photo courtesy of ABC News

Hate, violence and inequality are the base of business mogul Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, which terrifies me that he’s made it this far. The irony and hypocrisy of Trump’s campaign is obvious with his “Make America Great Again” slogan printed sloppily on baseball caps that are made in China and saying he’s going to “save social security by bringing jobs back from China, Mexico,and Japan.”

While some choose to abstain from eating meat, going on social media, or drinking alcohol during the Lenten season, we should give up on watching what was thought to be a joke turn into a high stakes terrifying battle for presidency fueled by fear. Trump’s honesty is not refreshing and is not to be praised due to its racism, transphobia, and Islamophobia that’s only feeding a dark stereotype that has proved to be false in most circumstances.

Lent is a season of inclusion, togetherness, and sacrificing some luxuries so we can better connect with ourselves and our spirituality. Although I am not Catholic, I find Trump’s attacks on Pope Francis disrespectful because race, religion, gender aside, we need to respectful of other people because respect is a necessary human right. According to the New York Times, the Pope said, “A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian,” when a reporter asked him about Mr. Trump on the papal airliner as he returned to Rome after his six-day visit to Mexico.

Initially, America saw Trump’s campaign as a provocative joke that wouldn’t develop into a successful campaign while now more than 59% of Republican voters are Trump supporters. But what can we do to give up Donald Trump for Lent? We can start by building up other candidates and reading up on their values to have a better idea about who is in the running to be our next leader. We can also embrace our differences in support of each other for a healthy and inclusive community. Lastly you can vote in the March primary election to let your voice be heard which is crucial regardless of what box you check on your ballot.

About the Writer…

Mariah Cowsert is a junior studying Communication with a Theatre Emphasis and English. She has been writing for The Saint since last fall and is excited to continue doing what she loves through her internship with The Saint as Opinion Intern, soon to be Opinion Editor. In her free time she enjoys running, acting and technical theatre involvement, painting, talking in third person for bios, and reading.