This week, the print edition was our April Fools’ edition full of funny and goofy articles mostly written by me and the entertainment assistant, Colin Luderitz. However, a certain orange man brought me out of my silly mood and now I have to return to critiquing the Republican Party.
Not only do I now have to write about the orange man, I also have to do my own illustration last minute and I will do it with pure anger in my soul. Happy April Fools’ to me.
March 30 was the day nobody thought would come. Former President Donald Trump, previously mentioned as the orange man, was indicted on over 30 counts of business fraud by a New York City Grand Jury.
The specific incident he is being accused of was paying hush money to adult entertainment star, Stormy Daniels.
But of course, Trump has fired back, claiming this is all a witch hunt and it’s all a big conspiracy to take him down. BBC reports, “‘WITCH HUNT,’ the Republican wrote on his Truth Social platform shortly before traveling from his home in Florida to New York on Monday.”
I am not here to claim Trump did what he is accused of or even look into the case at all. The reason I am here writing this on the Tuesday morning before our paper’s production day is that for years Trump has been calling for Hillary Clinton’s arrest and stating “Lock her up.” Trump has always been a hypocrite and anyone who believes this is a conspiracy rather than a criminal investigation is one as well.
It gets even better, I write sarcastically and still annoyed by Montclair State University’s registration being down and I had to email my advisor to get into the classes I needed. Shoutout to Kyle Courter for getting me into my classes and answering my emails right away. This article would’ve been a lot meaner if it weren’t for you.
Back to what we were discussing, Vice reported, “Trump told his 2016 Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, she’d ‘be in jail’ if he won the election, in the middle of a presidential debate. He accused former President Barack Obama of committing ‘treason.‘ He slammed President Joe Biden’s ‘crime family.‘ He called a journalist a ‘criminal’ for failing to report news Trump wanted to hear.”
It sadly doesn’t stop there. There are plenty of examples of Trump’s hypocrisy that show his true colors.
New York Daily News reports, “Trump preaches about the importance of living by Christian values but is a serial adulterer, insatiable when it comes to the acquisition of wealth and maniacally power-hungry. Trump preaches about the importance of fairness but has refused to pay contractors what he owed them, give students in his bogus university a reasonable education, or properly distribute money from his self-dealing charity.”
They continue with, “Trump preaches about the importance of compassion for the pain and suffering of others but told the grieving widow of a slain war hero that her husband knew what he signed up for.”
Let’s not forget the other time he disrespected our fallen troops. The Atlantic reported, “In a conversation with senior staff members on the morning of the scheduled visit, Trump said, ‘Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.’ In a separate conversation on the same trip, Trump referred to the more than 1,800 marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood as ‘suckers’ for getting killed.”
Trump can pretend all he wants that he is a leader, but he will always be a foul-mouthed businessman who hosted a reality TV show and had the worst Comedy Central roast.
Not only is he making his supporters believe the Democrats are out to get him, but he’s also having them pay his legal fees. Yes, the man who lived in a golden penthouse is fundraising for his legal fees. Trump is taking money from hardworking Americans who didn’t have their fathers give them a small loan of a million dollars.
Reuters reports, “Less than two hours after news of his indictment broke, former President [Trump] appealed to supporters to help with his legal defense, hoping their outrage will boost his coffers as he seeks the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. ‘Please make a contribution – of truly any amount – to defend our movement from the never-ending witch hunts and WIN the WHITE HOUSE in 2024,’ said an email sent by a Trump fundraising group called the Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee.”
Trump is a hypocrite, a liar and not a leader. I’m not going to tell you who to vote for, what party you should be in, or even that you can’t agree with Trump’s policies. But I am here to tell you that you shouldn’t believe in his conspiracies or give him even a penny.
As Americans, we cannot blindly follow politicians and disregard the horrible things they have done. There is not an elected official on this Earth I would defend in such a way as Trump’s supporters. Sometimes the people we support do bad things, and it’s okay to admit that. Don’t let Trump scare you into believing all these conspiracies and wild accusations just to get your vote.
