Téa Smith is a freshman pre-Law major, and Sydney Hamilton is a junior Mechanical Engineering major. Téa is (reluctantly) a Donald Trump supporter, and Sydney is a Hillary Clinton supporter (if you want to put a label on it...).
We decided to write this article together because it’s so different than any article we’ve seen anywhere else. Most articles written about the election are written by one Republican or one Democrat. We decided that since we support opposite candidates that we would write this together to show the pros and cons and strengths and flaws of each candidate.
What do you like about Hillary Clinton?
TS: While I do not support her, I believe that she has made a positive impact in female society by becoming the first female presidential nominee to get her party’s nomination. She has successfully worked her way through Washington up to the top of the political ladder, which is admirable for a woman to be able to do. Although I do not agree with her opinions, she has helped to pave the way for women in America to get more involved in political affairs.
SH: Mostly I like that she’s not Donald Trump. But seriously, I like her ideas for less expensive (but not free) college. Free college is a lot of taxpayer money, and the price of college often is an incentive for students to do well. I like her ideas on paid family leave, as well as her views on evening out opportunities for children so each one could live up to their true potential. Hillary is also a fervent support of stricter gun laws, so I support her because of that. And who doesn’t love the idea of a female president?
What do you like about Donald Trump?
TS: Donald is relentless in the most effective way. Throughout his career he has proven that hard work and a “never give up” attitude can bring success. I believe that he would implement those same traits used to build his business to build America back up again. Mr. Trump has the potential to greatly aid us in lowering our country’s debt and forming stricter border patrol. He and I both believe that the legal way of doing things is the only way… except when he’s talking about taxes.
SH: I’ll give the Donald this: He’s not a career politician, which is what I think Washington needs right now. We’ve had a lot of the same in the way of the kinds of people being elected to office, so I think a businessman could do well as president. (I just don’t think said businessman should be Donald Trump.)
What do you dislike about Hillary Clinton?
TS: Hillary Clinton is the antichrist. That may be a bit of an exaggeration to others, but I disagree with nearly everything that comes out of that woman’s mouth. She not only supports the continuation of abortion, but abortions performed up until birth. I am a huge supporter of the Pro-Life movement and it makes my blood boil when Hillary’s campaign ads will declare how all children are special and have the potential to be great when she supports the murder of them. Not to mention how she claims to be a feminist but allowed her husband to cheat on her countless times. If you ask me, her marriage is a sham and she's only with Bill to achieve a higher political status. And I won’t even get started on Benghazi because I’ll write a novel.
SH: She’s very quiet about nuclear power, which is a politician’s approach, I guess. I wish she’d take a stance one way or the other. It'd be nice to know if she's planning on keeping my chosen industry intact in the US. She’s voted against using Yucca Mountain as a repository for nuclear waste, so I guess that would say she’s against nuclear. I also don’t agree with her stance on abortion, given that I’m pro-life. But I guess what I dislike the most is her inability to answer most questions. I guess that comes from her being a career politician, but if Hillary is asked a question, she can never give a straight answer.
What do you dislike about Donald Trump?
TS: Trump is clearly a racist and a sexist. He has criticized women, such as Rosie O'Donnell and Alicia Machado, for their looks throughout his entire life within the public eye. Donald’s ghost writer, Tony Schwartz, has given testimony to how crude and disrespectful Donald can be when speaking about race or sex. But, unfortunately, this is the nominee that my party has chosen, and I’ll be voting with them.
SH: He’s racist and misogynistic, and says truly awful things about other human beings. Just look at anything he’s recently said about Alicia Machado, the former Miss Universe. He’s called her “Miss Piggy” and other much more offensive things, just because she gained weight after winning the crown in 1996. News flash, she’s allowed! Trump also rarely answers a question in a straightforward way. I don’t like how he wants to give tax breaks only to the incredibly wealthy. To a degree, I agree with trickle-down economics (where the wealthy need to stay wealthy to be able to put money into the economy and to create jobs), but we also need tax breaks for those in our country with the smallest incomes. We can’t leave the poor out to dry.
What do you think about Donald Trump not releasing his tax records?
TS: He’s made it clear that he doesn’t pay what he is supposed to. Releasing them would just bring forward evidentiary support that Donald would be unfit to run the US. As far as the campaign trail goes, I don’t blame him for not releasing them.
SH: Well he’s openly said he doesn’t pay federal taxes, so I guess we know what we need to know. But I still think they should be released. If he’s planning on becoming president, he should get used to this kind of scrutiny now. I think the American people have a right to see his tax records. As far as the American public can see, Donald Trump has made his fortune beating the financial system. I think that makes him very untrustworthy. If he can prove us otherwise, by all means, do so.
What do you think about Hillary Clinton's email scandal?
TS: She is obviously at fault for the “loss” of the emails. She claims that it was a mistake and was unintentional, but the likelihood of that statement being true is not highly plausible. It shows incredibility and an inability to put country first and career last. As an American, I want a president who will do whatever is necessary to protect our country, troops, and citizens. This scandal is, in essence, proof that Secretary Clinton can not do that.
SH: This is a big stain on the Clinton campaign, I have to admit. This is a big reason she’s called untrustworthy. But there’s no evidence that she had been hacked, unlike the State Department’s server. I agree, she should have just used the State Department’s server and avoided the whole issue. But it is what it is, and I think Hillary just needs to release a formal apology explaining why she did what she did so that America can move on from this.
Why do you support the candidate that you support?
TS: Two reasons: I am loyal to my political party, and I loathe Hillary Clinton. From my experience in speaking with other young voters, these two types of reasoning tend to be a reoccurring theme. This is supposed to be one of the most vital elections of our time, and both candidates, in my opinion, are awful human beings. The American voters are trapped and forced to vote for the lesser of two evils. This election year has people terrified for the future of the US, no matter what candidate wins.
SH: Honestly? Mostly because she’s not Donald Trump. I think this is an opinion most millennials have on both sides of the aisle, so to speak. Most people I know are supporting one candidate simply because they’re not the other one. I’m supporting Hillary because, given my options, I could swallow the idea of President Clinton better than President Trump. And that’s sad, because this is a big election: whoever is the next president can pick up to four Supreme Court justices. I wish I had better choices for president than Hillary and Trump.
What do you think about the third-party candidates?
TS: Honestly, they don’t stand a chance, so I don’t care.
SH: Let's not talk about them.
Who do you think won the debate on September 26th?
TS: I believe that Donald won the debate, and so do many of the media sites across America. Were there times when he was uncouth and loud? Absolutely. But that’s just Donald. Was Hillary condescending and immature? Yes. She allowed Donald’s comments and rebuttals to lower her to petty jabs and confusing, misleading answers. I believe that Donald rallied his voters better than Hillary and was able to freely give answers, whereas Hillary couldn’t keep her eyes off the monitors. It was also seen that Lester discreetly, but truthfully was attempting to aid Hillary in the debate. Trump stood on his own and was able to communicate his vision for change in America.
SH: I think Hillary came out on top. She came across as cool and level-headed in the face of Donald’s shouting interrupting her. Donald, on the other hand, allowed everything to get under his skin and let himself look the fool. But in the grand scheme of it, I’d say neither of them won because neither of them really talked about the issues. They didn’t answer any questions, and they didn’t talk about their stances on just about any issue. They mostly just threw jabs at each other and tried to drag the other one through the mud.
If you could have picked any of the other nominees from your party instead of the current nominees, who would you pick? Or would you stick with your party's nominee?
TS: From the beginning, I loved Scott Walker and Marco Rubio. I was hoping for a Rubio/Walker ticket, but we don’t always get what we want. As I’ve said, I am a supporter of the Pro-Life movement, and both of these candidates have a deep-rooted passion for the cause that matches my own. Now, speaking in the view of Democratic nominees, Sanders was a far better choice. Did I agree with 90% of what came out of his mouth? Nope. But at least the guy is a decent human being. He just wanted to help. Hillary is just power-hungry.
SH: I’m actually a registered Republican, so should I pick a Republican or Democratic nominee? Well, if I had to pick a Republican candidate, I guess I’d say John Kasich, since that’s who I voted for in the primaries. I also liked Rubio! I miss him. If I had to pick a Democratic candidate, I’d say Bernie Sanders.
Any final thoughts?
TS: Everyone sucks.
SH: What she said.
