Stan Sipple is a resident of Felton.
With the upcoming election, I thought I would give my reasons why, at one time, I thought Donald Trump would be a good choice and what made me change my mind.
I read about his bankruptcies. I learned this was a way of doing business for him. I read of a family business in New Jersey that was hired to do some work in a new casino he was building. It was a million-dollar contract. The family completed the work and tried to get paid by Trump. Trump told his people to offer them $250,000, and if they wouldn’t take it, he would keep them wrapped up in courts for years. This was not even enough to cover materials for the job. Think of all the contractors affected by a bankruptcy. How many get pennies on the dollar? Do you think Trump felt sorry for any of them?
Doing more research, I found that Trump is not the self-made man he likes to portray. His father gave him the money and the people to be successful. His father found a doctor to get him out of the draft. A professor at the Wharton School said he was “dumb as a rock.” When he was elected, I thought at least he would have people making the big decisions for him. He originally had some good people behind him. In a short period, though, the better ones all resigned. They said he was impossible to work with. He wouldn’t listen. Some said they would have to “explain things at a fifth grade level to get him to understand.”
Today, 40 of 44 members of his Cabinet, including his vice president, refuse to endorse him. Why? That should tell us something. If you applied for a job, and they called for a reference, and this many people wouldn’t give you a good reference, would you get the job? I don’t think so.
I then listened to Trump become a know-it-all. He says, “I know more than the generals about Afghanistan.” That scared me. It should scare you. We can’t have a know-it-all as president. He says, “I know more about windmills than anybody.” No, he doesn’t. He was talking to some soldiers about a new plane that had stealth technology. This allows a plane not to be picked up by radar. He said one of the soldiers told him, “Sir, you can fly right next to it, and you can’t see the plane.” I thought, “Oh, my God. He thinks stealth means the plane is invisible!”
Come on, people. I agree we have to fix the border, which is Trump’s biggest scare speech. But Trump’s plans for his next term could be a nightmare. He is showing signs of cognitive decline now, and we have to think how bad it will be in a year or two. If you vote for Trump, you’re voting for Ohio Sen. JD Vance for president. I see the 25th Amendment being used for one reason or another against Trump.
We don’t need and can’t afford more chaos with the way the world is now. Vice President Kamala Harris may or may not be the best choice for some people, but she brings some normalcy and respect back to the office. She needs a chance, and in only four years, we can do this all over again.
God bless America, now more than ever.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.