Claim: Trump has “Ushered” for a Golden Age for Women in the CIA

Molly

Although it is true that during Donald Trump’s presidency the top three CIA directories are held by women for the first time, there is little information supporting the fact that Donald Trump pushed for this change. Throughout Trump’s presidency, it has been widely recognized that Trump shows a certain level of disrespect towards women: whether it be his infamous Acess Hollywood tape, or simply disregarding a women and her intelligence based on her appearance, it has been shown that Donald Trump regards women inferior to men. Even though President Trump did appoint Gina Haspel to lead the agency, it has been Haspel who moved women into positions of leadership inside of the CIA, such as naming Elizabeth Kimber as Deputy Director of Operations and Cynthia Rapp as Deputy Director for Analysis, the top analyst position in the CIA. 

Cade

Many of President Trump’s actual policies eliminate narratives of a sexist administration. Gina Haspel’s appointment as CIA director is only one of many examples of Trump looking for the best people to run the government, with skills and experience as the only qualifications. Additionally, President Trump has appointed a record number of federal judges and 28% of them have been female, which is more than most other GOP presidents.

Claim: Trump stood by Brett Kavanaugh during the 2018 Trial

Molly

The Kavanaugh trial was one of the most explosive political events to take place in 2018, with the Supreme Court nominee essentially being put on trial for sexual assault. To say that Donald Trump standing by Brett Kavanaugh was one of his redeeming moments, as many females have commented, is a personal offense to women. The case made by Christine Ford had strong evidence that directly tied Brett Kavanaugh to the crime. Additionally, Kavanaugh’s temperament and actions during the trial were unprofessional and immature. Body language analyst Patti Wood explained in an interview with CNN that he shows signs of intentionally expressing “Cover emotions”, such as excessive anger or tears, often used to hide signs of guilt. Trump continued to stand by his side. This is absolutely not something Trump should be praised for.

Cade

President Trump did an amazing job unifying the republican party behind Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh after individuals sought to block his nomination with clear and obvious partisan motivation. Allegations of sexual assault arose against him with less than weak evidence from an event that supposedly happened thirty years ago where neither the exact date, time, or location could be given and confirmed by witnesses. Republicans sniffed out the back handed attempt to disrupt the appointment to the Supreme Court and found that the midterm elections in the senate revealed how conservatives felt about the smear campaign. 

Claim: Trump praised Vladimir Putin at the Helsinki Summit

Molly

The Helsinki Summit, an annual conference between the US and Russia, admittedly had its fair share of positives and negatives. The combined opinions of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin covered political topics some Americans were not expecting, which caused some turmoil. In regards to the civil war in Syria, Putin defended and agreed with the idea that terrorists in Syria must be “crushed” while keeping the forces of Syria and Israel separate. This logical idea had many agreeing with the Russian president, however Donald Trump had different views. The American president explained that he would not do anything “to benefit Israel”, including launching a successful campaign against the infamous terrorist group ISIS. At the opposite end of the spectrum however, President Trump did say during the conference that if he could help Syria get back into “some form of shelter and on a humanitarian basis,” he would. He even vouched that Putin would as well. Overall, President Trump should have tried to word some of his responses more delicately and stuck to what he said he would have in the beginning of the conference, but it is most definitely not one of the worst conferences he has attended. 

Cade

President Trump’s questionable comments at the Helsinki summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin led the media to doubt his faith in US intelligence as well as how seriously he would take election meddling and its threat to democracy. If Putin truly is our enemy, and as the Mueller report indicated, there was no collusion with our President, then who better to be close in relations to than our enemy? Relations facilitate better cooperation regarding each party’s foreign policy and also help avoid reactionary decision making. If we separate ourselves entirely from Russia because of a self-righteous temper tantrum then we forgo future opportunities to resolve issues peacefully and diplomatically. Trump made comments the public may not fancy, but his policy goals with Russia are based on very rational grounds.

Claim: Trump Shut Down the Government for the Longest Time in History

Molly

Shutting down the government was always been something that remains in the President’s power. There is little issue with shutting down the government for a legitimate reason, and many presidents have used said power during their presidency. That being said, most shutdowns last less than one week. When Donald Trump’s shutdown lasted a staggering 34 days, many were shocked. By keeping the government shut down for so long, it caused families who worked for the government to be forced to break into vacation days. After those were used up, workers went unpaid for their time. Additionally, the reasoning behind the shutdown was illogical. To shutdown the government to demand funding for border security is ironic in itself. During a government shutdown, border security is decreased, if not discarded entirely. The duration and reasoning behind the shutdown bring to light the lack of proper education and logic Donald Trump has when making significant decisions. 

Cade

Border security is an important issue and the Democrats refusal to cooperate in said efforts reflect anti-American values. However, President Trump’s usage of the government shutdown as a gambling chip with the democrats was foolish from a political strategy stand point and as the gambling chip he wanted it to be. While he tried spinning it, the public saw him as responsible for many individuals out of work and unsure of their short-term future. The media’s reaction should have been foreseen. The longer the shutdown went on, the more the media blamed him for it, despite giving Democrats a clear-cut dollar price for border security at which he would pass the budget. There were definitely more effective and shrewd strategies for accomplishing Trump’s goal than shutting down the government.