Donald Trump has been all over news headlines in the past year and a half, from his presidential candidacy announcement in the to his election to presidency in November. Most of these headlines have been admittedly negative (not a liberal perspective, just reality). I have compiled a few key ‘new year, new me’ resolutions for our future President to adopt in 2017, as Trump’s inauguration is about week away and have found some behaviors to be improved upon as he ramps up to taking over the presidency.
- Stop using Twitter as your personal press release. The shocking, 140-character sentences that you tweet a few times a day not only alarm the American public but many other countries, too. Take a tweet from a few days ago. “North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S. It won’t happen!” The last sentence almost seems to be a dare. Why are you egging North Korea on? Also, if you have something to say over 140 characters, honor journalists and hold a real press conference so you don’t spread your statements out over two or even three tweets.
- Respect women. For once. You’re in the highest held political position in the country. Can we not have another Hollywood Access tape while you’re in the presidency? Plus, some women might feel more inclined to be remotely okay with you as president. Not to mention Planned Parenthood. They provide cancer screenings and prevention, STD testing, contraception, pregnancy tests, and education. In fact, abortion services make up a mere 3% of their patient care. By defunding it, you would be jeopardizing the only health services that millions of women need to be healthy and safe and rely on heavily. Not to mention, their contraceptive care actually prevents abortions from happening. Now, millions of women are fearing for their reproductive rights in the coming years.
- Think for a moment before you speak. This one may seem obvious to a lot of people, but it does not seem to be for our President Elect. As the commander in chief, a lot of people and nations look up to you as a representative of the United States, so cutting down on the rash, offensive, and often incorrect comments may help you in the long run (especially with a PR budget).
- Release your tax returns. We have been waiting for years. Your “audit” doesn’t limit you from releasing them, you just do not want to! At this point, your refusal to release them appears to be an indicator of fraudulent activity. Either release them or own up to it.
- Eliminate ‘huge’ from your vocabulary. Please. Nothing is worse than a slew of presidential press conferences filled with this word. I’m sure there are plenty of thesauruses in the White House.
- Have a more diverse cabinet. I know, I know. It’s a day late and a dollar short. I just can not accept that you have only appointed white males to your top four most important positions, which has not happened since George H.W. Bush’s first term in 1989. Meanwhile, the majority of the rest of the cabinet are white. Not alright.
- Listen to your cabinet and advisers. I know I just said that your cabinet lacks diversity, but this doesn’t mean they aren’t knowledgeable. Your cabinet and policy advisers, no matter that they are almost all white male, are very intelligent and can provide quite a lot of insight into the critical decisions that you will be making in the next four years. For the benefit of the American people and the world, use them and their resources to inform yourself and make better decisions, whether it is on the Affordable Care Act, a wall in Mexico, or the fight against ISIS.
