Ian Tancun | Columnist

Combative, reckless, embarrassing

While on the campaign trail, President Donald Trump claimed that he could be “presidential” if he wanted. During his brief time in office, Trump has shown no signs of acting “presidential.” Instead, we’ve witnessed more of what we’ve come to expect from him: combative behavior with anybody who questions or undermines him. Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, the U.S. Intelligence community as a whole, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Meryl Streep, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and the Republican Freedom Caucus have all been on the receiving end of Trump’s combativeness, according to various tweets on Trump’s Twitter feed. Meryl Streep spoke out against Trump at the Golden Globes this year, and Trump called her “one of the most overrated actresses in Hollywood,” according to a Jan. 9 tweet. “She is a Hillary flunky who lost big,” tweeted Trump.

Reckless is the term that adequately describes Trump’s foreign policy agenda, as it relates to his interactions with the leaders of countries that have had good, longstanding relations with the U.S. The New York Times wrote that a rift with Australia is now a real possibility after Trump’s confrontational phone call with Turnbull, according to its Feb. 2 article. This “us against the world” mentality that Trump seems to have is bound to end in disaster.

All of this behavior combined with his habit of making completely outrageous statements or unfounded accusations is embarrassing. Between his still unproven wiretap allegations and his habit of calling any news organization who challenges him “fake news,” I still have a hard time believing this individual is supposed to represent our country.

While some people cite Trump’s unorthodox behavior as positive and the reason why they voted for him, I find it appalling and embarrassing. While there have been presidents I’ve disagreed with in the past, this is the first time I’ve felt ashamed of the person residing in the White House.

MacKenzie Meadows | Columnist

Important, twisted, and smart

President Donald Trump is not a politician nor was he brought up in a family of politicians. He is a businessman, and that is the kind of change America needs. I stand with him. Change is imperative to this country, and if Trump’s past three months of presidency were looked at with an unbiased eye, Americans would see that as well.

Republicans contend “that the qualities of businessmen make them especially fit to be good political leaders, emphasizing their ability to motivate and manage others and make prudent decisions with both short-term and long-term consequences in mind,” according to an Aug. 12 CNN report. Trump approved the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Keystone Pipeline, which will produce thousands of jobs. He knows the importance of a climbing economy.

Trump’s tactics are widely twisted within society based on the merits of his tweeting habits. I believe Trump accused former President Barack Obama of wiretapping his hotel to distract the country. His aim was to elect people to his cabinet without media scrutiny and make choices without everyone glaring in on what he’s actually doing, according to a Jan. 11 INDEPENDENT.co.uk article.

He’s a smart man, but him keeping things from the American people and doing things purposely to avoid the press is disheartening. He is keeping the press focused on his obnoxious tweets rather than his actions — it’s pure genius. He knows what he is doing. He knows how to shine the light where he thinks is most important, and Americans are looking exactly where he wants them to, which then allows him to get the job done. I stand with Trump because it’s clear that he’s smarter than many give him credit for.

Faith Mellenthin | Columnist

Vague, controlling, involved

President Donald Trump’s statements regarding policies add to the vagueness of his whole campaign. During the second presidential debate, he never explained how to fix our American healthcare and just reiterated over and over that the Affordable Care Act needs to be replaced by a better healthcare system. Now, he has shown impulsiveness while signing documents and making important decisions that add to how little we know about his plan to “make America great again.”

I feel like this may be a reason the Republican healthcare replacement was rejected — it was created way too quickly and may have been lacking in essential elements.

As a businessman, Trump based his career around achievements that bring himself and his business higher to the top. Unfortunately, this is not the kind of lifestyle that can be associated with presidency because the president is already at the top. Perhaps this is why Trump maintains such a can-do attitude and continues to bring attention to foreign relations.

Trump is a frequent user of #AmericaFirst on his Twitter account, which reflects on his impulsive actions related to the travel ban and immigration. Even though his reaction to the April 4 attack in Syria was met with positive support, it was still an act that pulled America into the issue with a controlling position.

Trump may not be the most popular, but he is definitely involved in almost every bill and issue that has been put in place since his election into office. His impulsiveness could arguably also be described as attentiveness.

Trump signed the same number of executive orders in the first four weeks of his presidency as former President Barack Obama did, according to an April 7 BBC article. It seems like he has signed more, but I think that is because Trump generates more publicity. Trump will surpass Obama in presidential involvement during the months to come. He acts like the kind of person who continuously tries to take on small things despite larger issues such as replacing the Affordable Care Act and enforcing U.S. military involvement in other countries.