Editor’s note: This op ed is in opposition to one by Colton Scott.
BY GREYSON ROBINSON
English 9/Mr. Davis
Los Alamos High School
Donald Trump is one of the most hated and loathed individuals in our country. Those who hate him outnumber those who like, or even tolerate him. These zealots have enriched a manic hatred towards the man. Some claim that he should be disqualified from the election. You might hear them say “He’s a criminal” or even “He’s an evil man” some would say that he’s “Evil, Horrible, power hungry, greedy.” Truthfully, I can’t refute all of these points. Trump does like money, and he does like power. Though under all the founding fundamentals of our country, he should not be disqualified.
Foremost, I would say that there is no legal reason that he shouldn’t run. Trump never has been convicted of a capital crime. This fact is undeniable and unshakeable for our (5th Amendment) directly states “No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War Or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” With the 5th amendment as my proof I claim that there is no constitutional reason that Trump cannot run. Three states have even tried to disqualify him from this year’s presidential election., and they did. The states in question include Illinois, Colorado, and Maine. In all three of these states he was deemed ineligible of running and was disqualified. Though in each of these cases, the Supreme Court overruled these under basis that this was unjustified.
Donald Trump has not yet been found guilty of any crimes. One such crime that he has been accused of is falsifying business records, claiming that the 130,000$ was for legal fees. He faced 34 counts of fraud, stemming from campaign finance laws. These 34 counts of fraud all come from the individual Stormy Daniels Case. The Stormy Daniels case is probably the most likely to result in charges. This case, accusing him of fraud and hush money, is a messed up situation, though I fully believe that if Trump isn’t found guilty then should be allowed to run. His next case relates to the January 7th attacks on the U.S. Capitol Building (be as detailed as you can in your descriptions. Assume nothing about your readers’ prior knowledge) . A large crowd of people (Which consisted largely of Trump supporters) stormed the Capitol and attempted to interfere with the vote tallying. However, I don’t believe he should be tried for this case. Beyond a few poorly chosen words Trump had little relation to the happening of these riots. Those present in the riot were there out of their own volition. Trump had no way to control these people, he wasn’t even present for the riots. These same statements apply to the Georgia interference case. Then we have the classified documents case. On January 21st Trump had supposedly shown classified documents to visitors at his house. This might seem a bit haphazard, but I truly believe that this case is of little consequence. These were not “Top Secret” documents that could cause genuine problems for the government. These documents were on a similar level to those accessible by government workers; many lab workers with either an SCI clearance (Special Compartmented Information Clearance), or a Top Secret Clearance have access to similar documents. I’m sure that many who may read this could access documents like which Trump had shown. An SCI is rare forsure, but over one million people within the U.S have one.
I have said why Trump is qualified to run. Some might wonder why they should care? Trump was not a terrible president. The overall economic state of the U.S flourished under Trump. Here are some GDP ratings from the NASDAQ. Donald Trump 2.6%, Joe Biden 2.6%, Barack Obama 1.0%, George W. Bush -1.2%. He had good GDP growth overall. His inflation rate was also rather good. Donald Trump 1.4%, Joe Biden 5.0%, Barack Obama 2.5%, George W. Bush 0.0%.
Yet, Donald Trump is one of the most disliked U.S presidents, who’s presidential legitimacy, in light of his crimes, has been put into question. I think the question of whether or not he should run is simple. He has not been convicted and is thus able to run. His performance as a president wasn’t bad either. Overall, I hope my article helped to sway you to give the man another chance.
Beyer, Don. “U.S. Senate: Caches Trump” Www.senate.gov, http://www.jec.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/2c298bda-8aee-4923-84a3-95a54f7f6e6f/did-tru. Accessed 14 May 2024.
I used this website to gather information on Trump’s term as a president. I got info on what he did for the country and its economy.
Cornell Law School. “Fifth Amendment.” LII / Legal Information Institute, 10 Oct. 2017, http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/fifth_amendment.
I used this website to learn about the 5th amendment and how it supports Trump.
Government, Writers. “Economy & Jobs – the White House.” Trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov, trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/issues/economy-jobs/.
I used this website to learn about the economy under Trump.
Kates, Graham. “What to Know about Trump’s 4 Indictments and the Criminal Charges – CBS News.” Www.cbsnews.com, 15 Aug. 2023, http://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-investigations-new-york-fulton-county-georgia-special-counsel/.
I used this website to gain information on Trump’s 4 indictments.
Rubin, April. Why Trump Can Legally Run for President Despite Indictments. 1 Aug. 23AD, http://www.axios.com/2023/06/09/trump-president-run-criminal-charges-indictment. Accessed 8 May 2024.
I used this website to gather information on why Trump is legally allowed to run.