COUNTERPOINT: Trump ought to withdraw from the presidential race

Being the Commander in Chief for a country as large and globally important as the United States is no easy endeavor. Most candidates seem to grasp this before they start campaigning for the position so that they can truly commit themselves to the cause. Many of these candidates, once elected, use the position to attempt to better the nation — and not just for their personal gain. Unfortunately, the Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump does not seem to understand the weight of his decisions and has drawn global attention for his remarks. In light of current events, he should not be permitted to continue his campaign.

Not only is Trump proving to be a bad leader, but he also does not have the political support of his own party anymore. Earlier last week, hidden footage from 2005 resurfaced where Trump was seen talking to one of his colleagues about a woman that he was about to meet. In 2005, he was a businessman who was very used to appearing on television, and this may have prompted him to believe that women give him what he wants because of his position over them. This is not an isolated incident: Trump has repeatedly been caught slut-shaming women and degrading them regularly, and he did not seem particularly remorseful for this incident either. Yet for many Republicans, this was the final straw — important representatives from his own political party have either withdrawn their endorsements or publicly spoken against Trump. Even before the 2005 tapes surfaced, Sen. Ted Cruz, who ran against him in the primaries, urged voters at the Republican National Convention to “vote with [their] conscience.” More recently, and more importantly, Trump’s own running mate, Gov. Mike Pence, stated that he could not condone or defend Trump’s sexist remarks (despite maintaining his overall support for the candidate.) Pence also refused to attend a rally with Speaker Paul Ryan the next day, one that he was attending on Trump’s behalf. As if these two examples were not enough, there are more than 30 congressional Republicans who have spoken out against Trump, calling on him to resign his presidential bid.

This lack of support really speaks to the high caliber of disapproval amidst the Republican Party regarding their presidential nominee. Prominent policymakers do not believe in their own delegation’s nominee, so where does that leave GOP public opinion? The fact that he has lost so much of this backing just from within his own party serves as a testament to Trump’s inability to serve and act as a respectable Republican nominee.

Perhaps the GOP representatives are simply looking out for the U.S. narrative. By electing someone as high-profile as Trump, the U.S. government draws much unwanted attention and suspicion to itself. A real estate developer, Trump has never held a post in public service, has never served in the military. He has spent a lifetime building up a business empire that has always prioritized his own interests. Global leaders are terrified that he will dismantle longstanding agreements because of his inexperience in the field, and have already begun using him as the butt of many jokes. This is a terrifying prospect: America is still seen (perhaps undeservingly) as the leader of the free world, and electing Trump would ruin any credibility we might still have after letting him get this far.

After electing President Barack Obama eight years ago, electing a racist, sexist and xenophobic business mogul directly afterward would be, at the very least, a step back for the nation. And given all the recent proliferation of civil rights activism, this is not the kind of legacy our generation should leave behind. For whatever reason, this last video seems to have been the last that we can tolerate of Trump, and it is not clear how much lower he can stoop before America definitively votes for Democratic presidential nominee Clinton, but one thing is for sure: Trump does not deserve to stay in the presidential race.

Shweta Tatkar is a junior majoring in global health. “Point/Counterpoint” runs  Wednesdays.