STAFF EDITORIAL: Donald Trump is an affront to immigrants, women, Muslims

What will probably be remembered as the biggest surprise in the modern era of election history occurred Nov. 8, when Donald J. Trump was officially elected the 45th president of the United States. As expected, it did not take long for Americans everywhere to grow seriously concerned. A man who does not think before he speaks, who clearly has questionable viewpoints about important segments of the American population, is now leader of most powerful country in the world.
And he will have control of our nuclear weapons.
The president-elect’s views on internal issues like immigration have made people who are Muslim, or who are undocumented immigrants, worry for their safety in Trump’s America. His view of people who illegally migrate from Mexico to the United States is completely unfair. He has generalized them all as criminals and illustrated an inaccurate image of them in the minds of the American people.
Many of us are immigrants, or have family members who are immigrants. We can tell you that the majority of the people who come here from Mexico and the rest of Latin America are not rapists or drug dealers. They do not come here with the intent to commit crime. They come to this country seeking the opportunity of a better life.
The United States has benefited from the contribution of illegal immigrants in the labor force. These people occupy hard-labor jobs for very little pay.
Another cause for concern is his stance on Muslims. Trump directly attacked a religion and called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.” We wonder if Trump took into consideration that a Muslim can be an Hispanic, black, Asian or Caucasian person. Trump later walked back his statements, but never completely abandoned his stance.
We know that keeping the borders secure is crucial for a country as powerful as America, which understandably has some enemies. The problem is that Trump specifically pointed out ethnicity as being the major issue.
Then there are his views on women. “Fat,” “pig,” “dog,” “slob” and “disgusting animal” are a few ways the newly elected president of the United States has publicly referred to women. Trump has a tendency to criticize women for their looks. The men among us could never see ourselves calling a woman any of those names, or ever seeing the point to do so. Who is Trump to deem women unattractive? Then there are his recorded comments, where he said he would kiss women and grope them — without consent.
There are many people who are disgusted with Trump’s sexist comments, especially women. Surprisingly, 42 percent of women still voted for Trump, despite everything he has said to offend women as a whole. We don’t understand that, but they certainly voted against their own interests.
Even with all that said, the fact still remains that Trump is our new president-elect. If nothing else, the election results were a clear demonstration of the disconnect between the American people and the U.S. government. Every failed promise for a better future has caught up with the White House. Trump is not a politician, which is exactly what the American people asked for, and got.
But at what price?