In our first official debate together, my Republican opponent, John Curtis, said something that should be startling: “I think Utah wants the Trump agenda.”
Really, John? Utah, which usually votes 60 to 70 percent Republican, only gave Donald Trump 45.5 percent of the vote. Had Evan McMullin announced his candidacy earlier — or had the Democrat been someone other than Hillary Clinton — Trump might not have won this state at all.
Utahns know that an immoral leader makes immoral policies. You cannot compartmentalize the man from his agenda — they are one and the same.
Donald Trump began his campaign by calling an entire ethnicity of people murderers, rapists and drug dealers. He later said that a federal judge was unable to do his job because of that same ethnicity. Donald Trump the man is a racist.
President Donald Trump responded to the first major domestic disturbance of his term by falsely declaring an equivalency between Neo-Nazis and peaceful counterprotesters. He stuck to this narrative despite pressure from both sides of the aisle. He pardoned Joe Arpaio, banned immigration from several countries on thinly-veiled religious grounds and responded to the hurricane that hit Puerto Rico much slower than to the storms that hit Florida and Texas. He is even now holding the future of 800,000 Dreamers hostage for funding for his border wall. Donald Trump the president promotes racist policies.
In his career as a businessman, Donald Trump habitually exaggerated his wealth, his successes and the quality of his products. On the campaign trail, he spoke more half-truths and outright falsehoods than any candidate in living memory. Despite being caught in these distortions and proven wrong, he neither confessed nor changed his tune. Donald Trump the man is a pathological liar.
In his time in the Oval Office, President Trump has systematically dismantled the American government’s ability to conduct science. He has appointed a climate change denier to head the EPA. He has routinely skipped vital intelligence briefings, basing policies on prejudices rather than actual facts. Donald Trump the president has no interest in finding the truth, much less acting on it.
Speaking of untruths, Donald Trump got his start in politics by peddling a false rumor about President Obama’s birthplace — for seemingly no other reason than to attack him personally. Since taking office, President Trump has cancelled the TPP, withdrawn from the Paris Climate Accord and threatened the Iran nuclear deal. He recently accelerated his crusade against the Affordable Care Act through his executive order and his refusal to pay insurance subsidies. He’s done these things, more often than not, against the advice of his Cabinet and staff, for seemingly no other reason than to destroy Obama’s legacy. The Trump agenda is based on a grudge.
Never in the history of the United States have we seen a president who so precisely personifies his agenda. Trump’s immoral agenda is a direct extension of Trump the immoral man.
What’s more, Trump’s agenda is completely antithetical to Utah values. Utah was founded by refugees seeking freedom from persecution. They knew what it felt like to be marginalized and suffering. Over the years, we’ve built a community that is welcoming to all, that values inclusiveness, dignity, and respect. We raise our children in strong families, and we teach them to help those who are in need. Nothing could be farther from the Trump agenda.
Mayor Curtis has suggested to the Deseret News that he differs from President Trump in “style.”
John, it’s substance that counts. As I tweeted, you can’t have it both ways. But you can denounce the supremacist ideology inherent in Trump’s agenda. You can let the Latino, Native American, LGBTQ, female, and other constituents in this district know that you’re not behind an agenda that hurts them. You can take a stand against Trump’s attack on Utah values.
I believe that the people of this district understand the difference between style and substance, and I call upon them to vote accordingly.
Dr. Kathie Allen is the Democratic nominee in the special election for Utah’s 3rd Congressional District.