Originally Posted by
HardlyWaken
The way I see a president (any president) is that they signify direction more so than hard plans. Checks and balances within the country (and even outside of the country in some ways) will prevent and dictate a lot of what happens. However, the major things I see presidents do are promote a general direction and mindset as well as empower certain groups (with varying success). I should preface my answers with "I'm not a republican", I consider myself a centrist and believe both sides have things to offer. So anyways, to answer your question:
1. I don't believe at this point Socialism is the best route to take. A lot of youth like the sound of free college and health care because it's most beneficial to them. I agree that being young in the US isn't rainbows and butterflies (I'm 24 and a recent grad), but their wishes are short sighted and take responsibility out of the peoples' hands. Trump wants to remove taxes from college loans and wants to reduce state barriers on insurance which would effectively make college and healthcare cheaper without the risk of costs rising (leading to the government needing more taxes in a loop). Secondly, it doesn't risk a loss of quality in health care or education. In fact, education quality is a major focus from Trump, wishing to remove common core and give more education power to the locals. I also agree that less taxes should be required so long as we can reduce government spending. A smart American who tries hard in life (for the most part, some people get screwed in any system, it's just life unfortunately) is better off saving and allocating funds according to their personal needs rather than paying higher tax rates and having the government spending it for them on their selected "basic human rights", which is an ever-changing and expanding definition.
2. I generally like that he speaks more like a common person. He has gone under fire for this because he doesn't filter himself in a typical politician way. This may make him look less prepared, but the reality is, a script and filtration doesn't make you any more smart, progressive/accepting nor less self-serving. Hillary is a prime example of a person who can say one thing and believe another or have vastly shifting view based on what is necessary to 'believe' at any given time. While ideas can be in flux or how radical you are may fluctuate genuinely (we're human) I've seen enough to feel like she makes decisions more for popularity rather than compromise or learning. As for Bernie, I do find him to be genuine in the sense that I do believe he cares, but I feel he goes too far in pandering to individuals, especially when he says "white people don't know what it's like to be poor", which unlike many of Trump's off-comments that get distorted or taken out of context, is actually what he said.
3. I generally like his ideas. We do have an illegal immigration problem and it does cost a lot of money and saturates the work force. Trump's idea is to remove them, but allow them to then become legal citizens (I don't know the full details, but that is his general idea), which is a vastly superior idea than ignoring a real issue to avoid sounding racist. Similarly, he suggested a temporary ban on muslims until we can find better means of border security and avoid unnecessary terror attacks. While this may be a slightly extreme way to handle it (and he sort of admitted to that), the idea isn't a bad one, nor is it xenophobic. He simply wants to protect people and wants to throttle the ideology that bolsters the threat.
Generally speaking, I feel there are some conservative values (especially based in preserving a functioning family, not omitting gay couples who adopt, it's a great thing) worth holding onto that many democrats and liberals these days tend to diminish, without regards to the cause and effects that they have. I see a lot of far-left people as regressive because feeling has trumped reality, facts (actual facts not surface facts that help push a false narrative) and statistics are now shunned and deemed racist if they expose any underlying problems. This is the major reason i don't support the left. It has its heart in the right place, but not the mind to handle it in a sustainable and lasting way. And what makes it worse is for people who preach tolerance and peace, their tolerance has been a one-way-road and they have been a major piece of the violence that has taken place during this election. As much as I am for equality and peace, you have to expect actual equality and not just expect everyone to pander to your cause, and that's where the liberal left falls short. It's very selfish and full of self-righteous thinking.
As for Trump, he's not as bad as people make him out to be. You can make anything anyone says sound bad if you'd like, but the truth is, he really doesn't talk any different than most Americans do in their living rooms. He's just brave enough to do it in front of a camera.
ALL that said, I don't consider myself deeply Republican because I don't delve that deep into many conservative values outside of economical conservatism. I'm not Christian (and very much-so wish Christianity didn't shadow the republican party) and in MOST respects, I agree with a lot of social progression, just not how it's handled in a violent and forceful way rather than fixing true roots of problems.