A little over two weeks after the presidential inauguration, we are now well into a new era of American politics. President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris are slowly restoring hope and tranquility in the United States. Granted, they have no easy task. They must deal with the remains of the disastrous Trump administration that divided this country for the past four years.

When Donald Trump announced his bid for the presidency in 2015, I was almost 11 years old and I distinctly remember all the adults in my life laughing and brushing it aside. They had no idea that their wildest dreams would become reality. Five years later, at 16 years old, I got to witness the controversial and tumultuous years of the Donald Trump presidency come to a chaotic end. 

From the very beginning, Donald Trump’s platform was based on his famous slogans: “Make America Great,” “Build the Wall,” and “Drain the Swamp.” But did he accomplish any of this? No. Nothing. Zilch. The Wall along the Mexican border was never finished, just a waste of taxpayers’ money. In the last days of his Presidency, Trump undid one of the only measures he took to rid Washington of corrupt lobbyists and politicians. And at the end of his term, America has a terrible economy with thousands dead from the virus. This begs the question: did Trump make America great? I hope we can all come to a consensus that he in fact made America terrible. 

To reflect, here are some of my “favorite” moments from Donald Trump’s one term in office: when he stared straight at the sun during an eclipse; when he said he was “thankful for himself” at Thanksgiving; his (still ongoing) feud with teenager and climate activist Greta Thunberg; when he fought with the entire cast of Hamilton; when he autographed Bibles;  “Yosemite,”; “covfefe”; when he said we should inject bleach into ourselves; and when he served the Clemson football team McDonald’s and Burger King because there were no chefs in the White House due to the government shutdown. The list is truly exhaustive. 

Now jokes aside, Trump and his administration created and enforced some of the most blatantly racist and horrific policies America has ever seen. But even if we disregard his policies, Donald Trump as a person alone should have been the first indicator that he was never fit for office. His long history of sexual assault, misconduct, and fraud is ill-fitting for such a high position in our government. 

Here is a quick list of what will define the Trump era: The Muslim Ban; when he mocked a disabled reporter; the wall; when he banned transgender people from joining the military; referring to the coronavirus as “kung-flu”; calling protestors “thugs”; inciting an insurrection; teargassing protestors for a photo-op in a front of a church. Once again, the list is truly exhaustive. 

2020 did not fare any better for Trump. Faced with a global crisis, he had a chance to rise and finish off his first term with grandeur. However, he handled the COVID-19 pandemic horribly. After contracting COVID-19 himself, he told Americans “Don’t let coronavirus dominate you.” But with over 400,000 American deaths, how can the leader of the free world tell his citizens who lost family members and loved ones that “it is what it is”? After having access to the best healthcare and doctors in our country, how could Donald Trump ever possibly sympathize with the millions of American families? As Brian Tyler Cohen put it, “[Donald Trump] is a walking monument to his own failures to contain the [coronavirus]”. 

Social justice was not his strong suit either. When the Black Lives Matter Movement erupted this past summer, Trump once again had a chance to rise against the circumstances, but nevertheless failed. His message of “law and order” clearly only applied to BLM, but not the rioters attacking our Capitol. He also had trouble denouncing White Supremacy at the first presidential debate. 

Now, with a sane president in office, where does this leave the millions of Americans who got to openly channel their racism through Trump these past four years? Absolutely nowhere. What are they gonna do with their piles of merch? The flags, the hoodies, the hats, the lawn signs? I’m not sure if Goodwill will accept trash, but we will have to see. 

I hope Donald Trump has a wonderful time golfing his days away at his Floridian resort. Without Twitter, there is not much to do but to bother Barron and go on long soul-searching walks. But let’s not forget about Melania, the ex-model turned First Lady. I have to say, I have nothing but sympathy for her. She married Donald in hopes to be showered with Chanel bags and Cartier rings, but she had to pretend to care about other people for four whole years. I can say with confidence that her autobiography will be an instant hit. I’m sure it’s not just me who wants to know what it was like being married to Donald Trump. I hope she gives us an inside scoop on her feud with Ivanka, Donald’s daughter. Step Mom vs. Daughter, a true classic. 

Speaking of Ivanka, there are rumors flying around about her hopes of running for office one day. Miss MAGA Royalty is trying to continue the family tradition. The tradition which is ruining the economy and being aggressively racist! I’m not entirely sure what her platform would be, maybe “In just four years I managed to aid my father in destroying America”? I would say I wish her the best of luck because I know the chances of her becoming a senator or even the next president are slim to none, but that’s what people did in 2015 in regards to her father, and look where we are now.

I remember in eighth grade during our school Washington D.C. field trip, I wanted a MAGA bucket hat because I thought it was the funniest thing ever; true eighth-grade fashion. And two years later, the sight of a red hat gives me shivers. 

However, Jake Higuera, a senior at Wayne Hills, shares very different beliefs. In his opinion piece for the Patriot Press, he wrote “There are so many accomplishments by President Trump, I haven’t even begun to name them all… he has been a defender of America since day one and he will definitely be viewed very favorably by history.”

Although Jake and I have extremely different views, it is safe to say that we can agree to disagree.

If the next presidency will be anything like what we have seen so far, I can eagerly say that we have a very bright future ahead of us. Joe and Kamala, we are rooting for you!