

Donald Trump thinks he can insult, demean, and divide millions of Americans and still win the presidency. He’ll lose for that very reason.

Trump’s hateful rhetoric is insulting and has serious consequences for people who have historically faced — and continue to face — discrimination and marginalization. Throughout his divisive campaign, Trump has demeaned or disrespected women, Latinos, Black people, Asians, immigrants, Muslims, mothers, sexual assault survivors, people with disabilities, Jewish people, LGBTQ people, reporters… the list goes on. In fact, the New York Times published a list of everybody that Donald Trump has insulted on Twitter alone, and the number of people, places and things that he has insulted is staggering: It’s 282.

Words matter. Donald Trump’s nonstop, hateful rhetoric emboldens his supporters to repeat this hateful language, and has caused an uptick in bullying, violence and intolerance that has been dubbed “the Trump effect.” (BTW, Hillary Clinton already has a plan to combat that). But it’s not just what he says: Trump’s actual policies are downright dangerous — especially if you’re anyone other than Donald Trump himself. And even though Mike Pence may seem more reasonable next to Donald Trump, his record shows the real-life consequences of the terrible things Donald Trump promises to do. Neither of them deserves to be anywhere near the White House.

Trump’s Insulting Rhetoric and Dangerous Policies

Trump has been unapologetic and unrelenting in his racist attacks on Latinos.

Rhetoric on Latinos:

During Trump’s campaign announcement, he called Mexican immigrants “criminals” and “rapists,” ignoring that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans.

Trump also insinuated that an Indiana judge of Mexican-American descent could not be impartial because of his heritage.

Trump called former Miss Universe, Alicia Machado, “Miss Piggy” to body-shame her, and “Miss Housekeeping” to mock her Latina  heritage — when she was just 19. 

Policy and impact on people of color:

Trump says he’ll  build a wall separating Mexico from the United States, which ignores a host of realities — including that many border communities already have a barrier along the border.

Trump plans to round up and deport over 11 million undocumented people, separating them from their families and the only home some of them have ever known.

Trump has touted discriminatory, unconstitutional stop-and-frisk policies.

If Trump will bully a teenager about her weight or her heritage, who is off-limits? He has a long history of demeaning and offensive comments about all kinds of people. Imagine a man like that at the helm of our country, and what it would mean for communities that are fighting for equality.

Trump has shown no understanding of women’s bodies or reproductive health, including abortion.

Rhetoric on reproductive health:

When Megyn Kelly asked Donald Trump pointed questions, he implied she was menstruating, saying: “There was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her wherever.”

Trump called a female attorney “disgusting,” for needing to breastfeed her child in the middle of a long deposition.

Trump said if abortion is banned, there “has to be some form of punishment” for any woman who has one, but the man involved in the pregnancy shouldn’t be punished. After an outcry, he walked back the comments, and said that the women’s doctors should be punished instead.

In the final presidential debate, Trump lied about how abortion works, saying: “In the ninth month, you can take the baby and rip the baby out of the womb of the mother...” Trump’s highly inflammatory and incorrect description of an abortion later in pregnancy has no basis in truth and is intentionally trying to fan the flames of misinformation for political gain. The truth is many people who have an abortion later in pregnancy do so for very complex reasons, including the health of the woman or the fetus. And of course, partial birth abortion is not a thing — it’s a concept invented by anti-abortion groups to foster opposition to safe, legal abortion.

Policy on reproductive health:

Trump’s lack of understanding of women’s lives could lead to a slew of bad or dangerous public policy ideas. When he released his health care “plan” on his website, there was absolutely no mention of women’s health.

Trump has claimed he’d be great for women while in the same breath pledging to block them from accessing essential care at Planned Parenthood – care like birth control, lifesaving cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment, and well-woman exams. What’s even worse is, he said he’d shut down the government to do it — and you know Mike Pence is up for it...

Trump has called pregnancy an “inconvenience for the employer,” and kicked a crying baby and mother out of one of his rallies. He offered a wholly inadequate maternity leave plan, which had no coverage for straight or gay fathers. It seems like Trump has some antiquated notions of gender and parenting.

Trump wants to ban abortion and plans to appoint anti-abortion judges to the Supreme Court.

Pence’s Record and Its Real-Life Consequences

Whereas Trump’s rhetoric has real teeth behind it in his policy positions, Mike Pence’s record is a glaring example of the actual consequences of those types of policies.

Record on abortion and Planned Parenthood

Pence signed eight anti-abortion bills into law as governor of Indiana, including one of the most extreme, invasive abortion laws in the country. He also has been leading a years-long crusade against women’s health — in fact, he was the first member of Congress to try to “defund” Planned Parenthood.

Consequences of his record: The extreme anti-abortion law that Pence supported sparked protests in Indiana and around the country, including more than a thousand protesters who gathered outside the Statehouse in Indianapolis after Pence signed the bill. And remember: In Mike Pence’s Indiana, Purvi Patel served 18 months in jail of her 20 year sentence for the outcome of her pregnancy. A judge later reduced the sentence to time served.

Record on LGBTQ discrimination

Mike Pence signed a law to legalize discrimination against LGBTQ people. The “religious freedom” law gave businesses the green light to discriminate against LGBTQ people on religious grounds. The law was criticized around the country: High-profile groups withdrew events from the state in protest, and businesses like Apple and Marriott condemned the law. Pence “revised” the law, but the controversy still cost the state at least $60 million.

Consequences of his record: The revision still invites discrimination against LGBTQ people, and against women in accessing health care. This could mean that your boss, your landlord, public services, and local businesses could discriminate against you because of who you are. When it comes to health care, religious restrictions can mean refusal to see LGBTQ patients at all and put women’s health at risk — often offering her less health care, less information, and fewer options when she may need them most. LGBTQ communities need protection from discrimination — especially in areas of employment, housing and health care.

Record on “conversion” therapy

Mike Pence advocating for diverting state funds to support anti-LGBTQ “conversion” therapy, which uses various methods to get people to change their sexual orientation.

Consequences of his record: The very idea of conversion therapy is rooted in the idea that you can change LGBTQ people to straight or cisgender people. Trying to normalize these identities and marginalize the LGBTQ community, further harms the very people who already face discrimination, intolerance and violence. Young LGBTQ folks are more likely to face bullying, consider suicide, or be homeless than straight or cisgender young people. LGBTQ young people need support and affirmation.

Why So Many Communities Stand Together Against Trump

Both Donald Trump and Mike Pence have some alarming ideas about gender, race, religion, and sexual orientation — just to name a few. It’s up to all of us to stick together and reject divisiveness and hatred, or any attempts to roll back our rights.

Polling has predicted that this election will have one of the largest gender gaps in history —  meaning more women will favor Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump. Polling also suggests Clinton will have a bigger number of votes from Black and Latinx voters, signaling that a huge racial gap is a veritable certainty. Why? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Hillary Clinton has spent her life fighting to level the playing field, so that no matter your race, gender, income, or other identity could determine your outcome in life. Or the fact that Donald Trump is a notorious sexist, racist bully who is unhinged and unfit to be president.

Donald Trump has demeaned and disrespected almost every single type of person you could be. If he can’t respect us or our communities, he can’t be trusted to make policies that take our lived experiences into account and protect us from discrimination. And that’s why tomorrow, all of these communities will stand together to stop a Donald Trump presidency.

Make a Plan to VOTE!

This time next week, our country will have elected a new president. It’s your duty to have voted and been a part of it. But you can’t get yourself to the polls without a plan. In fact, research has shown that people who make a plan to vote are more likely to actually turn out on Election Day.

Use our vote plan tool to make your own plan. Afterward, you'll get a copy of your individual vote plan — and you’ll be ready to make history (or, shall we say, HERstory)!

Make a Plan

Tags: Donald Trump, Election 2016, Mike Pence

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