Alex Carson
#1 Political Experience
Obama and Trump differ greatly when it comes to the experience that the two men have had in politics. Barack Obama was an Illinois State Senator from 1997 through 2004. After that, he became the Senator of Illinois from 2005 through 2008. After being a senator, he became the President of the United States. Donald Trump has absolutely no experience in politics. He is the president of the Trump empire, however, that has nothing to do with politics. In the past, he talked about running for senate a few times, mayor once, and he even suggested a few times that he would run for the President of the United States, but up until recently, he didn’t. Many media outlets suggested that these were all publicity stunts to grow his brand.
#2 Individual Rights
When it comes to the individual rights of the American people, Barack Obama and Donald Trump’s views differ greatly. For example, when it comes to abortion, Obama believes that a woman has the right to choose. Donald Trump strongly disagrees about a woman’s right to choose. He believes that abortion should be illegal. When it comes to legally requiring a company to hire women and minorities as often as they hire men, Donald Trump disagrees. He believes that companies can hire whomever they want. Obama believes that women and minorities should be equal employees in the workplace.
When it comes to same-sex marriage, Barack Obama has always been for it. It was during his presidency that most states made same-sex marriage legal and he was always a big supporter. During much of Donald Trump’s campaign, he hinted that he did not agree with same-sex marriage. Since being elected, he has softened his views on the subject, however, he is not as supportive as Obama.
#3 Domestic Issues
Like just about everything else, Barack Obama and Donald Trump have very different views when it comes to domestic issues. Obama does not believe that if we hand down stricter punishments to criminals that there will be less crime. Donald Trump believes that harsher punishments will reduce crime. When it comes to the absolute right to own a gun, Obama disagrees. He believes that there should be restrictions. Trump disagrees and he would put a gun in every American’s hand if he could. Obama believes that ObamaCare helped America and Donald Trump intends to dismantle it when he takes office. The only domestic issue that the two men agree on is that marijuana is a gateway drug.
#4 Defense and International Issues
Barack Obama and Donald Trump’s views on defense and international issues differ greatly. For starters, Obama strongly agrees with expanding free trade while Trump is totally against it. Next, Obama disagrees with expanding the military and Donald Trump thinks that it a good idea. When it comes to fighting ISIS, Donald Trump has openly disagreed with Obama’s methods. He claims that he knows more about ISIS than the generals in the military, and he believes that drastic measures need to be taken.
#5 Personality Characteristics
One of the biggest differences between Trump and Obama | is their personalities. Barack Obama has a level head. He listens to his advisers and he takes their advice seriously. Donald Trump is a hot head. When he hears something that he doesn’t like or approve of, he takes to Twitter in the middle of the night to give his opinions, which are often negative and insulting. During his campaign, he was told many times to keep quiet and avoid insulting certain members of the American people. He didn’t listen to his advisers and did what he wanted.
#6 Campaign Scandals
While Barack Obama was campaigning to be the President of the United States, it was a relatively clean campaign. There were not many scandals that changed the views of his supporters. Donald Trump’s campaign, on the other hand, was full of scandal. He insulted the father of a man who died while serving in America’s armed forces. He openly insulted women and minorities. He suggested keeping Muslims out of America. Finally, several stories broke about how Donald Trump verbally and sexually assaulted women in the past. These are things that we never heard during Obama’s campaign.
#7 Disclosing Tax Information
When Barack Obama was running for the President of the United States, just like ever other candidate in history, he disclosed his tax information for the American public’s knowledge. Donald Trump, on the other hand, didn’t. He made several excuses regarding being audited by the IRS. Many financial and tax experts went on record stating that disclosing his tax information would have no bearing on his audit. Even with this information, Trump chose not to disclose any information.
#8 Conflict of Interest
When it comes to outside businesses creating a conflict of interest during their presidencies, Donald Trump and Barack Obama are very different. Obama put his holdings into a blind trust. This mans that the president would sell his business, and have an independent trustee with no family ties reinvest the proceeds into assets. Donald Trump is refusing to sell any of his assets. Instead, he is putting his adult children in charge of his empire. There are many people who see a future of issues and conflicts of interest because his adult children are not considered independent trustees.
#9 Bullying
Many times during his campaign, Donald Trump was called out by politicians, the media, and the American people for being a bully. A bully is a name that was never used when people were talking about Barack Obama.
#10 Self Image
Donald Trump has never made it a secret that he thinks very highly of himself. He has often implied that he comes before all. This is something that Barack Obama has never done. If you look at the photo, you can see Barack Obama walking through the rain getting soaked, so that his wife, Michelle Obama can keep dry under the umbrella. In the photo of Donald Trump, he is holding the umbrella over himself only, leaving his female companion out in the rain. This photo is a visual description of Trump’s and Obama’s views of their worth and the worth of other people.
