A Thank You Letter to Donald Trump

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Donald Trump at a rally in Costa Mesa, Calif. on April 28, 2016. September Dawn Bottoms.

I would like to take a moment to thank this year’s Republican candidate for president, Donald Trump, for everything he has done to our country throughout the 2016 election.

A lot of people say he is just a power hungry business man, but he has revived the hateful past of America that we, as a country, have historically tried to change and move on from all in the span of two years. Somewhere in Atlanta, GA, The great Martin Luther King Jr. is turning in his grave.

Who would have thought that one man, with a store-bought tan and an orange toupee to match, would take the world by storm in such a way. For many Americans, he has brought back the discussion of racism, feminism, and social justice back to their dinner tables. Trump, thank you for that.

I will say that if it were not for your campaign announcement speech back on June 16, 2015, I would have never gotten off of my millennial ass and registered myself to vote. What you said about Mexicans being rapists and drug dealing criminals truly moved my Latin soul.

I will never forget that night. My eyes were fixed on my laptop, my mouth was wide open, and my heart was pounding with the words “Mexican rapists” ringing in my ears. For the first time in my life as a Salvadorian, Mexican, and American, I saw the underlying racism of our country in full force that I had grown up thinking no longer existed.

One Google search and mouse click later, I found myself registering to vote. Even my father, a former illegal immigrant from El Salvador, has taken his first steps from being a permanent resident to a life long citizen of our United States. I have you, Trump, to thank for that.

The Chicano and Latino communities had been taking their voices for granted until you decided to call us criminals. Since the last election, the Latino vote has increased. A record breaking 13-14 million Latino voters are anticipated to exercise their voting right, and a projected 79 percent of their votes will not go to you, according to LatinoDecisions.com.

You have reminded us that we do have a voice in the country that promised us the American Dream. Most of the immigrants that have crossed the border built their lives from nothing simply to achieve that dream.

You once suggested that the American Dream is dead. It is not. In the Latino community, it is alive and well. Your blatant racism, disgraceful words, and eternally imaginary wall will not keep the Latino dreamers from believing in it.

There was another chunk of America’s demographic that you just happened to piss off as well throughout your campaign. The females.

I would like to thank you for making it so easy for women to decide who to give their precious vote to. Looking back on your campaign trail, I was not surprised when the “Access Hollywood” tape leaked of you speaking horridly about interacting with women. You brought to light that the oppression my gender has undergone for decades is still our reality today. As much as you did “apologize" and steer the conversation from you to former president Bill Clinton, the majority of the women heard your misogynistic tone loud and clear, as did the multiple women who have been violated by your famous hands and your winning mentality.

Trump, as much as I wanted the godfather of all millennials, Senator Bernie Sanders, to be the candidate to knock you out in the last round, I am proud to say that I will be able to tell my grandchildren about the day I voted for the first woman president and why you made that so important. Not only will my vote be for the first female presidential candidate, but it will be against the idea of our country being lead by a man who sees himself above the opposite sex. It will be for the progression of gender equality and racial justice. My vote will be for the hope of our nation’s future and the upkeep of the American Dream. Trump, your voice has consistently contradicted these patriotic ideals and has rooted me deeper into my vote for Hilary. Thank you “bigly” for that.