How is it that the wife of America’s most prominent bully decides to become a spokesperson against cyberbullying? Through selective attention and blatant disregard for what cyberbullying means, that’s how. The first lady, Melania Trump, claims that social media can be “destructive and harmful when used incorrectly,” which is completely true. Mean and degrading comments posted online can be destructive and harmful. Comments like calling Senator Bill Nelson a “stiff”, saying that journalists are the enemy of the American people, or calling supporters of Elizabeth Warren “very low I.Q. individuals” can be very harmful, but does the first lady feel the same way about President Trump’s comments? Probably not. A key feature of Trump’s presidency has been his constant bullying of anyone and everyone that stands with or against him.
Bullying, smear campaigns and belittling opponents has been a prominent feature in political campaigns since the founding of this country. But just because something has a long history of occurring does not mean that it needs to continue. Political campaigns would run just as smoothly, well as smoothly as things can be in the current political climate, without having to smear and badmouth an opponent. If a candidate resorts to the use of a smear campaign, then they must have nothing of merit in their own platform if they think that their only chance of winning fringes on bullying their opponents.
Just look at this year’s gubernatorial election for an example of a campaign hinging on smearing an opponent. Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor-elect’s, entire campaign platform was pulled from Trump’s. DeSantis cruised through this year’s midterm election on a seal of approval from America’s number one cyberbully, while following in his footsteps by tarnishing the view of his opponents— Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum’s reputation. Not only did DeSantis attack Gillum in his ads but also in their interviews and debates. Very professionally, the governor-elect has called Gillum a thief and corrupt, also claiming that Gillum would “monkey this up” referring to the state. DeSantis is not alone in his smear of his opponent. Gillum has also attacked DeSantis, saying that DeSantis is the person that racists believe is racist and states that DeSantis has “neo-Nazis helping him out in this state”. At least with Gillum’s remarks, there is some truth.
While politicians spend more time bad mouthing each other than doing their actual jobs, they also spend a great amount of time bashing the media. The Trump administration is notorious for their hatred of journalists, or as they fondly call us “the enemy of the American people”. Trump claims that major media outlets, such as the New York Times and CNN, are “fake news”. Trump has very presidentially screamed at reporters for merely doing their jobs.
With the current administration, it is unlikely that bullying will stop being used as political rhetoric. However, there should be civility in politics. Candidates should speak about their own platforms, instead of smearing the reputation of their opponents and the freedom of the press should not be questioned by a president that actively hates journalists and the media.
