Students react: Trump’s bid for president

Haset Mekuria

The majority of students asked are upset that former President Trump is running for president. The feeling of neutrality also prevails.

Forty-fifth President Donald Trump declared his third presidential campaign on Nov. 15 after a history of being impeached twice and placed under FBI investigation for the former president’s handling of government documents.

At his Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump gave his announcement to an audience filled with long-time supporters and friends. In his speech, the former president set forth his conservative agenda. Trump criticized current President Joe Biden and plans to “make America great and glorious again.” From term limits to giving drug dealers the death penalty, Trump’s proclamation has received mixed reviews from students.

Sophomore Cade Hart was not surprised by Trump’s recent announcement.

“I kind of expected him to run,” Hart said. “I would be disappointed if [Trump or Biden] won.”

Hart does not stand alone. 21 percent of 187 students polled on the @threepennypress Instagram account agreed they felt neutral when asked how they perceived Trump’s election campaign in a survey conducted to gauge the student body’s response to the announcement.

Positivity and negativity are seen among the student body with 10 percent of students happy the former president has formally announced his bid for re-election and 68 percent being described as feeling upset.

The news of Trump’s campaign upset sophomore Rachel Carrillo.

“I’m incredibly annoyed,” Carillo said. “I wish I could say that [Trump] doesn’t have a shot, but I’m genuinely scared of what he’s going to propose and how everyone’s going to react.”

A majority of survey participants — 83 percent — also feel like Trump should not be able to run again in light of his impeachments and recent FBI investigation.

“Considering the problems he has with our country and the FBI investigation, I don’t think he should be allowed to [run again],” Carrillo said. “They need to put a cap on it and just not let him. We cannot handle the stuff that we went through when he was in term.”