By Sebastian Shuken ’18

There is a massive double standard in American politics. Throughout this election, the candidates have received contrasting treatment from the public. While both candidates have their fair share of faults and blunders, Clinton has been reprimanded more harshly for her mistakes than Trump has for his mishaps. While criticism of candidates is typical in an election cycle, the disparity of criticism between Clinton and Trump is too great not to be acknowledged.

         If you don’t believe me, I challenge you to compare the public’s impression of the Clinton and Trump Foundations.

       In the news, the Clinton Foundation is constantly under attack by the Trump campaign for accepting foreign donations.  

      “It’s impossible to figure out where the Clinton Foundation ends and the State Department begins,” Trump said at a rally at the end of August.  “It is now abundantly clear that the Clintons set up a business to profit from public office. They sold access and specific actions by and to them for money.”

      However, these accusations are completely invalid. Trump’s statements paint an unfair picture of the Clinton Foundation and undermine the work the foundation has done.

      For starters, the foundation has many initiatives, including promoting economic equality for women, combatting climate change and advocating for entrepreneurship in growing economies. According to Fortune Magazine, the Clinton Foundation has raised $313 million for research into new vaccines and medicines and has helped provide care to increase maternal and child survival during pregnancy for 110 million people.

        In comparison, the sham of the Trump Foundation, which Trump has used as a personal piggy bank, is shameful. The Trump Foundation claims that it has donated its money to charities, however, in reality, it does very little. As Reported by The Washington Post, not only has Trump not donated to his own foundation since 2008, but the money given to his foundation by donors has not actually been used for any charitable causes. The most he has done that could be considered charitable is spending $20,000 on a six-foot painting of himself that was displayed at a charity event. And yet, despite all the corruption that has stemmed from the Trump Foundation, there has been little attention from the public over this hoax.

     So you tell me: is the treatment of the candidates fair? I think the answer is obvious.

     We need to stand up and push back when we see unfair accusations being made. While I am in no means encouraging you to vote for one candidate over the other, as American citizens, it is our duty to vote informatively and not based on false accusations. As a society, we need to be more balanced in our judgement of candidates and inquire more before we make assumptions about them.