Benedikt Bussemer Mit der gestrigen Vereidigung hat Donald Trump sein Amt als Präsident der USA offiziell angetreten. Noch ist ungewiss, ob er seine Drohungen wie den Bau einer Mauer oder das Einreiseverbot für Muslime wahr machen wird, aber bereits jetzt steht fest, dass sich die politische Haltung Amerikas ändern wird. Kupferblau hat fünf Dozenten der Uni Tübingen befragt, was sie von Trump und dem Amerika von morgen erwarten.
1. Kari Griffin-Madeja
2. Andreas Hasenclever
3. Kristen Skinner
4. Thomas Nielebock
5. Thomas Diez
Kristen Skinner is a lecturer of English Linguistics at the English Department.
What were your thoughts when you first heard about Donald Trump being elected as the new president of the United States?
My first thought was shock and then a deep sense of grief. Truly. So I was disappointed and shocked that Americans would actually vote for a man with so little integrity, tact and experience. Someone who is so much of a bully.
What influences will the election have on education in the U.S.? Universities, students etc.
Obama was the pioneer in a sense of any sort of high-level politician trying to make university more accessible, because as we know Americans pay huge amounts [of money] for university. They’re in debt, often for decades, so it isn’t affordable for all. Obama came in and actually tried to create a system where students could at least have access to community college. Trump is so unpredictable that I think we are all waiting to see [a development] but I don’t imagine this to be a priority for him. I don’t think he will do much for education but I hope he does.
Do you think that Trump will change the image Europeans have in mind when they think about Americans?
Yes, yes, yes! And that makes me sad because they’re more misanthropists in the U.S. than anywhere in the world and it’s a beautiful country with wonderful people there. But our president is the face of that country unfortunately. Less than half of the country though. (laughing)
Can you imagine that something like ‘Trump’ happens in Germany?
I’ve been in Germany for nearly five years and I have faith in the German people but I also had faith in the American and the British people and I was shocked. So now just because I’ve seen this happen, I guess it’s possible but I hope that Germany holds on to reason. I don’t want to see Trump create a trend and I am afraid he might.
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