Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump claimed their party’s nomination for president at their conventions this summer.
Both candidates met opposition at the party conventions, with Trump taking attacks from Republican delegates who were part of the ‘Never Trump Movement’ and Clinton with dissatisfied Bernie Sanders supporters.
The general election is Nov. 8 so the candidates have less than three months to show the country what they have to offer.
Clinton and Trump are now in a face-to-face battle for the presidency (with third party candidates Gary Johnson and Jill Stein trying to get into the televised debates), and it hasn’t been pretty.
The Controversies
Clinton has been under fire for her use of a private email server when she was the secretary of state in the Obama Administration. The FBI investigation into the emails resulted in the government agency releasing a statement reading, “Although the Department of Justice makes final decisions on matters like this, we are expressing to Justice our view that no charges are appropriate in this case.”
A federal judge recently ordered the State Department to release more emails the FBI found while investigating the case. These will be released on Sept.13.
Another controversy for the democratic candidate is the Clinton Foundation, which was founded by former President Bill Clinton. The foundation’s goal is to address issues like international health and wellness, climate change, economic growth and creating more opportunities for women.
Critics of the Clinton Foundation are concerned about transparency and ethical concerns, with opponents calling it a “pay to play” system when Clinton was secretary of state.
If the democratic candidate wins the general election, she has stated that she would take steps to address conflicts of interest with the foundation.
Trump himself has been criticized over what he says at rallies and on television, like saying the only way he could lose the election is if it is rigged and saying that President Obama was “the founder of ISIS” and Clinton was the co-founder.
The candidate has also faced disapproval from some over his plan to ban Muslims from entering the United States.
Earlier this month, Paul Manafort resigned as Trump’s campaign chairman. The Republican candidate has received criticism for Manafort's role in the campaign due to reports that claim Manafort worked for pro-Russian organizations in Ukraine.
Clinton’s stance on issues
Economy and Jobs
If Clinton becomes president she wants to implement a 100-day job plan that would invest in infrastructure, small business, technology, clean energy and research.
According to her website, she will also fight against the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, a deal she supported when she was Secretary of State. The candidate withdrew her support of the deal at a primary debate in Last Vegas last year saying, “It was just finally negotiated last week, and in looking at it, it didn’t meet my standards.”
College Affordability Plan
Under a Clinton administration, the candidate hopes to make all community colleges free, and by 2021, she wants families who make $125,000 or less to have free tuition at public universities if the institution is in that family’s state.
She also plans to push a policy to help students who are in debt from loans. Students who borrow money won’t have to pay more than 10 percent of their income.
After 20 years of payments, she wants any remaining college debt to be forgiven.
If Clinton becomes president, she says she will take executive action to give students with federal loans a three-month moratorium to organize their loans and consolidate them.
Environment
A goal for the candidate is to power all the homes in America with renewable energy. Her method to do this would be to install 5 million solar panels throughout the country. According to her website, this would be done by the end of her first term.
In an effort to reduce environmental harm, the candidate hopes to cut oil consumption by one-third by using alternative fuels and more efficient technology.
She aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 30 percent by 2025, which is similar to President Obama’s goal of cutting emissions by 26 to 28 percent by 2025.
Gun Violence
Clinton would like to decrease the amount of gun violence by expanding background checks, banning military-style weapons and prohibiting people with mental illness from purchasing a weapon.
Healthcare and Substance Abuse
The candidate wants to expand President Obama’s Affordable Care Act. She will also push for increased funding for community health centers.
The candidate supports preventive care, affordable contraception and legal abortion.
Healthcare would also be purchasable by families who are not citizens.
The candidate’s stance on substance abuse is to focus on rehabilitation and treatment programs. This includes nonviolent drug offenses.
She also thinks all emergency medical technicians should have access to naloxone that can save people who overdosed on opioids.
National Security
Clinton’s plan to combat ISIS is to continue with coalition airstrikes against the group and its infrastructure, along with supporting Arab and Kurdish forces in Iraq and Syria.
She would also like to help end Syria and Iraq’s complicated conflicts through a diplomatic process.
You can learn more about Clinton and her campaign here.
Trump’s stances on issues
Taxes and the Economy
Trump wants to make the tax system simpler and calls it the “biggest tax reform since Reagan.”
The republican candidate wants to lower taxes for everyone, limit the percentage of a business’s income tax to 15 percent for all businesses and end the estate tax, which is a tax on your right to transfer property at your death according to the IRS.
The candidate also wants to reform trade by renegotiating NAFTA and backing out of negotiations with the TPP trade deal.
Trump wants to bring back jobs from China by lowering corporate tax rates and addressing financial debt in America.
Energy reform
The republican candidate wants to increase energy production by withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement and cutting all funds from the U.N. global warming programs.
Drilling for oil and natural gas in the Outer Continental Shelf and working with TransCanada to build the Keystone Pipeline, which President Obama denied in November 2015, are also goals of the presidential candidate.
The Second Amendment
Trump thinks there is no need for new gun control laws and says there are already laws that just need to be enforced.
The candidate does not support gun and magazine bans and doesn’t believe there needs to be a change in background checks.
He thinks concealed and carry permits should be like drivers licenses and work in all 50 states.
Immigration Reform
Trump’s well-known idea to stop illegal immigrants is to build a wall on the southern border of the United States border and make Mexico pay for it. His idea is to impound remittance payments, increase fees on Mexican politicians and businessmen with temporary visas, and increase fees at ports. The candidate also stated that withholding foreign aid is a possibility.
The republican candidate wants to triple the number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers throughout the country as well.
Currently, if illegal immigrants have children in America, the children are considered citizens. Trump wants to change this so the child would not be a citizen.
The candidate has also talked about a ban on Muslim immigrants; this includes refugees from war-torn countries like Syria and Iraq.
Healthcare Reform
Trump wants the Affordable Care Act to be repealed if he becomes the president.
His idea regarding healthcare is to make it so people can buy insurance across state lines, enable people to deduct premium payments from their taxes and allow individuals to shop around to find the cheapest appointments, surgeries and other medical procedures.
National Security
Trump has made comments about “bombing the hell” out of ISIS and wants to keep Guantanamo Bay open.
You can learn more about Trump and his campaign here.
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