Trump: The real Dark Lord?

Donald Trump created quite the controversy Monday when he called for a ban on the entry of Muslims into the United States, pitching it as a temporary move in light of the recent terrorism attacks by the Islamic States. Trump justified his call by referring to former President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s actions toward Japanese, German, and Italian aliens during World War II as a precedent that needs to be met.

Critics ranged from House Speaker Rep. Paul D. Ryan R-Wis. to democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton and even J.K. Rowling, the author of the best-selling series, “Harry Potter.” On Tuesday, Rowling quoted a tweet from BBC Newsbeat and said, “How horrible. Voldemort was nowhere near as bad.”

In the “Harry Potter” series, Voldemort is the archenemy of Harry Potter, who, according to prophecy, has power to vanquish the Dark Lord. Witches and wizards are so terrified of Voldemort that only a few dare to speak his name. Instead, they refer to him as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

Voldemort is obsessed with blood purity, and wants to rid the world of Muggles, the name given to all people with non-magical blood. He is the leader of the Death Eaters, a group of evil wizards and witches dedicated to ridding the Wizarding World of Muggles and establishing Voldemort as its supreme ruler.

There are many reasons that Trump is worse for America than Voldemort was for the wizarding community. Trump is seemingly obsessed with ridding America of Muslims just as Voldemort wanted to eradicate the Muggles. The difference here is that Mudbloods, wizards of Muggle descent, can live in Britain if they leave the Wizarding World. Trump wants to kick the Muslims out of the U.S., but Muslim citizens and refugees alike do not necessarily have a safe place that they can live outside of the U.S.

Trump’s disregard for human life mirrors that of The Dark Lord Voldemort. Just as the Death Eaters blindly followed The Dark Lord with disregard for the apparent evil, Trumps supporters are enabling evil ideas to take hold in the United States.

Here at The Eagle, we agree wholeheartedly with Rowling. Trump as president would be toxic to the United States. Foreign policy would crumble in a heartbeat and the U.S. would have more to deal with than just ISIS.

In the “Harry Potter” books, a group of wizards united to stop Voldemort and his evil. We need to do the same here in the United States.