The Business Ethics of the 45th
President of the United States of America
With the upcoming Presidential election looming in the not too distant future, the
American people are given the difficult decision of deciding which individual they will cast their
vote for who they believe will be the best Commander in Chief. The two front runner politicians
are Hillary Clinton of the Democratic party, and Donald Trump of the Republican party, and
between these two candidates, they will garner 95% of American votes. With America being in
several current global military conflicts worldwide, growing race relation issues, and terrorist
organizations growing in power, many Americans feel that the U.S.A. is in quite a fragile state,
leaving a large number of citizens with hope for drastic changes in the Oval Office. With
November 8th closing in so quickly, many voters look to news stations such as Fox News and
CNN for information, hoping to be informed on who the best candidate is. However, going to
third parties for information on politicians only persuades an individual so much, which is why
the presidential debates are such a major event.
In the first presidential debate of the 2016 election, Clinton and Trump went head to head
in an hour-and-a-half debate, answering questions and critiquing their opponent on everything
from their failures in the past to their opposition’s plans for the future. These debates are crucial
to the candidates, as they show the public how they act when they’re put on the spot on a world–
stage and also how well they understand the material that they are expected to know as the
potential leader of the free world. Unfortunately for said candidates, the debates also can show
the weaknesses that plague each individual. Through examining the first debate and analyzing
Commented [MOU1]: Good title!
their presidential policies, prior decisions, and the talking points that they’ve brought up during
their campaigns. By doing this, we are able to apply the theories of, Utilitarianism and Profit
Maximization to better understand the business ethics of each candidate.
When discussing why Donald Trump wouldn’t release his tax returns, Clinton states that
Trump didn’t pay the federal income taxes that he should have, claiming that he didn’t pay the
appropriate amount, and that his actions of filing bankruptcy was just a way to weasel his way
out of debts. Trump, however, refutes this statement, by saying “I take advantage of the laws of
the nation. I’m running a company. My obligation right now is to do well for myself, my family,
my employees for my companies, and that’s what I do…” (Youtube.com, Full: Donald Trump vs
Hillary Clinton, 39:02, (2016,Sep 26). From a Profit Maximization viewpoint, Donald Trump is
Commented [MOU2]: Awkward language – This sentence
needs a better beginning or ending/conclusion.
