PHOTO COURTESY OF CNBC.COM

If you are an international student, you would have seen the email sent out talking about how curricular practical training (CPT) is only being given out for degree specific internships. 

Because of this, as an international business major, I can only do internships through the college of business relevant to my major and not any media or journalism internships even though I have been working in journalism for the past two years. 

With that being said, this is not to lift up a specific president of The United States, as a non-citizen I have very little say on who takes office, but what I can do is share which one of these avatars was my personal favorite. 

In January 2009, the first African-American man took office and became one of the most powerful people on earth. In his two terms as president, he made healthcare affordable and accessible to Americans and protected more natural resources than any other previous president. 

The unemployment rate dropped significantly, from 10% to 4.7% by the time he left office and the country experienced consecutive 75 months of job growth. In 2010, he signed the affordable care act, or Obamacare, expanding healthcare to millions. 

He signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to set stricter rules for banks and protect consumers, and this is just some of the information you can find with a simple google search or reading the White House archives. 

In 2011, he led an authorized military raid that killed Osama Bin Laden, and scaled back troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, somewhat neutralizing a war zone. Obama was also the first president since 1928 to visit Cuba.

Now, I could write another 2-3 paragraphs highlighting everything he did right, but he is an American president after all; he had his flaws. 

Increasing targeted drone attacks in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, creating debates and concerns about civilian lives and international laws. Not completely upholding his promise of closing down the detention camp in Guantanamo Bay before leaving office. 

To make a long story short, under his presidency, national debt increased, large corporations were favored over average homeowners and there were scandals regarding the IRS and Veteran Affairs.  

He was not exactly the scandal-free president some people shape him out to be, he had his flaws and he made several mistakes which I wont get into for the sake of the title of this article. 

But hey, he was against pedophilia and supporting indivduals openly involved in child sex trafficking and abuse, but that is an opinion for another day. 

Obama for me, from an outsider’s point of view, had more to offer to the average American person. If we put his and Trump’s reputation side by side I think the answer is pretty obvious. 

Let’s talk a little about deportation. Obama, in his eight years in office, had deported three million people. Trump took office January of 2025 and, as of June 2026, has deported roughly one million people. 

But if the power of social media has shown you anything, it is the rate at which the Trump administration continues these mass deportations, as well as the sheer injustice inflicted upon these human beings. Using force and intimidation for submission, shooting people for not complying, taking people in illegally, this is the reputation of this administration.

Not to bash Trump, but his resume does not look too colorful, with the several felonies alongside his questionable press conferences and friend group. If you come at this article saying “but Obama supported Israel too” well if you have seen Israeli media, they are selling Trump yamakas and saying how he is an Israeli too. That pretty much tells me everything I need to know because I don’t see them doing the same for Obama. 

One thing I will give Trump is his tax cuts for corporations and individuals, but he made some outstanding promises, such as lower grocery prices, gas prices and giving green cards to students graduating from American universities, during his campaign that he did not hold up to and we are two years into his administration. 

Just like Diana, Princess of Wales will always be my queen, Obama also has that effect on some Americans. I mean have you seen the sitting president in office now? The biggest public controversy Obama had was wearing a tan suit.

Categories: Opinion