President Trump has continued to berate opposition members and make offensive faux pas, and the era of looking up to political leaders is over as many adolescents turn ot heroes on the big screen instead.

    It is no surprise that regardless of his policy positions, Trump is probably one of the most discourteous, outrageous presidents in this nation’s history. Sure, it’s his honesty that won him so many supporters in the election, but months into the start of his administration, his foul-mouthedness has caused him only harm, as he is berated by the media and by the public. His approval rating of 38 percent, as reported by Gallup News, is the lowest rating for a president in his first year ever since modern polling was invented.

    Along with his flippant, often absurd midnight tweets, Trump’s gaffes often shed further light on his misbehavior and lack of decorum. For example, his ongoing battle with Gold Star widow Myeshia Johnson involved Trump not only stumbling on the name of her deceased husband, Sgt. La David Johnson, but also telling the widow her husband “knew what he was signing up for.”This has recently resulted in Trump effectively calling the widow a liar. The battle could be due to simple miscommunications, or Trump’s message being construed differently than the way he intended, but regardless-to attack a widow whose husband died defending America, to deny everything she is saying instead of issuing an apology, is not only tactless, but also a grave error in judgment.

    It is not only his grave misdeeds at home, but also the messages he sends to those abroad that prove Trump is incapable of, as he puts it, “Making America Great Again.” When Putin claimed he did not interfere with the election, Trump’s response was “I really believe that when he [Putin] tells me that, he means it.” Regarding the claims from Putin as absolute truth reveals Trump’s incapacity to stand up to foreign enemies. It seems that Putin is now sitting behind the desk of the oval office, judging by the way Trump seems to bend to his will.

    When Trump called North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un “short and fat” in a tweet, some argued this was a brave attempt at standing up for America’s rights. However, a juvenile tweet that involved name-calling a deranged foreign leader meant nothing to protecting America. In fact, the twitter war that was reminiscent of junior high drama only proved how little Trump is able to stand up to foreign enemies. As the idiom goes, actions speak louder than words.

    Whatever happened to the times when America’s president would stand up to foreign enemies, give them a political middle finger, and aim to make America number one on the world stage? Decades ago, children grew up watching their heroes on television, in the political eras of presidents such as Kennedy and Reagan. For this generation, those heroes have been replaced by fictitious characters- the Captain Americas and Supermans of the world have proven to be people more worthy of emulating than real-world leaders.

    The values embodied in many superhero movies, such as justice and looking out for the underdog, have provided the allure for these box office busting films. In the 2016 election, the “heroes” each political party was supposed to propose came down to, frankly, a liar and an imbecile.

    As Generation Z has become disillusioned with political leaders and parties, comic books and movies have filled the void. Because, the truth of the matter is, there are no heroes on the news anymore. Instead, children and adolescents must make their own heroes- the heroes on TV, at the theater, teachers and coaches, parents and church leaders and athletes-these are the heroes to emulate, not the people in the White House.