With 28 percent of America’s voters support, 2016 presidential candidate Donald Trump isn’t only dominating the race, but the headlines as well.
Trump became a household name due to his impressive wealth and stern persona as the now former host of “The Apprentice”. Recently, he is being talked about because of his tactless campaign for president. He has gained huge fame not only for his bizarre political platform, but his inability to censor what he says. Republicans and Democrats agree that his honesty is refreshing, particularly in the political spectrum, and his cult followers relish in his non-politician public personality. For each one of his supporters, though, he seems to have two people who strongly dislike him. He has managed to turn his own political party against him, with many Republicans speaking openly about their dislike for him and how he tarnishes the public view of the party.
He has unapologetically insulted a good portion of the American public, including women, non-Christian religions and racial minorities. Being a part of one of the communities that he has insulted, I have but one thing to say; He is a genius. Yes, that balding senior citizen is a genius, and we’re all acting perfectly according to his plan.
Politicians, since the beginning of our country, have carefully balanced spreading their own ideas while bashing the other candidates to make themselves look better. Trump has thrown that delicate balance to the side, focusing on bullying his other competitors to gain free publicity to his campaign as different news outlets report the story. All candidates focus so much on being politically correct to not offend any potential voters, but Trump has made it clear that he won’t be choosing his words wisely. I believe that Trump has discovered that saying shocking things will get you publicity, and in a campaign, mostly all publicity is good publicity.
By us spending our time talking about Trump and giggling at his latest scandal, we’re ignoring what we should really be focused on; electing our next president. We are wasting precious time, which we could be using to learn about other candidates who might actually win the election, for a man who has no reasonable idea what he will accomplish if he becomes president. We are continuing to support Trump just for the giggles, but I can guarantee you no one will be laughing once he is inaugurated. Yes, Trump has some far-right leaning conservatives who honestly support him, but I firmly believe that over half of his 28 percent of supporters just want him to advance farther so he can make more of a fool of himself.
Trump is a promising candidate for the 2016 presidential election, and for that to change, we would have to take the campaign process seriously and begin to scout a person we actually think would represent and lead our country well. As voters, the future of America rests in our hands, which is a privilege and responsibility not to be taken lightly.