In Fayetteville, North Carolina, a Trump supporter in attendance of his rally was reportedly charged with assault after punching a protester in the face. In St. Louis, two men were reported leaving a Donald Trump rally bleeding, escorted by police. In Chicago, Trump’s rally had to be cancelled due to “pushing and shoving” and general violence outside of the venue meant to hold it. Lastly, in Tucson, a man was punched to the ground and kicked to the point of bleeding by a Trump supporter, while Trump’s campaign manager yanked another protester’s shirt collar. What was Trump’s response?
Well, there was the sarcastic, “They can swing and hit people, but if we hit them back, it’s a terrible, terrible thing, right?” Trump also made the violence-glorifying comments of, “Get him outta here. He’s all mouth,” and, “Isn’t it great to be at a Trump rally?” and lastly, “You know part of the problem and part of the reason it takes so long is no one wants to hurt each other anymore and they’re being politically correct the way they take them out so it takes a little longer.” He continually claims that protesters contribute nothing worthwhile for our country, and that they should “go back to mommy” And of course, it wouldn’t be a Trump rally without Donald promising to “Make America Great Again.”
Considering all these events and responses, it seems clear that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is willingly condoning violence at his rallies. No other candidate has had a single instance of violence at their campaign. However, Trump is still the Republican frontrunner, with 45.3% of the Republican vote. Other candidates have said that people will learn how dirty Trump’s campaign really is, and stop backing him, yet he still maintains his hold on this lead. So how is this happening? In other words, why is Trump gaining voters while promoting unhealthy nationalism, and violence?
The answer is scare tactics and assistance by the media. Trump’s anti anything non-American rhetoric is resonating with voters in a violent world. However, the answer to violence is never more violence; the answer to conflict is not putting up barricades; and the answer to terrorism is not banning all Muslims from entering a country founded on immigration or building a wall to isolate us from our neighbors.
Donald Trump uses the media to promote his agenda. I mean, think about it. People talk about how disgusted they are at the thought of him winning, yet his violent stunts continue to be televised giving him more and more publicity, and remember, all publicity is good publicity because it is getting you noticed. Trump has taken middle America and the south by storm because he is igniting a false fear in them, which is in turn condoning the practice of violent behavior. The only way to stop Trump’s violence is to stop spoon feeding him the attention he does not deserve.
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Note: This article is the perspective and opinion of the author and does not reflect the views of Her Campus Cal Lutheran or Her Campus Media. Thank you!