It is hard to believe that the 2016 presidential elections are right around the corner, although it is also hard to ignore it. Social media has been flooded with memes, hash tags, and Vines ever since the candidates hit the ground running with their campaigns. Among those candidates that received the most attention was Donald Trump. When Trump announced his presidential campaign back in June, the country was hit with a major shockwave. Many would think this is a good thing, people caring about politics and the importance of voting, yet it has created a whole new movement entirely.
In an age of Twitter, Donald Trump understands social media better than any other presidential candidate. With his crass and honest comments it is no surprise that he is a Twitter superstar. He understands that social media outlets like Twitter are not meant to promote your platforms or try to gain support. Instead, they are about getting followers, followers who like what you have to say. And people like what Trump has to say. Put the somewhat racist and sexist comments aside and people may begin to realize that he isn’t really saying anything. This is the first step we all have to take to push Trump out of first place. Once we all stop laughing at his antics and joking about his behavior, we will eliminate some of the power that Trump holds on the polls. Perhaps this change has already happened.
The second GOP debate a few weeks ago shed some light on the current popularity of Mr. Trump. After record hitting response for Trump in the first GOP debate this summer, Donald took a hard hit. Although Twitter filled with comments surrounding Trump, a deeper look suggests Trump’s oversized share of public attention is diminishing. In the 12 hours after the debate, Trump still earned the most media mentions (39%), but Trump’s share of the media oxygen is shrinking. Could this be a result of the country seeing through his crude, crazy tweets? One can only hope.
It isn’t just Trump’s ability to make a good post that makes him dangerous in this presidential race; it’s what he’s actually saying. Trump loves to talk about what’s wrong with this country, ignoring the views of his political party. This appeals to the independent voters, as well as voters who are registered to a party only to ensure their participation in the primaries. Most of this country is on the fence and Trump understands that. Perhaps Trump’s fascination with his “wall” is far more complex than we realize and gives us a closer look at his campaign success.
Trump’s “big beautiful wall with a big beautiful door” is his way of showing his emphasis on the middle ground and allowing the ability to go from one side to the other. A bit of a stretch perhaps, but it is no coincidence that Republicans and Democrats dislike Trump and what he has to say about the country. Yes, he may be a little eccentric, but what many people like about Trump is that he understands what’s wrong (for the most part). This doesn’t make him a proper presidential candidate however. We don’t need a president who knows why we are in trillions dollars of debt, we need a president that will get us out of the hole. And if you really listen, Trump has a whole lot of problems and very few solutions; his most famous one being his big wall on the border of Mexico. The country needs to understand we have plenty of problems, and Trump is one of them.
It’s all a show with Trump. According to his campaign, the two key factors in a successful presidential race are:
1. Push back hard against the other candidates
2. Make an outrageous comment
Does this sound like someone you want to run this country? Of course not, but he’s crazy, and honest, and has really weird hair so we all cheer his name and click yes next to his name for every poll. And for what? Amusement. The only way we can trump Trump out of first place is to forget the entertainment and realize that we’ll all stop laughing if Trump is ever sworn in to office.
This article is an opinion and represents the opinion of the writer and not of Her Campus Media.