When I first heard that Donald Trump was running for president, I couldn’t believe it. I thought that there was no way that he could have a successful campaign as president, especially since his past campaign claims never really panned out.
However, he has successfully entered the presidential campaign for 2016 and gained support, despite being completely unqualified for the position for which he is running. Instead of providing us with strong data or a well thought out plan to improve the nation, he relies on ad hominem arguments and scapegoating tactics. He openly attacks individuals or groups of people different from him, despite any fact checking or being called out for his comments.
However, it’s not the man himself that scares me- one man alone is not the problem. It’s the large amount of support he has. This is how democracy works; the people choose who they want to represent them, whether she or he is good or bad, and will ultimately decide which candidates have successful campaigns.
The amount of support for Donald Trump scares me because it means that he reflects the opinions of a significant amount of the nation. Many of his comments have been extremely hateful, and it worries me that despite them, or because of them, he gains support. For example, I was appalled by his proposal for a “Muslim database and ban” but even more so that a significant amount of voters support this plan (about 35% of likely voters support the ban). By supporting him, American voters support his biases and attitudes.
Perhaps this is because Donald Trump is appealing to fear that Americans have about several political and world issues. He uses buzzwords and offers simple solutions to complex problems that people latch onto. Americans are frustrated and untrusting of the government, and to some potential voters, Donald Trump seems like someone who will take action.
Others simply find him funny or exciting because he is so extreme, figuring that the government is beyond help anyway. It is important that we recognize how Donald Trump’s campaign’s works so that we can see through it and similar techniques used by others when choosing a candidate to support.We are blessed to live in a democratic nation, meaning that we do not have to support Donald Trump. The people determine who wins the preliminaries and elections, so if he loses the American people’s support, he will not be the Republican candidate or our next president.
Civic responsibility and informed voting matters, even more so in the upcoming election. It is our responsibility to seek out the candidate who truly has the nation’s and people’s best interests in mind, who has the most well-thought out plan for bettering and protecting the nation, who will be the best at international diplomacy, and who will respect the dignity of all people. I am still discerning who that individual may be, but I know it isn’t Donald Trump.
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