The irony behind a merciless campaign
I used to be amused by the concept. “He’s running for president? Actually?”
There’s nary a soul in the western world that hasn’t heard of Donald Trump. Avoiding him is proving more difficult than paying off OSAP loans, and whether you follow politics or not, his presence is here to stay. The reaction of the public is polarized in nature: You either love him or hate him, but chances are, your opinion is strong.
Trump has been castigated by many for his misogynistic, racist, and bigoted statements. He has created a band of dedicated haters, alongside an equally passionate band of supporters. Arguably, many of his fans are described as similarly racist bigots; folks who are channeling their frustrations to make scapegoats out of those viewed as “less American.”
It would be easy for the Democrat in me to declare Trump a pox upon the world of American politics, and call for his return to the shadows of subpar reality television. But I cannot consciously do that because—and hear me out here—I don’t think Donald Trump is the problem.
You see, Donald Trump is only as strong as the power the people provide him. In the celebrity world, it is typical for even debatably racist, sexist, or homophobic comments to ruin or at least severely scar one’s career. In Trump’s case, these comments have done the opposite, with positive reactions only adding fuel to the bully’s fire.
Trump is not performing so well in the U.S. presidential preliminaries because he is an effective and competent politician. He hasn’t constructed any sound policies, nor even a sensical response to questions about his actions as would-be president. Be his passion for “making America great again” authentic or strategically implemented, Trump is on the radar because he is a publicist’s dream.
American citizens are frustrated. The economy is performing worse than desired, security fears are growing amid recent acts of terrorism, and tensions are high as the class divide grows. Trump’s ability to isolate, to make every issue an “us versus them” issue, is impeccable. I don’t take Hitler comparisons lightly—I really don’t—but it is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the similarities between Trump and the fascist European former leader.
The thing captivating me most about Trump’s surprising following is the irony of its demographics. A huge portion of his supporters are working class, young, and/or underemployed citizens just trying to make ends meet. Many still are of a non-American background, seemingly oblivious to Trump’s track record of xenophobic comments. It baffles me that these people seek change from a billionaire businessman, one who will apparently understand their struggles (probably thanks to the paltry loan of one million dollars that left him clinging to daily rations of Kraft Dinner when he was younger).
Of course, politicians of all stripes often come from privileged backgrounds, and this is not to say that they cannot still be sympathetic to the challenges of the average denizen. But even if Trump’s inability to grasp the true needs of the American public can be overlooked, what about their situation is so desperate that citizens by the millions appear able to ignore the dangerous misogyny and lack of intelligence that permeates his everyday speech?
What mother or father could want a man running their country who makes public comments on his daughter’s figure or ridicules the menstrual processes of the female body? What decent Republican could be comfortable with a radical representative who calls for religious bans and absurd border constructions? Indeed, Trump is not the problem. His growing collection of tunnel-vision followers, however, is.
Donald Trump alone is an uneducated idiot. But with so many supporters, he has become a dangerous, uneducated idiot. I used to think the concept was amusing.
Until it wasn’t.