Earlier this week, I watched a segment of a short video that showed Donald Trump discussing the Mexican President's refusal to pay for the wall Trump wants to build “under any circumstance” if he is elected. For everyone who hasn’t seen the clip, it ends with Trump saying, “The wall just got ten feet higher!”
With careless statements like this, it’s hard for me to see why Trump is currently leading in the Republican polls. I suppose his certain brand of tactlessness and refusal to bow to politically correct terms appeals to some, but I don’t believe that he has what America needs from its president. So far during his campaign, Donald Trump has insulted women, Hispanics and even many of his fellow Republicans. He has recently even refused to participate in the GOP debate held on January 28 because of who was moderating.
In my opinion, a president needs to be diplomatic, decisive and at times politically correct--and all are qualities that Trump is severely lacking. Trump has nearly perfected the art of saying a lot without really saying anything at all, as well as flat-out refusing to give any details of his plans--like when he said, “I do know what to do and I would know how to bring ISIS to the table or, beyond that, defeat ISIS very quickly. And I’m not gonna tell you what it is tonight.”
Even though he was immediately asked about it, Trump explained that he didn’t “want the enemy to know what [he] is doing.” As an American citizen planning on voting in November, I find that I would rather have at least a general idea of what a potential president is planning on doing with ISIS than rely on blind faith in a man who has given me very few reasons to trust him.
To make matters worse, professional psychologists have speculated that Donald Trump is a narcissist, and it's easy to believe thanks to comments like “All of the women on The Apprentice flirted with me--consciously or unconsciously. That’s to be expected” and “I am a man of great achievement ... I always win ... It’s what I do. I beat people. I win."
People like Trump because they can depend on him to say exactly what he thinks, no matter how it is perceived. It’s a difference from all the politicians who spend their entire careers terrified that they will accidentally offend someone that some Americans find refreshing. A prominent stereotype of politicians is that they lie about everything and anything to get ahead, and that they never deliver what they’ve promised. People are so relieved to be hearing the truth that some are willing to ignore everything that Trump is actually saying.
Donald Trump has become something of a joke within the millennial generation. He’s been made into gifs and memes and has been Photoshopped until it doesn’t matter what he has said--he’s getting more publicity than many of the other candidates because of it, even if he is the punchline. In fact, 25 percent of millennials favor Trump over the other five GOP presidential candidates. Even though I don’t think he can hold his lead throughout the rest of the primaries, I’ll admit it--I’m beginning to worry that he’ll actually win.
