I'm a big fan of Oreos.
And I struggle with self control issues. This is the result.
Donald Trump. Six months ago, most of America knew him as that guy with the funny 'hair' from "Celebrity Apprentice." As of today, however, Trump is the Republican front runner, polling at 25 percent among GOP voters. This lead is good news for his supporters, worrying for opposing candidates, and a joyous fact for news pundits. In fact, the media is far more excited by Donald Trump than any of his prospective voters. Trump is on the news 24/7, but the question is, why? The election isn't until next year, so why focus so much on Trump when there are hundreds of other important stories in the world?
The answer lies with Trump himself. The man is a comedians fantasy, a reporter's dream. There are so many reasons why Trump is the greatest news generator of 2015, but for the sake of the reader's busy schedule, this article will only focus on the big three: Trump's policy, Trump's ego, and Trump's inconsistency.
Policy
Trump's campaign promises are some of the best lines in American history, rivaling Herbert Hoover's "A chicken in every pot and a car in every garage." But would be inaccurate to say they are original, as the idiom goes, you can indeed "make this stuff up." We'll go into more depth on Trump's policies in Part II, and today just focus on Trump's most spectacular promise, to build a wall on the border between the U.S and Mexico, and "have Mexico pay for it." This idea of a border fence has been floating around for a while, especially in states like Arizona, where prejudice against illegal immigrants has been known in the past to degrade into militant fanaticism.
This policy has already become the material for comedy news shows everywhere, from Jon Stewart to "South Park." "The Simpsons" would probably have jumped on the bandwagon too in their upcoming season, except they already did an episode on it in 2009. (More on that in Part II). With the sort of policies Trump is advocating in his campaign, it's little wonder he's so popular, you don't have to edit this man to make him funny, he's entertaining all the time.
Ego
The best part about laughing at Trump is that it comes guilt free. Oftentimes it can feel cruel mocking a politician who might have their heart in the right place, they just aren't perfect. But Trump's nonstop self-aggrandizing, his refusal to apologize for anything, and his childlike obsession with putting his name on everything all serve to free us from our usual feelings of remorse. Until Trump at least tries to humble himself, he will always just be a caricature, a cartoonish figure for us to mock.
Inconsistency
This is perhaps the funniest thing about Trump, and certainly the reason why a great many people cannot take him seriously as a candidate. One of Trump's main selling points (at least, from his own point of view) is his diplomacy, or as he would put it, negotiating. And this is a strong selling point, you want your President to be a diplomat, someone who can get the best deal for your country no matter the situation. But you don’t see that with Trump. The retail mogul candidate has already managed to alienate himself from the other GOP candidates, as well as many members of the media and social elite. His brash style has earned him some points with viewers, but remember, these are all people that Trump would have to cooperate with if he became president. And if this is how Trump is with people from his own country, perhaps Americans should worry about how he'll "negotiate" with foreign leaders.
There are many other points one can make about Trump. How he complains about the Chinese stealing American jobs while simultaneously using Chinese factories to manufacture his products, according to ABC News. Or how he's promised to save the American economy, even though he's had four of his companies declare bankruptcy, according to The Law Dictionary. But going over all of these inconsistencies would just be to take a club to an already well-drubbed horse cadaver.
For now, sit back and enjoy the ride on the Trump hype train while it lasts, because it could run out of steam soon. His campaign's high energy can't shore up his lack of solid policies for long. So enjoy it while it lasts, he is entertaining, there's no denying that. You can worry about his election next week, when this writer will delve into what it means if Trump is actually elected. Until then, kick back and watch the show.