With Donald Trump now victorious in two consecutive Republican primaries, Americans are now faced with the reality that the divisive real estate mogul has a legitimate shot at winning the GOP nomination. A second place finish in Iowa (the only quantifiable blemish* on Trump’s otherwise prevailing campaign that seems to be breaking all the rules) was followed by sweeping victories in both New Hampshire and South Carolina. Regardless of one’s feelings toward The Donald, how is it possible that a man with more nonsensical musings than Jaden Smith is the Republican frontrunner?
*Trump’s candidacy has been riddled with controversies that conventional wisdom would all but disqualify someone from running for president, but his poll numbers remain strong.
For one, he is not the “right-wing extremist” that many make him out to be. He says many provocative things, but is one of the more moderate candidates to run recently that is not beholden to party lines. He is not anti gay marriage and is not trying to ban abortions. Personally, Trump just does not support either and does not want to fund abortions with tax dollars. He is anti-foreign war and has been quite critical of the Iraq war—much to the chagrin of the military industrial complex.
In addition, he does not believe that it is the United States’ job to police the world and wants to cut down aid to foreign countries. His tax plan includes eliminating federal income tax on those individuals making less than $50,000 while reducing all other rates in the higher income brackets. He does want to reduce corporate tax rates, but will do so in conjunction with eliminating many of the deductions that corporations are able to take. Trump plans to give corporations a one-time chance to repatriate billions of offshore dollars by paying a penalty.
Even with Marco Rubio still in the race, he is polling twice as high with Hispanic voters than any other Republican candidate in many states. You may despise his personality, just like I do, but if you are unable to see the viability in any of his proposals, I fear that you may be stuck in the delusion that candidates can only support the official stance of the Democratic or Republican parties in an increasingly-polarized political landscape.
For those that still do not understand how anybody could ever support a candidate as radical as Donald Trump, ask your grandparents about George Wallace. In 1968, he ran for president as an independent, collecting thirteen percent of the popular vote and 46 electoral votes. He is best known for saying, “I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and I say, segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever.”
Wallace vehemently opposed the advancement of civil rights for African Americans as both a Democrat and independent during his time as Alabama’s governor and four-time failed presidential candidate. Though he was written off as crazy by many and has since admitted wrongdoing in regards to his racist views, he was still able to win what I would consider a concerning portion of the nation’s support.
I am not directly likening Trump to a racist former governor of Alabama, but there are parallels to be recognized in realizing that unordinary candidates can, in fact, garner substantial support. It is up to us as an American people to learn from history so we do not repeat the same mistakes over again.
