Donald Trump continues to surge in the polls, with latest results from CNN showing him having 36% support from registered Republicans and Republican-leaning independents. But is it really a surprise? Everyone likes him. He's said so himself.

I am a self-proclaimed politics nerd. I live for Face the Nation every Sunday. I am registered on Ballotcraft and am never not live tweeting during the debates. Donald Trump has blessed us all-- political nerds and regular nerds alike, with the gift of mind-blowing rhetoric that takes politics to a whole new level.

It's one thing to see polls that say Trump is leading in the polls. The worlds of CNN, Politico and Meet the Press often feels like another planet. So you have to wonder, is this just propaganda? Are there really people out there that want him to be president? Is this real life? I posed on Tinder as a Donald Trump supporter for a week to find out.

First things first: The Bio

I knew that to get the best results possible, I needed to make a bio that would be a conversation starter. And it worked. After just a couple of matches, messages started pouring in-- "Go Trump!" "Are you serious?" "Tell me you're kidding." "Make America Great Again."

Strategy

All of my matches messaged me first. Every response is a real quote from Trump. In order to pose as a supporter (and not sound like I was actually the Donald on Tinder) I shifted to third person.

After a couple of conversations, I changed to first person to see what (if any) difference there would be if I did pretend to be Trump on Tinder. Which, obviously, I wasn't.

Match #1

I went into this experiment expecting the worse. Trump doesn't exactly have a rep for being a stand up guy, and I was expecting most people to tell me off or call me insane and crazy. Not that I would blame them.

Until...

I did not realize how difficult it would be to debate with people posing as someone that I truly despise. I could feel myself becoming angry and disgusted at the responses I was getting. I could not believe this guy was serious. One message in, and I had already met a Trump supporter. Who knew where this was going?

Match #2

If I wanted something different, I definitely got it the second time around.

This guy was on a mission to convince me Trump is going to destroy the Republican Party. This actually happened a lot. My matches felt concerned for me that I was actually naive enough to support Trump, and initially tried to have "Tinderventions" with me about my political associations.

Match #3

Then, there were the guys who took it as a challenge for a debate. These were the most fun.

I took on a Trump persona here because this guy was willing to go with it. It was a good opportunity for a debate. He revealed one of Trump's biggest weaknesses here: a lack of substance. The Donald loves buzz words, but he has no concrete policy. Granted, that makes for a fun Tinder game, but is it enough to win a presidential election?

Match #4:

When I started to respond with Trump's "famous" one liners about Mexicans, I became increasingly uncomfortable. I felt like a racist and a bigot. Even though this was purely for research I admitted to most of these guys I was writing an article because I could not let anyone possibly think I would conform to these close-minded views. Many (including this guy) unmatched me before I had the chance to come clean.

The one thing I learned is how uneducated Trump really is. He speaks very informally given his resume. I think it probably pays off in the presidential election because he looks authentic. Personally, I think there is a big difference between someone who is relatable and someone who is ignorant.

I was unmatched shortly after he wrote this because I think he saw me as racist. Can't say I blame him. But Tinder man, if you're out there, I'm sorry, it was just an experiment!

Match #5

Trump's slogan "Make America Great Again" has caught the attention of the nation. Some speculate that it isn't even his, while others support it and say that it is exactly where our country needs to be. This Tinder match took a whirl at interpreting the 2016 candidate's catch phrase.

He is not the first, and definitely not the last to take a hit at Donald Trump's discriminatory tendencies.

Match #6

I don't mean to brag or anything, but at this point, I felt like I was an expert in all things Trump. So when this guy came at me with his extreme right views, I was ready to go.

Once again, I felt extremely uncomfortable. I was speaking from a point of view that I vehemently disagree with.

I am not even going to lie, I was relieved when he told me he was pretending. Unfortunately, what he says is true. There are people who think this way (see match #1). And they are completely serious.

Match #7

I wanted to explore how Trump's personality goes over with voters, so I tried out one of his signature phrases.

This is Trump's go-to answer whenever he is criticized. He can't possibly accept that he is wrong, so instead he reminds the public how "well-liked" he is.

I'm not sure he got that I was trying to be Trump, but regardless, I had sufficiently pissed him off. After his little rant, he unmatched me to boot.

Match #8

I couldn't end the experiment without telling someone they're fired. If you are at all familiar with Trump, this comment launched his legacy on Celebrity Apprentice. This guy gave me the perfect opening, and after I told him off "The Donald" style, he of course, couldn't even muster a comeback.

Because as Trump says, "I am what I am. I am what I am."

Conclusion

There are definitely Trump supporters out there. There are also people who are aware that he is crazy (pause and take deep breath knowing there is hope for humanity). I was impressed by the valiant effort my matches put up to convince me to "stop" supporting Trump. It showed me that there is fierce passion on both sides. But isn't that what politics is all about?