Donald Trump. That name means a lot of different things to people, and for a large number of people it means something negative. Since his announcement to run for president in June of 2015, Trump has been mired in controversy, but hasn’t he always been? He’s been called a sexist, racist, Islamophobe and xenophobe. Hitler was called these kind of names. While eating dinner at my uncle and aunt’s house on Christmas, I even overheard my grandfather compare him to Hitler. I must say I find it quite extreme to compare him to Hitler, but there are people out there who believe this. Despite the extensive amount of criticism he has received, he is still leading in almost every poll. Now let’s take a look at his background.
Donald Trump was born in 1946 to Mary Anne and Fred Trump. At an early age, Trump’s father viewed him as a rough fellow and sent him to New York Military Academy prior to college. Jeb Bush obviously agrees with Fred Trump on his son being a “rough fellow.” Jeb has called him a jerk, which doesn’t seem like much of an insult compared to all of the other derogatory comments.After college, Trump was given around a million dollars from his parents and went on to work with his father in real estate. Trump came into national media when he was accused of fraudulent activity by the Justice Department in the '70s. Trump fired back at the Justice Department, claiming that they were coming after him due to the large size of his company. By the mid-to-late '80s, Trump was everywhere. Since the '80s, he has constantly been approached to run for president and has resisted until now.
While on "Oprah" in 1988, he stated that if he were to run for president, he would ensure that other countries would stop taking economic advantage of the United States. In the early 2000s he started the show "The Celebrity Apprentice," which further boosted his fame as a television personality. “You’re fired” became a household slogan. In the 2012 republican primary race, Trump didn’t run, but some polls had him winning. Finally in 2015, he decided to make a legitimate run for president.
A month after announcing in June of 2015, polls already had him leading. The fall of 2015 would go on to be all about Donald Trump. He has clearly stated that he wants a temporary ban on all Muslims entering the country, which has lead him to be called an Islamophobe.
He wants to build a wall along the Southern border that will rival the Great Wall of China. Trump has compared the Syrian refugees to being “the ultimate Trojan horse.” He has made multiple comments about Hillary Clinton that have been viewed as sexist, and fellow republican, Lindsay Graham has called him an xenophobe on national television. Despite Lindsay Graham’s comment, he still vows to vote for Trump if he wins the bid for the GOP. I have heard republican friends and family call him every bigoted name in the book, but yet they still say they will vote for him if he wins the GOP bid.
However, there are plenty of people who don’t think anything negative. Just look at the polls. Donald Trump is winning. There isn’t a poll to be found that doesn’t have him nationally leading in the race for the republican bid. Most of the polls for the Iowa Caucus, have him leading by a slight edge over Ted Cruz. The following New Hampshire Caucus polls have Trump winning substantially. Some newly-released polls have Trump beating Hillary Clinton head-to-head. Now that kind of news would get just about any intense conservative's heart beating because for most strong conservatives, it is all about beating Hillary Clinton.
How has Trump gained so much support? It has to be because of his excessive confidence and emphasis on solely focusing on the United States. Everyone has heard his campaign phrase, “Let’s Make America Great Again.” The polls seem to show that it’s resonating with many Americans.
He promises that if he is president, we will have large economic gains, and he says that we will always be winning. The one thing you can’t argue is that Trump has made a lot of money (a net worth of $4 billion according to Forbes), and has produced thousands of jobs. We can debate all day about America’s biggest problem, but in the end it’s the economy. The stability of the economy provides jobs and security for Americans, which ultimately determines the morale of the country.
Another reason Trump is likely to win is due to the growing animosity towards traditional and career politicians. Obviously, Trump is not a traditional or career politician. Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Hillary Clinton are considered career politicians.
Another thing to say about Trump is that he has done a fairly decent job with his children. Yes, he has had two failed marriages, and he has admitted that he wasn't a top-notch husband in the past. However, it is hard to argue that he is not a good father to his children. His children have worshipped him even before he started running for president.
All of his children live productive and successful lives. Yes, they were born into immense wealth and have more business connections than almost anyone in this country, but that doesn't guarantee that those kinds of people are going to seek productive and successful lives. There are some people born into wealthy families that live off of their parents' money, and contribute absolutely nothing to the country other than paying inheritance taxes.
Trump's children have done the complete opposite. If you have watched the "Celebrity Apprentice," two of his children appear alongside him. His son Eric Trump has started his own foundation. Ivanka Trump has her own lifestyle business and is executive vice president at her father's company. I believe the American voter should take at least some interest into a candidate's record as a father, and Trump seems to be doing a decent job.
In closing, Trump might just end up as a bust, or he might actually pull it off. The Iowa Caucus is one week away and we will find out very soon if Trump will be representing the Grand Old Party in the general election.
Who knows, we might be calling Donald Trump president ten months from now. Maybe he will even change the name of his Trump towers to "president Trump towers."
