He was the best of men, he was the worst of men. Who am I kidding? Donald Trump has never been the best of men; however, he hasn’t always been the man we’ve come to know in the past few months since he announced his campaign for presidency.
Recently, Dr. Ben Carson said that there are "two different Donald Trumps" and one is “very cerebral.” Honestly, he may be right because we don’t really know who Donald Trump is. Throughout his life in the public eye Trump has changed his personality and beliefs so many times that it is nearly impossible to discern who the real Trump is. Is the real Trump the one who in 1999 said, “I just believe the Republicans are just too crazy, right,” or is it the one who now has gone so far right that most Republican politicians want nothing to do with him? Or are neither of these personalities true and the real Trump is someone else completely?
Trump’s supporters often claim that they like him because he is honest; the problem with this is that a person who is willing to change their values at the drop of a hat is far from honest. Now he is peddling hate-filled speeches and promises of "making America great again,” but who knows what he will move on to next? The only thing we know for sure about Trump is that he can and will change his persona as he pleases.
Trump’s biggest asset is his ability to make people believe him. He carries himself with a level of confidence that is infectious and makes people not just want to listen to him but also to take his word as gospel. This is why he has been able to change his political affiliations and beliefs so many times yet faces so little criticism for it, because when he takes on these new personalities he does it in such a convincing way that it’s almost like they become his real one. This makes him dangerous because when goes on stage and starts spewing racist, sexist and highly prejudicial language he makes it seem like these views are okay because they are the “truth.” He has provided the ability for others to voice and act on these outdated, incorrect views of the world because when they see that a presidential candidate—one that is doing so well—shares these views, they begin to think that they are correct and the rest of society is wrong. But Donald Trump is not right; he just happens to have an uncanny ability to relate to people.
This is also why many of his supporters are working-class voters. It’s not because they are unintelligent, although I disagree with those who support Trump and often times it is easy to insult the intelligence of those who disagree with you; it is rather because he can connect with people in a way that makes them think “he is one of us” regardless of how different they really are.
So maybe Dr. Carson is correct when he calls Trump “very cerebral;” he has managed to convince many people to support him through his many changes in ideologies. And while we may never know who the real Donald Trump is, we still know what he is—the ultimate con-man.
