Unless you've been living in a hole for the past year or so, you've heard of the most polarizing candidate in this year's presidential election, and no, it's not the angry Muppet with a loose understanding of economics on the Democratic side. It's the candidate with the funky hairdo and an inclination to say whatever comes to his mind first, Donald Trump.
Everyone has an opinion on Mr. Trump. You either love him, hate him, or hate him now but will vote for him if he wins the Republican nomination, because as bad as the country might be in Mr. Trump's hands, you don't even want to think about what the state of the union will be if one of the Democratic nominees win. The media on all sides reports on this man's every move. We, as a nation, are infatuated with everything he says. Why? With most of his publicity being negative from both Democrats and Republicans, how can he be in the lead in almost every poll? I have a three ideas.
First, Donald Trump has really struck a chord with a large portion of the population who are tired of the government doing whatever the crap they want to with this country. The Obama Administration, hate it or love it, has upset the majority of the U.S. population. Obama's approval rating has been on the decline, and at the time of me writing, this sits at 47% (Gallup). Less than half the American population thinks President Obama has done a good job. In the last midterm election, the people showed this by giving Republicans a larger majority in the House and 10-seat majority in the Senate. Trump's controversial and passionate words are exactly how a large portion of the American people feel about their nation. So you might just equate his support to an emotional decision by people drawn to his no-nonsense (but sometimes nonsense) message.
Another option is that maybe he is the best candidate for the job. We do know that this guy knows how to run a business. Would that be so bad? Honestly for me, I think he would be great at recovering the economy because he understands it. He would just need a level-headed vice president to make sure he didn't say anything offensive, but we know that's impossible.
He is strong, persuasive, doesn't take crap from anyone, and is brutally honest (some qualities that need to return to the White House). He is also either beating Hillary Clinton or within the margin of error in polls that put him head-to-head (RealClearPolitics). Could he be leading because he is the best option to lead America out of a mostly failed Obama administration? I guess we will see.
The last possibility is that there are too many candidates keeping well-informed voters scattered. It's a theory that has been brought up on many news outlets by several commentators I have seen, and it makes sense. If every other candidate dropped out but Mr. Trump and Dr. Ben Carson, and all the dropped candidates put their support behind Dr. Carson, he would be beating Trump by 30 percent. That's almost double the support Trump has. The Republican field is too rich with great candidates and the voter opinion is spread out. As the primaries progress, we will see some candidates drop out and their support go to stronger candidates. When that happens, we'll see if the #TrumpTrain will pull in to the station or derail near the end at the beginning of its primary journey.
Although Mr. Trump is not my first choice, or my second, and probably not my third, I will vote for him if he wins the Republican primary. It would be a dishonor to myself and this country I love if I didn't vote. I can't for sure say who that will be in November, but if this Trump Train keeps chugging along like it is, I might just have to hop on.
