At face value, Donald Trump’s popularity appears to originate from people who are either uneducated, have no knowledge about the other candidates, have lost all hope in the future of the U.S., or are simply awful people (i.e. racists, sexists, xenophobes, elitists, etc.). As Trump’s support becomes more prevalent as the primaries press on, we should take into account the factors contributing to Trump support and the negativity this support breeds.
Some people believe the country is becoming less prejudiced as time progresses, but statistical data from exit polls and overall election support leads us to believe otherwise. We seem to rely on the dogma that as older, more discriminatory people die out, younger, more progressive people replace them, supposedly changing the hateful narrative this nation was built off of when Puritans decided to extinguish Native Americans from their land, beginning a bloodbath rooted in white supremacy and other oppressive ideals that would last for centuries and into the present day. PBS reports: "The youngest whites (17-34) are only modestly less likely than the oldest (65+) to say that blacks are lazy (3.6 point difference) or unintelligent (1.5 point difference), but they are also less likely to perceive discrimination against blacks (6.3 point difference) and far less likely to say that have felt admiration for blacks." Recent primary exit poll results are proof that there is little to no change taking place in this country. This may debunk Immanuel Kant’s theory of “Perpetual Peace,” that humans become further enlightened from generation to generation, leading to a universally peaceful existence.
Super Tuesday exit poll results negated the claim that the country has substantially evolved. Republican voters are in support of Trump’s proposal to temporarily ban non-U.S. Muslims from entering the country. 78 percent of Alabama voters are in support of this intolerant policy. Have these prejudiced opinions been there all along, and Trump was just the guy to make the public comfortable enough to show their true colors? “If the overarching theme of white supremacy that seems to permeate from every pore of the Trump campaign troubles you, then congratulations on recognizing something that has perhaps been bubbling beneath the Republican Party for years.”
Trump’s ability to gain the support of so many voters may be because he’s “a unifier,” a label he gave to himself. His willingness to shift his stance on any issue whenever the audience or situation calls for it continues to work to his advantage. Trump has successfully avoided sharing a permanent stance on any subject outside of his plan to build a wall on the U.S./Mexico border to keep potential immigrants out, but not a wall on the U.S./Canada border simply because, as he told CBC reporter Meagan Fitzpatrick, “I love Canada, I would not build a wall on the Canadian border.”
Does Trump represent the opinions of a large portion of the American public? Americans may like Trump because, well, they think the same way he does. That’s what one Trump supporter, Carol Williams, 61, told The Washington Post. “The first few months he was entertaining to me. I didn’t really think he was going to go anywhere—I really didn’t in the very beginning—and then I said: ‘You know, I really like everything he’s saying. Everything he’s saying sounds like me talking.’”
The marketing strategy Trump uses appeals to many partly because he makes it easy for people to understand his message through not having one at all. Trump uses Twitter as his primary platform to reach the public, using simplistic words such as “win,” “lose,” “huge,” “stronger,” “big,” “larger,” and “great.” He also makes rudimentary statements to present the most uncomplicated message possible, perhaps a chief reason for his massive appeal to some Americans.
People who do not support Trump are in awe of how he has become the Republican frontrunner, let alone reached this stage in the election. As Trump continues to prove his staying power in the race, it’s hard to be surprised by his antics anymore. The shock value of Trump’s place in the election will continue to fade, and the reality that Trump’s views and personality speak for many Americans will steadily set in.
The likelihood that Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee should not
be taken lightly, as primary results further solidify his support. His mastery of the art of being someone who received a
"small loan of a million dollars" and owns a Boeing 757-200 customized with "Trump" on its exterior written in gold font, all the while emitting a persona of being a regular guy to the American public, is both impressive and alarming.
