Donald Trump: one of the most infamous names in media today. Trump is so highly influential because he has infiltrated almost every important aspect of our society, from his economic successes in building a real estate empire to starring on his own highly successful reality TV show The Apprentice, and now has trespassed into the political sphere by entering the 2016 presidential race.
Whether or not you believe he is a conspiracy of the Clinton campaign to sabotage the GOP reputation or he is just doing this to remain relevant, his no-filter loud mouth and cocky, unapologetic attitude has resonated with many American voters across the country.
However, this is what has made him dangerous. The amount of support Trump has gained from his political incorrectness and so-called straight-talk has only further encouraged his racist, sexist, and reactionary rhetoric and running on an anti-immigrant, anti-black, and anti-women platform.
In the year 2016, we hear our front runner for president propose solutions to serious and complex international issues such as Syria and ISIL with ideas like “Bomb the s*** out of them.” With thirty-six percent of Republicans saying they trust Trump to handle terrorism over other candidates with more political experience, it would seem that normal rules of politics do not apply to him.
Since most people are highly entertained with his obnoxious ramblings from mere shock factor, the media is forced to cover it in a way that gains him face-time on national television and support from white-supremacist groups, in addition to blue-collar GOP base and other establishment Republicans. As it becomes clearer that Republican voters aren’t interested in the advice of international policy experts, Trump sees this as a way to rally his constituents with blatantly wrong information. NPR reports, “Trump argued that most Syrian refugees were ‘tough-looking cookies’ and not women and children — even though the State Department says only 2 percent of Syrian refugees are men of fighting age — and he said their entry ‘could be the great Trojan horse of all time.’"
Trump pushes more and more dangerous rhetoric for his 15 minutes of fame, to a point where minorities fear for their lives simply attending his rallies. When he was interrupted sporadically by protesters holding signs that read "Migrant Lives Matter" and "Immigrant Lives Matter,” Trump had them dragged away by security and yelled, “You are the cancer that is killing democracy.”
The danger of Trump lies not in his potential to become president but rather in his ability to misinform the public, incite race riots, and divide the general American public based on race, gender and citizenship status.
Our only option to prevent more racial divisions and unrest, to promote women’s equality, and reform immigration in a meditative and balanced way, is to stop listening to someone who would see our country divided with ginormous concrete walls and sectioned off into respective ordained areas.
