By Corey Krajewski
Staff Writer
Donald Trump made a formal Presidential campaign announcement in late June, and ever since, he has dominated election coverage. News media, both left and right have been closely reporting on his every word.
Many people have mocked the campaign and do not consider him a serious campaigner. But Trump is proving himself to be a unique and divisive candidate, but one with ideas worth entertaining, and whose campaign may seriously end with a seat in the oval office.
The election has begun to revolve around him, and it shows in his aggregate polling numbers, where he has twice the amount of support than his closest competitors. The first televised debate for Republicans on the Fox News Channel was dominated by Trump, both in questions given by moderators, and by overall personality. Trump’s strong, willful personality pervaded the debate so much that it appeared that certain candidates may as well have not been in attendance, considering how little attention they got.
Trump’s larger-than-life persona is his greatest asset in this election. The term “cult of personality” is used to describe a situation where a leader uses mass media and propaganda in order to idealize his or her traits and turn the public in his or her favor. The term has been commonly been used in relation to totalitarian governments, but it aptly applies to Trump as well. Trump has spent decades carefully crafting a specific image for himself in the public, and it currently seems to be working in spades. As much as his personality seems to be endearing citizens on the right side of the political spectrum, it also alienates those on the left. In this era of internet memes, many do not realize Trump’s current potential for being our next president, and only see him as fodder for silly internet humor.
Trump’s current status as a primary leader is even more remarkable when it is taken into account how rarely non-politicians have success in presidential primaries. Many non-politicians run, but normally they are considered parts of the fringe, and not the leader. In line with this, Trump has yet to see many major endorsements from the political sector, which is usually a sign of a strong candidate, but has gotten endorsements from other iconic American personalities, such as basketball player Dennis Rodman, pilot Chuck Yeager and actor Lou Ferrigno.
His political stances are incredibly polarizing, and the reception they get varies wildly from one end of the political spectrum to the other. His strong stance against illegal immigration has seen praise from many on the right, but caused him to be vilified and described as racist by many on the left. Trump has also proven to have a certain courage that other candidates lack, being one of the first candidates to make a public statement on the federal reserve, giving a nuanced answer that showed the business acumen that has made him a success in his life. He also has a willingness to go against his base, as seen this summer with Trump’s statements revealing potential plans to raise taxes in certain areas. A typical republican candidate would never willingly admit to a plan toraise taxes.
Trump may be a former television personality with a silly haircut and ridiculous catchphrase, but he is certainly a real candidate that deserves to be taken seriously. To this point, his campaign only seems to be gaining momentum, and he has put himself in prime position for the months to come. Those who look forward to the cultural lampooning of Trump by such institutions as the Daily Show or Saturday Night Live need to realize that at this rate, the lampooning may not be just for the next year, but possibly the next five years, if the current political trends stay the course.
