This week was Super Tuesday, though I would argue it was less of a “super” day and more of a really scary and depressing day. I was very excited I was able to vote for the first time, but my excitement quickly turned to disgust once the results started coming in.
Donald Trump won seven states including our state of Massachusetts. Last year everyone thought that the Republican base would come to its senses and that the polls showing Trump way in the lead would prove to be inaccurate. But despite, controversy after controversy, Trump is now on his way to be the nominee. Even after refusing on national television to disavow David Duke and the KKK, Trump is still going strong. Later in the day he finally did disavow, but only after being pressured. It seems that he is well aware that the majority of white supremacists support him and that he does not want to alienate his base. It is seriously terrifying that someone who is openly racist may win the Republican party nomination and even the presidency.
Many think that Trump stands no chance in a general election, but I think that he does if Hillary Clinton becomes the democratic nominee (which currently seems likely). In head to head polls, Clinton only beats Trump by one percentage point. The reason I believe he could beat Clinton is because he is “not establishment” and because Clinton is hated by many Democrats and Republicans. This is the year of anti-establishment candidates and Clinton is the epitome of establishment. Cruz, the other anti-establishment candidate on the Republican side is currently doing better than Rubio and the other Republican establishment candidates. On the left, while not currently leading the race, Bernie Sanders is keeping Hillary Clinton on her toes, by winning many states and virtually tieing her in other states (like Iowa and Massachusetts). Clinton was always viewed as the inevitable nominee but Sanders, another anti-establishment candidate, is making her really work for the nomination. Sanders in head to head match ups with Trump does better than Clinton, and I think this is because Sanders, like Trump, is anti-establishment. He also has less “baggage” than Clinton. People on the left dislike her because they feel she is not truly liberal, has flip-flopped on many issues, and represents wall-street and big money interests. People on the right do not like her because they feel she would be like another eight years of Obama and that she is a liar. While this is anecdotal, I have heard many people who currently support Sanders say that if the general election is Trump versus Clinton, that they will switch over and vote for Trump.
While I understand the appeal of an outsider, who speaks “the truth”, in reality Donald Trump often does not speak the truth but relies on playing on people’s fears. He points towards minorities, blaming them for America’s problems and promises to return America to greatness. If this sounds familiar, well it should. Hitler used the anger Germans justifiably felt after WWI and directed it towards a particular group (Jews), promising to restore his nation to greatness. People often wonder how someone like Hitler could come into power: “How could someone so terrible and clearly evil receive the support of so many? I would never let myself be brainwashed!”. I now point to Trump as to how this can happen. Hitler originally wanted to deport the Jews, the people he blamed for Germany’s decline, but when that became impossible he resorted to concentration camps. Trump wants to deport millions of people, but what will happen when he realizes that that is not feasible?
Someone found a snippet from the first article mentioning Hitler from the New York Times. The first paragraph is extremely troubling.
People believed that Hitler’s antisemitism was disingenuous and that he was just using it to gain support. Many currently believe Trump’s anti-Muslim and anti-Mexican remarks were also not as “violent as it sounded”.
I have mentioned on this blog before that my favorite show in the whole world is Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. While he had been saying for months that he did not want to talk about Trump, he finally did. He originally felt that Trump was just a fun and in the end meaningless and inconsequential distraction. He did not want to give him the attention he craved but did not deserve. While comedians have been making funny jabs for months, this segment (over 20 minutes long) is brilliant because it actually treats Trump like the serious candidate he is, breaking down every reason why his supporters like him and why many of those reasons and beliefs are wrong or misplaced. He also gets to the root of the problem. He explains that people are enchanted by the brand of Trump, and that it is important now that he is a serious candidate for president to separate the brand from the actual man himself. This video has gone viral, but if you have not seen it yet, please watch and enjoy/cry.
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