Why We Should Worry About Donald Trump

Donald Trump has been dishing out some controversial comments just recently. Nothing new there. His campaign for president has seen more than its fair share. The guy thrives on inflammatory statements and the resulting bad press. In fact, the more berated his comments and ideas are, the more popular he seems to become. Particularly with Republicans.

Which is weird considering that, according to an article in The Daily Mail Online, not even Republicans find him, “likable or compassionate.”

They do, however, find him to be “the most decisive, competent and electable candidate.”

That worries me. And not just because it’s a total contradiction. How can a person be suitable, never mind electable, as the President of the United States, if they are not compassionate?

It worries me because for Donald Trump to be considered the “most” anything, suggests the rest of the runners are total dorks.

Donald Trump, the most controversial man on the planet, is the best of a bad lot.

Granted, the poll referred to in the article was taken before he asked for a blanket ban on Muslims coming to the United States. But even so. For him to have been considered anything other than a bag of hot air, there’s something drastically wrong in America.

So why is he so popular when no-one seems to like him that much? At a time when many Americans feel ignored by those in power, Trump is a breath of fresh air. For all his faults, he isn’t a politician. He’s a businessman, so he is perceived by his followers to be more attuned to the needs, worries, and hopes of the American public. Particularly, when he starts spouting off bar-room politics on the world stage.

Trump is merely repeating what he thinks people want to hear. For as long as people agree with him, he has the power to lead.

Donald Trump stands for everything that Americans aren’t. Intolerant, bigoted, and a supporter of mass deportation which only just falls short of ethnic cleansing. Yet, this is an image of America that Donald Trump is creating for the rest of the world. A world which looks at national polls and sees the lead he has over the other candidates. A world where, it has to be said, he was seen as a bit of a joke.

Until now.

Now, the world is wondering why this guy is still a contender in a race for the most powerful job on Earth. How can one of the world’s largest democracies be supportive of a man with such controversial opinions?

But then, that’s the ugly truth. It is because of America’s standing as a democracy that the idea of banning Trump from running for President is as ludicrous as banning Muslims from visiting the U.S.

In theory he could be asked to step down. In practice though, this would be even worse for America’s image on the world stage. It would go against everything that the United States stands for. Freedom of speech and liberty.

Until such time that he decides to stand down, he has to continue with his campaign for the Oval Office. He has to be allowed the freedom and liberty that he would seek to remove for so many others. For now at least, he has to be in the race for President. Simply because he has the right to express his opinions, even if they are abhorrent to many.

So for all his inflammatory comments and derisive suggestions, America is stuck with Trump as a Presidential candidate. Until his popularity wanes and his 15 minutes of fame has ended.

In the meantime, we wait. Living with the surreal possibility that, one day, Trump might be President.

Fingers crossed, sanity will prevail.