If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably been following the American election cycle rather closely this year. For me, it’s normal to pay attention to politics, but the addition of a wild card by the name of Donald Trump in this year’s presidential race is adding to the frenzy.
The disturbing part for some is that there are people actually backing what the man says. He’s virtually unstoppable in the polls as he can say something bigoted, gain two per cent, then back down from it and gain another two per cent. It’s like the Republican Party, or Grand Ole’ Party if you’re from the south, has a tumour that isn’t susceptible to the traditional treatments like slander ads and attack ads. To get a better view of it, I took the time in a recent trip to the US to speak with a couple Trump supporters, what I found out was interesting to say the least.
“I like him just because he says what everyone is already thinking,” said Cody Stacks, a part-time electrical engineering student from Dallas, Texas “it’s not like he’s as racist as he seems, he just says things that are really broad. I like that, he’s not pulling any punches and he’s not afraid to call out the media for being politically correct bullshit.”
Stacks added that he’s not actually in favour of most of the Trump says, but favours him just because he’s the opposite of what he hates. That is, self-censored masses who he said are too sensitive to controversial ideas like racial profiling and mental health watch lists.
In other words, Trump’s supporters aren’t really racist, but are just lashing out at one extreme with another extreme. It makes sense, I suppose, with Trump constantly contradicting himself and being called out for it, the only reason a rational individual would support him is to send a message across the aisle, right?
That’s not the case according to Paul Cornwall, a sandwich artist from San Antonio with an associate’s degree in political science.
“I really think he’s just the best option,” said Cornwall “because if you can’t have an inspiring government, you should have one that shakes things up.”
Cornwall said he doesn’t think Trump would have much success if elected, but would at least have enough of a jarring effect that the political landscape of the nation might change over the course of four years.
“I’d honestly be more concerned about [Ted] Cruz,” said Cornwall “he’s actually got the respect of a lot of [republican] statesmen…and he’s much more likely to win in the end.”
Cornwall raised yet another important notion – People aren’t just voting for him out of spite, but perhaps out of fear. They’re either afraid of followers of Islam, the supposedly criminal Mexican immigrants or the prospect of a more corrupting force taking over their party.
In essence, it seems like Trump isn’t propped up by the baser republican right, or those people you see on Fox News ranting that they think Muslims are going to bomb their town, but rather by a lack of inspiration in other candidates. And it makes sense, really – As an American expat, I have to say, it is a terribly boring election cycle this year with the exception of Trump. Sure, there’s the constant Hillary vs Bernie debate on the left, but if the experts are correct, Bernie is just there as an inconvenience rather than a real competitor. I mean, who wants fair wages when you could have the TSA checking everyone who fails the brown paper bag test for possible shoe bombs and anthrax?