Right now, in the midst of one of the most controversial elections in United States history it can be hard to think about the future. To think of a future where the constant media coverage, analysis and speculation of Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will not be a reality. And of course we cannot detach ourselves enough from this race to really consider the future; how could we when as I type this very sentence, 4 out of the 5 featured articles on Politico are about Donald Trump, all but two articles on the front page of cnn.com revolve around the GOP candidate, and hey, this very article your reading is about Donald Trump.
We can't escape it because for better or for worse, however you want to look at it, Trump can not help but attract media attention and controversy. That controversy, that public distrust that these stories generate, from both Trump and the Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has all but defined this election season. Every day seems to have in store new alarming information about either candidates. Whether it be a new wrinkle in the Hillary Clinton e-mail scandal or Donald Trump’s Trump Foundation scandal, Miss Universe comments, Trump's donation to now Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, or a host of other disconcerting issues.
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As these scandal’s stack on top of each other, it can be easy to forget about the ones that were reported just weeks ago. HBO’s Last Week Tonight host John Oliver compares it to the “Bed of Nails” theory. Meaning that just one scandal (one nail) can be scathing and poignant, but as more and more pile up around it the “Bed of Nails” dilutes the potency of the whole.
If Trump does win the presidency this November, the nation will remember the ramifications of these scandals and possibly more to come while he serves his term in office and beyond that.
But what if Donald Trump does not claim the oval office this November? How long will his legacy live on? What will it be? Will it be of a firebrand reality show host that insulted more than he didn't or will he be remembered as the outsider that came in to make condemning critics about the insular landscape of Washington?
It will be a lot easier to remember the controversy and whirlwind that surrounds him than it will be to remember what he originally offered candidates. Let's be clear though, that is 100 percent his fault.
But what I ask us to consider is, if a candidate, an outsider, someone who had legitimate concerns and critiques that looked to make Washington "establishment" more transparent- that could be a healthy thing, It's what made thousands immediatly flock to him. They feel disenfrancised and those concerns aren't nothing. They deserve to be acknowledged and discussed.
Donald Trump is obviouslly not that person. That shipped sailed before we even knew it was in the water. But let's not forget the initial conceit of his candidacy. Someone like Donald Trump could have been healthy for American political discourse.
We can't afford to forget Donald Trump. For a plethora of reasons. His controversies and incendiery comments should live in infamy. We should remember that so we don't let it happen again, but, we should also remember the conversations that Donald Trump cultivated.
