As the Republican and Democratic conventions are quickly approaching, the media is in a frenzy covering the race. Soon, Americans will have to decide who they will cast their vote for in the 2016 presidential election. So, let's look at the two frontrunners — Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. (I'm sorry, Bernie Sanders supporters, I too wish I could vote for him in the election. But, the way that the system is set up with superdelegates, it doesn't look like we'll get the option — but that's a whole other can of worms.)

Clinton and Trump are both politicians, and both have their own tactics. Trump is known for his brash actions, never really caring about what he says before it comes out of his mouth. To sum it up; Trump is very open. Clinton, on the other hand, goes a different route when it comes to political tactics. Clinton has been in the political game for years and focuses on her public image. Clinton is often very private until she feels that she has calculated the correct next move. Clinton, to put it shortly, is very closed. Although the two politicians take different routes with their political actions, I can't help but get the same feeling in the gut of my stomach when I watch speeches from the two at their respective rallies. Something seems off.

Maybe it's just the way I've been raised, or maybe it's because this is the first election I've actively been involved in — but it seems like the morality of both Trump and Clinton seems a bit ... wonky to me. For this article, let's talk about Donald Trump.

Trump — what a media circus he's caused. Very quickly, Trump dragged out huge distances between himself and the other Republicans running for nomination in the early primary season. Soon, it became very clear that Trump was going to be the Republican nominee. As of June 7th, Trump's delegate vote count hit 1,447 — topping the 1,237 votes needed to win the Republican nomination. His opponents? Cruz has 551 votes, and Kasich a measly 161. If you told the American public in 2012 that Donald Trump was the Republican nominee for the 2016 election (beating the runner-up by 896 delegates), they would've thought it was a joke. Why? Trump never really showed interest in becoming a politician. He was famously known for his businesses across the world (all named after himself), but Trump was probably more popularly known for his classic "You're fired!" tagline from his hit reality television show. Yep, just in case you forgot, "The Apprentice" aired originally in 2004, and Trump was a part of the show until 2015. It's now entering its 15th season. So, why does a multi-millionaire businessman/reality TV show producer/actor decide to switch gears completely and run for president? Seriously — I'd like to know.

According to a story in the New York Times, Trump started his presidential bid so that he would be taken seriously.

Taken seriously. Alright, let's run with that. So, if it started out that way — why did he keep going with it? Well, Trump's well-known campaign motto, "Make America Great Again" could explain it. I would like to believe that Trump is in this, and only in this, because he seriously wants to make the country "great" again, but I have an extremely hard time believing that the candidate has morals strong enough to ensure that improving the country is his only motive. Although I don't necessarily agree with the New York Times in saying that Trump joined the race solely because he wanted to be taken seriously, I don't think they were completely off the mark.

It's no secret that Trump loves the limelight, and I believe the image of holding the presidency would be a huge prize to him. So, what does this mean for Trump's morality?

If you ask most Democrats, they would respond saying that Trump is completely immoral and demonstrates this through his actions. Trump has never been one to be sensitive to political correctness — his comments made months ago about Mexican immigrants still haunt the media. He often speaks saying exactly what is on his mind — and yes, even if these thoughts aren't exactly PG. Obviously that's going to piss some people off. No, I do not agree with his remarks, and yes, I think some of Trump's political proposals are absurd. But right now, I'm trying to understand the morality of the man, not analyze his campaign.

For the sake of this series, I've decided to define strong personal morality as this: staying true to what an individual believes in and acting accordingly to this set of internal standards as to what is right.

If being true to yourself means you're upholding your personal morality — Trump is doing exactly that. Trump's un-P.C. nature is abrasive and offensive, but he's sticking true to what he believes in. On a strictly individual morality view — Trump is very moral.

Now, before you jump to any conclusions — I'm not done here. It's time to look at how Trump's morality holds up when it is aligned with the morality of the country as a whole. In this sense, morality can be viewed as this: the standards of the individual align with the standards of the nation, and the goal of the individual is to better serve the nation to help further its improvement.

In this sense, Trump falls short. Trump is trying to "make America great again," but I think that he doesn't understand that putting other demographics down will not make America great, as our nation is comprised of numerous demographics that make us who we are. America was built by immigrants looking to find better lives for their families. This spirit and integrity that many people had while working hard trying to attain the American dream is what our next president should embody and try to inspire in others. Trump, by bullying and putting people down, is doing the exact opposite. If Trump wants to make America great again, what past greatness is he referring to? The way Trump has dealt with other races and religions in the past few months has been cringeworthy at times, flying in the face of the past where immigrants helped build this country into the nation it is today — where different backgrounds were vital to the development of our nation. There are countless examples of Trump's offensive attitude towards other demographics online, and he adds new comments to this ever-growing list almost daily.

So, looking at it this way, Trump is not moral when it comes to issues involving the United States. His motives for running for president do not align with the values of our nation. As he is running to be the president of our nation, I think this is something everyone should think about and form their own opinions of.

Next week, Hillary Clinton's morality will be put into perspective. Clinton has been in the political scene for years and has had many triumphs — along with many shortcomings. I hope you all will join me in continuing to ask the questions that are important to our society, and I hope that you will also never stop searching for answers. See you next week!