Demagogue: a political leader who tries to get support by making false claims and promises based on emotion rather than reason.

If you've been following this year's presidential election, then you've heard this term used frequently, mostly in connection with Donald Trump. A particularly brash and unorthodox candidate,Trump has become the poster boy for the term. By continuously making headlines for using racist, sexist and misogynistic rhetoric, Trump's behavior has lead many into believing that he doesn't actually want to be president. Time and time again, he's proven himself to be impulsive and temperamental through statements, i.e, his twitter rants. He has been disrespectful to his opponents, and anyone who disagrees with him, going so far as to call them names like "Lyin Ted," or "Crooked Hilary." Yet, despite all of this, he still has supporters.

Marginalized groups like the KKK and white nationalists-- who are emphatically racist are pro-Trump and believe they share similar values with the candidate. Trump has never condemned support from these groups, leading many to believe he is racist, or that this behavior is simply opportunism.

Trump has a long history of racism, beginning as early as the 1970's. German Lopez of Vox, writes,

• Trump launched his campaign calling Mexican immigrants "rapists" who are "bringing crime" and "bringing drugs" to the US. His campaign is largely built on building a wall to keep these immigrants out of the US.
• He called for a ban on all Muslims coming into the US. He has since expanded this ban to include anyone from specific countries, including possibly France and Germany.
• When asked at a Republican debate whether all 1.6 billion Muslims hate the US, Trump said, "I mean a lot of them. I mean a lot of them."
• He argued that Judge Gonzalo Curiel — who’s overseeing the Trump University lawsuit — should recuse himself from the case because of his Mexican heritage and membership in a Latino lawyers association. House Speaker Paul Ryan, who’s endorsed Trump, later called such comments "the textbook definition of a racist comment."
• Trump has been repeatedly slow to condemn white supremacists who endorse him, and he regularly retweets messages from white supremacists and neo-Nazis.

Trump's actions speak for themselves. Although he often claims he is not racist or a demagogue, his behavior and campaign tactics during this election say otherwise. He uses fear mongering to his advantage, and is a demagogue in every sense of the word.