You may not like him. You may not think he’s Presidential. You may think he's a sociopathic megalomaniac. You may find him to be racist, bigoted, sexist, and a narcissist. Or maybe you love him so much, you watch him whenever you can, you’ve been going to all his rallies, and you believe he will be the best president since Lincoln. Either way, you would have to agree that businessman and 2016 Presidential candidate Donald J. Trump has been unstoppable. He has weaved his way around every obstacle in his path like a professional figure skater lacking grace.
When he first announced his bid for the presidency in August of last year, many didn’t take him seriously. In fact, many thought it was just another publicity stunt like when he toyed with the idea of running in 2012. When 2015 came along and he launched a serious campaign in the Trump towers, the country and the world was shocked. It wasn't because he was a businessman or wealthy, but a true celebrity with broad appeal. Everyone knew this could possibly change the game of politics, be it for the better or for the worse.
Not only has Donald Trump been getting a significant following, he has become the front-runner for the Republican party. He’s leading nearly every single poll within the GOP and has won three of the four primaries (He won in New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada, but lost in Iowa) thus far. Nevada was particularly surprising. Not only did he win by a substantial margin over his next competitor (>20 percent), but he won 46 percent of the Hispanic vote notwithstanding predictions that he would do poorly with Hispanics. He’s also been leading with the highly educated as well as those less educated. The point is, that he’s leading among nearly every single demographic.
Just why is he leading you may ask? Well, the answer is quite simple. Donald Trump doesn’t like to be politically correct. He says what he feels and doesn’t beat around the bush. Some critics say this is not Presidential. They say he’s wicked and has made some of the most repulsive and offensive remarks one can say, targeting Muslim-Americans as well as Mexican-Americans. But others say they want his honesty and believe his heart is in the right place. They feel he has no intention of offending minorities as a whole, but instead, his generalizations are well placed. A fraction of critics feel he just says whatever he has to say to get as many votes as possible. Either way, whatever he's doing, It’s working.
Donald Trump has found a way to appeal to the average American. Unlike the other Republican candidates, Mr. Trump is self-funding. And since many voters believe other politicians are being bought off, they find it refreshing to see that someone will not be influenced by money. This too has given him an edge over the other candidates. As a result, Donald Trump is likely to win the nomination for the Republican party.
So just how far will he go? Will he be the next president? It's too soon to tell. One thing is for sure: The Democratic party would rather see any other candidate win over Donald Trump. Just last week, President Obama said that he continues to believe, “Mr. Trump will not be president," adding, “being President is a serious job. It's not hosting a talk show.” Senator Sanders recently said that Trump is motivating people in “racist and xenophobic ways.”
Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton remains the front-runner for the Democratic party. She is leading most of the polls within the Democratic party and is also getting a very large following. Clinton herself has been unstoppable, winning two of the three democratic primaries so far (she has won Iowa and South Carolina, bust lost New Hampshire.) As a result, she is likely to win the Democratic nomination. However, it has been said that Senator Bernie Sanders is slowly moving up the ranks and is making a huge comeback. He’s got the highest ratings among young voters aged 18-24, more than any other presidential candidate. Also, Senator Sanders is ironically similar to Donald Trump in that he is not raising money for special interest groups. Instead, Sanders has gotten individual contributions; more than President Obama received in both 2008 and 2012. Still, the polls show Clinton ahead of Sanders and she is still favored to win the Democratic nomination. Perhaps of greatest significance is that the polls show her ahead of Donald Trump in a general election between the two nominees.
So the way it looks now, if you are an Anti-Trump you should probably vote for Clinton. That is, unless you are a staunch Sanders supporter, and believe he will make a huge comeback. In that case, go right ahead and vote for him. If you are a Donald Trump supporter, you may watch your candidate defy yet another set of odds and witness the most unprecedented victory in American political history. While it is still too early to decide the general election, one should not be surprised if Donald Trump comes out on top.
