Whether you love the man or hate him, if you heard a year ago that Donald Trump would be dominating the race for a GOP nomination this far in, you’d probably laugh and say there’s not a chance in hell. But here we are, six months into the race and 11 candidates shorter and Donald Trump is virtually unbeatable on the Republican side.
Anti-trump supporters are becoming violent, the RNC is getting nervous, and the entire country is more split than ever. But one thing nobody no longer denies is that the Donald has gained unsurmountable support from the American people. With the exception of die-hard Democrats, Trump has proven he’s supported in states from coast to coast from all different Americans—blue collar, white collar, small business owners, CEO’s of multi-million dollar companies, whites, blacks, Hispanics (yes, even Mexican-Americans.) Heck, he’s even gained support from his former rivals Chris Christie and Ben Carson.
The assumption, (and the hope for other GOP candidates) was that the mass number of people going out to attend Trump’s rallies wouldn’t stay loyal come voting time; but even that has turned out to be far from the truth. This primary election has seen one of the highest voter turn-outs in history. People who have never voted before and people who switched their registered party are going out to the polling booth just to check off the box next to the name Donald Trump.
Thus, the question is not who is supporting Trump. Rather, the question is why? In my personal opinion, this is the answer…
Let’s go back about nine years ago.
It’s 2007, and the country is facing an economic recession, the worst since The Great Depression of the 30s. George W. Bush, who was fairly liked by the majority of Americans, made his controversial decision to declare war in Afghanistan. The war sucked the money from the pockets of Americans like a vacuum and took the lives of many young soldiers. Americans were broke, frustrated, and not to mention still scared after the 9/11 attacks in New York just a few years earlier.
At the time I was a young girl, but I remember feeling worried as I watched my father, who was a self-employed small business owner close up his shop because customers were seemingly non-existent. The recession was real and it was scary, and it ignited a distrust and an angry feeling inside the hearts of the American people.
Then comes Barack Obama, a Democrat who believes in bigger government and eventually created one of the most hated bills in American history, the Affordable Care Act. For middle-class people, like my father, bigger government means bigger regulation and more taxes, things that only make it even more difficult to make a living.
To add to these feelings of uncertainty, we’ve seen people, our own people, getting tortured and killed by ISIS—the fastest growing, richest terrorist group this world has ever known. We have watched Paris get bombed, we have seen innocent people get shot by radicals in California. We have heard stories of American citizens leaving for Syria to join this radicalized group of terrorists. Yet, we have a president who still refuses to identify the name of the people committing these gruesome acts.
Though Obama still has a good amount of supporters and has accomplished a few goals; his time in office did not by any means relieve the fear or the anger Americans feel at both Washington and politicians in general.
Now comes Donald Trump. A Washington outsider who tells it like it is. A multi-billionaire who has his name branded in nearly every industry in just about every country in the world. Disregard his theatrics and his frequent childish (but usually funny) insults, he’s an honest, hard working business man, not a corrupt politician who is controlled by special interests. Donald Trump is exactly what many Americans are: fed up with the path this country has been walking down for quite some time now.
It's been proven through the Obama administration what another Democrat will do for us in office, and for a lot of people it’s nothing good. Americans want someone they can relate to, and for many that is Donald Trump.
No, not everyone has billions of dollars at their disposal, but most Americans have had to work hard to get to where they are in life and they want the government to support that; not discourage more success. Most people don’t want their money to be redistributed to people who are capable of being employed but are not. Most people don’t want another politician who has only seen life from inside Washington.
Americans want someone who speaks directly to and for them— no lies, no unrealistic propositions, just the truth and a conceivable plan on how to help the country they love. One thing Donald does is tell the truth, sometimes hurting himself by doing so. But at least he’s honest. At least he’s coming from a place that most Americans are at and can relate to.
The past eight years are the reason Donald Trump keeps on winning. The anger Americans have towards the government are the reason he keeps winning. The anxiety Americans struggle with everyday thinking our national security may be threatened soon is the reason he keeps winning. The simple belief that we either take a chance on somebody new, somebody who isn’t a politician, somebody who has sustained a career outside of the government are the reasons Trump keeps winning.
