Presidential candidate Donald Trump has openly denounced immigrants, promised to overturn the marriage equality ruling and has been accused of sexual assault, yet he remains the Republican front-runner.
How can a man so closed-minded and offensive be leading the presidential race?
It’s simple: The people vote for him.
The majority of Americans are putting Trump first in the polls, meaning they not only stand by him but stand by his beliefs, as well. Trump supporters reflect the hateful, misogynistic and extremely conservative demeanor he’s displayed for the entirety of his campaign.
Now that Trump has won the New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada primaries he’s established himself as a serious potential Republican nominee.
A Trump presidency could mean huge steps backwards in tolerance and inclusion among the country. Trump has already promised to reverse the 2015 Supreme Court ruling in favor of gay marriage and has vowed to stop government funding of Planned Parenthood’s abortion services.
Here at San Diego State we enjoy the safety that comes with the accepting environment offered by our diverse campus. We accept and embrace the LGBTQ community, offer free reproductive health care for women and house more than 200 clubs and organizations for all students of different cultural and social backgrounds.
We’re so used to the inclusion practiced by our campus that we forget that others in our country carry different beliefs. Some people in our country have derogatory opinions of people of color or agree with Trump that Muslims should be banned from entering the country.
We knew these people existed, but the fact that they make up the majority?
That’s news.
Trump’s charismatic personality gives some citizens confidence in his abilities, which is reasonable considering his massive success. However the hateful remarks he spews speak to others.
Trump is capitalizing on his anti-immigration and Islamophobic policies by instilling fear in voters. He generalizes Muslims as terrorists and immigrants as rapists, and by pushing harsh limitations on immigration laws ensures voters that also criminalize these populations.
His misogynistic remarks litter the Internet and his campaign. His remarks against Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, calling her a “bimbo” on Twitter, have been engaged with by over 80,000 Tweets from Trump fans calling Kelly a number of derogatory names.
His ex-wife’s accusations against him violently raping her during their marriage were covered up by his lawyers with gag order restraints. The patriarchal themes behind his actions and remarks about women are mirrored by his fans across America, reminding women that even in 2016 men are superior.
These reoccurring themes of Trump’s homophobic, misogynistic and elitist behavior are being reflected in every voter that supports him. We can only assume that these voters share these ideals.
Last Saturday a group of Ku Klux Klansmen held a rally in Anaheim, California. They arrived in T-shirts bearing confederate flags and were met by protesters, almost immediately resulting in violence, leaving three people stabbed.
Former Klan Grand Wizard David Duke stated his candidate of choice, who was none other than Donald Trump.
