The American presidential election of 2016 has been absolutely unprecedented. Rather than the usual stump speeches and political rallies that rely heavily on community organizers, we are seeing a new type of campaign: the Twitter-fueled, Trump train with rotating campaign leaders and invisible tax returns.
Regardless of all the drama, this is a truly historic election. After electing our nation’s first African-American president we have once again come to another historic feat: potentially electing the nation’s first female president. However, Hillary Clinton’s historic candidacy for president has been overshadowed by a candidate who seems to defy all that is expected of a traditional presidential candidate.
There has been no candidate in modern history that has engaged so forcefully in language that dehumanizes and disrespects such as Donald Trump. I’ve watched in horror as what was once a laughable outsider has single-handedly provoked an entire political party into electing him as their candidate for the highest office in our nation.
It is difficult to truly capture who Donald Trump is or what he stands for, but even more puzzling has been watching the complete normalization of Trump’s antics. Part of this is simply the nature of the deep political polarization we are currently facing at a national level. Another more complicated part has been the gradual normalization of Trump’s antics. His campaign has embraced the old saying, “Any attention is good attention.” And news cycle after news cycle obsessively replays his latest gaffes.
The greatest disservice of constant 24-hour coverage has been to trivialize the extreme gravity of his words and thus to help create a culture of indifference to deeply offensive, and once unacceptable, rhetoric.
It’s challenging to prove that constant exposure to Trump has made us, well, less upset about his candidacy. Perhaps because we are so overwhelmed by all of his mistakes and scandals, we are more susceptible to writing him off as a rogue crazy old man who just needs to “stay on target.” However, perhaps by taking just a broad look at some of his most controversial statements in one concentrated area, we can gain a clearer picture of the man behind all of this controversy.
Donald Trump began his campaign for the presidency insulting Mexicans saying, “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.” He continued his attacks in later comments when he said, “I’ve been treated very unfairly by this judge. Now, this judge is of Mexican heritage. I’m building a wall, O.K.? I’m building a wall,” while speaking about Mexican-American judge Gonzalo P. Curiel, who was overseeing a case against Trump University.
He’s also been surprisingly skittish about denouncing known white supremacists saying, “I don’t know anything about David Duke. Okay? I don’t know anything about what you’re even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists.” Even when supposedly appealing to minority groups, Trump can’t seem to resist patronizing African Americans saying, “You're living in poverty, your schools are no good, you have no jobs, 58 percent of your youth is unemployed —what the hell do you have to lose?"
Donald Trump has also had significant issues relating to his treatment of women. He is accused of calling New York Times columnist Gail Collins a dog, has publicly berated women, has made references to women’s menstrual cycles as a way to demean them and much, much more. Trump also has a questionable history on issues related to patriotism and national security. He has insulted John McCain, a hero and prisoner of war as well as the parents of a Gold Star family. He has genuinely suggested that the sitting President of the United States as well as the former Secretary of State co-founded ISIS and the center of his foreign policy has been to build a wall and make Mexico pay for it.
This certainly doesn’t cover all the Trump controversies, but perhaps by seeing some of them all together in one place we can begin to uncover the truth about who Trump is. No person accidently suggests all of these ideas due to lack of political experience or a “different” attitude. Donald Trump isn’t just an obnoxious politician plastered all over CNN, FOX and MSNBC. He is a real human being who speaks real, damaging words and undermines everything about basic human decency. It’s time for us to realize that even though he may seem like a bad publicity stunt, Trump is everything that he says he is. Believe him.
Shruti Rao is a Trinity junior. Her column, “taming of the shru,” runs on alternate Wednesdays.
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