Make America Great Again: Donald Trump's meteoric rise to the front of the GOP

When Donald J. Trump tossed his hat in the ring with plans to run for the highest of all political offices, he was met with mixed emotions from Dems and Repubs alike. What the hell does this reality television star possibly know about holding political office? Well the truth of the matter is not much at all. Not surprisingly, this is the red flag Trump detractors proudly waved the very second he made the announcement to run for presidency. But this is where things got interesting. After the dust settled and people collected themselves, something amazing happened. Trump began garnering serious attention from all the major media outlets as well as the public-at-large.

The willingness of a large number of the American people, to take an objective and dispassionate look at what "The Donald " was barking about, has engendered poll numbers that are hard to ignore. Trump's trademark bombast and exaltations , that have largely been pooh-poohed in the past, were hitting nerves and striking chords with people across party lines. As it turns out, he really did have something to say and found accordance within a large sect of the American population which whom he refers to as, "the silent majority". The appeal of Donald Trump for many is that he's essentially the anti-politician. As he likes to remind everyone, he is not bought and paid for by special interest groups, lobbyists, and donors; in fact his campaign is self-funded. It's hard to argue the fact that Trump is the modern day P.T. Barnum. A carnival barker that really knows how to get the people going. In his bestselling book, "The Art of The Deal", Donald describes this promotional technique as "truthful hyperbole". In other words, he is the best and every plan of his is the best. On the hand, he also uses "negative hyperbole" to describe any sort of opposition to him, be it person or policy. The way he emphasizes words like "disaster" or "tragedy" , are fine examples of this technique. A graduate of The Wharton School of Business, Trump is certainly no amateur and has become somewhat of a brand-building expert. However, the question still remains: Is there any substance to his style?

The hot button issue Trump used to create a growing discussion was the subject of immigration. Essentially, he painted the picture of illegal immigrants crossing the Southern Border as harbingers of impropriety ."When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re sending people that have lots of problems. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists", said Trump. Safe to say that wasn't the most politically correct statement one could make and also speaks to the unapologetic tone Trump has adopted on the campaign trail. Could he have worded the statement better? Obviously, but Trump feels that America doesn't have time to mince words and ostensibly believes that our country is in trouble. "Jeb and Hillary said Trump has too strong a tone. We have Christians getting their heads cut off and they're worried about my tone!", said Trump. To bolster his argument further, he focused attention on the cases of Jamiel Shaw and Kate Steinle, innocent victims of murder at the hands of undocumented illegal immigrants. The heart wrenching stories resonated and helped to serve as one of the catalysts behind his surging poll numbers.

The Donald's master plan to quell the influx of illegal immigrants crossing the Southern Border is to build a wall. Yes, that's correct. But it gets better. Trump insinuates that Mexico will foot the bill for the construction of the wall! He feels that Mexico has taken away an egregious amount of manufacturing jobs that once belonged to hardworking Americans during our country's heyday. I guess in essence he feels Mexico really and truly owes us one. Also, Trump has called for a temporary ban on all Muslims entering the United States. The reason behind his so called "temporary ban" is what he and many others view as a growing problem with radical Islam-- the carrying out of terrorist attacks around the globe on behalf of that religion. Is this a misguided and lofty goal? Of course it seems that way, but again Trump has managed to create a dialogue that works in his favor. At the end of the day, no matter which side of the fence your on, he can and will remind you that it was he who sparked the conversation. What's interesting about this and many other statements made by Trump is that you can find at least some modicum of the truth, if you listen closely enough. He's quick to remind everyone he speaks off the cuff and without a teleprompter; but you don't amass a $7 billion dollar fortune without cold calculation and premeditation.

Given the chance, could Trump do it? I'm not exactly sure. People are quick to dismiss Donald as racist, misogynistic, and downright ruthless. I will give you the downright ruthless part but I have to push back on the notion that Trump's some sort of enemy to women or minorities. As Trump has routinely said, his job as a businessman is to get along with people. I find it interesting that for as long as he has been in the public eye, very few examples of him treating women or minorities have been brought to my attention. I did a lot of research for this article and the only glaring mistreatment of a woman I came across was his inappropriate railing against "The View" co-host Rosie O'Donnell. As a matter of fact, the Trump Organization employs more female executives than men! On the side of racism allegations, I've yet to be enlightened. Trump has employed hundreds of thousands of people over the years and I don't think you can enjoy the kind of sustained success Trump's had, by being discriminatory in your employment practices. I don't want to come off as a Trump apologist, but I don't think he's as terrible a candidate as you think. You can't tell me you haven't salivated at the idea of a pit bull businessman cutting trade deals on the behalf of our country. A businessman in The White House is an intriguing notion, in my opinion. Next time you hear Trump speak, look past his silly cap, silly hair, silly tan, and listen closely to what he's saying. Who knows, you may find some common ground with this dynamic candidate.