Why Is Donald Trump Leading Republican Polling?
Donald Trump
The Trump Effect
Almost since he announced he would be running for president of the United States in 2016 Donald Trump has been the leader among Republican presidential candidates much to the surprise of the other candidates. A businessman and political hack for lack of a better description, Trump has been the leading headliner in Republican circles which is amazing considering his experience or lack thereof concerning politics. With candidates like former governor Mike Huckabee, current U.S. senators Marco Rubio, Paul Cruz and Ran Paul in the running it is puzzling how "the Donald" can be at the head of the pack. His impact upon the field is so dominating that he was picked to be one of the top 10 candidates out of the more than 17 running in the first Republican debate in August. In a way that no one really understands Trump has been able to capture the attention and backing (at least for now) of the majority of Republicans polled to date. But how?
John McCain and Sarah Palin in 2008
Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures
Since the presidency of George W. Bush Republicans have been literally taking a beating. In 2008 they were forced to settle for John McCain who was considered by many party members to be a questionable conservative and too old and out of touch with the times to be a viable candidate for president. After clearing the Republican primaries and becoming the clear party choice he then selected then Alaskan governor Sarah Palin as his running mate for vice president. A move which many political analysts believe was the death blow to his campaign. In 2012 Mitt Romney was selected as the Republican candidate and seemed to be coasting along well until his "47%" comment was leaked to the public and all but sank his campaign. But the real culprit in the Republican Party's political woes has been the Bush presidency. At both the 2008 and 2012 Republican Conventions the former president was absent. His terms in office were apparently so toxic that party leaders felt his presence would be damaging to their chance to win those elections. As it turned out both candidates still lost despite the party distancing itself from Bush. Fast forward to 2015 and in steps Donald Trump. A fresh new face for a brand new race.
In the last two presidential elections the Republican Party lost with "traditional" candidates. One being a senator and the other being a former governor. In both cases it seemed their political experience and clout did little to help them win. So for the time being why not gamble on a non-traditional candidate? What do we have to lose that we haven't lost already?
Trump Tower Of Power
Political analysts and the media have been trying to figure out what makes Trump so appealing to Republican voters. He has zero political experience and although a successful business man he hasfiled for bankruptcy at least four times in the past. He is a self-proclaimed politically incorrect individual who speaks his mind without much filtering. He unapologetically calls people names and has an ego the size of New York City so why is he so popular? For all of the aforementioned reasons. According to many Trump supporters his "realness" resonates with them. He tells it like it is and they like that. He says what a lot of them think and that makes them feel a connection to him. All of these things should be in a candidate that a voter wants to support but does that alone qualify them to be president Of the country? Trump has a tendency to speak off the top of his head without giving much thought to what he will say or what he is saying. He throws out a lot of cliches and catch phrases that sound nice but have very little verifiable validity to them. He says things like "I'll be good for women's rights" without explaining or giving any details how he will be. He tells voters to "Trust me" but gives them no reason why they should. And without a political track record to judge him by voters are just left to wonder exactly what will he do and how will he do it. But still with all of these gaps and deficiencies Donald Trump still leads the pack leaving political pundits scratching their heads. The power of the Trump is strong but how long will it last? It seems Republicans, at least for the time being, are desperately reaching for anyone who can jump start the party back into contention for the presidency but is Donald Trump the answer?
Clearly Republicans have a great desire to occupy the White House again but are they so desperate and frustrated that they are willing to hang their aspirations on another non-electable candidate?
Donald Trump At The First Republican Debate In August 2015
The Implications
The popularity of Donald Trump speaks to a deeper issue than desperation or being frustrated. It really speaks to the dumbing down of Americans and their willingness to accept someone who clearly is not qualified for the position which they are running for. It shows the shallowness of thought and the lack of ability to critically analyze and evaluate a situation or person. Trump says a lot of things that tickle people's fancy but he clearly lacks substance and concrete, feasible ideas for any of his proposals. Trump is a feel good candidate but he is hardly qualified to occupy the highest office in the land and the seat of the most powerful position on the planet. So why are voters wasting their time with him? Maybe because they are so fed up they just want to feel good for a while before they really get serious. Let's hope so because if its because they take this man seriously we are in worse shape in America than we thought.