Shaw: Donald Trump's baffling popularity and other thoughts – INFORUM
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
I just don’t get it. How can Donald Trump be way ahead in the race for the Republican presidential nomination? He’s so far ahead that the next candidate is 40% behind him.
How can Trump be running even against Joe Biden in the general election? Yes, Biden is up there in years, as is Trump, but at least Biden supports the basic fundamentals that have made this country great.
Trump incited a violent coup attempt against our government. He tried to overturn a free and fair election. Does democracy not matter anymore? Does support of the Constitution not matter anymore?
Trump looked the other way and did nothing during the insurrection as police officers were severely beaten and the vice president of the United States was nearly hanged. Does law and order not matter anymore?
Trump hid and refused to return classified documents dealing with the country’s top military secrets. Does national security not matter anymore?
ADVERTISEMENT
Trump called American soldiers who were killed, wounded, or tortured as POWS “suckers,” while calling for the execution of the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. Does supporting the military not matter anymore?
Trump is best buddies with Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, two murderous thug dictators. Do human rights and freedom not matter anymore?
Trump cheated on his wives, paid off a porn star and was found to have sexually assaulted a woman at a Manhattan department store. Do morality and character not matter anymore? Bill Clinton’s slimeball and inexcusable behavior got him impeached. For Trump, it might get him re-elected.
Up until the rise of Trump, any of these things would have eliminated presidential candidates from consideration. In Trump’s case, they increased his standing in the polls. Why does none of this matter? Why have so many Americans turned away from supporting traditional American values? I wish I knew the answer.
ADVERTISEMENT