Billionaire presidential hopeful Donald Trump is taking the steam out of multiple republican contenders with his campaign. Trump has come out unfiltered and unapologetic on numerous hot button social issues and gathered the support of a diverse group of voters. Many of these Trump supporters do not necessarily consider themselves republican, which has caused concern among GOP party leaders. Trump, during a Republican Party debate earlier this month, refused to rule out the possibility that he would run as an independent. A statement that caused concern among prominent republicans such as former congressman Vin Weber, who stated, “Donald Trump remains the main story, and that is not necessarily good for the Republican Party. It distracts from these other candidates being able to establish their own brand.”
What is baffling to many are the many sexist, racist, anti-immigration statements Trump has made and yet his celebrity increases. From his statements about Fox News host Megyn Kelly “bleeding” to immigration policies which seem only to focus on Mexicans, Trump is the anti-Obama for many. The latest polls have him leading amongst the top republican presidential hopefuls. Amongst the top contenders of Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Scott Walker, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, Trump holds a commanding lead of 25 percent according to a Fox News poll and 22 percent according to a Real Clear Politics poll.
Last Friday, he held a rally in Mobile, Alabama that drew an estimated crowd of 20,000. During the event, someone even shouted “White Power,” to which Trump gave no reply or rebuke. In fact, during the event, Trump exclaimed, “We could make a call for an expedited election. I would like to have the election tomorrow. I don’t want to wait.” This, for some, caused excitement and for others fear.
Trump is riding on a surge of mass voter outrage over Obama’s policies, threats to the assumption of privilege, anti-immigrant hysteria and celebrity that appeals to the fringe of the Republican Party. By all accounts, Donald Trump puts on the appearance of a rich, cold-hearted bigot that has never asked God for forgiveness and he’s leading in the Republican polls. But the danger of his thinking is what is causing fear for many. Take for example his thoughts on changing the 14th amendment of the US Constitution, which reads in part “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States…” Trump wants to change what is known as birthright citizenship to stop “anchor babies,” children born to undocumented immigrants on US soil. As US citizens, these children get guaranteed social services and may later sponsor family members to come to the US. The parents cannot then be deported without great difficulty. This practice, however, is not just used by Mexican nationals but also wealthy Chinese, Indian and Korean immigrants. This practice is called “birth tourism” and is a booming business. The cost of the trip is $20K to $80K and according to USA Today, these births from China alone are likely “in the tens of thousands each year.” But Trump has not addressed this aspect of “anchor babies.”
