Donald Trump Can Teach Us a Valuable Lesson

In a crowded competition, contenders need to stand out. Well, Donald Trump certainly fits that criterion.

With a flamboyant personality, Trump if nothing else provides a cheerful laugh to supplement the equally as laughable, yet far more serious contenders in the Republican field for 2016.

Watching The Donald work can be thrilling. When watching his speeches, the awkward, mid-sentence pauses keep you on the edge of your seat, waiting for the next outrageous remark.

But, as Mr. Trump is now an official candidate, we shall respectfully examine his platform and viability as a candidate.

Trump promises many things and provides little detail. In his speech, Trump rambled to a rather thin crowd in the marble lobby of Trump Tower, eventually getting to his announcement, “Ladies and gentlemen, I am officially running for president of the United States, and we are going to make our country great again.”

If elected president, Trump would use the “foolproof way” he formulated to stop the Islamic State. Of course if Trump could tell us the plan he would, but then again he doesn’t “want the enemy to know what I’m doing.” Reasonable.

Another corner stone of the Trump 2016 platform is the limitation of illegal immigration, because according to Trump no less, immigrants are “destroying the fabric of the country “ and “decimating” the middle class. The solution is elementary for Trump: “build a great, great wall” on our Southern border. According to this plan, the Mexican government would happily pay for it.

Since same-sex marriage isn’t his “thing,” lets move onto another topic Trump has no need for: climate change. According to Trump, climate change is a conspiracy to raise taxes.

In Trump’s eyes, he is the American economy’s Moses, claiming that without someone “really rich,” failure is inevitable. Under the assumption that rapid inflation is inevitable and China is destroying the middle class, Trump would provide the prowess to be, “the greatest jobs president that God ever created.” Then he pulled out a mirror and gave himself a riling pep-talk (not really).

It has been quite the path for Mr. Trump. A real estate tycoon, turned author and reality television personality, Trump has debated a presidential run on five separate occasions dating back to 1988, but at no time has that contemplation materialized into a formal announcement until now.

Trumps chances to win are microscopic though. 57 percent of his own party holds an unfavorable view of Trump. The prior record-low on announcement day was 43 percent. The prior record holder, Pat Buchanan, eventually ran as an independent that year. Another statistic that does not bode well for Trump’s chances is that in general polling Trump has a net favorability ranking of -32 percentage points. That is the lowest favorability to start a campaign in history.

The Donald may not be the most qualified candidate. The Donald may not have the best platform. But one thing The Donald has is humor.

Not a single person, healthy or insane, could think that The Donald will win the nomination, but that’s not the point. For Trump, this is another cry for attention. For his staff, its just a large paycheck. But for America, its much more than that. This candidacy and campaign should serve as a reminder to not take ourselves too seriously. It is with a stern and uncompromising attitude that many approach politics with, but sometimes we must realize that the joke was on us the entire time and simply move on.