Don't Ease Up on Trump
Mr. Trump was recently put in a good light earlier this week because of his apparently non-homophobic views—he came out as accepting of all sexualities and genders, even going as far as to criticize North Carolina’s well-publicized decision to reinstate anti-gay discrimination laws. Good for him, you know? This sets him apart from other Republicans in a very interesting way; it shows us that he is willing to look beyond his religion and accept people for who they are. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m afraid I must commend the Donald for this one. To say the least, he’s certainly surpassed my expectations. I mean, when compared to wackos like Ted Cruz and Ben Carson, his views almost make him better than them in some strange sense.
Almost. Unfortunately, Donald is still Donald. And Donald is anything but good. It’s understandable that he would try and kinda-sorta backpedal; he obviously does actually want some votes from a demographic that is at times difficult to win over. But it’s too late for him—he’s pissed off too many other demographics to ever win a majority vote.
You can’t get away with pulling a move like this. It’s impossible to be a terrible person for 10 months then suddenly do a big turnaround in the last few months of your campaign. People aren’t that dumb as to fall for that … right? I hope. Just from browsing Facebook for a few minutes, one can find articles pointing out Donald Trump’s “non-homophobic views” make him a shiny beacon of hope in an evil Republican field. And as I said, if Mr. Trump isn’t homophobic, that’s great.
But can we forget all the garbage that’s spewed out of him since almost day one? What about when he implied that Obama wasn’t American (or Muslim)? Or that time when he accused all Mexicans of “doing the raping”? Or those times when he called the president weak and cowardly? You can figure out the rest. If I listed everything Mr. Trump has said that was rude, offensive or blatantly false, it would take up the entire Op-Ed section. Even though Trump is a little bit better now, it doesn’t make any difference; he hasn’t changed a bit.
Also, I fear that this goes against Mr. Trump’s big calling card; isn’t being accepting of homosexuality PC? Isn’t being PC bad? Checkmate. For someone who’s run most of his campaign preaching about the dangers of being PC and for someone who isn’t PC for the sake of not being PC, this is an unusual thing to suddenly proclaim.
Surprisingly, I bet that this isn’t going to slow his momentum in the slightest. He’s already ensnared the minds of so many anti-establishment voters that literally anything he says (whether hurtful and rude, or compassionate and accepting) is going to be eaten up by his constituents. And, as I write this on Tuesday evening, it’s plain to see that Trump is going to win the nomination (especially after winning five more states in a landslide).
Level-headed liberals and conservatives alike can’t all of a sudden go easy on Mr. Trump. If anything, now is the opposite of the time to go easy; with Trump surging in every poll, it’s even more important that we stick together and try to prevent a nomination from occurring. And that does not mean just staying home and hoping it goes away. A saying I read the other day read, “You cannot change what you refuse to confront,” and this applies to the elections more than any of us could ever imagine. Never lighten up on Trump!