By Michael Townsend

“We’re going to make America great again,” So says Donald J. Trump, business tycoon and 2016 Republican Presidential nominee frontrunner. On a campaign that revolves around nationalism, nativism, and a perceived arrogance, Trump has won over the support of the “common man” like no other candidate before. Since he announcing candidacy in June 2015, Trump has thundered down the primary race like a runaway train on a busy railway, thoroughly eliminating everyone and everything in his path. Standing 6’2”, an entire six inches above rival Ted Cruz and the tallest of any of the four remaining Republicans in the race, Trump’s titanic personality seems to make him even taller. Most impressive by far, Trump has the remarkable ability to become even more popular every time he says or does something that would have ended all hope for a primary candidate in the past. So far, Trump’s campaign has been history in the making.

Trump’s campaign, however, seems to have failed to address the following question: what made America great in the first place?

In commercials, at rallies, and during debates, Trump has boldly and decisively declared his major talking points in the form of “we”: “we” will build a wall that Mexico will pay for, “we” will temporarily ban all Muslims from entering the country until we have cracked down on domestic terrorism, and “we” will cut the head off ISIS just as they have done to the American citizens who they have held hostage. On his widely-read Twitter feed, Trump has bragged about his accomplishments as a tycoon of various industries and complained about his adversaries, both Democratic and Republican, as well as incumbent president Barack Obama. Trump claims that the “establishment” does not want him to be president, which is supported by this fact that he has the vote of anti-government supporters. But is this really a sign of a great leader, or is Trump’s rise to fame comparable to that of a reality TV star or a controversial musical group? Is Trump serious about being president, or is he just trying to boost his public image by getting elected president?

Throughout his campaign, Trump has advocated pulling America apart. He has glorified the native-born white American while desecrating immigrants, minorities, and Muslims for impurifying the country. Historically, American leaders have won support by bringing people together, such as Abraham Lincoln commitment to saving the Union.. Trump’s attitude about America does not reflect the ideals of the colonists who banded together in spite of race and religion so that we could be free to have a leader that reflects our own interests rather than Britain’s. Therefore, how can we say that Trump is fit to run our country when he wants America, a nation founded on unity, to carry on divided?

Since the early 1970’s, America’s economy has periodically gone up and down. The common man has struggled to keep a job and has periodically switched between parties under the assumption that in times of trouble, the opposition party could help him get a new job the quickest. Under the Obama administration, a recession from the Bush administration was put to a halt and unemployment was reduced by a large percentage due to progressive policies even through the obstructionist politics in Congress.

Trump, however, denounces the progressive policies that have protected and assisted the common man since the recession. He tells people that the policies are way too expensive and that they hurt the common man despite the fact that tax rates are adjusted to prevent lower income blue-collar citizens from paying too much tax money. The worst economic crisis in the nation’s history was the Great Depression, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt got the nation back on its feet during that period by creating many of the programs that Trump’s budget will likely harm, most notably, Social Security. If Trump is elected president and the economy takes another hit, he will have no choice but to either go back on his word or leave every man for himself, either of which will cost him favor and will severely hurt his party.

Of the 43 men who have been elected president, all have had political experience prior to their presidency. Trump, however, has never been involved in politics or law and is running a campaign based on his wealth, despite the fact that a lot of his wealth comes from his successful family and several of his businesses have gone bankrupt. It is painfully obvious that Trump does not see the difference between running a business and running a country, yet his supporters seem convinced that he will figure that difference out right away and proceed to “make America great again.” Trump’s business experience does give him leadership credentials, but he will most likely not be prepared to handle any sort of national security emergency or diplomatic affair on equal terms. Trump will need luck on his side to have any sort of success as commander-in-chief.

Trump’s personality is a problem for his campaign because Trump is both alienating and egotistical. Trump has a reputation for being a bit of a bully, and he has often been described as a narcissist. So far during his campaign, we’ve seen him mock other politicians, brag about his success as a tycoon, and go at it with people such as Fox’s Megyn Kelly over personal problems in the public spotlight. As president, Trump would be required to listen to a lot of people’s opinions, especially his enemies, and during his campaign so far he hasn’t seemed capable of doing so. In addition, Trump would have to be careful to avoid upsetting the United States’ enemies enough so as to avoid getting into war, which President George W. Bush struggled with throughout his tenure. A leader with a big ego will often become very popular due to their extreme confidence, but will not be very successful due to their lack of preparation, so while Trump may seem like a viable candidate, he could easily cause problems for the country.

The United States has gone through many periods of uncertainty towards the future and so far the people have found the right leaders to unite the country and find solutions to problems. Other countries have not been so lucky. In 1933, Germany, new to democracy and facing an enormous debt, elected a man who had a big ego, claimed to have found a culprit for Germany’s domestic issues, and advocated for a return to a greater period in German history. That man’s name was Adolf Hitler. The purpose of this article is not to compare Trump to people like Hitler or to call Trump bad names, but instead to urge readers to take a closer look at a man who is clearly unfit to be president of such a wonderful nation. It’s time to stop listening to whatever Trump says about making America great again and start questioning whether what he or any other candidate says will make America great at all.