Trump, the Next President of the United States?

Donald Trump is America’s Internet sensation and an earthshaking capitalist. He has a head of golden hair, he has bankrolled both parties, been married three times, bankrupt four, and through his natural swagger has become a household name in America. Opinions about him are polarized.

Following a sweep of 10-plus states in the Republican presidential primaries by this “loudmouth,” Trump has all but locked up the Republican presidential nomination. People who mocked him at first are now both shocked and enraged, leaving those who would cry unable to shed a tear.

This is not anyone’s fault. America’s divided public opinion has been amplified by a “politics of rejection.” The three branches of America’s government argue over trifling matters and waste energy, making it difficult to carry out official business, kicking people’s suffering around like a soccer ball. The most recent example of this is Obama’s nomination of a Supreme Court justice, with the centrist Merrick Garland’s evaluation being dragged out by the Senate, which says this issue needs to wait until next year. It is no surprise that according to independent opinion polls, only 11 percent of Americans have faith in their administrative bodies, and their trust in Congress is a mere 5 percent.

When one compares the spectacle and anti-establishment nature of Trump’s “straight talk” to the language used by the “orthodox” wing of the party, his talk is much more adept at striking a chord with white, blue-collar individuals that have suffered from low wages, unemployment and high tuition as a result of globalization. One need not worry that Trump will become the second Hitler or Mussolini, because America’s system of checks and balances is so well developed.

As the fourth generation of a family which immigrated to America, and with German and Scottish blood, Trump is father-in-law to a Jewish real estate magnate from New Jersey. Trump has no interest in changing the basic nature of America’s ethnic melting pot, and will not be able to place himself above America’s democratic system. This decision to strike at gaps in the positions of the American left has led to the fifth outbreak of puritanism in American politics since the Salem witch hunts.*

In the view of many people, even if Trump were to win the Republican presidential nomination, his chances of beating Hillary Clinton in the general election are practically zero. But through the popularity of Trump, we can examine the changes in American politics and society. The “pathological changes” of a superpower are occurring right before our eyes.

*Editor’s note: Previous outbreaks of such puritanism include the great awakening or period of religious revival in the U.S. between the early 18th century and the late 19th century, the anti-slavery movement, and the progressive era, which saw a period of widespread social activism and political reform in the U.S. from the 1890s to the 1920s.