I don’t like The Donald. I don’t like what he is doing to the Republican Party. I quite frankly don’t even like hearing the man speak. The fever that has infected the voting public is rather frightening in regards to the precedent it sets for the future. It allows future candidates to run and lead the race based solely on emotion and personality. This used to be a quality held in high regard by the Democrats and Leftists. I am not writing this as an unbiased observer, obviously. I am writing this in the hopes that I can turn at least one reader away from the disaster that is Trump.

As a candidate, Donald Trump has yet to successfully articulate a single policy point at a single debate. The reason I reference a debate and not a rally is that a debate is where you are truly able to test one’s presidential mettle. At a rally you have no one calling you out or arguing a counter point. At a rally you are the center of attention and don’t have to deal with dissenting views. At a debate you must be able to articulate and defend your policy against other candidates and do so with a measure of civility and tact. Donald has done none of that. Mr. Trump has followed a very predictable pattern: 1. Self-aggrandizing. 2. Sound bites about pseudo-policy with no actually substantial statistics. 3. Dismissing criticism with a scoff or scowl (instead of actual discussion and defense of position). 4. Attack Jeb Bush (soft target) or interrupt and talk over whoever is making a valid point. 5. Refer back to item 1. I challenge any Trump-eter/ette to find a point in any debate when DJT actually threw out statistics and a coherent plan in response to a question.

The second thing about Trump that really bothers me is that he is either unintelligent (which I don’t believe is the case) or he thinks you are. He speaks to the American people like he is speaking to a five-year-old. “I’m going to build a big wall. It’s going to be so big and so great and everybody is going to love it. I’m going to get Mexico to pay for it. It’s going to be the best wall.” Try talking to your kids like that if they are over five years old and they will probably look at you like you have lost your mind. Intelligent adults speaking to other intelligent adults do not talk like that to one another. You speak like that to those you think are mentally inferior to yourself. The fact that Trump supporters don’t find this insulting is beyond ridiculous. Have you no pride?

Trump reminds me of another charismatic leader from the history books. This man saw the diminished state of his country after years of war and feckless leadership and decided to make his country great again. He promised the people prosperity and jobs. He rekindled the nationalist spirit of the people and motivated them with fiery rhetoric and powerful speeches. He espoused power and let his ego reign supreme. Adolf Hitler united his people using anger and dissatisfaction as his platform. He was a cult of personality that eventually led the world into chaos. I’m not saying Trump is Hitler or a Nazi. I’m saying that someone elected based on anger and personality can lead a nation into dire straits. Trump has essentially said he would be willing to start a trade war by increasing tariffs on those countries he deems are behaving “unfairly.” That kind of perception is dangerous, more so when it is accompanied by a New York sized ego.

I ask that the people who bother to read this go to a quiet room, away from any distractions. Break out a pen and paper and write down what you know about Donald Trump. Write down what policies he has actually verbalized, not what you read on his website that was written by a paid egghead. Write down what you have come to understand about his personality. Write down what you have heard him say about others. Then read what you have written down and ask yourself, “Is this the man I want representing my country to the world? Is this the man I want making decisions that could possibly affect my life, the lives of my children, and possibly my grandchildren/great grandkids?” We have had two terms of a narcissistic extremist pushing unconstitutional ideology down the American peoples’ throats; let’s not give another egomaniac a chance to “fundamentally change” things.