[quote]By Nurah Lambert
Entertainment Editor
Photo courtesy of Reuters[/quote]

Who doesn’t love good reality television every once in awhile? “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” “Big Brother,” “Catfish: The TV Show”—all such entertaining pastimes, yet rarely taken above a trifling level of significance. For the most part, these programs have no real prevalence in our lives; they do not affect our families, our livelihoods.

And then we have the GOP debates, and more specifically, Donald Trump.

Since Trump initially announced his presidential campaign in June, he has dispensed crude commentary regarding women and undocumented Mexican immigrants, fumbled over his plans for foreign policy, and nearly tripled in the polls since the summer, starting at 12 percent and jumping to 32 percent in the Republican voters’ polls.

According to the GOP polls, there is something about “The Donald” that his supporters find quite appealing. Maybe it’s the hair, or maybe it’s the brazen show of disrespect for those with whom he disagrees. Nonetheless, it is inevitable that his prior fame based off his successful business ventures and reality television show, “The Apprentice,” played a role in his rise to popularity. However, it’s indefinite whether those are the very factors keeping him there.

“I feel like Donald Trump is a popular candidate for many reasons. Most importantly he is famous just as a person, and that’s due to his unparalleled success in the real estate business,” senior Mitch Webb said. “Because of that, I think people subconsciously are appealed to him because of his success, they believe that if he can be successful in other aspects of life, he could be successful in leading the nation.”

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In addition to Trump’s businessman approach to politics, there are other variables that some believe may carry a part in his political success thus far. Both preceding his decision to run for the Republican presidential nomination and following the announcement, Trump made several racist and sexist remarks in regards to minorities and numerous women using social media, referring to undocumented Mexican immigrants as rapists and drug traffickers. It’s possible that such overtly foul statements may directly reflect on the values of Trump supporters.

“I think that [Trump] is saying everything that Americans, specifically white Americans, are afraid of saying because of political correctness and the fear of being attacked for being as blatantly racist as [him],” junior Sergio Pena said. “I see him as someone completely and utterly vile. He shows no fear of making racist and generalizing comments about Mexicans and latinos. Also his policies are ridiculous and would take a lot of money—taxpayer money—in order to achieve them.”

Understandably, Trump angered some while rallying the encouragement of others, leading many of the American people to wonder whether he is truly a viable contender as our next Commander-in-chief, or just another Kim Kardashian (in a suit and toupee). Although he continues to lead in the Republican polls, will his winning streak persist among the loud-mouthed quarreling? Or is his vulgarity exactly why he remains at the top to begin with?