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By Emma Cummins
Editorial Page Editor
DALLAS – Being interested in politics, it seemed like a good idea to capitalize on the chance to see a political rally, and it seemed like an even better chance to see Donald Trump’s political rally on Monday at American Airlines Center.
Not because I am particularly fond of Trump, but because out of all the presidential candidates, his campaign has been the most, well, interesting.
Trump has said many controversial statements in his lifetime, but ever since he became a presidential candidate those statements have become significantly more important. Making the decision to attend one of his rallies, I expected to hear many of those outrageous statements but I was pleasantly surprised. The edgiest Trump ever became was when he took numerous jabs at Hillary Clinton or when he criticized John Kerry and his decision to go biking at his age.
There was a surprisingly small amount of people who were my age and I had no idea they were interested by these things. Granted, it was Donald Trump but regardless of who he is, this presidential candidate has managed to strike a chord among the younger generation. Whether that chord be positive or negative, he has managed to make an impact.
Politics, for people my age, tend to be a repetition of rhetoric from both sides and so many teenagers, including myself, often tune out when they are listening to politicians. For many, Trump is supposed to be a fresh change from the clique politicians we listen to all the time. For me, Trump did not seem to bring anything new to the table other than his ability to be outrageously politically incorrect. However, this is no small accomplishment and it does require a certain amount of guts.
Trump has not gotten this far without having political and business acumen, and his outlandish statements do not seem to have much effect on how wealthy he is. But for a teenager, Trump does not appeal to the socially conscious and somewhat progressive teen who is easily found today.
After Trump’s speech one would walk out of the American Airlines Center and find about a thousand protesters, the majority being Hispanic, holding signs that compared Trump to Hitler and protesting his candidacy. There were also protesters that simply wished to have a “real” conservative be elected for office since Trump has chastised both the Democratic and Republican Party.
Whether or not the protesters had a plausible reason for being there, I will take away two things from Monday night: It is surprisingly easy to make waves in our society if you have the right amount of money and are willing to say exactly what you think, and in the realm of politics it is becoming that much harder to bring anything new to the table.
