Donald Trump. If you follow me on Twitter, you  probably know the guy makes me crazy. Scratch that, if you’ve even had a conversation with me in the last three months you know he makes me crazy. His lack of maturity, disrespectful nature, and ego make me want to throw something at my TV screen every time he speaks. I truly believe he’s a racist, in addition to possessing an attitude towards women that is downright shameful.

In all honesty, he’s likely not the only candidate running for president who has these ideas, he’s just the only one with the balls and disregard for basic respect to actually voice them. Oh, and the ability to say whatever he wants because he’s rich enough that he doesn’t need support of donors and the like.

And, of course, he’s being hailed as a hero of the cause against political correctness by many. While that’s great and all, somehow I don’t think championing your cause against political correctness behind someone who is simply a bigoted person is going to help. After all, there is a difference between being taking a stand against political correctness and just being downright uneducated and racist.

I watch his speeches and his performances in the debates, and I cannot connect what I see on that stage to his title: front runner for the Republican nomination for president. I keep waking up and thinking that it will all be a bad dream. That such a person could not possibly be running for president, much less leading. But alas, it has not happened yet.

People keep assuring me that I shouldn’t worry, that he won’t win the election, that even if he does get the nomination, he’s too far right to win. They brush it off like it’s nothing. The number one thing I hear about Trump is “I like him because it’s funny” or “Everything he says is hilarious.”

Well maybe I’m abnormal, but I just don’t see the hilarity in it.

The next generation’s history textbooks will talk about how someone who called an entire cultural group murderers and rapists was close to being president. History will remember America supporting someone who repeatedly called his peers “losers” and insulted their physical attributes. The rest of the world is looking on as the United States of America points Donald Trump towards the position of leader of the free world.

I don’t know about y’all, but that sounds more on the side of frightening than “hilarious.”

Maybe this is my 17 year old naivete speaking, but I thought a candidate for president was supposed to be a symbol of dignity, of strength, of hope. Ideally, I suppose.

When you’re a kid, you’re blind to the politics, to the partisanship, to the game that is  played out all across the country. The President of the United States of America is awe inspiring and a vision of everything you want to be when you grow up. When President Obama was elected in 2008, I was in 5th grade. I don’t remember much about that year, but I definitely remember the day of his inauguration. Our class got to watch his inaugural address live and I remember being so excited to see our President. He spoke and I could just feel myself being drawn in.

Sure, I was 10, so I probably only understood ten percent of what he was saying, but President Obama is a fantastic public speaker. He draws you in and makes you listen. He’s coherent and clear and in the last 7 years, I can honestly say I look forward to watching him speak. Whether it was the State of the Union, the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, a press conference, or even Jimmy Kimmel, his demeanor is so at ease, and he articulates himself so well. Whenever I have to make a speech for a class or an extracurricular, he’s who I try to emulate.

And yes, I know it’s an image. He’s a politician, just like everyone else in the government. He has a gift for communication, and he uses it well. But even if it is an image, even if it’s a facade, it works.

Trump doesn’t have any of these qualities. He isn’t coherent, he doesn’t answer the questions, his speeches are filled with incendiary remarks, not logic or plans. So why? Why is this guy ahead in the race for the Republican candidacy?

Because of the spotlight. This is America, where the number of times your name is Google searched is proportionate to your significance. The political process? That’s an unknown to the majority of Americans. But someone on TV making  baseless and reality TV worthy comments? Now that’s where America’s heart lies.

Newsworthiness is not based on informative and educational motives, it’s based on ratings. Who would want to hear Clinton, or Christie, or O’Malley, or Rubio speak about immigration or the economy, when you can listen to Trump roasting another presidential candidate for being ugly?

It’s the intersection between politics and entertainment, and Trump is thriving on it. I just learned about it in AP Gov. “Infotainment.” The intentional selection of media and stories to draw audiences in. If watching Trump make a mockery of the presidential election is what the people want, then that’s what the people get.

America and its media seems to have forgotten that news doesn’t have to be reality TV worthy to be newsworthy.

And I’ve been just as much at fault for this Trump phenomenon as the rest of America. After all, it’s not just those who agree with Trump or think he’s funny who contribute to it, it’s those of us who disagree with his views and his comments. The more we talk about him, the more the entertainer in him, and therefore the quasi-politician in him, benefits.

So, this is the last time I talk about Trump. I’m tired of being incensed by his ignorant comments on policy and people. I’m tired of him being the center of attention. I’m tired of every headline I see starting with “Trump.” I’ve got a little over a year before I have the opportunity to vote in a presidential election for the first time, so I think I’ll focus on the real candidates, and try to avoid imploding the next time he makes a fool of himself in front of the entire world.