It is all but official that Donald Trump is going to lose the election. The graceful move would be to continue to fight but allow Republicans to quietly distance themselves from the sinking ship so that the negativity of the candidate does not travel down ballot. Well, this is Trump, so forget all of that.
The Republican nominee has instead opted to chain all those up for election to himself and claim that the only reason he is not winning is because the dissenters and deserters are not helping him.
Unfortunately, this election cycle has not been about the truth. That baby went out with bathwater when some of the worst candidates in American history were nominated.
Because truth is of no consequence with either of these nominees, the Trump campaign has been able to create myths that might very well destroy the Republican party for the next four years.
People who still believe Trump can beat Clinton are buying into the first myth: that he still is close to winning. The Trump campaign keeps citing numerous polls that show him right behind or crushing Clinton, but these are internet polls. Due to their unscientific methods, they mean almost nothing.
Creating accurate polls is an art form that uses experts and advanced mathematics to create an algorithm for asking the right people for whom they are voting. Every reputable poll has him behind.
As of Sunday, a NBC News and Wall Street Journal poll shows Clinton ahead by 11 points. If you stick a poll on a website where Trump supporters are in the majority, of course it will appear he has the lead.
Trump has moved far to the right and has become a tight-laced Republican since his numbers began to fall sharply after the first debate. This change is so he can say that he was simply too conservative for Republicans to handle. However, as many people pointed out at the beginning of his campaign, he was a Democrat as recently as 2009.
Trump has called Republicans who did not support him “self righteous hypocrites” and said they are “more concerned with their political future than they are about the country.” This means that voters might check his name and ignore other principled Republicans. In order to preserve his ego and the idea that he is still some fabulous winner despite his disastrous campaign, Trump is holding the Republican Party over the flames.
Hillary Clinton is perhaps the single most corrupt politician that has ever been nominated by a major party. She used a private email server set up in a bathroom closet that exposed classified information. Foreign governments were courting the Clinton Foundation while she was secretary of state, and under her leadership, ISIS and other terrorist groups took power in the Middle East.
If you are planning on voting for Trump to avoid Clinton, I understand. However, please do not blame those who are not aboard the Trump Train for its derailing and crashing. The only person to blame is the candidate. If even half of the things Trump has said about Clinton are true, the country will soon suffer. Republican voters should not play into Trump’s hands by refusing to support those down ballot Republicans who do not support a sinking campaign.
Ethan Davis is a junior philosophy and English double major from Laurel.
