The shocking truth about Donald Trump: He’s actually the least terrifying GOP candidate

His virulent immigration politics are shared by the GOP field. But the places where he differs are illuminating

CONOR LYNCH

With all of the outrageous and downright offensive remarks that have been regurgitated by Donald Trump over the past few months, the most logical forecast made by political analysts was that his campaign would implode, sooner than later, as so many have before. Like the stock market, Trump 2016 seems to be based on a bubble of irrational emotions — in this case fear — and at any moment, that bubble could burst. Today, however, it’s looking more and more like Trump’s lead in the polls is not going to burst anytime soon, and that the man who seems to be the perfect manifestation of a stereotypical American — a loud, obnoxious buffoon — actually has a chance of winning the GOP nomination for president.

This is scary to think about. Not just because of his virulent xenophobia and nationalism, but because of how damaging a President Trump would be to America’s reputation in the world. At the same time, maybe it will take a joke like Trump — who, just a reminder, once released his birth certificate to prove that his father was not an orangutan — to show just how much of a farce American democracy really is. Trump is creating a dangerous new nationalist movement that is absolutely adored by white supremacists and Tea Party conservatives alike. His big personality may be a bridge between the more extremist right wingers who preach intolerance and hate, and the moderate conservatives dedicated to blindly loving their country.

That being said, if we take a look at Trump, beyond all of the controversial remarks from him and his supporters (i.e. “Go back to your country!”) and the despicable attack on immigrants, it becomes quite clear that a president Trump would actually be less dangerous than, say, a president Walker. In fact, just about every other major GOP candidate is probably more threatening to progress than Trump.

This is because Donald Trump isn’t really a part of the GOP. He doesn’t depend on corporate funding and is more concerned with his own ego than the party he is currently running in. While his unfiltered remarks have gotten all of the media’s attention, he has also made certain comments that would have probably been enough to kill any other GOP candidates campaign.

Take, for example, his defense of Planned Parenthood. In the midst of the hit job on the women’s health organization, as every other candidate was jumping on the bandwagon to defund the entire organization, Trump correctly said that the abortion services were a very small part of Planned Parenthood, and that they do undeniably important work for women. Compare this to the supposedly moderate Jeb Bush, who said that the organization is “not actually doing women’s health issues. They’re involved in something way different than that,” which PolitiFact.com fittingly rated “Pants on Fire.”

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http://www.salon.com/2015/09/03/the_shocking_truth_about_donald_trump_hes_actually_the_least_terrifying_gop_candidate/