Louis Capozzi | A Trumped up joke

Citizen Capozzi | While Donald Trump is a joke to most Penn students, he’s offensive to some and dangerous to all

By Louis Capozzi 09/17/15 12:16am

Donald Trump makes people laugh. Whether because of his ridiculous hair, absurd comments or extensive trolling of other Republican candidates, the Penn alumnus has been a running joke since he announced his presidential campaign.

Across campus, most students are not taking him seriously. “A lot of students are talking about him in a tongue-in-cheek manner, making jokes. I haven’t heard anyone talk about him in a serious manner,” College junior Will Shirey noted. College sophomore Hunter Pearl put it bluntly: “He’s a joke, a somewhat funny joke.”

One student, Engineering sophomore Michael Ramdatt, decided supporting Trump was so preposterous that he set up a Facebook page, Penn For Trump, as a joke. “A lot of people are supporting him as a joke,” Ramdatt said, “and a lot of people are supporting him seriously. People who know me know [the page] is not serious; they know I’m a Democrat. They can see the humor in it, they can see the satire.”

Others appreciate Trump’s presence in the race because they think he’ll hurt the Republican Party’s chances in the 2016 election. One anonymous Penn Political Science professor said he’s “looking forward to when Trump runs as an independent and destroys [the Republican Party’s] chances next year.” College senior Klaudia Amenabar agreed, saying, “A Republican should be terrified about what he’s doing to their party. The Republican debate isn’t about the candidates anymore, but about the crazy stuff that comes out of [Trump’s] mouth.”

For Penn’s Latino community, Donald Trump stopped being funny when he started labeling undocumented immigrants as criminals and rapists. College senior Yessenia Moreno, who wrote an article for The Daily Pennsylvanian on Trump in July, is angered by Trump’s message. “His immigration rhetoric is xenophobic and racist in nature. He generalized an entire community. Of course it was offensive,” she said. “Being from a Mexican origin, it’s obviously hurtful because he’s talking about my family and me. He’s also feeding into stereotypes that the Latino community often has to fend off.”

While Trump has insisted that he’s only denouncing “illegal immigration,” there’s a reason that so many anti-immigrant voters are backing him. Many Americans are frightened by Latino immigration and its effects. A 2014 Ipsos/Reuters poll found that 63 percent of Americans think immigrants burden the economy while only 17 percent favor more legal immigration to the United States. Trump is taking advantage of this anxiety, making life harder for America’s Latino population. “Most Latino people don’t know whether to laugh or cry,” College sophomore Ricardo Martinez said. “It’s a living nightmare.”

But Donald Trump is more than a joke, bigot or scourge to the Republican Party’s electoral chances. He’s a dangerous candidate, and Penn students should be worried about his growing chances of occupying the White House.

“The Donald” has a clear lead over his Republican primary rivals in the polls. Trump currently leads the second ranking candidate, neurosurgeon Ben Carson, by over 10 points in the Real Clear Politics polling average.

Yet, many media pundits are confident Donald Trump will not win the Republican nomination. But why this confidence? Donald Trump is self-funding his campaign, so he won’t be forced to drop out for financial reasons like Rick Perry. Furthermore, as The Washington Post’s Eugene Robinson points out, “a stunning 64 percent of self-described conservative Republicans want someone from outside the existing political establishment.” Undoubtedly, Trump meets that demand.

Some more liberal-leaning readers may be unconcerned about Trump winning the GOP nomination. After all, Hillary Clinton would surely crush Trump in the general election. But would she? According to the Real Clear Politics polling average, Hillary Clinton leads Donald Trump by just under three points. Furthermore, the polling has recently trended in Trump’s favor. The most recent CNN/ORC poll shows Clinton and Trump in a dead heat, while the most recent SurveyUSA poll shows Trump with a five-point lead. Worried now?

You should be. Many of Penn’s Latino students certainly are, including Martinez. “If Trump became president, it would be a nightmare for most Latinos. Nobody knows what he would do,” he said. “Donald Trump should be considered a serious candidate. Students should take heed of what he says.”

Penn hasn’t had a presidential alumnus since William Henry Harrison. If Donald Trump changes that, we won’t be laughing then. We shouldn’t be laughing now.

LOUIS CAPOZZI is a College senior from Mechanicsburg, Pa., studying classics and history. His email address is capozzil@sas.upenn.edu. “Citizen Capozzi” usually appears every other Monday.

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