Americans are captivated by Donald Trump’s campaign for presidency, and not because he’s the best candidate. 

Outlandish proclamations, empty promises and disrespectful quotes toward women, minorities and nearly all Americans whom he disagrees with have earned him his popularity. He is proving that any publicity is good publicity. 

Trump has been a frequent headline-maker in the media in recent months and the subject of too many social media conversations. As November nears, Americans are beginning to realize Donald Trump’s campaign isn’t a joke after all.

He is delegitimizing American politics one crazy comment or tweet at a time and is ultimatelyembarrassing the United States on an international level. He’s continuously emphasized his plan to make America great again, but who’s to say America isn’t already great? 

His entire political platform relies on the idea that Americans are desperate and in need of a savior to return the nation to prosperity, and he suggests he’s exactly that.  

This year’s presidential election is strikingly similar to the political shift seen in Europe nearly a century ago, when nations like Germany were desperate for a change in leadership. Leaders preyed on citizens’ vulnerabilities and lack of faith in past political systems to gain popularity. 

The majority of Trump’s campaign relies on the ideas that he will make America great, fix everythingwrong and that he is the best candidate in the race. His claims and promises are unsubstantiated, and he has yet to explain actual solutions to the problems the U.S. faces today and, with that, is playing the American people for fools.

Last week, former governor of Massachusetts and 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney made headlines for calling Trump a phony and a fraud who is playing citizens for suckers. 

Romney is exactly right. Trump fired back by recalling that Romney asked Trump for his support in his 2012 campaign. This is an example of how the Republican Party is falling apart. Trump is in this election solely for himself and to promote his own agenda. 

Not too many years ago, Americans were captivated by the widely known Occupy Wall Street movement — a movement which criticized the top 1 percent of the richest citizens in the nation and fought to change the issue of income inequality. Americans seemed to have forgotten the value of the Occupy movement and who itcriticized, exactly. 

Trump is the 1 percent. He is one of the richest people in the nation and does little for the lower-to middle-class in the U.S. What is even more baffling is how Americans have latched onto his empty promises, having faith in his worthless claims. 

Looking at Trump’s campaign for the presidency from a different perspective, how does his campaign influence America’s appearance to the rest of the world? An island in Canada has already offered refuge to Americans if and when Trump becomes president. Ironically enough, Google announced that after Super Tuesday last week, searches for “How to move to Canada” hit an all-time high. 

Trump is making a farce of America and undermining the power of democracy. America is supposed to be the most powerful country in the world, and though that’s still true, Trump is making it hard to maintain that reputation. 

Americans who see through his campaign are scared for the future of the nation. Some have even compared Trump to Hitler — a comparison that initially seems hard to imagine, but it’s a situation that is frighteningly foreseeable.  

Trump is merely a businessman and a reality TV star. Since when did America’s richest citizens and reality TV hosts become viable candidates for president? 

If being rich and famous are the new qualifications for becoming president, Americans are better off with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West taking over the White House. 

Young people hold a significant amount of power in the upcoming presidential elections and, hopefully, they will understand it’snot enough to deem Trump as an unacceptable candidate for president. 

It’s even more important to register to vote by May 23 and visit the polls in June to denounce hate-driven politics.