Why Trump is gaining momentum

 Republican front runner Donald Trump speaking to an audience (Photo by europe.newsweek.com)

Republican front runner Donald Trump speaking to an audience (Photo by europe.newsweek.com)

The results of Super Tuesday, the largest day for primaries in America, have shown that Donald Trump is looking to be the likely Republican candidate for the 2016 presidential election. Super Tuesday is known as being a prediction of what the rest of the primaries will look like, and Trump won seven out of eleven states for a total of 329 delegates, nearly 100 more than runner up Ted Cruz.

Since his announcement of his presidential campaign, which many originally viewed as a joke, Trump has grown to become the most popular Republican candidate and is continuing to gain momentum. Many people are wondering how the controversial business man with no experience in politics has gained such large followings and support over his rivaling candidates, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, both of whom have a history in politics.

Not even political experts expected that Trump would be so successful. In December of 2015, several political experts spoke to BBC News about Trump’s odds of winning.

Rebecca Deen, professor of political science at University of Texas, said that it was possible but not likely that he would win the nomination. Kyle Kondik, an analyst of political campaigns at the University of Virginia, said that Trump most likely would not receive the nomination.

One can’t help but wonder how someone with no past experience in politics has managed to do so well in the running for president, a phenomenon that even experts predicted would not happen.

One of the main reasons that people seem to support Trump is because of his thoughts on what immigration policies should be like in America. He wants to impose a strict immigration policy, which is represented by his famous idea to build a wall between the United States and Mexico.

Terry and Norma Sweet, a married couple, told CNN why they support Trump’s thoughts on immigration. They said Norma came to the country 13 years ago from the Philippines and that she has been a citizen for 8 years, and Terry said his wife is an example of immigration done “correctly.”

“It’s not fair to her to let the illegals stay here. She does everything right. She works, she pays taxes, she votes,” he said.

Many of those who do not support Trump have speculations as to why he is winning despite the large amount of open dislike that he receives. Sydney Stoewer, Normal West senior, said, “I think that people like him because he does and says whatever he wants and people like to see drama, and he definitely creates it.”

One Trump supporter confirmed that this speculation has some truth to it. Curt Handschug, an independent voter from Columbus, Ohio, who voted for Barack Obama in 2012, said Trump’s willingness to speak the truth makes him stand out.

“Sometimes he’ll say things, and I’ll go, ‘Oh gosh, seriously?’ But at least he’s willing to say it. All these politicians are afraid to tell the truth,” Handschug told CNN at a Trump rally.

Another West student, junior Kattiemae Grey, gave a statement that many people agree with. “I don’t understand how he’s winning when so many people say they hate him.”

Although it is true that many people openly speak their dislike for Trump, polls have shown that even with the amount of hatred he receives, Donald Trump is coming close to securing the nomination as the Republican candidate for president.