Any publicity is good publicity, and Donald Trump is by far the most publicized candidate in the 2016 presidential election.
Almost every news site in the nation is constantly covering Trump’s every move. This media boost gave the man who everyone originally thought was running as a joke more than fair chance at becoming our nation’s next leader.
To do our part in making America great again, this will be our last article that focuses on Trump.
When he announced that he was going to build a wall to protect America from Mexican immigrants, it was the front page article on almost every major news site in the country. Even though most of the articles stressed the absurdity of the statement, the fact that so many publications were discussing it pushed Trump up on the polls.
Ever since Trump announced his candidacy, the one thing that he has not had to worry about was publicity. The one thing he didn’t have to pay for, or better yet, borrow from his company to pay for, was publicity.
We will not allow Trump to take advantage of our readers anymore. He did not pay us to publicize him; even if it was in a mocking light, he was still in the spotlight. Therefore, from this day forward, we will no longer be providing Trump with free publicity that he does not deserve. We are denying him the satisfaction of his name being in yet another headline, because whether the article makes him look good or bad, the fact that his name is in the headline is what needs to stop.
Marketing his name benefits him in two places — his presidential candidacy and his company. Because of his company’s arguable success but obvious financial power, Trump’s name is often associated with power and success. However, Donald Trump is far from being a man worthy of praise or admiration.
America has overlooked the clear distinction between the brand name Trump and the man himself, which is only benefiting him. In order not to be associated with the man or the brand name, we are just going to eliminate any reporting on both.
We are acting as concerned Americans, as journalists, and as high school students trying to make a change, not with a vote that most of us aren’t old enough to contribute, but with the power we already have. Social media has become a huge part of the current elections, so it’s not enough for just one news site to boycott Trump.
Anytime there’s a funny meme with Trump’s face on it just begging you to retweet it, don’t. Even if it’s to mock Trump, don’t tweet out your witty remark, because that tweet carries the Trump name, and it publicizes a person who is highly unqualified and just plain wrong to be our next president.
His candidacy is something we continue to joke about, but his success in the polls is not a joke; it is a threat to our country.
Whether it’s a funny post that dehumanizes Trump or a well-developed article on why his policies sound just as bad as they are, it still publicizes him. It still promotes him to be our next president, and that is the last thing we want.
This editorial reflects the views of the Scot Scoop editorial board. This editorial was written by Megan Tao.
