By Nicholas Bostick 

Editor-in-Chief

As the race for the 2016 Presidental candidacy approaches, questions are being fired from all sides and The Courier is weighing in.

As part one of a three-part op-ed series in which two Courier staffers will give their thoughts on a possible candidate. First up is Republican front-runner Donald Trump.

There is no doubting the genius of Donald Trump, and when he becomes the 45th president of the U.S., no one should be surprised.

I, like many people, regarded the rumors in 2012 of Trump running for president as no more than click-bait fodder.

But after announcing his 2016 campaign on June 16, his approval rating skyrocketed by more than 50 points, according to nbcnews.com. And even after a spotted performance at the second Republican debate on Sept. 16, Trump retains a commanding lead over his Republican rivals.

According to a poll released by CNN and ORC International on Sept. 20, not only does Trump lead in who Republican voters think should win the nomination, but also in who they think would best handle the economy, illegal immigration and even foreign policy.

In fact, the only metric Trump doesn’t lead in is social issues, such as abortion and same-sex marriage. People believe in Trump’s promise to make America great again. And Trump has nearly ensured his victory with the people by taking advantage of one key factor: compositional amenities.

A paper released in 2009 by the National Bureau of Economic Research coined this term which, according to a New York Times opinion article by Thomas Edsall, refers to the comfort people feel when surrounded by others who share the same religious beliefs, language and traditions.

Sound familiar? It should. It’s the same principle the Tea Party exploited in 2010. They played on fear and frustration, backed 138 candidates in Congressional elections, and won 39 seats in the House of Representatives and five in the Senate, according to nytimes.com.

But Trump has the charisma, business acumen and, most importantly, the money to outshine the brightest Tea Party star. Think about it: would you ever pick Sarah Palin over Trump?

As for winning the support of the people, Edsall refers to a series of polls conducted by the Pew Research Center. According to those polls, 60 percent of Republicans believe the growing number of people coming into the U.S. threatens traditional American values.

On Trump’s campaign site, donaldjtrump.com, the only two platform topics listed are immigration reform and second amendment rights. Trump is focused on that 60 percent of Republicans, but there’s a bigger demographic Trump is reaching.

According to a poll conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute, 55 percent of Christian men and 50 percent of Christian women believe that discrimination against whites is as big a problem as discrimination against blacks and other minorities. The lowest percentage of people who were polled and agreed was still 37 percent.

When that many people in America believe immigration is hurting the country, is it any wonder Trump wants to build a wall across the border? And who would be better than Trump, a real estate mogul with $9 billion, to build it?

Trump is, first and foremost, a businessman, and he has approached the campaign trail as such. Only instead of maximizing profits, he’s looking to maximize votes by offering the American people the chance to elect someone with a proven track-record of success, a keen fiscal mind and the brash confidence to stare America’s enemies in the eye and say, “you’re fired.”

To top it off, he doesn’t need to court lobbyists, special interest groups or greedy Wall Street hedge-fund managers to win the election. He’s paying his own way, and relying on the American people to invest in his crusade.

“A writer at The New York Times [told me] ‘it’s been amazing what you’ve done,’” Trump said at a recent speech in Dallas. “But I said ‘I haven’t won,’ we haven’t won anything … I mean, I’m having fun and all, but I haven’t won. There’s been no victory. He said ‘It doesn’t matter, what you’ve done is incredible, you have won.’ I said ‘You’re wrong. Unless I win, it’s been a waste of time for me, folks. I have to be honest with you.’”

Trump plays for keeps, and that’s why he should be our next president.

And let’s be honest, most of the world views Americans as loud-mouthed and brash, hot-headed and extravegent. But far too often these characteristics are viewed as negatives.

After seeing our current president on obscure indie-podcast after obscure indie-Internet show, it would be a welcome change to have a leader whose eccentricities aren’t apparent just to pander to millennials.

It’d be nice to have a leader with some backbone.