As a nation built on the foundations of acceptance and diversity, the news that I’ve heard over the past few days has been sickening and disturbing to read. Donald Trump, the Re- publican front-runner for Presi- dent (for now, at least) issued a plan to ban all Muslims from entering the United States of America for any reason, ranging from refugee status to a tourist visa.

As soon as this news hit the airwaves, all hell broke loose. Liberals quickly bashed Trump, blasting his ideas into orbit, as well they should. But it wasn’t just them. Conservatives FI- NALLY called Trump out for what he was: incompetent.

Chris Christie said that these ideas were “the kinds of things that people say when they have no idea what they’re talking about.” Jeb Bush called Trump “unhinged,” and the Super PAC supporting him let loose with an ad that attacked Trump for his words in the past. John Ka- sich called this policy another reason as to why he is “entirely unsuited to lead the United States.” And finally, to round out this plethora of conserva- tive criticism, even Ben Carson said that he wouldn’t advocate for selection based on religion in choosing who to allow into this country. Ben Carson. Think about that.

Trump, in my opinion, is an awful person. The first reason? Trump is a Racist, capital R. From his attacks on Mexican immigrants, calling them “murderers and rapists” to his defense of supporters who publicly attacked a black man at one of his rallies. His comments then turned sexist when he attributed a female reporter’s tough ques- tions to be a result of her men- strual cycle. His most recent escapade involved mocking the movements of a disabled New York Times reporter named Serge Kovaleski who has arthro- gryposis, a condition that affects joint movement. It would ap- pear that Trump has no qualms about attacking anyone, and his blatantly ignorant and bigoted statements only serve to alienate and disgust people of all groups.

The second reason? Donald Trump is, based on his actions, quite possibly the worst thing for the Republican Party at this point and time. Not only has Trump managed to alienate peo- ple all over the world, he gives the Republican Party a tone of bigotry and bombastic state- ments because his opponents in the party never really called him out on his statements. That is, until now. Trump will split the base of the super conserva- tive faction and take away votes from the Republican who will eventually win the primary. How will he do this? Simple. He’ll run as an independent be- cause he thinks he has a chance. This will split the Republican vote and give the Democrats an easy road to victory because there won’t be a clear majority.

Trump’s bigoted statements also bring back a disgusting memory of Nazi Fascism. It’s eerie and terrifying to see how

similar some of his statements are to Hitler’s own, with the de- porting of Muslims and his idea to set up a Muslim Registry Da- tabase. On top of that, Muslims would be forced to enter into it. It’s terrifying, to be honest, and people are going with it. It’s ab- solutely wrong, and if you don’t think so, ask yourself if you would want to be treated that way.

Donald Trump is not only the worst option for Republicans, but he is exactly the opposite of what we perceive American values to be. He is the veritable boogeyman, and his rhetoric will destroy the credibility of American politics if left un- checked. Trump’s pompous and bigoted statements need to end, and he has no place in politics. Period.