Tuesdays with Media: A Real-world Troll

About a year ago, I defined what an internet troll is in order to explain some principles of proper communication.  Today, I want to focus on why some people become trolls in the first place by using as an example, someone who does not limit themselves to saying terrible things on the internet:

Not all trolls live under bridges.

Donald Trump is currently pretending to run for the Republican Presidential nomination, but don't be fooled into thinking that he's serious about it.  Since he announced his candidacy, he's only said inflammatory things that would be sure to be passed around every news outlets.  Are there other candidates that are campaigning that we should have stronger borders?  Sure, but the rest are diplomatic about it, not saying that Mexicans "are rapists," among other terrible things.  Even his supporters thought he crossed the line when he implied that a female debate moderator was acting crazy because she was menstruating.

Trump has no previous political experience, his company has filed for bankruptcy four times, and he's changed party alignment as frequently as most people change socks.  This is not a man that has any real chance at becoming president.  The only reason it looks like he has a chance right now is that there are way too many GOP candidates right now.  Once things shake out a bit, Trump will drop out, just like he did the last time he ran.

If you're of the opinion that any publicity is good publicity, like Trump apparently is, then trolling is a very effective technique.  If, however, you actually want to both make a positive difference within our country and convince people to agree with you, then you may want to stick with showing how diplomatic you can be.  So, for the foreseeable future, expect Trump to show up in news headlines -- in strictly negative ways.