It’s not a joke anymore.
Bee Smale, vice president of the IU College Democrats said they’ve stopped laughing at Donald Trump.
Last semester, the College Democrats put on a Trumpapalooza event to poke fun at Trump’s bid for the White House. This Wednesday, after Trump’s recent primary victories in Michigan and Mississippi, the College Democrats organized the Trumpocalypse.
At Trumpalooza, blindfolded players pinned toupees on Donald Trumps. Attendees ate cookies, watched Saturday Night Live skits mocking Trump and took quizzes attributing quotes to either Trump or a James Bond villain.
At Trumpocalypse, 20 IU students discussed their worst fears about a Trump presidency. They didn’t play games. There were no snacks.
Donald Trump leads the Republican primaries by 99 delegates and is gaining support from Republican establishment members like New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
“He’s winning primary state after primary state,” Smale said. “We have to take him seriously.”
IU College Democrats President Kegan Ferguson led a PowerPoint presentation on why he believes Donald Trump should not be president.
Ferguson began the presentation by listing several of Trump’s failed business ventures, including Trump University, Trump Vodka, Trump Airlines, Trump water and Trump steaks. Ferguson also said Trump’s real estate business has filed for bankruptcy.
Sophomore Sean Hall, who identifies as conservative and will vote in the Indiana Republican primary in May, said he was surprised by Trump’s record.
“He’s not as business savvy as he makes himself seem,” Hall said.
Ferguson then asked students to name the most offensive thing they’ve heard Donald Trump say.
“That’d he’d bring back torture, even if it doesn’t work.”
“How he’s basically been at war with the other candidates.”
“The weird stuff he’s said about wanting to bang his daughter.”
Many of the students at Trumpocalypse said they were concerned with what they perceive as his racist rhetoric.
“Donald Trump rallies are basically becoming white nationalist congregations,” Ferguson said.
He then played a video about a Muslim woman named Rose Hamid evicted from a Donald Trump rally.
Ferguson tied Trump’s rhetoric to violent incidents against Muslims in Indiana, including the recent murder of three Muslim teenagers in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and a death threat received by Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN), one of two Muslim Congresspeople.
“This issue is never going to get better,” Ferguson said. “ I think we’re going to see more and more incidents at his rallies and more and more violence as he continue to legitimize hate in his campaign.”
The PowerPoint concluded with a list of international leaders who have publicly condemned Donald Trump. In addition to Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who compared Trump to Hitler, the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Israel and Iran have all spoken against Trump.
“You know when Iran and Israel agree on something, it’s a big deal,” Ferguson said.
Attendees of Trumpocalypse 2016 were invited to take pictures with “Never Trump” signs to explain why they would never vote for Donald Trump.
“We want to get as many IU students as possible to say they would never vote for a racist, sexist bigot,” Ferguson said.
