As the election draws closer, tensions continue to grow across the country. Republican. Democrat. Seldom in our history has our country been this divided. An extremist right-wing candidate isn’t going to help. Donald Trump is a racist, homophobic, misogynistic man who is unfit for president. He manipulates the people and authoritatively imposes his will upon whomever he deems is in his path. However, what will have a most significant lasting impact is how he has called the American political system “rigged” and how he has questioned the honesty of our media.

  According to the American Press Institute, America primarily consumes information through television. Trump has questioned the bias of the biggest news organizations.

  “If the disgusting and corrupt media covered me honestly and didn’t put false meaning into the words I say, I would be beating Hillary by 20%,” said Trump on his infamous Twitter account.

  Trump is manipulating the perceptions of the American people, convincing them that the establishment is against him, which is a direct appeal to the conspiracy-theorists and anti-establishment voters. He is undermining the media with his ridiculous claims, and creating doubt within the people. He is also creating the perception that if he does not win the election, it will not be because he is a worthy candidate, but rather that the establishment is against him. The media is against him. His own party is against him. And he’s not wrong. Everyone is against him, bar his supporters, because he is unfit for office. Very few people want to see a Trump presidency, but some would rather vote for an extremist than a “crooked” candidate, as Trump says all too often.

  Trump also has attempted to silence those who would make him seem illegitimate, as he did for a period with The Washington Post. Trump revoked the Post’s credentials, citing that the coverage was “incredibly inaccurate.” Trump is wrong, however, and as the Post and other organizations have reported, he lies. A lot. According to Politifact.com, a nonpartisan fact-checking organization, 70% of Trump’s statements in 2015 were either mostly false or completely fabricated. This is compared to Hillary Clinton’s 26% in 2015, meaning that Trump lies almost three times as much as Clinton, yet according to a CNN.com poll run in September, 35% of American’s trust Clinton, while 50% trust Trump. The American people, by being uninformed, are giving a man the power to manipulate and potentially destroy the American way of life. Ultimately, destroying American freedom. He wants to ‘temporarily’ ban Muslims from entering the country, which violates freedom of religion. He has prevented press organizations from covering his events, censoring the news and limiting the freedom of press. He wants to monitor the Muslim community, which would violate the freedom to assemble, all of which are guaranteed as rights by the First Amendment. Donald Trump essentially is proposing a coup, throwing away what our country values most: our freedom.