Donald Trump at a campaign rally. Photo from Flickr/La Real Noticia. 

By Jesse Friedlander
Contributing Writer

Donald Trump is sticking by his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, after he was charged with simple battery this past week.

Michelle Fields, a reporter for Breitbart News Network, said that at a Trump press conference on March 8, a man grabbed her arm and yanked her down. Ben Terris, a reporter for The Washington Post identified the man as Lewandowski.

Lewandowski originally denied the incident, stating that he never touched Ms. Fields. Surveillance footage of the event shows otherwise. When Fields went to the Jupiter Police Department to file a a police report which noted that Fields’ arm showed “bruising from what appeared to be several finger marks indicating a grabbing-type injury.”

Somehow, Fields is the one without a job after the interaction. While Trump has publicly supported Lewandowski. Fields resigned after Breitbart News did not stand by her.

On CBS’ Face The Nation, Trump stated that he didn’t want to “ruin a man’s life”, over a minor encounter. Trump did say that if Fields was thrown to the ground Lewandowski would be fired instantaneously. Whether or not Fields almost fell is not the major issue here. Video footage shows an interaction that should have never happened.

Most politicians would probably fire anyone who worked on their campaign if a scandal like this occurred. But not Trump. Trump isn’t a politician, and this may be a large part of why he is dominating the Republican primary.

With the way the government has acted in recent years, it doesn’t represent Abraham Lincoln’s vision of “a government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” Simply put, the government is no longer really “for the people.” Many politicians now seem to care more about reelection than to pass legislature. This may be a small reason as to why Trump has so many supporters and is a legitimate Presidential candidate.

The circus that is Donald Trump’s campaign continues to succeed despite the media seemingly laughing at the Presidential candidate. Trump’s ludicrous statements get more air time than any other politicians. The biggest one is that he will build a wall between Mexico and the United States as president. The fact of the matter is that Trump’s possible executive powers are minimal. Many of the things he claims he would do as president would never get by Congress, just like several things Obama has proposed during his presidency.

This is different though. This isn’t another outlandish statement. This is him supporting someone who clearly committed a crime on video. This is a legitimate presidential candidate standing up for something that is clearly wrong. This isn’t your average person standing up for this. He is a presidential candidate. He is someone who should be a model citizen and the face of this country.

As a nation we must ask ourselves the question, “Are we comfortable with Donald Trump being the face of our country?”