Stop protesting Trump — it’s helping him.

There has been an odd fascination with protesting the campaign rallies of Donald Trump this election season. And by protesting, I mean committing riot-like acts in front of the national audience that make it seem as if someone committed a heinous act.

To those of you who think this is a great idea, you’re part of the problem; you’re as big a reason for Trump getting elected as the failures of the Republicans in Congress over the past couple years.

On April 29 in California, Trump was forced to make an unusual entrance to the California GOP Convention, while protesters blocked streets and made calls to “Dump Trump.” They did not realize that the people inside, as with most Republicans, could not care less what they thought.

And, dear protester, this is the reason Trump is winning.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not a Trump person. I consider myself vehemently #NeverTrump. Yet these displays of hooliganism give the pro-Trump voices a reason to scream louder and make people like me think, “Maybe Trump is onto something” (and for that, I resent you). During the Chicago protests at the Trump rally, the news covered the incident nonstop for 24 hours and left many Republicans thinking just that.

After years of “our guys” — real conservatives — being protested by the same people who sit outside of Trump rallies, Republicans have learned to sympathize with the guy being hammered by oddly violent protesters.

This is what protesters are doing — they’re making people, the electorate, sympathize with Trump. The protesters are saying that Trump incites violence when they are the ones perpetuating it. The protesters say that Trump spews his country-dividing hate speech, but when asked by reporters they spew vitriol right back at the camera. The protesters talk about free speech, but fundamentally misunderstand the concept themselves.

Dear protester, you are creating an environment where Trump thrives. Not only can he use this to make himself the victim (and, in a way, he is), Trump is able to use these protests to swing thousands of voters to his side as they look at hate and vitriol usually reserved for, as I said above, “the good guys.”

It is an utterly fantastical backfire that hurts the two Republicans trying to enact a positive change to the country: John Kasich and Ted Cruz, who dropped out of the race this week because he didn’t feel he had the support to continue.

While volunteering for the University of Houston GOP debate and gaining clear view of the beating of the Trump effigy, I heard comments about the barbarity of such an act and how such acts are suited for a politically corrupt third-world country. It shows what the protesters are doing: creating a Trump presidency.

You’re just making your own people look bad. During the fateful times when protesters are out in full force, harassing families and stopping rallies, not even the liberals in the media can defend you against their own antagonist. You are part of the problem.

On Jan. 20, 2017, if it is President-elect Trump standing across from Chief Justice Roberts and getting sworn in to the nation’s highest office, know that you, dear protester, have helped to make that happen.

Hopefully, then, you’ll realize what you’ve done.

Opinion columnist Jorden Smith is a political science junior and president of the College Republicans. He can be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com 

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“Protesters create unintended Trump support” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar