People Are Attacking Trump's "Scary" Campaign

Donald Trump says the darnedest things. But sometimes, it's what other people say about Trump that really sums up what we're all thinking. In his brief time as a politician, Trump has attacked not just his fellow candidates, but also whole groups of voters — including women, Latinos, and Muslims. He's built up quite a list of enemies, yet surprisingly, he still steadily leads Republican polls.

Although Trump leads the most recent Reuters poll, with 31 percent of the Republican primary vote, it's important to note that he may be on the decline. In the span of a week, his support fell 12 percentage points. That would make for the largest decline the Trump campaign has seen since its July launch. The drop in the polls comes as Trump once repeats controversial comment he made about Muslim-Americans. On Sunday, he stood by his allegation that Muslims in New Jersey celebrated 9/11. It's the second week in a row that he has made the claim. In lieu of evidence, he has backed up the assertion by referring to his "very good memory."

Putting polls and Trump's comments aside, people have reason to turn the tide and call him out as a candidate. He has little political experience, including virtually no real-world experience with issues like foreign policy and defense. Although it's normally Trump's comments that dominate the news cycle, the conversation about him isn't always flattering. And that's probably a good thing.

1. "It's Kind Of Scary"

On Sunday, Jeb Bush appeared on CBS's Face the Nation, where he called Trump's candidacy "kind of scary." Like many people, Bush said he wanted to give Trump a chance. That seems fair. Also like many people, Bush feels that Trump hasn't lived up to his potential job as president:

I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt to see how the campaign unfolded. But if you listen to him talk, it's kind of scary to be honest with you, because he's not a serious candidate.

Trump's fellow candidates have been hesitant to outright insult him. When asked during the first Republican primary debate in September if they would trust Trump with control of nuclear weapons, Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina wouldn't directly attack him. Bush's latest comments, though, couldn't be much clearer.

2. "A Walking Punch Line"

Before dropping out of the presidential race, Bobby Jindal wasn't shy about his feelings toward Trump. Back in September, he published a very strongly worded op-ed on CNN's website which focused solely on Trump and what Jindal saw as his inability to lead the country:

We do need to eradicate political correctness. But we will not achieve that by nominating a walking punch line.

While some of the attacks in the op-ed come across as overboard and mean-spirited, Jindal makes a good point by saying that Trump may be a "great entertainer" and a successful businessman, but that doesn't mean he'd make a good president.

3. Not A "Mainstream Conservative"

Mitt Romney may have lost a presidential election of his own, but he was at least successful enough to win the Republican nomination in 2012. This time around, Romney has said repeatedly that he doesn't think Trump will be successful — in part because of what he's not.

My party has historically nominated someone who's a mainstream conservative and someone who has a foundation in foreign policy that gives people confidence that they can guide the ship of state in troubled waters.

Whether you like Trump or not, it's hard to argue that he's a mainstream conservative, or that he has foreign policy experience.

4. "Outrageous" Behavior

On Sunday, The New York Times defended one of its reporters in an ongoing battle with Trump, related to Trump's comments about Muslim-Americans. Trump claims that a story written by Serge Kovaleski supports his claim that Muslims celebrated 9/11, but Kovaleski and the Times say that it doesn't. Trump has also received criticism for gesturing wildly with his arms when referencing Kovaleski during a rally. Kovaleski has a physical disability that limits the use of his arms. The Times said Sunday what we've all been thinking after each of his possibly/probably/definitely offensive comments:

We continue to find this behavior outrageous.

This isn't the first time that a candidate has gotten into a battle with The Times this election season. Marco Rubio previously claimed that the paper had misrepresented his personal finances. With Trump, though, the conflict unfortunately turned toward the physical disability of the reporter.

5. "No Internal Monologue"

John Oliver has an uncanny ability to speak our minds on pretty much every topic, but he recently had the opportunity to speak out about Trump in particular. Trump and Oliver had a small feud. The late-night show said he would never have Trump on his show, Last Week Tonight, while Trump said that he turned down the opportunity to go on the "very boring" show. Oliver fired back that Trump has no filter and nothing good to say.

He has no internal monologue, that man. So it's not like you're going to find the secret nugget he's been holding back. He's an open book. That book doesn't have very many interesting words in it.

Trump may have moved on to newer targets, but Oliver will likely have the opportunity to make plenty of other much-needed comments about Trump and his lack of a filter.

Trump is easily one of the most controversial presidential candidates in recent history. The qualities that make him a leader in the private sector may make him less appealing in the public sector — something that voters will have to think about as the Republican primaries grow closer.