Joe Lane
[email protected]

To open the day on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,000 points, then closed with a loss of more than 580 points. According to CNN, this 588-point drop was the worst the Dow had seen since August 2011. These plunges all come after a historically terrible week for the important economic indicators.

It is clear that, amid economic slowdowns and currency devaluations in China, the global economy is shaken up. As Tim Courtney, chief investment officer of Exencial Wealth Advisers explains in an Associated Press piece, “Investors are wondering if growth isn’t coming from the U.S. or China, where is it going to come from?” Growth hasn’t been a major topic of interest among presidential hopefuls.

In the process, the economy has taken a back seat. Currency devaluations and economic slowdowns are almost never a good thing in our increasingly globalized society. However, the economic conditions in China may be enough to force the American public and its presidential candidates to see the importance the economy plays in nearly all aspects of life. But, frighteningly, it may also drive more voters toward the runaway train that is the Donald Trump campaign.

While nearly every candidate has voiced her or his opinions and plans for the economy, the issue has not played out as much on the airwaves as the U.S. moves further out of the Great Recession. Taking to Twitter last week, Trump reminded the American public, “As I have long stated, we are so tied in with China and Asia that their markets are now taking the U.S. market down. Get smart, USA.”

Whether or not Trump is in fact the visionary he claims to be — arguing in opposition of the trend that is globalization — he is, in typical Trump fashion, asserting something that other candidates might not be.

Some would say that I grew up in the Golden Age of reality television.The fact is, however, that college students today grew up in a world in which seemingly half the programs on TV were reality shows. Perhaps one of the most famous of all was Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice.”

Known for his business acumen, Trump has made a name for himself as a reality TV star. And, going on what he knows best, he has turned this 2016 presidential election into another reality show. But the worst part is that the generation that grew up watching him is eating it up. As sources for The Atlantic explained in an article from earlier this summer, Trump may not be the brilliant businessman he portrays on TV.

According to The Atlantic, an individual referred to as “an American businessman with more than 30 years’ experience in international finance” says about Trump, “As a businessman/banker: what a joke. He’s gone into bankruptcy three times.”

There can be no denying that the economy on a global and domestic scale must become a more important issue in the upcoming election. The generation that witnessed firsthand the worst U.S. economic crises since the Great Depression is preparing to vote in a presidential election for only the first, second, or third time. Before Trump can capitalize on economic downturns, candidates without a catch phrase courtesy of Mark Burnett need to start speaking up about the economy.