*This column originally was printed in the Monday March 7 edition of The Daily Eastern News

Remember last June when Donald Trump announced his presidency? It was hilarious, right?

How could this man ever be taken seriously for one of most important political positions in the world? Who would ever support this man and his ridiculous ideas as president?

We all laughed about this for months. People were saying that they would vote for Trump in the primaries because there is no way he would win the presidency if he had the Republican nomination.

As 2015 ended and 2016 started, the hilarity of Donald Trump being President of the United States started to turn into a nightmare that could actually come true. His complete ignorance of certain minorities has drawn support by many who have rallied behind him.

It was reported that Trump paid actors $50 to show support during his presidential announcement rally and the rallies that followed.

I would love to believe that many of the people are still actors and do not actually support Trump, but recent caucuses and primaries have disproved that. I knew there would be Trump supporters out there, but to see how many there actually are is terrifying.

Support whoever you want, but if your only reason to support a candidate is because he “tells it like it is,” that is not enough of a reason when most things he says are just insults.

If you don’t want Trump to win the presidency then you should vote in the upcoming Illinois primary, which is during our spring break, so students don’t have an excuse to not vote.

The suggestion that having Trump win the primary only to lose in the general election is not a good option either.

In the most likely outcome based on if things continue the way they are, Trump will be facing Hillary Clinton for the 2016 presidential election. Real Clear Politics shows that Trump is only behind Clinton by 3.4 points.

The number is close, and Clinton beating Trump could be disputed with a strong voter turnout for Trump.

Voting for him in the primaries is not a strategy to have. If there is candidate you like, vote for that candidate.

Trump had a strong outing for Super Tuesday by winning seven states, and building a lead against Ted Cruz for the Republican nomination. After a weaker outing Super Saturday, Trump leads Cruz by 82 delegates, with a 389 to 302 lead. 1,237 delegates are needed for the Republican nomination.

The thought of Trump being president is not something people should be joking about anymore when there’s an actual chance this could happen.

It was all fun and games nine months ago, but the joke has worn out.

He still has a chance to lose the nomination as Cruz continues to build momentum over the last few weeks, but he still has a good chance to win.

The president is meant to be the head of state and commander-in-chief. The president is meant to implement and enforce laws written by Congress. Can we really expect Trump to do this? Is President Trump something you want to happen?

His intolerance seen all over the media should be enough of reason to not want such an intolerant individual as President. If that’s not enough, his economic policies have been reported by CNN Money, The Hill, Slate and others have reported that he would lead the U.S. into another recession.

So please end the Donald Trump for President joke now.

Chris Picazo is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-2812 or cepicazo@eiu.edu.