Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump hit a new low yesterday, Dec. 7, with a call for a ban on all Muslims traveling to the US.
The stunt was condemned widely, including by Republican candidates. In a tweet, rival Republican candidate Jed Bush called Trump ”unhinged”:
But as Nate Silver observed in FiveThirtyEight, Trump’s often shocking statements are likely part of larger strategy. Although he been derided as an Internet “troll”—or as witty social media users have been saying for a few months, a comment section personified—it seems to be working. He is the current poll leader among Republican candidates.
So for anyone put off by his recent remarks, the only way to “trump Trump,” might be to not to reward him with attention, but to block him entirely. Luckily, an iOS app named “Trump Trump,” does just that.
The app, created by furtiv, removes news with mentions of Trump from your feed.
Unlike similar apps, such as Fusion’s Trumpweb, the new Trump Trump does not indulge in mockery or satire.
Time and again, electoral candidates around the world have sought to shape discourse around themselves. Unless Americans force themselves to forget Trump, the US race for presidential nomination risks centering increasingly around his antics.