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6 Ways Donald Trump Is Basically Regina George

by Lauren Holter

America has never seen a presidential campaign quite like Donald Trump's. The Republican frontrunner used to be a Democrat, has no political experience, frequently attacks people on Twitter, and doesn't care about political correctness or the potential backlash against what comes out of his mouth. In trying to understand Trump's success thus far, critics have compared him to Ronald Reagan, Vladimir Putin, and even Adolf Hitler. And while he does share commonalities with all of those, Donald Trump is actually the Regina George of the 2016 election.

Trump's unwavering popularity and harsh treatment of others together make him a quintessential mean girl (yes, grown men can be mean girls too). Much like the Mean Girls character who defined the term, Trump often doesn't think about how his words will hurt others, and sometimes uses them for the sole purpose of belittling people (i.e. his Twitter rants). It's already been established that if the presidential race were high school, Trump would be the rich bully who throws extravagant parties and makes fun of everyone around him, and that's exactly what Regina embodies.

Here are six ways Trump is just like the Mean Girls queen bee you love to hate, minus the minidresses, pink sweatpants, and tragic bus accident.

The "Wall Of Shame"

New York Magazine writer Gabriel Sherman discovered that there's a "wall of shame" inside Trump Towers featuring photos of the 13 former GOP presidential candidates who have dropped out of the race. All the photos show them looking extremely sad or shocked, with the date they ended their bids handwritten underneath. The "wall of shame" is very reminiscent of a certain mean girl's "burn book," which contained photos and nasty comments about every junior girl at North Shore High School.

He's Into Appearances

As a popular high-schooler, Regina cares a lot about her appearance (Kalteen bars, anyone?) and always critiques how others look. Though Trump isn't exactly a beauty queen, he constantly comments on women's appearances, from Heidi Cruz to Carly Fiorina. Just like the leader of the Plastics, Trump's focus on women's looks is usually negative, condescending, and/or derogatory.

He's Always Right

Trump told Jimmy Fallon in September: "I fully think apologizing's a great thing, but you have to be wrong." The only time Trump has apologized during his campaign was after criticizing the appearance of one opponent's wife, but even then it wasn't a real apology. Real mean girls know they're always right, and don't say "sorry" for anything. Regina George's minions had to agree with everything she said or suffer her wrath.

He Talks A Lot

Trump loves to talk. He dominated every Republican presidential debate he attended, shutting down his opponents quickly and giving long-winded answers. If there's one thing high school girls are good at, it's talking — and Regina is no exception. When she didn't like what someone was saying, or just didn't want to hear a voice other than hers, she would tell them to shut up with a look of complete disgust on her face.

He's Rich

The original mean girl lives in a huge house, always has an expensive and trendy outfit on, and drives a new convertible. Trump's wealth is at an even larger scale; Forbes claims that the real estate magnate is worth $4.5 billion.

He Thinks Everyone's Obsessed With Him

Cady Heron goes undercover as a Plastic because Janis Ian is still furious that Regina thought Janis had a crush on her in middle school, starting a rumor that she was a lesbian. Similarly, Trump's campaign said that Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly is "totally obsessed" with the candidate to explain why she continues to cover his campaign. After all, it couldn't simply be that she's a journalist and he's the leading Republican presidential candidate.

Now, only one question remains: Will Trump's story have a catastrophic ending like Regina's?

Images: Giphy, Paramount Pictures