Watch Jimmy Fallon Mess Up Trump's Hair

This presidential election seems to have been like no other. For example, a former reality TV star has successfully garnered enough support to become the nominee of a major political party and without having offered any clear policy platforms along the way. But that doesn't matter because we, as Americans, don't care about policies, we care about hair. That's why Jimmy Fallon touching Donald Trump's hair is apparently all that matters this election.

On Thursday, Sept. 15, Trump made a guest appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Fallon asked the one important question we've all been wondering. No, it didn't have anything to do with Trump's racist immigration policies, or his anti-Muslim rhetoric, or the time he overlooked the police killings of African-Americans and instead suggested that "The attacks on our police ... threaten our very way of life." What Fallon asked was way more important: "Can I mess your hair up?"

What happened next will shock you. Trump — turning his head to the camera with his piercing gaze targeting the viewers watching from home, his reality star ways so engrained in his character — said, "The answer is yes, but the people of New Hampshire where I'm going to be an hour from now, I hope they understand." You can watch the full clip of Fallon getting up close and personal with Trump, a presidential candidate arguably known best for his hair:

Fallon's segment was met with criticism. One user, writer Jon Levett, took to Twitter to suggest, "What did you do tonight? I tousled a racist's hair to make him seem more likeable because I do NOT do politics." Fallon's show is about entertainment and comedy. In some ways, he is able to humanize people we as a public both love, hate, and love to hate. I will always think about the segment he did where he takes country singer Blake Shelton out for sushi. It was funny and it made Shelton seem like a real person, but do we need to make Trump "likable," as Levett's comment points out? He's done so much to prove he's hard to like.

There is something to be said about inviting Trump to make an appearance, only to play with his hair. Don't get me wrong, the story behind Trump's hair is compelling. It has made headlines throughout this election and has been at the center of various jokes and memes. But that's a problem. It's irresponsible to look at Trump and his campaign as simply a joke at this point. Trump is polling at 44.2 percent, behind Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's 45.7 percent, according to RealClearPolitics. And with early voting just around the corner, I'm not sure we can really afford to keep joking about Trump's candidacy.

Images: YouTube/The Tonight Show (1)