As with most political discussions lately, the main topic during a presentation Wednesday at Georgia Southern University was Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

The event was part of Georgia Southern's Leadership Lecture Series, developed to offer students insights from world-class leaders.

The forum kicked off with award-winning journalist Ted Koppel singing a catchy ditty about the drama surrounding the Republican Party this election year. Keppel joined fellow journalists Mara Liasson and Eugene Robinson, speaking on "2016 Elections: Voting as an Informed Citizen."

The forum was preceded by a press conference held in the Nessmith-Lane Continuing Education Center.

The focus of both events was on Trump's bizarre rise in popularity and the confusion throughout the GOP. At the press conference, Liasson said that when Trump first announced his candidacy, she thought, "This will be Trump's best day." But as time went on and his popularity snowballed, she said she was surprised.

"I don't think anybody has seen anything like this," she said.

"No one could have seen this coming," Robinson added. "This is an insane political year."

All three agreed that in a "normal" election year, the fact that a candidate like Bernie Sanders is opposing Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination would have been the story of the year. But "The Donald" has trumped that story, Robinson said. "It is his year."

Koppel pointed out that Trump "has no answers" to questions about important issues, yet people continue to show increasing support for the Republican candidate. He said that part of this is because Trump "has learned to use social media in a fashion we have never seen before."

Liasson called Trump "a perfectly viral candidate."

Robinson agreed: "Suddenly he is everywhere. He is brilliant about that."

"This is the reality TV election," Liasson said. "He knows how to keep people coming to his show. The Republican Party has been completely flummoxed by him. There have been a lot of howls of pain and anguish but no action. They are paralyzed."

Trump has mobilized voters who never before cared - some to vote Democratic, others to follow him in the Republican pitch for presidency, Robinson said.

This year's political atmosphere also has caused a great divide within parties, he said.

"Many across the board are angry at politics and politicians," Robinson said. "They feel the system has failed."

During the public forum at Hanner Fieldhouse, Trump continued to dominate the discussion, but panelists also touched on ways to be more informed about politics, including reading and listening to news that is "not just the news you want to hear and agree with," Koppel said.

Today's media is so easily manipulated, with people downloading and viewing content selectively without being exposed to all sides of a story, he said.

Main issues of concern for most Americans are terrorism and immigration, he said, despite the fact that only 45 people in the United States having been killed in violent jihadist attacks since Sept. 11, 2001.

"It's called terrorism for a reason: It terrifies people," Liasson said. "(Americans) are angry at these problems, and these two parties can't get together to fix them."

Still, the phenomenon of Trump dominated the discussion to the end.

Robinson called him "breathtakingly ignorant on the issues" but said: "The 'all Trump all the time' will continue. He knows how to dominate a news cycle and could actually become president of the United States. This is the damnedest thing I have ever seen."

Koppel has worked more than 50 years as a professional journalist and has covered important historical events including President John F. Kennedy's funeral, Barry Goldwater's presidential campaign and Martin Luther King Jr.'s civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.

Liasson is the national political correspondent for National Public Radio and a contributor to the FOX News Channel. Liasson joined NPR in 1985 as a general assignment reporter and newscaster, covering Congress and serving as the White House correspondent during all eight years of the Clinton administration. Now, her reports can be heard on the award-winning news programs "All Things Considered" and "Morning Edition."

Robinson is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The Washington Post. His experiences and remarkable storytelling ability have won him wide acclaim, most notably with the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for his commentary on the 2008 presidential race.

Herald reporter Holli Deal Saxon may be reached at (912) 489-9414.