I have friends and family who don’t like Donald Trump in the White House – the way I don’t like creepy-crawly things in my basement. I understand their antipathy toward the man: (1) his policies and judges are mostly conservative, and (2) his bully pulpit is hawkish, insensitive and self-applauding. That’s routine politics, and it doesn’t excuse liberals from never-ever supporting this president.
I voted for Trump, and I think his presidency has been unusually divisive. Conservatives believe the far-left committed treason by subverting a duly elected leader. Liberals think the alt-right has a like-minded leader re-creating the Confederacy. I think it takes two to Tango, especially when free speech is protected, but Trump’s election brought a new unorthodoxy that makes the out-party super uncomfortable.
Trump Is So Un-Presidential
Republicans tire of Democrats who incessantly fact-check Trump and cannot get over his bully-boy comments. I snark right back at them: a bully-boy beats a senile second-fiddle. Moderate Republicans see his deeds rather than words. I see a confident entrepreneur, who thinks out loud and expects no consequences. In fairness to liberals, Trump’s BS would bother me too, if I did not like his BIG actions (e.g. USMCA).
I support Trump’s acts: lower taxes and less regulation, conservative judges, and checking China and Iran. Above all, I voted for Trump to rescue forgotten Americans, who’re just as real as global warming. Peter Thiel said then: “The press is always taking Trump literally, [but] it never takes him seriously.” ABC’s Jon Karl says now: “the actions are more important than the words.” To wit, I did not vote for the metaphor of a “beautiful wall,” but against illegal immigration.
But He Is No Fascist
#MeToo voters are right: Trump has turned a mostly blind eye to aggrieved minorities. Green voters should look elsewhere. However, there was no native-white uprising in 2016, and he has not formed his own brown-shirt militia. After eight years of Obama liberalism, the 2016 election was about nothing more than checking globalism and re-balancing social constructs. And so – – the economy is pro-worker and pro-local, and communities are more pro-cop and pro-Christian.
Jon Karl told Newsmax TV that “Obama set up his press operation to get around the White House press corps [and] there’s a case where the FBI takes action against AP on a particular story.” Regarding Trump: “a lot of tough talk against the media, but he does not get in their way [or take] actions against reporters.” Maxine Waters (D-CA) can make believe this president is a fascist, but Obama was the true totalitarian.
I give Mr. Trump a 50-50 shot at a second term – mostly because of his un-presidential personality. If Republican and independent nerves are still frayed from the coronavirus, Joe Biden could win in a landslide (be careful what you wish for, Joe). But let the record show: Trump kept the US out of war, got NATO to pay up, and re-set trade deals with China and Mexico. Except for the hair, he wasn’t all that scary.