“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.” -Abraham Lincoln, 2nd inauguration, March 4, 1865
JULY 2020
Over the last few years, I have attempted to coax four of my college educated Republican friends into engaging in discussions about politics, and I've had some success. A few days ago, I read an article that offered a bridge, an approach that inspired my friends to open up even further.
Gentlemen
For five years, I have been at a loss when trying to comprehend Trump's appeal. But today I read an essay that helped make sense of the Trump phenomenon. I pulled the three quotes below, and all I want to know is... does this sound like the truth to you?
"In 2016, Trump's supporters gave him power because they believed the body politic was beset with toxins... fecklessness and hypocrisy... and in need of a purge."
"Trump vowed to channel the contempt his supporters felt toward the established order, and he pledged to send the old order into a state of convulsive disarray."
"Trump's historical assignment is to be the supreme representative of the disaffection and mistrust toward the major institutions of American life, a mistrust that has been building for decades.”
XY-1 (R-CA) For many years I have stated: “I would like to see a businessman in the Oval Office.” Politics is dirty and I assume it will always be that way. Trump has stirred the pot, and politicians on both sides are squirming. The American people want change in the structure of the political system.
XY-2 (R-OH) Trump’s 2016 victory was a rejection of the idea of electing to the presidency the noxious Hillary Clinton. For many Democrats, Hillary became the poster girl for what was wrong with the American government, what was wrong with Democratic politics, and what was wrong with pants suits. This realization led not just to defections by lifelong Democratic voters who voted for Trump, but also to certain Democratic voters casting no vote at all for a presidential candidate, while continuing to vote Democratic for all other down-ballot candidates. The result was a Trump win, but no durable Republican majority in Congress. My hope for the U.S. is a landslide for Republican candidates this November, and an actual effort to "drain the swamp."
XY-3 (R-SC) My humble opinion is that Trump has added a fresh perspective on the application of business strategies to the federal government. As a businessman, I have felt the need for the business mentality to teach the government how to minimize rampant waste. The Democrats are on the wrong track. I am disgusted with their so-called leaders. Impeaching Trump showed their ignorance. This election is going to be decided at the three debates. I hope Trump can keep his ego in check. Even with his considerable flaws, we are better off with Trump at the helm.
XY-4 (R-AZ) I’ve spent a lot of time in DC. I am not a DC lifer, nor am I a politician. I am a businessman. With others, we sat down with Obama in order to get him to address tariffs, lower taxes, and bring jobs back to the USA. He would not listen. His view, and the Dems view, is that big business is criminal. How can big business be criminal? We employ and pay people and that results in taxes being paid. Jobs help people gain self-respect and dignity. I like the idea of a small federal government, with many governing actions covered at the state and local level. With the vaccines, the economy will soon go back to pre-Covid times. My businesses, as well as myself personally, have benefited from Trump's presidency. I’m a math, business, and economics person. Trump's economic agenda makes America great again. Meanwhile, Biden is suffering from dementia. He has never done anything well, and as a presidential candidate he is a loser. He and Hillary are both losers. The Dems have no ideas to make America great. They are just Trump haters. How do I feel? America is a good place. All lives matter. The wall along the Mexican border was a great move. Trump is a fighter. I love what Trump has done. I thought we needed a businessman to run the country, and I was right.
Gentlemen
Thank you for responding to my attempt to "reach across the aisle." You all know that my politics is best described as progressive. My defining political issue is environmental protection. I see from the four responses that politically we are looking through different lenses, but on the social level, having known each other for decades, we have a lot in common, and a history of camaraderie.
I have no idea what is going to happen in the aftermath of the vote on November 3rd. For over a year I have been preparing myself for the final result to go either way, and I have been preparing myself for major social upheaval, no matter who wins.
You will never hear any of “the four” use the words authoritarianism or narcissism. They acknowledge only that Trump is flawed, but they like what he has done, which means he is hands-off when it comes to corporations and Wall Street, and he's tough on immigrants. They don't mention the malice… children in cages, militias, the KKK, Christian white supremacy, neo-Nazis… or adultery, Trump's bankruptcies, his business blunders, his status as a Russian asset, his fascination with dictators, his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, his denigration of John McCain, his draft-dodging style of patriotism, or his lack of empathy and his lack of friends.
I shared the responses of “the four” with three close friends who vote Blue.
XX-1 (D-MT) Your quest to understand Republicans doesn’t interest me at all. I no longer care what Trump supporters think. They all have had to become less human in order to make their reactionary point. As a white man, you are much less affected by Republican policies which, when enacted, benefit the few at the top and denigrate women and minorities. Send me more about the privileged white guys' conversations after the shit hits the fan.
XX-2 (D-MT) The Trump family is self-serving. Trump’s love for Melania is sexist. The U.S. government is not a business. The U.S. government takes care of people and the country and is not interested in making a profit. The swamp is bigger and deeper now that Trump is president. If you kiss Trump’s ass, you get a monetary payoff. No mention of women’s rights, minority rights, the environment, education or health care. “The four” did not mention AG William Barr’s attempt to destroy the rule of law by misrepresenting the Mueller Report. The Republicans have put money and power ahead of morality and the common good.
XY-5 (D-TN) What an astonishing and alarming set of responses from your four Republican friends. I too have a few friends from high school who are as hard core as your college group. We are in touch, and with some of them I have danced around issues when there is no agreement politically or philosophically. We just talk about other things in order to protect our friendship. All I see from Trump are lies, misdeeds and dishonesty. The swamp is Trump and the people who admire him, and the shit storm he has created that is bringing us all down. Donald Trump and the Republicans have diminished my kids' and our country’s and our world’s future. I really appreciate you sharing that email with us. It was sobering and thought provoking, for sure. I admire your openness and loyalty to life-long friendships.
I lucked into an article that discussed right-wing motivation in terms that made my right-wing friends feel vindicated for their vote. All four have chalked up Trump's sins as collateral damage. Trump and the Republicans have gone way over the line. There is nothing charming about lying and looting. The Trump presidency is a continuing criminal enterprise subject to indictment under the laws outlined by the RICO statutes. I don’t think we are doomed. Trump is not the way the world ends. If Trump loses this November, it will have been the coronavirus that took him down. You can't gaslight a virus, Don.
Isn't it amazing always so agree with like-minded people and basically block out what the other side is thinking doing saying? I do believe Democrats are as guilty of this as are the Republican. However, as a Democrat I have to admit, they are out of their f****** minds!
Another great post, Greg. I seriously wish I could afford to be a paying subscriber!
I believe I know the Republicans who commented since they were also friends of mine in high school. I believe all of them, like me, are old white men who have most benefited in our society. The comment about stating that we need a businessman to run our government has been proven over and over again to be false (Remember Cheney and Haliburton). CEO's and top business leaders who are now grossly overpaid compared to the average worker, only care about what is best for them and their shareholders and employee rights, social justice and environmental concerns be damned. BTW, what are businessmen complaining about? The market in 2023 closed at a 20% gain, our unemployment is 4% (which is essentially zero), and our inflation rate is the lowest in the developed world. The interest rates are the average they have been in the last 20 years. Not to mention Trump is a failed and corrupt business man. Is this the leadership we embrace?! Also, not mentioned in the discussion are the most critical issues-- like-women's rights, race relations, antisemitism, gender equality, health care, child care, income equity, gun controls, LBGT rights , military and monetary support of our allies. Overriding even all of these issue is that Trump is a dangerous, amoral, corrupt. pathological liar who is cruel, mean, hateful, and despicable person. Doesn't the character of the president mean anything to his supporters. Some of my family are Trumpers so I have to tread lightly when I get together with them. Regrettably, I have concluded that is simply impossible to have a fact based conversations with them about the major issues so I have given up trying. To me this next election boils down to the future direction of our country. Is it going to be democracy or fascism. If the folks in our country choose the late than it is a country that I don't recognize.