Your Support Of Donald Trump
An attempt to explain how your support of Trump has strained our relationship.
Donald Trump used to be a minor celebrity. Heck, I used to watch Celebrity Apprentice. But, when he decided to run for US president, it became necessary to investigate his character and qualifications. I reviewed them and found them lacking. You came to a different conclusion.
Your support of him over the years has been a source of distress. First I couldn’t understand it. Then, I was upset. Eventually I was disappointed and embarrassed. I slowly began to question if you still were who I thought you were.
note: If you have changed your mind about Trump. If you can now see what a dangerously flawed person he is and that he should never again be president, then you may skip to the end. However, if you care about me, you may want to read on with an open mind.
Before He Was President
From the beginning of his presidential run, there were things that Trump said and did that were disqualifying. To me it was clear that he was completely unqualified to be president of the US. He lacked any of the necessary experience in politics. He’s a mean-spirited bully. He’s completely amoral. I know that, prior to 2015, if I had behaved like him, you would have been ashamed of me.
“Grab them by the Pussy”
One month before the election in 2016, a tape was released of Trump on a hot mic telling an interviewer, “When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the pussy.” Also, “I did try to fuck her. She was married” and “I moved on her like a bitch!”.
When you excused (as “locker room talk”) this vulgar and predatory sentiment from a presidential candidate, I was confused. I thought I knew you. Never before in our relationship had you given me any indication that sexual assault and vulgarity were acceptable as long as the setting is appropriate (e.g. a locker room).
To this day, I cannot reconcile your casual dismissal of Trump's vile behavior with the morals you purport to live by.
While He Was President
The Lies Started Immediately
Trump has a lifelong habit of outright lying about anything and everything. He lied about how much money he inherited. He lied about the size and value of his buildings (in both directions). He said they were less valuable to the IRS to lower his taxes and he said they were more valuable to use them as loan collateral. He was convicted of this.
He lied over 30,000 times while he was president. Feel free to read each fact check in this database and explain each one of them away.
At the Trump administration’s first press conference, because Trump is so vain and so very thin skinned, his press secretary said, “This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration PERIOD, both in person and around the globe.”. This is a lie. This is a lie that is only necessary to placate a narcissist.
“Very Fine People On Both Sides”
In 2017, a group of white nationalists (aka “racists”) gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia to protest the removal of a confederate statue.
The white nationalists came bearing torches and shouting chants of “Blood and Soil” and “Jews will not replace us!”.
One of the white nationalists drove his car through a crowd killing a woman and injuring many others.
When Trump was asked about Charlottesville, he said there were “very fine people on both sides”.
It’s not hard to be on the right side of this one. He could have simply condemned racism and violence. But, he didn’t. He couldn’t.
When we discussed this, you told me that the violence was instigated by “the deep state” or some other conspiracy theory. What happened there was in plain sight. There are videos and first hand accounts. But, your excuse was (I don’t recall exactly) something like; the FBI, or police, or someone purposely started violence to make the Neo Nazis look bad.
Maybe you were misled by right-wing propaganda. But, I find that excuse flimsy. You could see the truth if you wanted to.
The Pandemic
Trump knew the Corona virus was going to be bad. He knew it was more deadly than the flu. He was told, by his top national security advisors, that it was “deadly” and going to be “the greatest national security threat he has yet seen”. But, Trump lied to us. He “played it down”. He said it would “disappear”.
When masks were recommended, he said “I’m choosing not to do it”. This encouraged his supporters to also not wear masks. Trump promoted disproven and even harmful remedies for COVID-19. Instead of encouraging people to follow the best (at the time) advice of the medical community, he platformed solutions from lunatics.
Because of Trump’s terrible mishandling of the pandemic, many tens or hundreds of thousands more people died than would have with better leadership. Even worse, because of the misinformation he spread to his base, after the vaccines arrived, republicans’ excess death rates spiked. Their blood is on his hands.
I cannot get it out of my head that the misinformation (e.g. “Plandemic”, memes, etc) that you (and many others) spread during a global health emergency contributed to many additional deaths. Trump and the creators of disinformation are largely responsible for those deaths. But, your behavior, even though you didn’t intend it to, had a cost. It contributed to people not taking basic precautions (i.e. masks and vaccines). And some of them died.
The Big Lie
It’s important to know that Trump has a long history of claiming any result he doesn’t like is “rigged”. From the Emmys to elections to court cases, etc.
In the lead-up to the election in 2020, Trump claimed “The only way we’re going to lose this election is if the election is rigged.”. This is a staggeringly dangerous claim to make. I do not think any prior Presidential candidate has made this claim. Making that statement primes people for drastic measures if the person saying it does, in fact, lose.
On the day of the election in 2020, in the evening, as the counting of ballots was happening, before the counts were done, Trump announced from the White House, “Frankly we did win this election.” The election was not over. The votes had not been counted. He did not win the election. Trump lost over 60 cases challenging the results. Trump hired two separate firms to investigate his claims the election was stolen. Both of them concluded that he lost the election and it wasn’t rigged.
January 6th
note: If you’d like to learn about what happened on that day, here is a playlist of videos about January 6th. It contains all of the “Select Committee” hearings. Watch any of the videos. Watch them in any order. Believe your eyes and ears.
Trump’s team helped organize the “protest” on the 6th. He changed the date from the 5th to the 6th. He invited his followers and told them it “will be wild”. The organizers knew he wanted to march to the capitol.
On the 6th, he lied repeatedly about the election results. He pointed his supporters at the capitol and said he would go with them. Then he left and went back to the White House where he watched the violence unfold and did nothing for hours.
By this time in Trump’s presidency, I was following online chatter from his extremist followers. I was following people doing deep research into the networks formed around Trump. They predicted that those like the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, etc would be violent on the 6th. They told everyone that would listen not to go to the capitol. They wanted to make sure that nobody could blame “the left” or “Antifa” or “BLM” for the violence that was going to happen on that day.
Even knowing it was going to happen, when it did, I was horrified. I logged off of work and went upstairs to my room. I watched, for hours, as it unfolded on the TV. It was one of the worst days of my life.
Since then you have: denied that it happened, blamed it on the FBI, blamed it on Antifa, etc, etc. It’s clear as a bell what happened that day. Trump lied about the election results, riled up his base, pointed them at the capitol and watched them attack it for hours.
Your denial of the plain truth of that day is bewildering to me. I don’t understand why you chose to believe lies and conspiracy theories. But, you did. The 6th was a tragic day for our country. It is a black eye on the reputation of the United States. If not for Trump, it never would have happened.
After He Was President
Trump never conceded the election. He broke the chain of “peaceful transfers of power” that lasted for over 150 years. He didn’t attend the inauguration. He has alienated himself from every former living president. Hundreds of conservative republican leaders have said he should never hold any office ever again.
Honestly, the amount of crimes Trump has committed before, during, and after his presidency is so long and exhausting, I have run out of energy to even try to narrow it down. He’s a criminal. He’s being convicted in court. This trend will continue. History will not look back kindly on Trump. His term is a low point for America. I hope we can recover from the cancer of corruption, ignorance, division, and hatred he planted and nurtured.
In Summary
Before Trump, I trusted you. I thought we had a largely shared set of morals and ethics that we judged ourselves and our politicians by.
After all of your excuses for Trump, I do not trust you. Your judgment seems compromised. If you can ignore or excuse “grab them by the pussy”, QAnon nonsense, racists are good people, Plandemic, “China Virus / Kung Flu”, 2,000 Mules, etc, We do not share a set of morals. We do not even live in a shared reality.
What Happens Now
If you feel like this is about you, it probably is. If you still support Trump, there isn’t much that can be done. I will not trust you. I will question your judgment. I will not be comfortable around you.
However, if you have expressed support for Trump in the past, but you now realize that you were lied to and taken advantage of, feel free to contact me and let me know.
Our relationship will probably never be the same. The world will never be the same. But, if you want to leave the conspiracies, hate, and lies behind, I am willing to attempt to repair our relationship.
He's still going to win next month lol