Time to Talk to “Triple Trumpers”
Note! This article was previously titled “One Month Until the Big Election”, and as the intent of the piece evolved while I composed it, I decided to re-title it, because I think the audience of this blog piece is more intended for folks debating whether or not to vote for Donald Trump in the 2024 election who have voted for him before.
A lot has gone down since my last post, to say the least. I’m so tired of living through historic elections. 2000 was “the election of the century” when George W. Bush straight-up stole the presidency thanks to the Supreme Court’s intervention in the Florida recount. 2008 was the “historic milestone” for seeing the first Black president in US history…who proceeded to get wrecked by Congress due to racism and his own inexperience. 2016 was arguably the worst election in US history, with the most experienced political candidate losing to the most inexperienced, cruel, and idiotic one due to her delusional overconfidence, robotic charisma, and the nation’s sexism. Then, 2020 was even worse, due to the visibly oldest Democratic nominee in US history being propped up against the worst president in American history in the midst of the COVID pandemic. Now, 2024 has perhaps been the most unpredictable one.
I last wrote on my blog demanding for Joe Biden to drop out of the election or resign. Well, he did just that, and in doing so, straight-up altered the course of US history. I’m not going to pat him on the back too hard. He did the right thing, and I respect that. However, it took weeks longer than it should have, and Biden had been hiding how old he was to the public for over a year by avoiding press conferences and only appearing at certain hours. That’s not the first time a president has hid a disability, such as Wilson underplaying his debilitating stroke, FDR hiding his polio, Reagan hiding his Alzheimer’s, or Trump hiding literally everything, even being fat. It didn’t come as a shock to me, since I’ve been complaining about Biden for 4 years now. I should be allowed to take a victory lap! But I cannot deny the relief I felt when I saw centrists, establishment Democrats, and die-hard Biden backers universally agree he had to go. Finally, a reality check! It was blatantly obvious to literally anyone on this planet who has witnessed dementia or just been around any stubborn elderly person! Biden was too old, and thus, unfit to run the most powerful nation on Earth, simple as that. Zero wiggle room, and I don’t need to hear embarrassing arguments defending his terrible decision to run in 2020 and worse decision to attempt to run for reelection in 2024. It was stupid on all fronts.
You know what’s even more stupid?
The fact that this clown is still around. Where are the “I’m not MAGA, but I’ll vote for him” or “I don’t like the way he talks” or “I wish it was another guy” Republicans demanding this guy’s resignation? Is it because they know Trump will never step down? Because Trump will never relinquish his power? You know what we call a person who will never give up power? A tyrant.
It’s always satisfying to see a fascist get neutered, and honestly, I think Trump’s goose is finally, at last, cooked. But it’s insane that so many people still defend him, that so many people will, without any excitement, still vote for him. I’m not looking at the GOP’s implosion and feeling schadenfreude, I’m just feeling second hand embarrassment. Glad I’m not them!
For the first time in my life, I’ve had conservative friends reach out to me on social media and just talk with me to ask my opinions on topics. They’re not responding to be contrarian, mocking me, or blocking me, they’re finally just asking the other side about their POV. They’re curious! It’s so nice, and I don’t demand they think like I do, but I do ask that they just break free from their echo chambers! I’m seeing them break free of the propaganda and social pressures of traditionally voting red. Honestly, I used to think “once a Trumper, always a Trumper”, but I’m at the point where I’m just saying “better late than never”. Trump is not stable, he is not the answer to anyone’s problems. It’s simply logical not to support him. I have faith in logic, because as the saying goes, it will (eventually) prevail!
I could talk all day about how much Trump sucks, but we have other things to discuss. Those might be other articles. So this one will be aimed more towards people uncomfortable voting for Trump for a third time. Let me rapid-fire other common arguments or weird Trump-mindset ideas I hear:
I’m gonna do my own research.
I’m starting with this one for a reason. The problem with this statement is that most people’s “research” consists of being contrarian and looking for talking points online and grabbing the first thing they find to prove their mindset. It has nothing to do with objectively looking at a situation and utilizing multiple resources and sources and vetting them.
On top of that, you know how it’s a bit ridiculous for a fat person to tell a fit person that they’re out of shape? Or how to work out? The brain is a muscle too, and it’s pretty silly to pretend people with high school level education, people with under 2.5 college GPAs, or people with degrees that have nothing to do with politics, history, media, economics, literature, etc. can be trusted to do heavy lifting on this front. I don’t believe in gatekeeping, and I don’t want to completely invalidate them, but I’m also not going to trust them to “do research” because that’s precisely what they are proven to not be good at.
I’m not a pilot, so when I get on an airplane, there is a degree of trust I’m giving them that they are experts in what they do. I cannot possibly be at their level of expertise even if I read about how airplanes work and have been on airplanes and read up on airplane disasters. There are bad pilots out there, of course, but the vast majority are rock solid at what they do, or else nobody would fly. If my pilot said “oh yeah, I’m not an expert but I was a copilot once on my dad’s plane”, red flags would go up in my brain.
So for instance, when it comes to academic sources, there’s quite an easy difference between using someone on a podcast like Joe Rogan or Tim Pool (who dropped out of school at age 14) as a “source” versus an actual expert in their field who has a PhD, which requires at least a decade of study in one very specific area. Only 2% of people in the USA carry a PhD for that reason. Are there some clowns out there with doctorate degrees? Sure. But if 99% of those people have a consensus on something, you should probably go with the majority because the equivalent is a 3rd grader demanding that the college freshman listen to their argument. That’s the gap of years between levels of education we’re discussing. Maybe the 3rd grader can have some agreeable points, but come on. That’s just for academic sources; journalists certainly don’t need a PhD, but a journalist with firsthand experience and 20 years on the job with multiple employers is going to be pretty reliable, right? My point being, if your “sources” are random internet websites where you can’t easily find the author’s credentials or information, if it’s unsubstantiated talk on a podcast, if it’s personal anecdotes, you suck at research. Your brain isn’t doing actual weight lifting, you’re just pretending to do the hard work, and anyone in good shape can see that clear as day.
It’s not impossible to learn and research things properly, but it does take work. It takes effort, which some people are too lazy for, time, which some people don’t have, consistency, which some people struggle with, and an open mind, which some people refuse. If I say “here’s a link” or “here’s a chart”, don’t just ignore it, read the damn thing! Look at it! That is the research! I’ve talked about this before, but let me provide a visual of where US politics have been for a decade now.
Let’s use this as a visual metaphor. Let’s say the cylinder is a political issue. I can see part of this cylinder from one angle, someone else can see it from another. Perhaps, depending on that view, we have different viewpoints but we agree there is a problem nonetheless. Trump supporters almost always tend to insist there is not a problem either because 1) It doesn’t exist or 2) Trump magically ended it. If you cannot follow a reality check that something exists, don’t “fact check” me. In fact, go fact yourself.
Trump was good for the economy!
Not even close. This chart I modified is a particular favorite to use for the folks who vote for the guy strictly for economic reasons. This is the USA’s Gross Domestic Product since the 1960s, and I put the Democratic economic disasters in blue text under the dips, with Republicans in red text under the dips.
This is what I show to people who are adamant their financial lives were better off in the Trump years. Well yes, because Obama ran a pretty tight ship economically after he first had to clean up Bush’s mess, and Trump shouldn’t get credit for watering the lawn when Obama built the house. The Trump economy was doomed before COVID. Trump’s disastrous trade war with China only managed to hurt the USA by making foreign markets decide to avoid the high taxes they would have to pay if they did business with the USA and go elsewhere. In the age of the internet and globalization, like it or not, you have to get your hands around the world, and total isolationism is impossible. Thanks to Trump, China went from charging Americans an 8% import tariff to over 20%, and kept it low for other nations, so in short, China has anyone in the USA reliant on them by the balls. Hey, who outsourced all those jobs and all that manufacturing in the first place? Oh yeah, Ronald Reagan!
The China trade war and the past history of Republican-caused economic disasters should be sufficient to make a point, but let’s not forget Trump’s personal failings! Trump has had 6 business bankruptcies. In order, it’s Trump Taj Mahal (1991), Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino (1992), Plaza Hotel (1992), Trump Castle Hotel and Casino (1992), Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts (2004), and Trump Entertainment Resorts (2009). Then there’s “Trump University”, which died after 3 lawsuits came out claiming Trump committed fraud, and he was forced to settle. The Donald J. Trump Foundation (his “charity”, which I should mention, was tax-exempt!) was shut down under court supervision and an investigation revealed a plethora of ethical and legal violations, leading to it being shut down and Trump paying millions in reimbursements and fees. Trump is peddling NFTs and tacky gold basketball shoes now because he’s cash poor and could sell his assets, but he knows his die-hard followers will buy his merchandise.
Those are just the first few that popped into my head. I promise there is a landslide of more stuff, but again, we’re doing notes here, not a full-on summary of everything.
Trump didn’t have any wars!
If there’s one thing that’s unchanging about the USA, it’s the military-industrial complex, that baby makes the government money, so it’s not going away under any POTUS anytime soon. Trump is not immune to that. He never pulled out of Afghanistan and this was literally one of the first things he did in office days after taking the oath:
That, plus the fact his first impeachment was for withholding aid to Ukraine in exchange for dirt on Joe Biden. Or his abandonment of the Kurds in Syria who were holding ISIS prisoners. Or declaring Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, needlessly angering Hamas. Or continuing the support for Saudi Arabia and the UAE to bomb Yemen in the midst of a famine.
Let’s also not forget the fact he almost started a war with Iran in 2020 after killing Qasem Soleimani, a fact which was forgotten thanks to the outbreak of the virus-that-must-not-be-forgotten-but-everyone-seems-to-be-too-traumatized-to-acknowledge.
So no, Trump was not a pacifist. There are dozens more situations I should acknowledge here, like praising dictators, the surge of hate crimes and domestic terrorism in the USA, or his fumbling policies towards NATO and the EU, but we have to move on.
I don’t like the elite and globalists, Trump is an outsider…
First, why is “globalist” a dirty word? I never understood that. Second, the elites? People, Trump is part of that club, he literally lives in a golf club and uses a golden toilet! He considered a “small loan” $1 million dollars! He was all over TV and had a best-selling (ghostwritten) book! I think these photos tell you a lot:
Following that “logic” by the way, let’s pretend Trump was an outsider in 2015, when he ran for office. He sure as hell isn’t now, having been the president, right?
Quick edit: Literally days after publishing this, we got another photo proving my point.
Behold: The world’s richest man, Elon Musk (an immigrant to the USA), jumping for joy at a cult-like Trump rally at the same site Trump nearly died in the first assassination attempt, in Pennsylvania.
I’m not a MAGA Republican, they’re cringe! They’re dumb!
And yet you’re associating with them. Ruminate on that.
Why do they all go after Trump?! Why is he the target? Why do they want to destroy him? They never went after other presidents like this…
Because he’s too much of a buffoon to cover his tracks properly, he doesn’t command sufficient loyalty to cover for him, and because he constantly openly talks about committing criminal activities!
Regarding other presidents, let’s see…
Biden: The mounting pressure and questions about his age got so bad from his own party, not to mention the Republicans, that he stepped out of the presidential election.
Obama: I’ve never seen a president get criticized for dumb things as much as Barry. The tan suit, crying for the Sandy Hook shooting victims, stuttering, smoking a cigarette, etc. Talk about not catching a break. But in terms of more serious matters, what happened to the constant chanting about Benghazi being the worst thing any president ever did, ever? Let’s also not forget the Snowden leaks and the rightful outrage Obama received for continuing mass surveillance. Perhaps most obviously, the “birther” movement Trump started by refusing to believe Obama was a US citizen.
Bush: The entire investigation into the use of torture, Guantanamo Bay, the whiplash from lying about “weapons of mass destruction”, 9/11 “truthers”, the Patriot Act, the constant mockery of “Bushisms”, etc.
Clinton: “I did not have sexual relations with that woman” sums up his entire presidency. He’s immortalized by a scandal that led to impeachment.
H.W. Bush: The troublesome nomination of Clarence Thomas (due to accusations of sexual assault) to the Supreme Court ring any bells to Trump getting backlash for nominating Brett Kavanaugh? There’s also the US invasion of Panama where we overthrew their government and were condemned by the United Nations general assembly for violating international law. Similarly, there’s the infamous “Nayirah” testimony situation, where the Gulf War was justified by utilizing false testimony from a girl pretending to be from Kuwait and alleging Iraqi war crimes to Congress.
Ronald Reagan: The Iran-Contra affair is one of the most insane US scandals in political history. Reagan is another president riddled with controversies but I think Iran-Contra and the testimony by Oliver North and the destruction of evidence speaks for itself.
Jimmy Carter: His brother, Billy, getting into hot water for cozying up to Muammar al-Qaddafi. Likewise, his director of Office Management and Budget (Bert Lance) being accused of corruption and being forced to resign from office.
Gerald Ford: Pardoning his former boss (Nixon) for Watergate easily sealed his fate as a one-term POTUS.
Richard Nixon: Watergate is the political scandal people point to. It got so bad that Nixon resigned from the presidency, the only one (thus far) to ever do so. What’s scary isn’t that Nixon took a peek at his rival’s campaign; it was that it was one of many crimes Nixon constantly utilized in his so called “rat-fucking” campaign against his Democratic opponents for over a year, and God knows how many more there were. Perhaps his “landslide re-election” wouldn’t have been one if he didn’t use everything at his disposal to crush his opponent, something people often dismiss by saying “well it was pointless and dumb to send burglars!”
I could do this for every president, but I figured I’d stop at ol’ Tricky Dick. Being scrutinized as a politician, the most powerful one in the USA, comes with the job. This simple fact is something Trump doesn’t understand, and never did, and never will. He’s unfit for office for that fact alone.
Those attempted Trump assassinations were suspicious! Kamala Harris is trying to kill him!
No, not at all. 2 different cases took shots at Trump. Both were mentally ill people with access to firearms, a tale as American as can be.
The first, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was a 20 year old loner who was ostracized in high school. He registered to vote as a Republican. Yes, he made a $15 dollar donation to a Democratic group once, but his classmates recalled he came to school in camouflage clothing, had conservative talking points, and the shirt he was wearing at the attempt was a “Demolition Ranch” shirt, a YouTube channel dedicated to firearms. Remind me, which party is obsessed with upholding the 2nd Amendment?
The second attempted assassin, Ryan Wesley Routh, is 57 year old registered as an independent voter. He had supported Bernie Sanders, Nikki Haley, Tulsi Gabbard, and Vivek Ramaswamy at various points, but most notably, he publicly supported Trump in 2016, and reiterated this on Twitter in 2023. Routh did not end up bothering to vote for Trump despite vocalizing it, requesting an absentee ballot but not following through, just like his attempted assassination. Here’s one of his many tweets regarding this:
So, now that I’ve briefed you on the 2 assassins, let’s pause for a moment and pretend they were hired guns. You think the CIA is incompetent enough to screw up an assassination TWICE in a month? Or perhaps, Trump, who said he could shoot people on 5th Avenue and not lose voters, that the 2nd Amendment people should “take care” of Hillary Clinton, tweeted about shooting looters in the Floyd protests, laughed at Nancy Pelosi’s husband being assaulted with a hammer, etc. for the past 9 years…disappointed some of his wild supporters, who tend to own more firearms? It makes sense that the USA, with the world’s easiest access to guns, has a lot of weirdos hanging around with delusions of grandeur and odd obsessions, and thus produced two would-be assassins. On top of that, the Secret Service is riddled with incompetence, which is not a new discovery. The craziest part is, because of Trump’s immunity ruling last summer, Biden could have Trump killed as an enemy of the USA, say it was an official act, and claim immunity. No need for the theatrics.
The point is, this is nothing extraordinary. In fact, Gerald Ford survived two assassination attempts as president within a month, but no one remembers that because it was in 1975, he was forgettable, and people don’t actually read anymore.
Trump just says it like it is.
No he does not. I don’t need to explain this one, I think most people finally slowed down on saying he was ever honest, at least. Anyone who disagrees is too far gone, because literally every politician lies, but Trump is always compulsively lying. Likewise, there’s a difference between saying something bold and saying something loudly, impulsively, and offensively. I do the latter sometimes due to ADHD (hence I prefer to write), and lemme just say, game recognizes game.
Kamala Harris is a communist!
See my earlier point of “the brain is a muscle” for reference. Even Bernie Sanders, the most well known actual leftist in US politics, does not come close to communist. If you’re so easily manipulated into utilizing buzzwords of things you don’t understand but they’re catchy, so it’s easy to remember, you probably still sing the alphabet while you wash your hands. Kamala Harris is a hardcore capitalist, and frankly, I wish she wasn’t, because the unchecked “free” market giving us the illusion of choice is causing most of the issues these days. At least Tim Walz is more left, and that’s why he’s refreshing, and better yet, he’s effective, since he was able to do great things in Minnesota as a governor with only one seat of an advantage in his legislature. I’m not a believer in communism whatsoever, I do not trust any government to ever enact those ideas, admirable as some may be, but I do believe in elements of both socialism and capitalism.
You don’t like socialism? OK then, stop drinking public water. Stop driving on the taxpayer funded roads. Stop flushing your waste down the toilet to the public sewer system. Give up your Medicare and Social Security. Take your kids out of public school or community college. Speaking of kids, socialism is the reason there is no more child labor, guess you don’t mind your kid dying in a factory at the age of 12? Stop riding buses or trains. Your boss could make you go to work for more than 40 hours and pay you whatever they want, no minimum wage. Rural folks, are you enjoying those agriculture and oil energy subsidies? Socialist handouts.
The US model isn’t even a true socialist system (since these things are run “top-down” by the government, not “bottom-up” by the workers), but these are indeed socialist ideas that many people use daily. You think socialism takes away individual freedom? No. In fact, in a true socialist system, community members would have direct input in all of these systems, and the employees running them would control their work conditions rather than beg the federal government, or private businesses, to make changes or do anything. My point being, there are indeed socialist elements at play in the USA and always have been, and our most socialist president, FDR, managed to pull us through The Great Depression and World War II, and was so popular, he was elected four times.
There has to be balance and diversity in ideas and plans, not a rigid system. Why do you think people call the USA, the strongest economy on Earth, a “mixed economy”? Which ideas are getting mixed in there that make it flourish? Options and diversity and different points of view are how problems get solved, because when you put all of that together, you can see that aforementioned cylinder more easily. Anyone who claims to have all the answers like Trump is a liar.
Time to wrap this up. I don’t know what compelled me to write this piece. I kept wanting to write about a lot of the aforementioned events happening, but I’ve been realizing more and more that my goal is to start helping people wake up to the fascist monster they’ve enabled, defended, normalized, and voted for. The USA is a privileged nation, but these kinds of moments come for everyone eventually. The United States is not a perfect, totally exceptional nation.
We are all drilled to respect and learn about the Founding Fathers from the minute we go to school. Our paternalistic “creators” who were not gods, but to question them draws ire. But if we look at them, we can see they were privileged, wealthy, well-connected, educated…they were “the elite” and decided the narrative and their legacy thanks to their power. It’s partially the reason the Electoral College exists; some of the Founding Fathers wanted to create a buffer from the non-elites to suppress their votes out of fear of a true democracy, not trusting the average citizens to make critical decisions. Now that’s gatekeeping. That all being said, they did want what was best for the nation following a slow and steady breakaway from British rule, and the one thing they all, in unison, agreed on, was avoiding the nightmare of someone unfit for office taking over and doing whatever they wanted and abusing that power, putting themselves before the people. They didn’t want a tyrant. That’s something everyone can agree too, I think, and it’s probably why we glamorize them a little.
Donald J. Trump is the worst nightmare of the Founding Fathers coming to life. Let’s end the nightmare and move forward together. I might not have faith in institutions, but I will always have faith in people.
