It is time to come out of the closet; I am a Donald Trump supporter. This is not an easy thing to say. I worry that when I tell my friends that they will make fun of me, or worse, that they will hate me because of what I am. I go on social media, and I see the way people everywhere treat those who have supported Donald Trump, responses that range from dismissive; “oh, that is just an ignorant, uneducated white person; they can’t be expected to know any better,” to outright hostile: “shut the f… up, you racist, islamaphobic b….” I fully expect to receive both kinds of comments, from people on both sides of the political isle, when I post this blog to my social media pages.
But here it is… I will vote for Donald Trump in the 2016 election. And it is not because I am a racist; a person’s color says nothing more about them than the amount of melanin they happen to have in their skin. And it is not because I hate Mexicans or Muslims; hating entire people groups seems to me to be a waste of time and energy. It is not because I am uneducated; I have an MPhil from one of the most prestigious English literature programs in Europe. So why would I, a slightly right of center, libertarian, millennial woman choose to vote for Donald Trump?
The answer can be broken down into two broad categories that I enjoy calling “Change” and “Hope.” I think that a lot of Americans can agree, looking at this political cycle, looking at the status quo in D.C., and looking at the issues facing us as a nation, that something needs to change. No matter what side of the political isle you belong to, the riots, the protests, the shootings, the attacks, the scandals, the rhetoric, have to stop somewhere. Something needs to give in our political system. Not only does there need to be change however, there needs to be a positive change, and my personal beliefs about what makes the world a better place, have directed me to Trump.
Change
Dissatisfaction seems to be a pressing factor in this year’s election. Whether exemplified in support for Bernie Sanders or for Donald Trump, Americans are expressing their frustration with a corrupt government that serves the interest of a political or personal agenda instead of the interests of the citizens. And it is here that I believe Trump rises above his opponent. Mrs. Clinton has been a Washington insider for over twenty years. As first lady, as senator, as secretary of State, Mrs. Clinton how to manipulate and game the Washington system. Her supporters view this as a good thing, seeing her as the kind of candidate who can actually accomplish something in the convoluted Washington system. But remember, Americans are tired of the political gamesmanship and the assumed corruption of the Washington political environment. Mrs. Clinton is not just familiar with the Washington scene, she is an active participant in the very manipulation of the government for political and personal agenda that has outraged Americans. She lied to citizens, and personally to the families of fallen soldiers about the events in Benghazi to preserve her own power and the power of her party. The recent email scandal at the DNC shows the boundless reach of her ambition and corruption. If Washington D.C. is a house aflame with corruption and self interest, then Hilary Clinton is sitting in the kitchen, roasting marshmallows over the flames.
The fire cannot be extinguished from inside the house, and you don’t get much more outside than Donald Trump. While Washington bloats itself on inefficiency and compromise, Trump’s work in the building and business world are built upon efficiency and ruthless dealmaking. Where Washington elite believe “they know what is best for the people” and manipulate districts, elections, and legislation to push their agenda, Trump’s success in marketing comes from learning and understanding what people need, then giving them exactly what they want. While I may not agree with Trump’s entire platform, he still stands outside the conflagration that is establishment Washington D.C., and in a position to make a drastic change to the way things work there.
Hope
My support of Donald Trump, however, is not built simply of the desire to tear down the status quo in Washington D.C., but also on my belief that he can actually build something better in its place. This hope is not necessarily built upon his platform or his policy (as I mentioned before, I agree with some and disagree with other parts of his running platform), but on him as a person. This might seem an odd place to take a stand, but hear me out. I was a big supporter of Dr. Ben Carson during the Republican presidential primary, and when he dropped out and endorsed Donald Trump, I was devastated. But Dr. Carson said some really interesting things about Trump that forced me to re-evaluate my opinion. Particularly compelling where his comments about the Donald Trump he got to meet behind closed doors, the man, not the showman. That man, he said, was cool, collected, and highly intelligent, a man who was willing to listen to reasonable ideas and alter his course to to reach a better solution. Trump is a figure who will present a strong face for America, a powerful, aggressive, staunch figure, who will stand up for our nation on the international stage, but who will also be able to switch modes and talk in a reasonable, intellectual manner behind the scenes.
It was not only Dr. Ben Carson’s endorsement that has changed my mind on Trump, but also the responses of people who have worked with him. In scrolling through a list of celebrities who have endorsed Trump, I was surprised at the number that had worked with him on the Celebrity Apprentice. Not just winners, but contestant who had been fired along the way endorsed Trump. Similarly, another quarter of the celebrity endorsements came from well known business people who have worked with Trump. The confidence that people who know and have worked with Trump place in him is staggering, especially considering his abrasive public persona, and the vehemence with which those who support Trump tend to be greeted.
It was seeing Trump’s family that finally brought me to fully support him. While I am not a parent, I have a great relationship with my own parents, and a number of friends who are parents, and I believe that being a parent is the hardest, most telling job in the world. You are given responsibility for shaping and directing a mind; you are given an unformed entity and asked to shape it into a human person. No one who talks about Trump’s children has anything bad to say about them, they are universally acknowledged to be wonderful people; intelligent, well spoken, hard working, and kind. That is not an easy thing to accomplish, especially for children in the position of extreme wealth and privilege like the Trumps. Their eloquence and elegance, their respect for their father, and their testimony have convinced me that Donald Trump is a good man, a man who genuinely wants to help the country that he loves, and who thinks he is capable of doing so.
My respect for Trump’s intentions and desires is in direct contrast with my disgust with Mrs. Clinton’s. Trump’s passion for his country had led him to make some uninformed and less than tactful statements, but Hillary Clinton’s gross self interest led her to compromise national security by having work related (classified) emails on her personal server instead of the secure state department server, merely for her own convenience. Trump might have to walk back passionate statements made in the heat of the moment, but he has not chosen to put political expediency ahead of the needs of the American people.
Of course I understand the vitriol against Donald Trump. He is loud, abrasive, tactless, and politically incorrect. He is also a man respected by his colleagues, by a number of his former rivals, by his family and his friends, who is well intentioned and passionate about this country. After years of cynicism and passionless political expediency, I am prepared to take a risk on Donald Trump, to change the status quo in the hope that the change will renew and regenerate the nation that I love. To bastardize a quote from the amazing Broadway musical Hamilton; when all is said, and all is done, Trump has beliefs, Clinton has none.
I know this was really political, and probably a bit depressing to read. I promise next month to do a rants and raves of summer movies post to lighten things up a bit. On that note; if you are in New York and can get to a show, go see Hamilton. I haven’t been able to see the show myself, but everyone who has says it is amazing, the clips I have seen are fantastic, and the music is incredible (if you can, purchase the soundtrack and give it a listen). If you
Anyway, back to reality.
