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| President Donald J. Trump is a wildly popular figure among most conservatives, as evidenced by the large crowds that he draws at his rallies, like this one at the Landers Center in Southaven, Miss. on October 2, 2017. In spite of his immense popularity, however, beyond his conservative base, he does not seem to hold the same appeal beyond that, thus far. He has made little effort to expand his base, preferring instead, it seems, to antagonize and to marginalize anyone who does not support him. Unlike any U.S. president who has ever come before him, Trump has focused his time, energy, and efforts to only satisfying the interests of his supporters and further facilitating a bitterly divided America. |
We are living in two distinctively different Americas, or what some might say are two different and contrasting realities.
In one of them are those who fully support and stand behind President Donald J. Trump. In the other America are those who don’t.
Between the two, there doesn’t seem to be any middle ground between them. In each of these Americas, they either love him or they hate him.
One thing that everyone of them might agree upon is that there has never been a time in our nation’s history when a man like Trump has been our president.
In November 2016, this paradoxical, unconventional, and unpredictable man, and the unlikeliest of presidential candidates, was voted into office.
Without having had any previous political, military, or public service experience, and having a sordid and unsavory past, with marital affairs, a propensity for spewing vulgar, hateful, and offensive words, and having allegedly conducted some shady business practices, and declaring close to half a dozen bankruptcies, he was still able to overcome the odds that would have sunk any other political candidates in the past.
Unlike any president before him, he has completely shattered the norms of what is expected or tolerated in our nation’s leader.
Throughout his presidential campaign, and the first two years in office, almost everything that he has said or done has not mattered to those who support him. In many ways, as far as they’re concerned, he can do no wrong.
The controversies that have plagued him and his administration, and the ominous cloud of a special counsel investigation that hangs over him, does not seem to be of any concern, whatsoever, except to those who oppose him.
The Watergate scandal that led to the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon nearly 50 years ago, led to the criminal indictment of 69 people, (many of whom were top Nixon officials), with 48 either pleading or being found guilty.
Thus far, the special counsel investigation, led by Robert Mueller, has led to the indictment, or guilty pleas, of 33 individuals, (five of whom are former Trump aides) and there is no clear indication, as of now, that the president, will not ultimately be implicated, himself.
At the heart of the investigation is Russia’s meddling in our nation’s 2016 elections and the possible undue influence that it had, and might continue to have on our elections, and the possible threats that Russia might have on the safety, security, and long term interests of our nation.
What is of special concern for Trump’s detractors is his lack of full cooperation with the special counsel investigation, his frequent attacks on it, (repeatedly calling it a witch-hunt), his efforts that seem to be aimed at undermining it, and his unwillingness to ever speak out or to initiate any actions, himself, against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his government.
For all but Trump’s ardent followers, life in America today has the look and feel of a collective nightmare, or a reality television program, endlessly going from one crisis and one controversy to another, pitting Americans against one another and further polarizing us and dividing us in ways unlike any other time in our nation’s history, second only to the U.S. Civil War from 1861 to 1865.
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| The Republican Party was founded in 1854 with Abraham Lincoln being the first Republican president from 1861 to 1865. This statue of our sixteenth president was designed Daniel Chester French and it is located in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The only time that the nation has been more divided than it currently is under the nineteenth Republican (forty-fifth president) - Donald J. Trump, was Lincoln who led the nation through its bloody civil war. |
In spite of all that he has faced, Trump has seemed to have been able to persevere and to succeed to some degree, because he says what his core supporters want to hear and he has remained faithful to them, striving to deliver on what he has promised them.
His supporters, for the most part, love, admire, and adore him and they have remained faithful to him, because they feel like he is one of them and that he is looking out for them and striving to recreate the kind of America that they want to have, and returning it to the greatness that it once was.
Some of the admiration and respect that he receives from them comes from his never surrender, streetfighter-like mentality, and his frequent attacks of his critics, opponents, and anyone else who attempts to go up against him or them.
His attacks on the institutions of government, the media, Democrats, immigrants, or anyone else who challenges him, criticizes him, or opposes him in any way, incurs his wrath and that of his base. Dissension of any kind is not tolerated.
Unlike any previous administration before him, Trump, and his administration, often seem to be on the offense, employing a combination of tactics that include distraction, deflection, diversion, and obfuscation to disarm his opposition and anyone else who poses any threat to him.
Trump’s success at becoming president in November 2016 was a confluence of circumstances, essentially a perfect storm, that put him into the White House and what has, at least for now, kept him there.
Whether you love him or hate him, he seems to have tapped into the anxiety, fears, and anger of many Americans who feel as though they have been overlooked, looked down upon, or simply ignored by a government and the Washington elites who they don’t think truly represent them and who are not looking out for their security, and their best interests.
Trump, more than anyone ever before him, connects with them on a deeply personal and intimate level. For them, he seems to love his country, who wants to fix all that they see that is wrong with it, and to make it better and stronger and what they think it was once before.
What is also so appealing to his followers is his swagger and his confidence and they admire his brash, tell-it-like-it-is language, and they are drawn in by his larger-than-life personality, his charisma, and his ability to relate and to interact with them like few presidents have ever done before him.
With all that Hillary Clinton may have had going for her with her vast knowledge, ability, and experience in government, she did not have the same gregarious personality but, even more importantly, she didn’t have the same messaging as he did.
She didn’t seem to be able to connect with people, to show them that she cared as much about them, and she was unable to energize people, like he did, especially in the key battleground states.
Trump was, and still is, extremely popular with most conservatives, especially those living in rural areas, those who do not have a college degree, and some who profess to be evangelicals.
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| This is the east front view of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. The divisiveness that exists in the U.S., especially nowadays, may be no better demonstrated than by those serving in this building as our nation's congressional representatives. Their inability to overcome partisan politics, to compromise, and their catering to special interests, and to their own interests, and their failure to serve and to provide for the common good of all, likely contributes to the extremely low approval ratings that they routinely receive from many Americans. |
For some Christians and evangelicals, they are willing to overlook any personal failures or shortcomings that he has because they believe that God has put him where he is and that he is doing what they and what God wants him to do on their behalf.
In this way, they feel the ends justify the means and they do not appear to be especially concerned about how hypocritical and inconsistent that their support of Trump might seem to be to non-Christians.
Generally speaking, many of these individuals are feeling increasingly threatened by a rapidly changing country, an increasingly diverse society, and perceived threats to their way of life, their faith, their heritage, and their culture.
They are also suspicious of big government and what many refer to as “the deep state,” but they resent those who are not necessarily patriotic and those, especially minorities, who chose to protest against any perceived injustice or unfair treatment by those in authority, such as some of those who are in law enforcement.
Many Trump supporters, and Republicans as a whole, seem to want greater limits and reductions in immigration, welfare, foreign intervention, aid, and abortions, with no universal healthcare, no restrictions on gun rights, and more religious freedom, so long as it is Christian.
Aside from the various issues that many of them support, some of the zealousness that they have for Trump may be rooted in their bitterness and anger of having had to live through eight years under President Barack Obama. For them, having Trump is a payback to those who subjected them to a man who many of them did not like and, unfortunately, for some, race may be a factor in their outright disdain of Obama.
For those who object to Trump, more often than not, they see him as a terribly flawed, unethical, unscrupulous, and an immoral individual, with no sense of decency, who is ignorant, close-minded, reckless, narcissistic, self-centered, and who is a sociopathic liar who is bigoted, misogynistic, and xenophobic.
They believe he is driven and motivated almost exclusively by power and money, with a proclivity to authoritarianism, and that he thinks that he is much better and smarter than anyone else, but that he actually has the mind, language skills, and demeanor of a petulant 8-year-old child.
He has, for them, little to no character, integrity, morals, manners, or respect for others, or for the institutions which he oversees, and because they don’t see that he is tethered to any ethical principles or standards, he is prone to vacillating on many issues, and he has little to no loyalty to others, with no conscience, and little empathy or compassion, or concern for the welfare and well-being of anyone who doesn’t support him.
He is perceived by many of them to be lazy, irrational, incompetent, intolerant, hypocritical, undisciplined, shortsighted, insecure, paranoid, lacking in impulse control, unwilling to listen, and displaying very little curiosity or interest in reading, learning, or admitting that he is ever wrong.
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| This is the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. It is one of the three branches of government that is meant to be a check on the executive and legislative branches. For many conservatives around the country, the 2016 election was especially significant since they sought to stack the Supreme Court with conservative judges who will favorably rule on issues of great concern to them, now, and for decades to come. For them, Trump's election was pivotal to ensure that this happened and it seems to have already paid off for them. |
The opponents of Trump see him as having an extremely flawed and corrupt character, that he has inflicted irreparable harm on to our nation, its institutions, and the environment, having fractured or harmed the longstanding relationships with our allies while pandering to nations who have traditionally been our enemies, diminishing our leadership role around the world, and dividing us like no other person ever has and appealing to the very worst in all of us.
For them, there is little, if anything, that they can find that is redeeming in him.
He is, for them, the most unqualified, ill-equipped, and crooked man to have ever occupied the office of the presidency. They see him as being unfit for office, abusing the power of his office, and using the presidency for his own personal enrichment.
They also believe that he has violated his constitutional oath, committed high crimes and misdemeanors, violated campaign finance laws, obstructed justice, subverted democracy, and conspired with foreign entities in matters detrimental to our national security and our national interests.
The office of the president, many of them contend, hasn’t changed Trump, but that Trump has forever changed the presidency.
He has replaced traditional conservative doctrine with his populist, nationalist, isolationist, and nativist ideology and most of the GOP has abandoned much of what they once stood for and have become like him.
Instead of standing up for what they might think is right and just, many outside the GOP see the Republican Party as just being like enablers are to an alcoholic or accomplices are to a crime.
When it comes to Trump, the GOP, to them, more closely resembles the monkeys who hear no evil, see no evil, and speak no evil.
They are the ones to blame, his opponents say, for defending him, ostracizing or dismissing those who assail him, and for sitting on their hands and doing nothing as he has says or does whatever he wants to with little to no repercussions or consequences for it.
For Democrats, or anyone else who doesn’t buy into what Trump is peddling, America today is almost completely unrecognizable to the America that existed before the Trump phenomenon.
In many cases, it seems like the GOP has become more like a cult than a political party and the situation is much worse to them than they might have ever imagined it would ever be under his presidency.
While many Republicans continue to stand behind Trump and will always see him as a savior for American exceptionalism, those living in the alternate America, will only look at Trump as being a clear and present danger to the United States and they fear for our nation and for the entire world so long as he remains our president.