McLean County Times

On July 13, 2024, Donald Trump, the then presumptive presidential nominee of the Republican Party, survived an assassination attempt while addressing a crowd at a campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania. Without a doubt, that was the worst type of assault one can imagine – one that might have taken his life. Many have said that we might have lost Donald were it not for the grace of God. That might or might not be the case.

What unquestionably is the case is that Donald Trump has been subject to the most contentious ridicule and vicious attacks on his character, political efforts, and business practices of any political candidate in recent memory.

Trump has been attacked viciously and repeatedly by radical progressives ever since he started running as a Republican presidential candidate in June 2015. Before that, he was a darling of the Left. When the elite media found out that he was running on a conservative platform, all hell broke loose in what became a personal vendetta against a prospective and then-sitting president. One can only characterize these attacks as personal and political.

A New Term Enters the English Lexicon: Lawfare

Lawsuit after lawsuit has been filed against "the Donald" since he first became president, with no major consequences to date. Consider just this listing:

• Emoluments Clause Lawsuits
• Travel Ban Executive Orders
• First Impeachment (2019-2020)
• Second Impeachment (2021)
• New York State Investigations
• Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller's Investigation
• Special Prosecutor Jack Smith's Investigation
• Investigation of the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol

Such politically motivated lawsuits – costing millions of taxpayer dollars and resulting in no significant outcomes given their original intent (other than 38 questionable kangaroo court convictions from a particularly frivolous lawsuit with no victims of a crime) – have become so common that a new term entered the English lexicon: lawfare. Lawfare combines the words "law" and "warfare," which refers to using legal systems and institutions to achieve a political objective. The legal actions taken against Trump by clearly politically motivated and overly zealous prosecutors and ruled on by biased judges can be considered nothing less than lawfare.

Trump Derangement Syndrome

As Communications Manager for the MCGOP, I sometimes get rather acerbic commentary in relation to President Trump, as I do on various conservative-versus-progressive issues. Often, the comments are filled with hate and vitriol. Here is a recent example from a "friend" I received on August 5. It was sent as a personal message in response to a post about President Trump on a Facebook page. I had noted how our 2024 presidential candidate was a real “trump card.”

"Dude, he is a malignant narcissistic sociopath. He chooses his fascist positions to sucker the Kool Aid (sic) drinkers in. We are no longer a representative democracy. America has become a corporatocracy run by billionaires and evil men."

Wow! Where do I begin? I find it hard to believe this statement was just my friend's spontaneous emotional response – it’s just not his style. From the looks and sound of it, some Democrat operative might have formulated the statement, and the words were copied and pasted for my “benefit.” The statement is too well thought out, fine-tuned, and crafted to get a particular type of response. I did not fall for the bait, obviously designed to insult and start an argument.

While I might have dismissed this comment as just another delusional statement fueled by hate for Donald Trump, I took it as an opportunity to write this op-ed. I did this because such outrageous outbursts rarely ever get a good response. So, allow me to analyze this statement and respond.

Dude… – In this context, it is an intentionally derogatory term designed to garner my attention.

…malignant narcissistic sociopath… – This is an aggressive word salad used for no other reason than to besmirch the reputation of the former president. While such people might well exist, these words do not accurately describe a person whom much of the world loves, respects, and honors. To some extent, all people bear such traits in greater or lesser amounts.

…fascist positions… – This verbiage is an effort to align Trump with extremist leaders such as Hitler, Mussolini, and Franco. Fascism is a form of societal organization that prioritizes autocratic governance, dictatorial leadership, and the suppression of opposition – which is precisely what the Democrats are trying to do! It's the pot calling the kettle black in the hope that some of their dirt will rub off on the former president.

…to sucker the Kool Aid (sic) drinkers in… – Talk about Kool-Aid drinkers. Consider what sort of swill the progressive Left is consuming all the time: racism can be reversed by being racist, abortion is healthcare, men can get pregnant, society is bettered through mind control, we can tax ourselves into prosperity, gun control makes us safer, and the government knows better and is here to help – to state a few of their more obviously weird progressive claims.

…a representative democracy… – Trump is being characterized time and again as a threat to democracy based on some careless, off-the-cuff remarks. Consider everything that Democrats are doing to support election theft: from lawfare and weaponizing the government against the opposition to no-ID voting and voter registration, unregulated mail-in voting, Supreme Court revision, gerrymandering election districts, and more. We have little to worry about in this line of thought if Donald Trump were to be elected president once again.

…a corporatocracy run by billionaires and evil men… – Hmm, consider all the influence peddling by left-wing progressives such as George Soros, Bill and Melinda Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and J.B. Pritzker, we have little to be concerned about from the conservative right.

So, as you can see, my friend’s comment is a tempest in a teapot. With a "friend" like this, who needs enemies?

Problems with Trump’s Personality

Though Trump's personality puts off some Republicans, even these good people must be reminded that a vote for a less-than-perfect presidential candidate is not a love letter, a valentine, or a kiss. Nor does a vote for Trump constitute approval of his personal conduct. One’s vote is more akin to a strategic move in the game of chess, where voters make the best choices about the world they want to live in.

Considering the current opposition, even if one finds Trump's personality reprehensible, he's still the best candidate for the job of president and, indeed, the lesser of two evils if one considers both Trump and Harris objectionable. Voting for Harris-Walz to spite Trump would be like cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face. While some Republicans might vote Democrat as a protest vote against Trump, in doing so, they would cause much greater harm to themselves, their posterity, and this nation. As for me and my household, we stand with Trump!