By Michael Randall
I have talked with several people who work in the media industry, asking them why they don’t publish articles or letters from people who support Donald Trump. They each have told me that they encourage his supporters to write in, that their news outlets would be glad to hear firsthand testimonies about people’s reasons for supporting Trump’s re-election to the Presidency. But these media folks say they receive nothing. Why is that?
Does this really mean there are not many people out there who want to see Trump in the White House again? I am certain there are tens of millions who want him back in office, though maybe not enough to make that actually happen next November. But if Trump loses, would his followers again try to send more fake electors’ signatures to Congress, or urge officials in key states to “find” more Trump votes, on the assumption that election workers have hidden or refused to count them?
They may try to prosecute more state officials like they did after Trump lost in 2020, or make more death threats, or shoot out some more electric power sub-stations. Worst case, they can storm the Capitol Building again and try to stop Congress from verifying Trump’s loss as they tried on January 6, 2021. Certainly, between now and November’s election, Trump will repeatedly claim he cannot lose the election unless the Biden government cheats him of his certain victory, all of which will keep his followers’ emotions amped up to just below a boiling point.
I have wondered about how many people actually attend Trump’s rallies. Why do mainstream media crews not pan their cameras around those rallies to show how many people really are in attendance? They do show the people standing behind Trump, but many of them look like they are not even listening to him. Many are looking at their phones, and some are taking selfies (a hobby I’ve never understood). Maybe they simply are awestruck at actually standing so close to their leader.
I know there are huge numbers of people in Trump’s camp, but many other citizens would like to hear why they support him. I did ask an old friend from high school days why he still supports Trump. He told me, “I know he’s a dog, but I liked what he did when he was in office.” My old friend is wealthy and he got a great tax cut, so he supports a person he does not respect in the slightest.
Do Trump followers share Trump’s admiration for Putin, or his stated intention to disrupt the NATO alliance that has kept Russian aggression partly in check since World War II? Putin knows that without America’s help, NATO countries cannot prevent him from invading Russia’s surrounding countries, just as Europe could only defeat the Nazis in World War II by having America’s help.
Perhaps Trump does not care what Putin plans after Ukraine’s possible defeat: sooner or later to invade Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Poland (all members of NATO) because he thinks Russia historically “owns” those countries. If Trump does get elected, Putin knows his government will also “own” American foreign policy.
Maybe Trump’s people believe him when he says migrants on the southern border are “criminals and rapists” and are “poisoning our blood.” Do his supporters agree with him, but are ashamed to admit it publicly, because that would point out their own fears and prejudices, and show how easily they can be led by an individual who purposely appeals to their worst tendencies?
Trump’s six business bankruptcies were all legal, but they damaged or ruined dozens of small businesses. He hurt their employees who did not get paid for work they did for him, because he said he was “just being smart.” Trump always expresses his love for union workers, but the evidence of his behavior over many years shows the opposite. Do his supporters not care about the people Trump hurt, people in many respects like them? If they stand by him on an issue like this, they should proudly admit it.
Trump folks discount his upcoming criminal trials and possible felony and misdemeanor convictions, calling them tyrannical attacks on him by our government. Do they also think all those accusations of sexual assault are false, levied against him over the years by at least two dozen women? His supporters are sending him millions of dollars to pay for his defense lawyers and help with the costly settlements he now must pay for defamation, and for having committed business fraud over many years.
If Trump supporters feel all the foregoing charges, behaviors, and convictions are false, then why are so few of them willing to state publicly their reasons for supporting him so completely? Are his supporters merely angry about their own lives’ circumstances and using Trump to express that? Do they just resent the US government, or simply want to stick their thumb in Biden’s eye?
All the situations mentioned above don’t seem like good enough reasons for most people to flock to Trump’s side. Trump has shown again and again who he is, and during his criminal trials this spring and summer, I am pretty sure his supporters will continue to decline in number. Very likely, he will lose the election this coming November.
To Trump supporters: please contact me at merslife@gmail.com and indicate why you support Trump for President. I promise to treat all responses seriously and courteously, and will publish them in a future column. And I promise to keep confidential the names of people who send me information regarding why they support Trump for President.
