Those of my friends who define themselves as liberal, by an large hate Trump. Perhaps I should have written "dislike" instead of "hate". But when asked what they think Trump, their response is visceral.
And, I understand that. So why should anyone favor Trump?
Let me first list his negatives. He exaggerates. If he tells you how many attended one of his rallies, he'll generally give an exaggerated figure. This is not to diminish the size of his rallies. He usually gets excellent attendance. But he is known to guild the lilly. And, he's said some really awful things such as that John McCann was no hero. He was a hero. He just wasn't a great candidate for the presidency of this country. Moving on.
Right to life: As one who strongly endorses women's right, I believe that whether to have an abortion or not, is strictly a decision for the woman to make. The supreme court's decisions have pretty much supported this position. It's time for Trump to more on. He no longer has to worry about the right-to-lifers. Let the Supreme Court take the heat.
Regarding the pandemic which we are now facing: I don't believe in a total, national shut down, but studies do show that wearing a face mask is an excellent technique for avoiding infection.
( Being 86, I surely don't want to get infected.) Trump has excellent medical advisors. He should be getting behind having the public wear face masks. If people want to sit closer to one another at a rally it's something I wouldn't support. But, I'd leave it up to the people. But endorsing a face mask deserves Trump's whole hearted support. I am very disappointed that he hasn't gotten behind it.
From my perspective, there are indeed items for which we can fault Trump. But then let's look at some of the other issues.
Racism in America. In my opinion, it exists at a relatively low level. One troublesome intersection in American society is racism encountered in police work; especially when facing low level criminal behavior, and on the road when driving. When a person, black or white, is found slumped in a drunken stupor behind the wheel of a car, it's a situation that calls for special caution. Intoxicated people, whether black or white require special attention. This must be a part of police training. And, when a black person is seen driving; someone who has followed all the rules of the road, police behavior must be above reproach and most certainly not be intrusive.
On the other hand, incidents such as the tragic killing of a black man, such as George Floyd by an out-of-control police officer are truly uncommon when compared to the size of the total American population. It most certainly does not call for mayhem in the streets, the smashing of storefronts and the looting which we've recently witnessed. A larger issue by far is the many killings of black youth by black youth that occurs most weekends in cities like Detroit and Chicago.
The tearing down of statues of people little known to those those tearing them downed is outrageous. If they wish to remove statues of military leaders that fought for the confederacy, in essence, fought to maintain slavery, there are legal ways of doing it. But this must be a decision of the citizenry, not the mob. And, I am aghast that people would tear down statues of people like Washington, Jefferson and Columbus.
On matters such as those just discussed, I support Trump's position over that of spokespeople who pander to black voters. Our union of states, as it has evolved to this day, represents a governance that is far from perfect. But, in my opinion it's superior by far to anything I see among U.N. member nations. Some would have you believe that pride in America is some sort of jingoistic attitude. But, I'm not one of them. When I see athletes take a knee rather than stand for our national anthem, I say to myself, yes, it's their right, but I, nevertheless, hold them in very low esteem.
I believe that a vibrant economy, as someone once said, lifts all the ships. It certainly improves the unemployment statistics of even the lowest paid workers. I don't think Biden would disagree. I don't think Biden has much of an opinion on much of anything. But Elizabeth Warren certainly does and her opinions will no doubt guide Biden. That would spell tragedy for this country.
In the area of foreign affairs it took a Trump to call out China for its theft of American technology and know-how. What previous president had been willing to call out China on this issue? Germany wanted the U.S. to put our soldiers on their soil but was unwilling to pay for them. It was also unwilling to change its subservience to Russia, by continuing to rely on Russian energy.
Finally, back home, we have a U.S. representative like Ilhan Omar from Somalia who wants to remake America. What? Like Somalia?
Then we have the issue of Israel and the Palestinians. Need I say more?
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