My neighbors who support Trump live by a much higher moral standard than he does. They are good and seriously religious people and I struggle to understand their excuses for his behavior that they would never tolerate if he lived next door. They seem to think one can vote for a man whose behavior they admit is detestable and not be morally aligned with him, as if character is exempt from politics and voting for a scoundrel is not complicity. They display acute cognitive dissonance and it is hypocritical to proclaim decency and then excuse indecency.
Perhaps their pet issues are so important to them that they excuse his moral failings. When principle become so conditional, integrity becomes mere pretense. We often choose the “lesser of two evils” but Trump’s unique bad acts tip the balance when the choice is between policy issues that are indeed important and our moral values that are even more important. After all, they are at the core of who we are.
Review the facts: by his own admission he likes to grab women by the genitals; he was found liable for sexual assault; he cheated on three wives, the last with a porn star he paid hush money. Would you encourage your daughter or sister to date him? He was found guilty by a jury of 34 felonies, convicted of bank fraud, and has had numerous bankruptcies and failed businesses (his wine, university, airline, steaks…). Thousands of people trusted him and were cheated, but you trust him with our money?
He is a serial liar (I dare you to fact check me) and led an insurrection against the constitutional transfer of power, the first attempted coup ever in America. We saw it with our own eyes. He said he would be a dictator on “day one.” At least ten of his former cabinet members said he was unfit to serve and his own vice-president refuses to endorse him. He belittled the contribution of vets. He was impeached twice. He wants to end our European alliance in favor of Putin’s Russia. His key advisors wrote “Project 2025,” a blueprint for dictatorship. He has promised to put millions of your Hispanic neighbors into camps, but you’ll vote for him anyway? You are comfortable with such complicity?
His presidency was not what he boasts it was. Covid raged out of control, he weakened key alliances, and when he was done, the economy was in ruins (again, fact check me). He introduced an era of conspiracy, fear, anger, sharp division, and rude civil behavior. The Trump years have brimmed with turmoil. Haven’t we had enough?
I believe America was always great. It is an insult to say my beloved country is not great now. We are the luckiest and most free people on earth. Americans look forward, not backwards. And here is the most important part: my vote is not just a civic duty, my vote is sacred. Look, I’ve done plenty of nose-holding when I vote, but Donald Trump has character flaws and a moral stench I cannot abide.
– by Chip Ward, Torrey
Read other letters to the editor on this topic in Trump Article Shades the Truth by Bill Barrett.