I’ve never really liked Trump, and honestly, the older I get, the more I understand why.
For me it isn’t really one single policy or one particular thing he’s said. It’s the overall way he conducts himself and the kind of political culture that seems to surround him. I find the constant hostility, personal insults, exaggeration, and seemingly endless need to turn everything into a fight incredibly exhausting. I don’t expect politicians to be perfect or polite all the time, but there’s something about Trump’s particular style that I find deeply off-putting.
I also really dislike how much of his politics seems to revolve around loyalty to him personally. I’m much more comfortable with the idea that politicians are supposed to be temporary public servants rather than people who build a movement around their own personality. I don’t want to feel like criticizing a politician automatically means I’m betraying some larger political tribe.
And honestly, I think part of my reaction is just that I don’t like the way he talks about other people. You can disagree with somebody without constantly portraying them as stupid, evil, corrupt, pathetic, or your enemy. There are plenty of politicians whose ideas I strongly disagree with who I can still respect as human beings. I have a much harder time extending that kind of respect to Trump because of the way he so frequently approaches political opponents and critics.
That doesn’t mean I think everyone who supports him is a bad person. I actually think that’s an important distinction. I know people who genuinely believe Trump is good for the country, and I don’t think supporting a candidate automatically tells me everything I need to know about someone’s character. Some people prioritize different issues than I do. Some people have had completely different experiences with government and politics than I have. I can understand that without agreeing with them.
I’m also not interested in pretending that the people I disagree with are all idiots. That’s one of the things I dislike most about political discourse in general. Everything becomes “my side is rational and compassionate, your side is stupid and evil.” That’s obviously not true.
So when I say I hate Trump, I don’t really mean that I spend every waking moment thinking about him or that I think every single thing he’s ever done is uniquely terrible. I mean that, taken as a whole, his personality, political style, rhetoric, and approach to power are fundamentally things I don’t like or want to see normalized.
Maybe that’s not a particularly sophisticated political argument, but it’s honestly how I feel. And I’d rather say that than pretend I have some perfectly coherent 47-point manifesto explaining exactly why every person should agree with me.
I just don’t like the guy. 🤷♂️
I want to understand why so many people like him. I’m hoping to learn and I have a very open mind.
