Someone put up a meme about a whole field of sheep all wearing red MAGA hats as far as the eye can see . And the sheep were all raptly listening to a wolf dressed up in a sheepskin. The implication was that Donald Trump is the wolf and his “followers” are the sheep. After seeing the meme, I wrote; “That is funny!!! I see the humor. It is OK to make jokes about each other. But, seriously, Trump supporters are not “the sheep.”

Trump supporters are diverse, free-thinking, sometimes a bit rebellious, and not easily led. They will freely talk to you about what they believe. They won’t cancel you for thinking differently. Many of them came from countries where their freedoms were curtailed. Others are from the inner city but managed to get out with an education and perhaps a mentor or a parent’s inspiration. They know the meaning of work and trial and error.
They are willing to take risks. They don’t want “safe spaces.” They are not afraid to use words about God. Many of them go to church. That does NOT make them religious fanatics. They simply feel comfortable with those who need to be in a religious organization; it can be Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim or other…we don’t care.

Someone asked me, “Are there any issues on which you ( or Trump supporters whom you know) disagree with Trump?” And I wrote, “Plenty.”
So then this person asked, “As someone who will freely talk about what they believe, would you expound on that?”
So I did. See below:

I and plenty of other people I know (who may or may NOT support Trump) see a million faults in the man. I don’t know anyone who really believes he is a great guy. Donald Trump has not been very nice, not very polished, certainly NOT diplomatic, not faithful to his wives, and not a very good judge of character, sometimes. As a planner of his Cabinet and the trusted people around him, he seemed swayed by sycophants like Vice President Mike Pence. Pence then turned against the President, refused to question the votes in the 2020 election even though there were a million reasons to do so. Then he ran for President briefly, until just recently dropping out of the race. What kind of a creep does that? Donald Trump was wrong when he allowed Pence to be his running mate. One hopes he has learned a lesson about choosing those to whom he will give power.

He was so unusual as a President; we have never seen anything like him before. He is a businessman, not a politician. This is one of the best things about him. Career politicians should not be allowed to run for President. President Trump brought what he learned in the real world into office with him. His life brought him many experiences, expertise in marketing, and lots of TV exposure.

When we went through the covid debacle, he initially tried to downplay the “panic” because he understood it would be a great mistake for the country. He knew the survival rate was extremely high. The doctors told him there was a huge disparity about who was getting sick. Almost all those falling ill were old and also had pre-existing conditions. He deferred to Tony Fauci, because Trump himself was not a doctor and he was busy. BIG MISTAKE. I bet he is sorry for that. So it is clear he makes mistakes, especially with some of the people who he picked to run agencies. I don’t think President Trump ever believed in wearing masks or social distancing. He wanted to be known for the warp speed of the vaccine development, but ironically, that worked out differently. The Democrats first said they would not take it if he were responsible. So, as soon as his presidency ended they grabbed hold of the vaccine for themselves and all those they could frighten into taking it. I find this pretty funny, myself. He certainly dodged a bullet.

People who talk about how shocking it is that some of his companies declared bankruptcy don’t know much about starting businesses. So many go bust. The amazing thing is that he has not had many, many more declare bankruptcy. He has had well over five hundred businesses. Of course, some won’t make it. But his numbers look pretty good. How many of the talking heads that complain about him have ever started or run a business?

Then there are the people who said Donald Trump flirted with them, kissed them, maybe even forced his sexual self on them. They deserve to be heard, but the whole “Me Too” movement is really new. Hashtag #MeToo has only been used since 2017. For most of history, men tried to take advantage of women. I am old enough to remember that it was common to have to be careful of men. Trump is of that generation, too. Now, it seems awful or unfair. It was not a great way of life, but it was NORMAL. All women knew about this. And we were armed with this knowledge. Knowledge is power. For the most part, we protected ourselves. And men, ALL MEN, got away with it a lot. Sometimes, these predators were beaten up by a boyfriend or a husband. And that was considered a crime of passion. Times are different now. But when Trump was in his prime, he pretty much had the run of the beautiful women who were looking for a rich man.

Plenty of those women took advantage of Trump, too. Maybe not for sexual favors, but they did it for monetary gain. It is a game as old as time. Why is everyone suddenly so shocked?

If you have a broken bone that needs surgery, what do you look for in a surgeon? Do you want one with an excellent, sound reputation with the opposite sex, or do you want a person who is adept and has a sound reputation in the operating room? It seems to me that people forget this when they criticize Donald Trump for things that mean absolutely nothing when it comes to guiding the country. We are traveling through a dark place. Our enemies are everywhere, and many others are just waiting to pounce. Isn’t it reassuring to know that the man who steers the ship is aware of them and unafraid? He is used to dealing with thugs, crooks, charlatans, thieves, and generally bad guys. He is up to the challenge, because he has been doing some version of this his whole life.

Here are some of the reasons people DO LIKE TRUMP. As the British journalist, Piers Morgan, said, “he has the thinnest skin of anyone” who ever ran for president, but “he also has the thickest skin.” He often takes little criticisms personally and strikes out at those whom he feels have wronged him. However, this is temporary. He is a tough man. A junkyard dog. He is totally impervious to “judgment” or real criticism of his policies or practices. He just does not let such things have any effect on him or his actions.
In a man trying to save a country, this is a good thing. People say he is only in it for himself. Are they kidding? He is living with daily death threats, not just to himself but to his family.
He does NOT have to do this. He could live a rich, lazy private life and make more money by NOT being president.

People criticize him for not being a true Republican. They say he was once a Democrat, but the Democrats hate him even more than the RINO Republicans. He is not really a Republican or a Democrat.

He is for EVERYMAN.
This is a good thing.

The campaign to disparage him and make people afraid of him has been very effective. People call him a fascist, but those very people are acting like fascists themselves. People accuse him of wanting to be a dictator, but dictators are not in favor of gun rights. Those who are against him tell the most extraordinary lies about the man. They say he is racist, but he is gaining the black vote daily. They know he is NOT racist. The press hammers away at old stories from 20 years ago, but no one has a contemporary tale any more convincing. They are still talking about an incident where Trump may or may not have mimicked and disparaged a reporter with a disability. Not his best moment, but seriously, who has not been caught doing something that may offend some group? Who is completely free of flaws? Anyone?

The stories have reached a fever pitch now. Often, they are trying to frighten people into voting for anyone else but Trump. I do not believe Donald Trump cares about any of that.

He really does want to Make America Great Again.

What surprises me is the number of people who do NOT want this.

Copyright©. 2024 Bonnie B. Matheson