They Still Don’t Get Trump

Hat tip to @OldBathos for his post on a Bret Stephens article https://ricochet.com/1758380/done-with-never-trump/ in the New York Times. Stephens’ article confirmed for me that the Left still doesn’t understand Donald Trump. Whether or not they want to understand him is unclear.

From Trump’s first venture into politics leading up to his first term, the Left decided that rather than get to know him, they would create a caricature of him. They made foolish and naïve assumptions about his character, his personality, his goals and his motives.

First, they decided he was impossibly arrogant. Well, he probably is arrogant. But just before this latest election we saw him serving hamburgers at McDonald’s and he assured a drive-up customer that the customer wasn’t “ordinary.” In fact, the Left refuses to acknowledge how well Trump relates to people of all backgrounds and ages. His son Barron showed him how to connect with young adults; he promised no tax on tips for the entertainment industry groups, since he knows how limited their income can be. Although it might not be helpful to the economy, he realizes how much seniors appreciate their Social Security and Medicare; I think he’s acknowledged to his DOGE leaders that there are many more places where spending can be cut.

Have you heard him tell stories about playing golf with his granddaughter? (The Left would never believe his softer side toward his grandkids.) He talks about his granddaughter with a measure of pride and humility: she is apparently a very good player. Or have you noticed the number of people who have spoken with him and commented on how friendly, gracious and engaged he is? Or how people insist that Elon Musk is a threat to the presidency when Trump probably feels he’s hit the jackpot by backing Musk and Ramaswamy?

Or have you noticed the respect he shows women who are nominated to his cabinet, and even better, the admiration he shows for his wife?

The media has been ranting that Trump demands that people be loyal. Since when did loyalty become a negative attribute? Not only that, after all the betrayals he experienced with the people he selected for his first term (John Bolton, Mike Pompeo, Rex Tillerson, and Jim Mattis, for starters), people who either decided to implement their own agendas or who criticized Trump in public or leaked to the press, he learned some lessons about vetting his selections and demanding future loyalty.

Yes, Trump loves to exaggerate (his hyperbole is legion), but none of it has affected his policies or performance with foreign leaders.

The key for the Left from the start is that they feared that Trump would not honor the Deep State, and will do that even less in his second term; they're right. I understand their dislike of his brashness, but wouldn’t you rather know what he thinks than have him hide his actions and intentions in the shadows?

The Left (especially the everyday folks) will need to decide whether they want to continue to embrace the caricature or whether they will finally decide to get to know him.

The people have embraced him. Does the Left care?