It’s never been about Donald Trump.
It’s always been about the Donald Trump voter.
To say that Donald Trump is a flawed human being is an understatement. The same could be said about the Donald Trump voter.
We are all flawed in our own individual ways. The president wears his flaws on his sleeve, which is refreshing in a strange and compelling way.
The Trump voter loves America, reflexively, even if America and its political class lets it down on occasion.
The Trump voter stands for the national anthem at the beginning of every Major League Baseball game and sings “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during every 7th inning stretch. There is no ambiguity in that essentially non-political exercise.
The Trump voter sees this country as the good guy but wonders why we spend so much of our blood and treasure getting involved in foreign wars. It’s a valid question that the Never Trumpers rarely ask.
The Trump voter doesn’t trust the political class and is prone to believing in some outlandish conspiracy theories, some of which turn out to be true. Yes, the Obama White House did frame Michael Flynn and did try to railroad Mr. Trump out of his job.
The Trump voter has been reflexively against China, mostly because they don’t like to see America’s manufacturing base and the jobs that come with them exported overseas. But, at the same time, they like buying the cheap big screen televisions that they can find at the local Walmart.
The Trump voter has a love/hate relationship with its local Walmart. They love the prices but wonder about big corporations in general.
The Trump voter likes law enforcement, but only when it keeps the peace and doesn’t infringe on their own personal liberty. Many Trump voters wouldn’t mind seeing the cops doing a lot less, and they are horrified by stories of no-knock warrants gone bad. The idea of defunding the cops sounds really stupid to them.
The Trump voter has given up on the national media and many of the local television news outlets as well. They get their news from Fox, because at least Fox tries to be fair and balanced. Most reporters feel free to share all of their liberal political opinions at all times, and it is annoying to the typical Trump voter.
The Trump voter won’t wear a mask unless they have to, and then only begrudgingly. The president wearing a mask of the weekend won’t change their basic opinions of masks.
The Trump voter probably hasn’t thought that much about statues, but they certainly don’t like the idea of angry mobs tearing down the Washington Monument or the Jefferson Memorial or whatever 18th century white male figure who is standing defenseless, down the street.
The Trump voter agrees with the president that schools need to reopen this fall. They know that keeping the kids at home is bad for the kids and bad for the parents. They may like the folks who teach their kids, but they have little tolerance for the unions that are playing this virus to extort more concessions out of the spineless politicians who have unnecessarily closed the economy.
The Trump voter got exactly what they expected from this president. Somebody who would shake up the political system, who would stand up to China, who would take on political correctness and who would get the economy moving again.
They would like the president to get a better handle on the COVID-19 panic. It’s a tough situation, sure, but Mr. Trump can’t let the governors close down the economy again. None of us can afford that, especially not the president.
The Trump voter knows the risks of being a Trump voter. They see what happens to people who wear MAGA hats or have Trump stickers on their cars. They know what happens when they say too much on social media and they know what can happen to people who say what they really believe.
So they keep their mouths shut. But they are going to vote this fall. They can’t wait to vote this fall.
Feehery is a partner at EFB Advocacy and blogs at www.thefeeherytheory.com. He served as spokesman to former Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), as communications director to former Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) when he was majority whip and as a speechwriter to former House Minority Leader Bob Michel (R-Ill.).