So I'm off to watch history, the Inauguration of the 45th President of the United States of America. As I sit on my flight and take some time to reflect on the past 15 months, I realize that as President Trump ran his campaign, igniting a revolution (two of them actually, but more on that later) he also ignited something in me.
I will never forget the long drive to Indianapolis back in August, 2015 when I first heard one of Trump's campaign speeches on my satellite radio. I was mesmerized. He was saying things that I had not only wondered about but had wanted to say out loud. What I realized, while listening to him and reflecting afterwards, was that he was verbalizing many things I felt. What I loved most was that he truly loves our country. He truly wants every person to succeed. He wants to put America first. He will fight for all of us. These things I heard in the first speech and I believed him.
Like many others, I didn't believe he would ever make it out of the primaries. I tried to throw my support behind Marco Rubio. He seemed like a nice enough guy, when he spoke it sounded like poetry to my ears. Then the first debate happened and his parting words, rushed and squeezed in like he had to say them or he would die, "I believe marriage is between one man and one woman..." or something to that effect. Being a gay woman this obviously did not sit well with me. While I believe our right to marry is safe due to the 2015 SCOTUS ruling - I couldn't get it right in my head why Rubio felt compelled to force that statement in, unsolicited, and it bothered me. Being a devout Catholic I also know he was pro life, (I am pro choice) I felt he would focus some of his energy on these two social issues instead of the real issues impacting our country - economy, terror, trade, illegal immigration, etc. For these reasons, Rubio was no longer a choice for me. This election was not about social issues for me (as 2008 and 2012 were). We had enough of that with President Obama, it was time to get back to the real issues plaguing the majority in our country.
I watched Trump during the first debate - his "name calling" of his opponents, his rancorous way of speaking, how much of a "non politician" he was. I was intrigued but, again didn't think he a likely candidate, so didn't give him much thought. Of course, he made the asinine comment about Megan Kelly ("blood coming from her where ever"). Like many, I was appalled. However, I continued to pay attention and I witnessed for the first time Donald Trump take on main stream media, give his middle finger to political correctness and his refusal to back down. While I hated what he said, I liked his fight to defend himself. I liked that he didn't apologize. He was becoming the one person in politics that was not afraid to say what he thought and to stand by it. PC Police be damned. He had my attention.
Regardless, I still didn't pick him. My next choice was John Kasich. I thought he did an excellent job in my neighboring state of Ohio. They had economic growth, he was somewhat socially liberal, and he seemed thoughtful and smart. I agreed with him on most things, I thought he had some good ideas, he was classy and respectful. The second debate came and went and Kasich just couldn't keep up. He came across as weak and by refusing to engage with Trump, he held on to his integrity (which I respect) but his platform got lost in his inability to have a voice in the political environment that was Donald Trump. I feared him taking on the political machine of Hillary Clinton, with the backing she had from main stream media and I thought Kasich did not stand a chance in a head to head battle with all of that.
I felt lost with no one to support.
(If you are wondering why I didn't consider Hillary Clinton - I could go on and on about why she was not a choice for me, however, I refuse to criticize her in order to justify the choice I did make. I was not a Trump voter because I was part of the "Never Hillary" crowd. I was a Trump voter because I believe in Donald Trump.)
I had been listening to Trump's speeches for a few months now. There were a few cringe worthy moments along the way. What struck me most was the intense media bias against him. I noticed that when I would listen to a speech and he would make a statement like "banning all Muslims" or his supposed ridicule of the handicapped reporter (neither of these are true when you research), the main stream media (MSM) would play that one sound bite over and over, completely out of context. Having listened to the entire speech, I wondered why they took it out of context? It was obvious MSM didn't like Trump and I came to believe they had an aggressive agenda to take him down, at any cost. This made me more interested in him than ever. And, of course, the things that first caught my ear on my drive to Indy still rang true but even more so. I like his unapologetic way of handling himself. I appreciated his candor and outspokenness.
My self proclaimed feminist daughter, Rylee, and I attended a Trump rally in Blue Ash in March, 2016. I had seen the crowds, heard about the protesters and wanted to see for myself. I wrote about it on Facebook...
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| Proud of her for being informed |
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| Not in the protest area with the F word on his sign |
The other instance was two marines, one on each side, screaming at each other about the Iraq war. We walked away. We didn't see any violence or threats of violence. We saw people who are passionate in the beliefs exercising their rights. It is history in the making - Rylee remembers me taking her to a H. Clinton rally in 2008 where there were about 200 people and she compared that today where we saw 10 times that many, not including those who actually got in. I am listening to MSNBC right now describe the scene of what I just left and, once again, the media lies. There was no violence, no racial names being called, no threats. It was peaceful. I came away amused at the level of passion on both sides."
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| Protesters |
Experiencing this first hand, caused more thought and reflection - Why were so many against him? What were they hearing that I wasn't? My answer - liberal main stream media feeding them sound bites that aid the promotion of their agenda. They realized Trump could not be controlled - he funded his own campaign, he was beholden to no one. I was ready to admit I liked him. I wasn't ready to admit I was a supporter.
The primaries were in full swing, I was glued to my computer watching his rallies, seeing the crowds, listening to his ideas for helping those ravaged by our bad trade deals, his plan for terrorists, his plan to deal with illegal immigrants. It became obvious I was agreeing with every single idea he had. It helped that the likes of Mitt Romney didn't like him and former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani did. It helped that HRC and the democrats wrote him off before they even started. It helped that MSM was obviously against him. All of these things helped me decide to support him.
I am proud that I voted twice for Obama. I think he is an honorable man, still do. However, the past two years, I have been disappointed in President Obama. I was disappointed that he wouldn't speak out against the riots in Baltimore, that he seemed to support the ridiculous and hate filled agenda of Black Lives Matter, that we seemed to be a doormat in not only the global economy but also the world in general, the Iran deal made my stomach hurt, the forcing through of Executive Orders, the division by Race, Sexual Orientation, Religion, the labling of us all when we are all really just Americans. The blaming of gun laws for mass shootings, the non mention of the astronomical increase in homicides in Chicago, the terrorists attacks in Boston, California, Orlando, etc. I was dismayed that Pres Obama refused to even call them terrorist attacks. The man I voted for had become a shell of himself and our country was paying the price. The PC culture has taken over and it took Donald Trump to make it obvious. What is wrong with putting America first? What is wrong with saying things like riots and BLM are wrong? Why not speak to the African American community in Chicago about killing each other? Obama did none of this, instead he apologized for our greatness. He seemed ashamed and I wanted someone different. I realized I had become a Deplorable.
Like many of DJT's critics who say they are "afraid", I too was afraid but I was afraid for different reasons. Where they feared DJT because of the sound bites routinely fed to them by MSM, I was afraid because of real life things. I am afraid of terrorists, I am afraid for our inner cities, I am afraid for my daughters going into a country where every little thing is blown out of proportion. I am afraid that the culture of our country will convince my daughters they are victims instead of teaching them to use their intelligence, their voices and their power to make their way. I am afraid of the economic strain on our country by illegal immigration. Being the daughter of immigrants, of course I am all for people coming to the USA and making a life. However, I believe they need to assimilate, speak our language, be proud (like my parents) to be Americans and do their part to make our country great.
I have had women ask me why I would vote for someone who talks about grabbing women's private parts. It's an easy answer for me - he was a private citizen, at a private event and had no idea he was being recorded, he had no plans to enter public life. It also occurred in 2005, a lifetime ago for most of us. All of us have said/text/done things with our friends that we would never want to be released to the world. All of us have joked or said unscrupulous things never planning to be recorded or to have those incidents laid out for the world to judge. If you say you haven't you are lying. Being a gay woman, I also have many male friends who treat me like "one of the guys". These are good family men, married to some of my best girlfriends - yet I have heard almost every one of them say the same type things Trump did. If you think your husband or boyfriend is above this type of things - you are woefully naive. It is a reason so many men identified with him. If anything the leak of the Billy Bush audiotape solidified Trump's base as he seemed even more like "one of us". He is not a career politician who has crafted his entire life, watching every word he has ever said, trying to climb the political ladder. He's a real guy, who built a successful business and came out of nowhere to shake things up. He doesn't have to do this. He could sit back and never work another day in his life and his life wouldn't change a bit. He is self made, wealthier than any of us, very little impresses him, all he wants to do is work. He doesn't need the money, he doesn't need the power, he doesn't need the headaches but he is doing it anyway. He is a leader and I am happy to follow.
So I am officially on the Trump Train. I hope we all ride it to new heights of greatness for the USA. I won't apologize for my vote, I will continue to defend my vote, I believe in DJT and if he is allowed to get his policies through we will
ALL benefit.
ALL benefit.
Off to D.C., y'all. Back later.
