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How I Went From 'Trump Skeptic' to 'Trump Fan'
Townhall.com ^ | November 1, 2020 | Derek Hunter

Posted on 11/01/2020 3:50:34 AM PST by Kaslin

In 2016, I was not a Donald Trump fan. I’d fully planned on writing in some joke name or whatever because, well, I didn’t trust Trump. There was no way on God’s green earth I was ever going to vote for Hillary Clinton, and third parties are pathetic. I lived in Maryland, so I could justify it to myself as it not really mattering in the grand scheme of things – Maryland is so blue it would vote for Stalin.

I also believed, as did most everyone else, that Clinton would win. In the primary, I was originally a Marco Rubio supporter, then a Ted Cruz fan as the field winnowed. I never dreamed this guy whose TV show I’d been a fan of could do anything but humiliate himself and the party. I was wrong.

Before election day, I did some soul-searching. My wife was pregnant with our first child and I knew a Hillary Clinton presidency would be horrible for the country. Democrats had big plans to “fundamentally transform” the country, ruining much of what made the country the envy of the world in the name of “progressive” politics. What would I tell my child about life before, about the country before? And what would I tell them about what I did to try to stop it.

In a column that went viral, I’d changed my mind. I knew I had to do everything I could, including voting for someone I didn’t think would be a good president but was the only realistic alternative, to register my opposition to the damage to come.

I was as shocked as anyone when Donald Trump won.

After that, I thought it would be four years of working to mitigate the damage he would do, peppered with a few good things. I was wrong.

Three Supreme Court Justices, countless needless regulations repealed, tax cuts for everyone, unthinkably low unemployment, a booming economy, no new wars, Middle East peace deals, ISIS decimated, NAFTA gone, and American pride rising. I was very wrong.

Sure, there were tweets I wished weren’t sent, points that could have been made clearer or more directly – I’m not going to agree with anyone 100 percent of the time except me. But Donald Trump, quite simply, has been an excellent president of the United States.

Most surprisingly of all, and evident in his overall accomplishments, he was easily one of the most conservative presidents we’ve ever had. Whether it was, as some never Trumpers whine, all an act, I couldn’t care less. Results matter, and the results are beyond dispute.

When it comes to 2020, were it not for coronavirus, President Trump would coast to victory. Democrats and the media would still have coordinated all their lies and attacks, but they would’ve been seen clearly as the pathetic character assassinations they are.

The fog of the pandemic has clouded everyone’s vision, empowering left wing lies. Joe Biden, Democrats, and the media gleefully accuse the president of being responsible for 200,000 deaths.

It’s an easy attack, and a cheap shot. But when the media memory holes the fact that Dr. Deborah Birx said back in March that we would experience 200,000 deaths “if we do things almost perfectly,” as NBC News did, it makes it an even easier lie to tell.

These people, who’d exploit the pain of loss of American families for their political advantage, sickly promising their loved ones would still be alive if only Democrats were in charge, deserve every ounce of scorn human beings can heap upon them.

Add to that the demonization of treatments, the belittling of vaccines, and the contempt for hope and I’m left with only disgust. These people cannot be allowed anywhere near power.

So this time, I will vote against Democrats with just as much eagerness and even more urgency now that their party has moved even further to the left and embraced even crazier, anti-American values. The difference is, this time I will vote for Donald Trump with a level of enthusiasm I did not in 2016, with a level of enthusiasm with which I’ve never voted for any other candidate before. The record is too good, the stakes too damn high, and the alternative too damn crazy and corrupt to do anything else.

Join me, and bring friends.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2020preselection; enthusiasm; imeimeimdp0622; joebiden; trump; trumpsupporter
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To: FLT-bird

I knew from the second he came down that escalator that Donald J Trump, while he may not have been the President we wanted, he was the President we needed.

We voted for him in the primary and then again in the General.

We have never regretted it.

Not once.

L


61 posted on 11/01/2020 6:43:39 AM PST by Lurker (Peaceful coexistence with the Left is not possible. Stop pretending that it is.)
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To: jpsb

Same here, he had me at “wall.”

I pointed at the TV and said “Him! I want him!”

I had been a Scott Walker fan prior to that.


62 posted on 11/01/2020 6:44:27 AM PST by hellinahandcart
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To: Kaslin

Getting suspicious that Fauci arranged the release of his virus in collaboration with the Democrats to get Trump by killing us. Now that Obama and the Bidens are proven to be pippets of the Chi-Coms, the timing is incredible.


63 posted on 11/01/2020 6:47:12 AM PST by American in Israel (A wise man's heart directs him to the right, but the foolish mans heart directs him toward the left.)
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To: HollyB
Thank you for that info 🙃 I did use Twitter, lol - til they locked me out - and it is weird, sometimes I can follow links to it, and sometimes not - kinda strange Will see if FB is feeling benevolent this morning 😉.
64 posted on 11/01/2020 6:48:56 AM PST by thesearethetimes... (Had I brought Christ with me, the outcome would have been different. Dr.Eric Cunningham)
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To: dp0622
Voting is usually an annoying duty to me. Standing in line. Finding a parking spot.

Same here. Pre-Trump, I usually went out there and did my duty, making it point to do so in presidential election years, but very few politicians ever inspired me like Trump has.

I voted for Reagan but was still too young at the time to truly appreciate what we had in him. In 1992, I was (naively) very passionate about Ross Perot and voted for him with full knowledge I was probably helping Clinton win. The next time I was really passionate about a campaign was in 2009, when I volunteered for the Scott Brown campaign in Massachusetts (who went on to win the special election to fill Ted Kennedy's senate seat in Jan 2010). I was in the Tea Party then and it felt really good to upset the applecart and send the Dems hand-picked successor to a most unexpected and shocking defeat.

But alas, Scott Brown very quickly disappointed and now I regret that vote as well.

So I got to the point a few years ago where I couldn't care less anymore who got elected. It didn't seem to make much difference either way. Though I always tried to vote for the more conservative candidate, it was without passion.

Then Trump came along. Like Ross Perot and Scott Brown before him, I steeled myself for ultimate disappointment. But to my pleasant surprise, Trump not only met but far exceeded all expectations I had for him. He accomplished all this in spite of the near 100% opposition he has had to face over the past years - even from within his own party.

The polls open at 6am on Tuesday in my precinct. I am going to be there at 5:45am with a mug of coffee. I cannot WAIT to vote for this man a second time. He has earned and deserves a second term more than any other president in our modern era.

65 posted on 11/01/2020 6:58:58 AM PST by SamAdams76 (Orange Man GOOD!)
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To: null and void
Does hand carrying the mailed out ballots back to county election headquarters count as voting in person?

Yes, that is what I did. No mail for my ballot, drove to the County Court house, went to the Clerks office and dropped in a slot that lands in their office. First time in my life I voted FOR a President and not against the other candidate.

66 posted on 11/01/2020 6:59:24 AM PST by thirst4truth (America, What difference does it make?)
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To: Kaslin; All

This guy is NOT alone. I was a Cruzer, then a Rubio fan. Trump grew on me little by little.

“Three Supreme Court Justices, countless needless regulations repealed, tax cuts for everyone, unthinkably low unemployment, a booming economy, no new wars, Middle East peace deals, ISIS decimated, NAFTA gone, and American pride rising.”

Amen!


67 posted on 11/01/2020 7:05:03 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust post-Apocalyptic skill set.)
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To: KosmicKitty
I went to the Trump rally in Connecticut in 2016 as a skeptic, I left as a believer. After seeing him in person, I realized how wrong my impression of him was and I knew he would win.

Perhaps we were at the same on then? Trump did three CT rallies that year. I was at the one in Fairfield on August 13th. Trump also did rallies in Waterbury and New Haven that year, if I recall correctly.

Anyway, I'll never forget the day of August 13, 2016. It was brutally hot and humid, probably the hottest of the year. But the line to get into the rally was over a mile long. Once inside, people were dropping like flies due to the heat. At the rally conclusion, we had a severe thunderstorm and the skies opened up. So I spent about a half hour watching the press tear down their gear while many of us chanted "CNN SUCKS" at them.

It was also that weekend that Trump decided to overhaul his campaign and bring in Kellyanne Conway and Steve Bannon. It was the last rally Trump ever did without a teleprompter.

68 posted on 11/01/2020 7:11:23 AM PST by SamAdams76 (Orange Man GOOD!)
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To: Kaslin

I voted for Trump in 2016 with joy and expectations. I do the same on Nov 3rd.


69 posted on 11/01/2020 7:15:43 AM PST by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped)
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To: SamAdams76

Yep, we were at the same rally. I even think I saw you in an Hawaiian shirt.


70 posted on 11/01/2020 7:18:36 AM PST by KosmicKitty (Who stole my tagline? It was here yesterday.)
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To: SamAdams76

But did not know about the teleprompter.

I loved that he didn’t have one.


71 posted on 11/01/2020 7:20:00 AM PST by KosmicKitty (Who stole my tagline? It was here yesterday.)
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To: Kaslin

I didn’t vote for Trump in 2016 primary either. But as I watched the debates I did like his foreign policy. So much of our blood and treasury wasted on endless ME wars. But I doubted he could pull it off if he got to DC. I voted for Trump and against Hillary in 2016. He has kept his promises and then some. Trump2020!


72 posted on 11/01/2020 7:21:44 AM PST by Rusty0604 (2020 four more years!)
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To: chuckee

Historic,
Absolutely Correct!


73 posted on 11/01/2020 7:22:18 AM PST by Big Red Badger (TRUMP, the Other guy lives in a Basement!)
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To: DoodleBob
Very nice post! Thank you for bringing up JimRob's classic column as well.

Despite the "polls" being all against him, I was cautiously optimistic about Trump's chances in 2016. I remember spending the day in NYC (I work there) and taking a walk by the Javits Center (Hillary's planned victory party) on 34th St and seeing the already jubilant atmosphere there and then heading up to 6th Avenue to a forlorn looking Hilton (where Trump had his election night party planned). I then continue uptown and crossed over to 5th Avenue to see Trump tower surrounded by dump trucks and practically nobody there but anti-Trump protesters.

It was not good optics, that's for sure! But I still thought the election would be much closer than most thought. So on the train ride home to CT, I plugged in some Christmas music to lift my spirits and was reading a Ken Follett novel "Winter Of the World" to get my mind off things.

My wife was working the polls that day so I came home to a dark, quiet house and I purposely kept the TV off because I knew that at least initially, all the news anchors would be giddy with the prospects of Hillary crushing Trump.

I opened a bottle of wine and opened my laptop to just three windows. Free Republic, "theDonald" (then on Reddit) and Drudge.

Around 8:30 or so, Drudge started linking the NYT result site, which surprisingly had Trump's chances steadily increasing. It was around 9:30 that the NYT needle started showing a 50% chance of Trump winning (from 20% earlier that night) and all I can say is that I was in party mode for the next six hours.

I have no idea how I did this, but I made the 6:30am train back to Manhattan on about 90 minutes of sleep. I was so pumped up that I "didn't feel the least bit tarred" to paraphrase Hillary.

Definitely one of the best days of my life.

74 posted on 11/01/2020 7:28:51 AM PST by SamAdams76 (Orange Man GOOD!)
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To: KosmicKitty
Yes, that was me in the Hawaiian shirt, tan shorts and sandals. It was one way to beat the heat that day. Like I mentioned, many around me were dropping and being carried off by the paramedics.

So yes, we were both at the very last Trump rally that did not have teleprompters. Kellyanne insisted on them once she took over the campaign.

75 posted on 11/01/2020 7:33:09 AM PST by SamAdams76 (Orange Man GOOD!)
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To: Kaslin

Great Post,
Fantastic thread!


76 posted on 11/01/2020 7:36:38 AM PST by Big Red Badger (TRUMP, the Other guy lives in a Basement!)
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To: dp0622

I’m with you! Every generation the right faces challenges that seem like no other.

Granted, there was no internet or cell phones, but the press was hostile to Reagan at all times, plus it took time to recover from Carter- we were a dispirited mess.

He rallied us as no other.

These men face different circumstances- to me it’s meaningless to compare them.

I’m just thankful for them both.


77 posted on 11/01/2020 7:42:07 AM PST by SE Mom (Screaming Eagle mom)
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To: Mr Ramsbotham
Three Supreme Court Justices,

countless needless regulations repealed,

tax cuts for everyone,

unthinkably low unemployment,

a booming economy,

no new wars,

Middle East peace deals,

ISIS decimated,

NAFTA gone,

and American pride rising.

Actions matter (Trump)... words are cheap (Biden)

78 posted on 11/01/2020 7:53:12 AM PST by GOPJ (* HUNTER BIDEN'S LAPTOP MATTERS - - HBLM 11th_VA)
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To: SamAdams76
Pandemic has near zero result on this election.

You are in for a very pleasant surprise.

The pandemic will significantly depress Democratic turnout on election day. Democrats are terrified of catching the disease from fellow voters and poll workers.

That is one reason the President will win the popular vote this time (as well as cruise to a big electoral college victory). The down-ticket Republicans will benefit from this as well.

All the "experts" have missed this.
79 posted on 11/01/2020 8:01:43 AM PST by cgbg (Biden n-2020: Criminal enterprise using cokehead as bagman. Pronounced: Bye Done.)
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To: cgbg
That is a good point.

Here's something to consider that backs this line of thinking up, and purely anecdotal.

Since mid-March, my company has gone remote and showing up at the office has been optional.

I try to get into the office at least twice a week but one thing I've noticed is that most of the ones who show up are on the conservative side and tend to be Trump supporters.

Many of the hard core liberals in my office haven't been seen there since March! They continue to work remote 100% of the time. At first I thought that it might be because they look for any excuse not to come into the office. But it could be because they are truly scared of the virus.

80 posted on 11/01/2020 8:11:01 AM PST by SamAdams76 (Orange Man GOOD!)
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