The gun nuts, the religious wackies, the QAnon crazies, the racists, the “to hell with the future, I got mine” self-centered, the people who see wearing masks as infringements on liberty rather than as sensible acts of commonwealth, and the gullible who actually believe that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris would defund the police and open the border.
These were among the crowd, I imagined, whose idea of a nice October Saturday was to wave Trump flags by the Coolidge Bridge or on Route 9 in Hadley. They would vote for Trump this year, and no overture of dialogue or reason could possibly change their minds.
And then there’s Dr. Jay Fleitman. His periodic columns in the Gazette had shown his conservative leaning, but there are plenty of conservatives who are not in any of the above categories and who know better than to vote for Donald Trump. Certainly, Dr. Fleitman, the educated professional, would be among them.
Boy, was I wrong. His column Wednesday morning declares — unapologetically! — that he supports Trump’s reelection. OK, Jay. I’m guessing you’re open to reason, so let’s go through your arguments.
You view the pre-COVID economic vitality, the routing of ISIS and the control of immigration along the Mexican border as testaments to Trump’s effectiveness. Oh, come off it, Jay; Barack Obama set the fundamentals and course on each of these.
Compared with Trump’s time in office even prior to coronavirus, the Obama years witnessed a far bigger drop in unemployment, a far greater drop in territory held by ISIS and a far greater rate of apprehensions and deportations of illegal border crossers. Trump could have gained more on all of these fronts had he just put the Obama policies on autopilot.
Moreover, Fleitman refers to Trump’s “achievements” without considering the long-term negative consequences of Trump’s actions on American prosperity, health and standing. His 2017 tax cut was an unnecessary stimulus that added trillions to the national debt. His decision to pull out of the Iranian Nuclear Deal, the Paris Agreement on climate change and the World Health Organization have ceded U.S. leadership and weakened the global response to global challenges.
Fleitman also credits Trump for his positive effects on Blacks and Hispanics. No Dr. Fleitman, this perspective is ridiculous. The rising tide does lift all boats, but the economic gains (pre-COVID) made by all Americans do not excuse Trump’s sucking up to a racist base.
The neo-Nazis in Charlottesville were not “fine people.” The Proud Boys should not “stand by.” The four Democratic congresswomen of color who Trump criticized in July 2019 should not “go back” to their own country. They too are our citizens.
Finally, Dr. Fleitman rejects the idea that Trump’s “style and personality” should matter. It is this suggestion — more than anything else in Fleitman’s column — that prompts me to write this response. I just don’t understand how any educated professional can tolerate Trump’s immense deficiencies in these areas.
Marc Warner lives in Northampton.