This last weekend showed a burst in support for Donald Trump by many republican leaders as they pushed back against the 'Never Trump' movement within the GOP. Some of them even offered up the 'United we Stand' motto in order to encourage other party members to support the nominee, Donald Trump. Many of these republican officials claimed they would never support Donald Trump and now they are falling right over in order to be loyal to their party. I understand voting republican because your ideals align with the party for the most part, but at what point are you no longer thinking for yourself when you support a candidate that doesn't fit your ideals, doesn't fit your party, and quite frankly just doesn't fit who you want. Well, many officials have rolled over and shown that not only do they not think for themselves, but actively will vote for any GOP candidate that gets nominated, no matter how harmful to the country they may be.
In light of all this, I have decided to dig into one big reason many supporters support Trump: "He speaks his mind." Now, I know many disagree with many of his comments, but often people find it refreshing to hear someone not afraid to say something that the government and other people may not like. You hear things like, "He's not PC and I think we need that in a strong leader." The sad thing is, he is far from speaking his mind. As much as his supporters don't want to believe it, he is saying things and changing his stance in order to remain political and to gain media coverage and votes. Donald Trump is far from clear on any of the views he holds. Whether it be the KKK, abortion, tax returns, or most recently a man named John Miller, he is far from clear. That is not all he has changed his stance on, but a notable few that really should open up the eyes of not only the republican leaders that have rolled over in support of Trump, but the rest of the voting citizens of the United States of America.
To begin, Donald Trump in an interview with CNN on 28 Feburary 2016, he refused to disavow Grand Wizard of the KKK, David Duke's support for his candidacy. He even said, "I know nothing about David Duke. I know nothing about white supremacy." He remained firm acting as though he had never heard of the KKK or David Duke. But, on 19 Feburary 2000, he refused to accept the nomination to run as the Reform Party Candidate because David Duke was not company he wished to keep, in an oped he wrote for the New York Times. A few days later stated that, "The Reform Party now includes a Klansman, Mr. Duke, a neo-Nazi, Mr. Buchanan, and a communist, Ms. Fulani." Seems Donald Trump knew exactaly who David Duke was that entire year, and even used him as a reasoning for not getting politically involved with the Reform Party, but fast forward to the modern election and he seems to remain a little PC in order to almost keep Duke's vote. A few days later he told CNN that he had a bad earpiece and that he disavowed David Duke as he always has, and that he just didn't hear what was being said. This can be hard to believe because he was asked it a more than once in the interview and claimed he had no idea who they were, listing the name David Duke and KKK. Seems Trump lied in order to keep votes then backed out of his comments when the storm came rumbling through. I can only imagine how foreign relations would be, who is next Kim Jong Ung?
The next big bubble to burst in Trumps hard stances on political issues, was his stance on abortion, where he changed not once, not twice, but five times in three days. On March 30th at 2:30 pm, he told MSNBC's Chris Mathews that women who have abortions should be punished. Then at 3:30 before the show airs, he releases a statement that the issue is unclear and should be left to states. Then at 5:00 pm that same day, he claimed that it should be a federal law and that doctors should be punished for it, ending with a comment that "My position has not changed..." Then, the next day, at 6:30 pm he claims that since the laws are there they should remain there until they are changed, but that he thinks states should be in charge of it. Then at 9pm, two and half hours later, he released a statement that he was just saying that the law is there until he changes it through judicial court appointments and going through the proper means to achieve all states with a pro life stance. Now, I don't know about you, but that is a heck of a lot of changing in your stance on such an important social issue in just a few hours let alone the course of the three days, not to mention that most of his life he was pro choice. You wouldn't even accept that from a state representative let alone a presidential candidate. Donald Trump doesn't seem to have a firm gorund in this at all, and seems to only change when people become angered. Sounds like he is pretty Politically Correct to me, just on the opposite side of the political spectrum most people think politically correct people to be.
The next road that curves in Trump's firm "speaks his mind" political campaign is his stance on releasing his tax returns. Donald Trump continually refuses to release his tax returns, even after Hillarly Clinton started a campaign to push for him to. On Friday, May 13, Donald Trump told Goodmorning America that he refused to release his taxes, saying no presidential candidate does. The problem, which Goodmorning America was quick to inform him, was that every candidate since 1973, has released their tax returns. He has remained firm on this all of his candidacy, but not during every election as Trevor Noah on The Daily Show was able to point out. Donald Trump pushed for 2012 Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney to realeas his multiple times on January 18th, 2012, January 23, 2012, and January 26th, 2012. That was just to the media. In fact, on that Junary 26th interview, he told Fox News that, "April 1st everyone should give them," and "If you didn't see those tax returns, you think there is something wrong." Seems Donald Trump might need a taste of his own medicine, because cleary there must be 'something wrong' since he won't release them. Once again, Donald Trump seems to have backed out of his own stance on something he thought was essential to a presidential race.
If all of those things didn't convince you of the swinging pendulum of Donald Trump politics is bad, then maybe the story of his 'supposed' publicist John Miller might. A video was released recently of a 1991 interview, where a man named John Miller, who claimed to be a spokesman for Donald Trump, tells intimate details about Trumps love interests, life, and personal feelings. Many were quick to point out that the voice sounded a lot like Trump and even claimed to know things that only Trump would know. Everything from the intimate details of his divorce and even claiming that he was called up by Madonna and asked out on a date. When asked how this man knew Trump he said, "I basically worked for different firms. I worked for a couple different firms, and I'm somebody he knows and I think somebody that he trusts and likes." This all seems pretty outlandish, but not long after the interview he admitted to it and called it "a joke gone awry." But recently on the Today Show, Donald Trump responded to the tape by saying, "No, I don't think...I Don't know anything about it, You're telling me about it for the first time. It doesn't sound like my voice at all." Once again changing his stance on that 'joke.' As if backing out on your statements on the situation wasn't enough, in 1999, Trump testified in court that, "I believe on occasion I used that name." That name being John Miller. Sounds a lot like Trump amnesia that plagued him when he forgot what the KKK and white supremacy are.
When I look back at all of these ridiculous lies, changes, and overall Politically Correct politics, I find it amazing that anyone can trust this man to run the country. Yet, time and time again, he has proven that he has supporters, even the republican leaders who hate him, are willing to give up on their own morals and critical thought in order to be a loyal follower. Two weeks ago I wrote a letter to the representative of my state here in South Dakota, Kristi Noem, begging her to rethink her decision of supporting Donald Trump. I had met Representative Noem multiple times through High School and College, and she probably could recognize my face. I got no reply other than the automatic one that says that her and her office appreciate my opinion. She said when she endorsed Trump, "I don't always agree with Mr. Trump, but he is the presumptive nominee of our party and I will support him." So, she really only supports him because he is the republican nominee. What ever happened to thinking for yourself? What ever happened to voting for a candidate you support? In today's society it seems, we are much more likely to stick with someone who doesn't know who he KKK is, can't make up his mind on abortion, refuses to release tax returns, and has an alter ego to inflate his ego. The republicans can codem the Never Trump movement, but at least they are thinking for themselves and the future of our country, and not becoming puppets to the crashing GOP.
