A letter prompts a look at Trump’s presidential history
I’m Just Saying by Austin Rhodes
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I get letters. Boy, do I get letters. I got one recently that really struck home. Here’s the letter and response.
Note: The letter itself has been edited to protect the anonymity of the author.
Mr. Rhodes,
You have commented that you have gay friends. Although I have read documents regarding homosexuality, gender dysphoria and transgenderism, I do not understand them.
I have no one else to ask, so I am asking you to please help me explain to my gay family members why I cast my ballot for Donald Trump and usually support Republican candidates. I have tried to no avail. They say I don’t love them because I voted for someone who will take away their rights and abolish the DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) employment recognition.
I thought federal law prohibited such discrimination, but if Mr. Trump changes that, then those folks truly will have lost their equality under the law. They tell me that I chose lower prices for gasoline over their rights for equality. While I favor everybody’s rights in that people should be allowed to live their lives as they see fit within the law, be hired based on their abilities, and not suffer bias or discrimination, there is no way on earth I could have voted for Kamala Harris because of her extreme policies regarding women’s “reproductive health” rights (it would be cheaper and more moral to give men vasectomies than to murder unborn babies), the “green” energy, the open border, transgender treatments at taxpayer expense, and the allowing of “trans-men” to compete against women in sports, and so forth.
I do love my family and would put my life on the line for them, but I disagree with them on these issues.
I have caught hell from them, and they are making me feel like a bad person and trying to put me on a guilt trip which I refuse to take but this is very difficult. I really would appreciate your assistance.
A Listener
Dear Listener,
So much to unpack here. History is one of your best assets when it comes to defending the political record of our former and future president.
Our economy was in great shape (pre-COVID), and in almost every major policy difference between Trump and his Democrat adversaries, they shifted to his position once their inferior positions were exposed. These include fracking, tight border control, and corporate tax reductions.
Trump was right, the Democrats were wrong, and our nation and the economy were seriously impacted in the time it took the current administration to figure that out. They flipped on fracking and the border and decided to steer clear of increasing corporate taxes.
This is important because unlike Presidents Biden, Obama, Bush (both of them), and Clinton…Trump did not shift or change his stand on any vitally important issues or moral imperatives.
Trump governed as advertised.
But regarding your personal conflicts on LBGTQ and abortion policies, there is even better news.
What I hope your family will come to understand and accept is that Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party have proudly defended and endorsed the most extreme and grotesque aspects of both the LBGTQ and abortion issues and that is something most mainstream Americans can’t stomach.
President Trump is the only United States president to have never taken an official political stand, either in real action or attempted legislation, against gay marriage. In fact, he said in various interviews (before he ran for president), that he supported the concept because “it is fair and good for business.” He was referring to his hotel, restaurant, and venue rental businesses.
On trans matters, allow common sense to be your guide. No natural born males compete in women’s sports. Period. That determination is made by chromosome tests. Trans folks joining the military? Longstanding military rules do not allow potential recruits with extensive dental issues, such as cavities and decay, to enlist until they correct their issues at their own expense. I would suggest the same policy be put in place for pre-op transsexuals. You stabilize your pre-existing condition and, as long as you meet the other health requirements, welcome aboard. I have heard Trump team members echo this same sentiment. We certainly have not heard of an outright ban of these folks as part of Trump’s plan.
Minors should be treated only at their parents’ direction, with no permanent surgical changes until they reach adulthood. That is the same approach the medical profession takes to sterilization. It is illegal to sterilize a minor, parental consent or not, unless there is a life- threatening medical issue, such as testicular or ovarian cancer, at hand.
On the abortion issue, Trump never supported a national abortion ban and has said repeatedly he never will. However, he did do what every GOP president since Reagan tried to do, but failed. He appointed Conservative Constitutionalists to the Supreme Court who knew Ruth Bader Ginsburg was right when she repeatedly called Roe vs. Wade faulty and flawed. She often urged Democrat leaders across the country to work on codifying and strengthening abortion rights by state, or nationally through a Constitutional amendment. She was right as rain. Lazy and fearful politicians rejected her brilliant advice, and we are living with the result today.
Morally and ethically, there should be no such thing as a minor female getting an abortion without parental (or judicial) permission, anywhere. Third trimester abortions should also be banned.
Exceptions for late abortions should be made for medical emergencies and, of course, for illegally impregnated (rape or incest) minor females. This would be where the judiciary needs to get involved. No matter the outcome, abortion or birth, the criminal male causing the pregnancy and identified by DNA, should be severely punished.
These are rational common sense policies, endorsed philosophically by Trump and his team. There is no hate or animosity in these positions, and certainly no unfairness. The positions taken by the Democrats on these matters, while well-meaning, violate the most sacred relationship humans can have – the relationship between parent and child. There is literally no other area where the law allows such a thing, barring criminal activity by the parents, except these.
I hope this helps. I also have friends and family on the other side of these political issues and this President. So far blood – and love – have been thicker than politics.
Thanks for reaching out,
Austin Rhodes