I know time has a way of smoothing over issues and making us forget the frustrations of the past. When I think about Joe Biden's presidency, two things immediately come to mind: he was too old for the job, and the withdrawal from Afghanistan was handled terribly. Those two things were enough for me not to vote for him.
But I also remember something else about those years: I was tremendously relieved that I didn't have to THINK about politics all the time. Donald Trump wasn't in my face all. The. Time. What do I remember about Trump's presidency? Mostly, exhaustion.
Trump is going to Trump. I understand that, and I am actually pretty good at tuning him out. What I can't seem to tune out is the number of people dear to me who continue to hold him up as worthwhile. Or, at the very least, necessary. Let me make a short list of the things that come to mind when I think about Trump. Every single one of these would be enough for me not to vote for him. There are so many that I honestly feel overwhelmed.
Age: Trump is too old for the job. Honestly, I think there should be an age cutoff of 75 for the presidency. Let these guys retire! If that is a reasonable expectation for the rest of the population, it should be reasonable for our elected leaders, too."
Foreign policy: The list of concerns is long: Greenland, Venezuela, the more than 200 reported killings of people on boats, tariffs, Ukraine, Canada, Cuba, and, of course, Iran.
Immigration: The biggest domestic issue for me has been immigration. A specific group of people has been weaponized as an enemy for the administration to rally against. The racism, the villainization, the concentration camps, the targeting of people who have committed no crimes, deportations to third countries, the detention of children, and the separation of families are deeply troubling. Add to that the cruelty of ICE, the ending of refugee programs, the ending of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), the restriction of much of legal immigration, the more than 50 reported deaths in detention and immigration enforcement, and the treatment of pregnant mothers. I could go on.
Dishonesty without accountability: Beyond immigration, there is the general lying and gaslighting of this administration, combined with its refusal to EVER apologize. That leaves me with very little hope that things will get better.
Perpetuating cruelty: One of the hardest things to watch is how crowds laugh at Trump's cruelty and dishonesty. It makes me weep.
Abandoning Conservative principles: I struggle to understand how so many people who identify as conservative, and who have traditionally valued limited government, fiscal responsibility, individual liberty, the rule of law, and religious freedom can continue to justify their support. How do these values align with corruption, personal enrichment by those in power, abandoning pro-life convictions, lack of AI safeguards, political use of the Department of Justice, executive overreach, political retaliation, undermining government oversight, attacks on press freedom, protectionist tariffs, the push for data centers, exploding national debt, and the growth of big government?
These are not exactly the things I would expect conservatives to embrace—or quietly tolerate. I understand that people may believe Trump is necessary to accomplish other goals, or that the alternatives are worse. But when does the justification become so extensive that we stop holding our own leaders accountable? When do we have to ask whether we are still defending conservative principles or whether we have simply redefined those principles to accommodate the person we want in power? Would we accept these same actions if they were coming from a Democratic president? Would we defend them with the same enthusiasm? If not, we should probably ask ourselves why.
It seems to me that the demonization of the other side has to go even deeper to make supporting all of this palatable. And that demonization, in itself, is wrong and unhealthy. I know much of this division is fueled by the media. But we are people with free will, and that comes with responsibility.
We have a responsibility to seek out multiple media sources, to question what we are being told, to consider perspectives beyond our own, and to think critically rather than simply accepting the narrative that reinforces what we already believe.
I don't expect everyone to agree with me on every political issue. I don't even expect everyone to reach the same conclusions. But I do think we should be able to recognize corruption, cruelty, dishonesty, and the abuse of power regardless of which political party is responsible. I don't believe integrity, compassion, honesty, and accountability should be partisan values. They should be expectations we hold of everyone, especially the people we give authority to lead us. I struggle with watching people I love overlook those things, excuse them, or even celebrate them simply because of who is doing them.
That is what exhausts me.