My Statement on the 2024 Presidential Election

What the hell?!

You remember in high school when the candidates for class president promised less homework, Mountain Dew in the water fountains, new lockers, better lunch food, and just an all-around utopia if you vote for them? Even though they had zero authority or ability to actually do all the things they promised.

Now read this quote

KAMALA BROKE IT, BUT I WILL FIX IT! With your VOTE, inflation will END. The border will be SAFE & SECURE. We will have PEACE across the globe. WITH YOUR VOTE, AMERICA WILL ENTER A NEW GOLDEN AGE! Vote TRUMP to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

Do you see the similarity? This quote is just a fraction of the sweeping changes he has declared to fix "very quickly". Trump promises he has the answer to all your woes and as President he will make America a paradise for you with a wave of his hand. If you voted for him because you truly believe that, then you are naive. As the President of the United States, you would argue, of course he more authority than a high school class president. He has the utmost authority in the country. But if it was so simple and quick to do, then why would any sitting President not just do it? What possible advantage would they gain from holding back such power? You think Trump alone has some ace up his sleeve that no one else has thought of?

With such a clear victory, it stands to reason that there is a sizeable number of Trump voters who aren't naive, that know these promises are just empty words meant to sway the masses. Those voters accept the fact that he lies through his teeth constantly because they believe the means justify the ends. They see Trump's policies benefiting their bank accounts or agendas. Moral fiber or integrity be damned.

There's also another bunch of Trump supporters that believe he can achieve all these grand promises but are not naive to exactly how. And it doesn't require much thought because he has often clearly stated how he is going to do it. Migrant roundups, mass deportations, abandoning Ukraine, locking up political rivals and journalists, installing extremists to oversee key government agencies, shoring up the Supreme Court's conservative majority. His policies, if he follows through with them, are going to hurt a lot of people in life altering ways, and these Trump voters are complicit in that.

To be clear, I'm probably not going to be one of those that are hurt by Trump's policies. In fact, he's probably going to lower my taxes. A second Trump term is likely not going to impact my life in any meaningful or hurtful way. So why am I up-in-arms over his resounding triumph? I guess I'm just saddled with an inner sense of justice, fairness, and empathy. Traits that many of my fellow Americans apparently either lack or have twisted into some perverse delusion of patriotism.