Editors Note: This series resulted from a conversation with Barbara Landers. She is a thoughtful conservative who supports Trump. I haven’t yet arrived at that place, but was genuinely interested in how she came to be a Trump supporter. I suggested that she might consider sharing her journey with our readers. This is one of several parts in the series. I think you will find them interesting and informative.
#4
I have heard Donald Trump criticized for having been divorced twice as if it somehow makes him less of a Christian. The last time I looked all Protestant churches allow divorce, the Jewish religion allows divorce and adherents to Islam divorce with ease; only Catholics are holdouts on the divorce issue. Half or more of the people I know have been divorced. Bill Clinton and John Kennedy had one wife but who knows how many mistresses and casual encounters. Are they more noble? Trump did have an affair with Marla Maples and a pregnancy resulted. What did Donald do? He married Ms. Maples, gave his daughter his name and has been responsible for both mother and daughter ever since. His daughter Tiffany has received the same superlative education as his other children and promises to be just as accomplished.
Trump has commented that his love for his business made it difficult for his first two wives to compete with his affection for work.
Donald’s current wife, the former Melania Knauss, is accomplished as well as beautiful. She speaks 8 languages, runs her own jewelry and cosmetic enterprises and supports numerous charities. Asked about her husband’s presidential campaign, Melania said, “I encouraged him because I know what he will do and what he can do for America. He loves the American people and he wants to help them. When asked by The New York Times what her role would be if Trump were to become president, Melania replied: “I would be very traditional. Like Betty Ford or Jackie Kennedy. I would support him.”
Trump has freely admitted that he was formally pro-abortion but became pro life when he witnessed the rich life of a friend’s disabled child. Many in the pro-life community refuse to believe that Trump could have a conversion to the pro-life position and I cannot, for the life of me, understand why. Three of my dearest friends were once in the pro-“choice” camp. No one doubts their present pro-life commitment. Dr. Bernard Nathanson, a practicing obstetrician, one of the founders of NARAL and a person who strategized to make abortion legal in the USA, who personally committed in excess of a thousand abortions, became a warrior for life after seeing ultrasound pictures of unborn babies. No one doubts his conversion.
#5
Trump’s criticism of the judge involved in the Trump University lawsuit hit a nerve with me. I doubt there are many of us who have not encountered biases in the current courts. Whether divorce court, family court, criminal court, or civil court, corruption and bias on the part of judges and prosecutors are rampant. I don’t know the particulars of this case but there is no excuse for the lawsuit dragging on for 6 years. The judge in question is affiliated with La Rasa, a radical organization that wants Mexico to reclaim parts of the USA and which advocates open borders and unlimited “migration”. This diametrically opposes the message of Donald Trump.
Many critics point to the fact that Trump did not serve in the military as proof that he is an anti military draft dodger. These same people seem to be fine with Bill Clinton’s sorry record of getting out of military service or the fact that Ronald Reagan never saw military service. The draft laws allowed deferment for those pursuing an education and, like Donald Trump, many of our friends and relatives used that privilege. When Trump graduated he was given a medical exam by the draft board doctors and was awarded a medical deferment. If that is a problem the problem resides with the draft board.
All of Donald Trump’s children are outstanding examples of decorum and success. He has been an example to them of hard work and a life free of drugs and excessive alcohol consumption. The three oldest are an integral part of the Trump organization. In spite of their father’s great wealth, none of the Trump children have, as have many children of the rich and famous, been tabloid fodder. Trump has managed to stay involved in his children’s lives in spite of his two divorces and has also apparently managed to maintain a good working relationship with his ex wives. Donald Jr., Eric and Ivanka have publicly stated, long before their father took on the campaign for president, how greatly they admire and respect their father for his intelligence and business acumen.
#6
And then there are the Republican endorsements, or lack thereof. Who on earth cares? Donald Trump doesn’t seem to and neither do I. The Republican establishment and power mongers are acting like squabbling children. Endorsement by people like Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell are irrelevant and their irrelevancy is what is driving them crazy. They see power over Republican voters slipping through their fingers. Paul Ryan can never reconcile with the Trump campaign because Ryan is an outspoken advocate of open borders, unlimited, uncontrolled immigration and a world economy. The Trump campaign is exposing Ryan’s real agenda and it is no doubt hurting his reelection battle.
Donald Trump is a top executive with a track record of success. He has the ability to recognize exceptional talent and knows how to recruit it to his team. He is adept at working with the press and is unafraid of confrontation. He is never politically correct. He is fond of bragging about his ability to negotiate favorable deals and has a proven track record of doing so. This is exactly the kind of man I want sitting in the White House representing me and my country.
Any time we put our trust in someone running for political office we take a chance that we could be wrong in our judgments. Political figures eagerly supported by voters have turned out to be liars and thieves, scoundrels and incompetents. Other elected officials have risen to the demands of their offices and served us well. It’s a crap shoot. We don’t really know the men and women we elect to office until we can track their actions when they are in office. As citizens and voters we make the best choices we can.
Donald Trump may disappoint me when he becomes the president of our beloved country and commander in chief of the military; only time will tell. But with what I know about him now, and what I know about his Democrat opponent, I am more than willing to put my trust in “the Donald” and give this patriotic American a chance to save the Republic.
*** Barbara Landers *** is a Conservative activist, author and business woman
Barbara, your treatise on Mr. Trump is well written, if not completely accurate. You omit that he has held numerous positions, not just one, on a myriad of issues over the years. Even as recently as 2 years ago he held positions different than the ones he now espouses. Combine that with his caustic rhetoric, his vindictive nature, his self-centered, misogynistic comments, his own words with regard to issues which lead any logical person to believe that he is a lifelong progressive and I don’t understand how you can gush over him as a candidate for the highest office in the land. How on earth that he has gotten this far is apparently a testament that his supporters are as willfully blind as are those of Klinton. Having written all that, I’m now faced with jettisoning my own closely held principles and voting for this jerk. I’m going to have to roll the dice that he’ll get just ONE THING right, and that’s the SCOTUS nomination(s). And even if he ONLY gets that one thing right, it will be one more thing than Hillary will get right. I really hate that our nation has sunk so low that we actually selected these two candidates. Says volumes about what we have become.