 |
| Trump, Fuentes, and West (CNN) |
What does Make America Great Again mean to those voters? It means trying to restore the values of a era gone by. An era where political correctness did not rule the day. An era where traditional sexual mores were respected. An era where there was no such thing as gender identity politics. An era where our founding fathers were revered rather than reviled. An era that enabled the economy to flourish instead of hindering it with - in may cases - ridiculous incentive killing regulations. An era that did not see so many of our tax dollars being funneled into a humongous black hole. All at the hands of an increasingly influential left wing with a socialist agenda, and which seems to have no moral compass with respect to human sexual behavior.
To the voters that elected Trump in 2016, this is what Making America Great Again means. Those voters were rewarded along those lines by the policies of a Trump administration.
My friends on the left will of course dispute all of this and instead look at Trump administration policies as tragic for America’s future. But that is what makes horse races. Both sides are entitled to their opinion. My point is only to explain why Making America Great Again is not an intrinsically evil motto. Instead it is simply a desire by 2016 voters to restore cherished values to their former glory. Whether other voters agree with them or not.
This attitude still exists. But its standard bearer has lost his luster among many of Trump’ s former voters. While he still has some diehard supporters which can be found at his rallies, his base is shrinking rapidly. That is why the last election saw most of his handpicked candidates lose badly. Despite an economy that should have caused the biggest ‘red wave’ in American electoral history.
Not long ago I said the following about Trump:
…perhaps now is a good time for Trump’s Orthodox Jewish supporters to re-think how they see their hero. And instead see reality for what it is. To realize that Trump’s behavior post January 6, 2021 makes him no hero at all. It makes him the opposite of that. To realize that all of his good policies pale in the face of that. And to realize that there are more cards in the ‘conservative pro Israel’ deck than Trump.
This is more true now that it was when I made those comments in light of what happened last week. From JTA:
Former President Donald Trump hosted white nationalist Nick Fuentes and rapper Kanye West, two figures who have made repeated antisemitic statements, at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Tuesday night, Axios reported.
After the report was published, Trump said in a statement on Friday to Axios that West, now known as Ye, came over for a dinner meeting and brought with him another guest who had not been invited.
“Kanye West very much wanted to visit Mar-a-Lago,” Trump said. “Our dinner meeting was intended to be Kanye and me only, but he arrived with a guest whom I had never met and knew nothing about.”
The dinner meeting places Trump, who a week ago announced a 2024 White House bid, in direct contact with two prominent figures who have unapologetically promoted antisemitism in recent months.
Even if one would believe Trump about his own ignorance about Fuentes, he had to know about West’s antisemitism. That he hosted him at his Mar-a-Lago residence should unequivocally prove just how unworthy he is to be the Republican nominee for president in 2024.
Although Trump is not an antisemite, he has no problem seeking support of rabid antisemites like West and Feuntes. Former Republican supporters are finally criticizing him instead of trying to defend him. Including one of his closest friends and confidants - former Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman. They are beginning to bail. That should send a very clear message to anyone thinking Trump will somehow worm his way out of this, survive, that Trump is still not worthy of our support.
There is no way any Jew - let alone religious Jews - should support him. He must be completely rejected- even while appreciating what he did for the economy and Israel during his term in office.. The observant Jewish world needs to proactively and publicly reject him in as loud a voice as we can muster. There is no ‘looking the other way’ about his hosting 2 rabid antisemites at his primary residence. This should ‘seal the deal’ for everyone. Only the biggest fool could even think abut supporting him.
As I indicated a couple of weeks ago in the above mentioned post, there are other fish in the sea. For those who prefer an antiestablishment candidate that would implement the conservative polices of the Trump administration there are plenty Republicans candidates that can easily fill that bill. Like him or not, Governor Ron DeSantis blowout victory in Florida makes him the front runner in the next election. As least as things stand now.
This is not to say I agree with all of DeSantis’ polocies. I don’t. But his antiestablishment attitude combined with his conservative ideology makes him the clear successor to people who want to make America great again.. My own preference for 2024 is Nikey Haley, who it appears will be throwing her hat into the ring. But DeSantis currently has the momentum. I would not, however, be surprised if he chose Haley as his running mate. If Biden runs for a second term, I see a clear path to victory for DeSantis.
On the other hand, if I am wrong about all this and Trump wins the nomination, he will indeed lose badly. Will that happen? Hope not. We'll see.