Having It Both Ways
God help any nation with such a leader
You must follow your heart on this issue but remember, you must also win elections ...
— Donald Trump, Apr 8, 2024
I had a friend – we’ll call him Alvin – who was passionate about his opinions. He loved to go on long monologues about any issue, at an intensity level of about 11 on a scale of one to ten.
But as time went on, I noticed something interesting in our discussions. One minute, Alvin might be expressing one opinion, and the next minute he might be expressing the exact opposite opinion.
During this election season, I have been reminded of Alvin repeatedly.
Donald Trump, like Alvin, often expresses his opinion flamboyantly. The next day, he might express the opposite opinion. But unlike Alvin, Trump expresses that opposite opinion more quietly.
It’s a calculated win-win. Trump riles up his base, and then he quietly contradicts himself so he can discredit his critics.
A recent example: Trump has loudly positioned himself as a champion for the unborn, a moral voice upholding the sanctity of human life. At the same time, he has quietly expressed a much more lenient position on abortion than the pro-life façade he shows to his base.
So what does he really believe? We can’t be sure. He might not even know, himself. And he may not care, because he doesn’t seem too interested in questions of right and wrong, true and false.
Instead, he says, whatever opinion you might hold or express on the abortion issue, remember that you must also win elections.
Just like his party, which ran his 2020 campaign with no platform, Donald Trump is running with no opinions.
He is parroting the values that he thinks will raise money and tempers. And parroting the opposite values, to discredit those who challenge him.
And the only thing he appears to truly value is himself.
God help any nation with such a leader.
Post submitted by Julia Cochran
Julia Cochran is a volunteer with The Union, a licensed counselor in private practice in Georgia, and the author of a long-running newspaper column on mental health topics. She grew up among a family of democracy-loving Republicans and served as president of her local Teen Age Republican club.
Note: The views and opinions expressed by volunteer contributors are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions of The Union, a single-issue organization that welcomes all and is dedicated to protecting democracy.
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When he was President, we heard what he believed was the last person he spoke to. I guess he is an empty vessel.