Hello new viewers, which I believe there to be many of suddenly. This is surprising for me. My column hasn’t seen this much growth since I first published it over a year ago. In the last few days alone, I have gained sixteen free subscribers plus many more followers. That is a huge milestone for this teenage kid.
For context, seven days ago my father showed me an article about Trump’s disastrous visit to Arlington Cemetery, which was just yet another headache for an underage teenager to think about. My father, being a veteran who was deployed, has a very deep disdain for Trump and his “I am America” tactics towards politics. Being someone who swore an oath to protect the constitution, put his life on the line for his country, and had many friends who did the same, he clearly is quite displeased (okay, he’s extremely pissed) with Trump’s attempts at taking over. To my father, he’s an orange stain on our nation.
So the fact that Trump disrespected Arlington Cemetery like this already was bugging me, and the nagging feeling of uneasiness only grew worse since a veteran was the one who explained to me how bad his actions were.
I went on a D.C. trip my freshman year of high school, and we visited Arlington. It is such a sacred and honorable site. It appalls me to even think of someone disrespecting that reverent location in such a way, let alone a former president of the United States. Even WORSE is the fact that this man is trying to be president YET AGAIN. “Make America Great Again?” More like, “Make America Suffer Again.”
So as I went to bed, my mind was buzzing. Living in a red state, many people I know are Trump supporters. That wouldn’t matter much if it weren’t for the fact that many people I’ve come to know, love, and respect are too. It puts me in a morally gray position.
To me, Trump and the whole MAGA movement is absolutely deplorable. Their beliefs and tactics are horrifically similar to the Nazis of 1930s Germany. The Nazi comparison has driven me absolutely mad. Is this the rise of a new fascist regime? And if so, why do so many people I know and love go along with it? They’re good people. At least, I thought so…
That question has been burning a hole into my brain for years now. It has been even worse for friends of mine. I have it easy, as my immediate family agrees with me politically. But some good friends of mine live in Republican families, and they’re confused. Their families are good people with good intentions. They mean well. Sure, they might be a little misled or have some old fashioned ideas. But they’re loving people.
So how the hell can they go along with Trump?
This question coupled by some people I have come to respect posting some very confusing anti-Harris messages on their social media accounts drove me into yet another dilemma that night. If all these good people, or at least well intentioned people can go along with this, am I wrong? Do they have a point? Is it truly that morally gray?
But then what about Arlington?
And then I got to thinking…Then what about everything else?
Arlington was disgraceful on Trump and his team’s part, but it wasn’t an isolated incident. Every few hours now it seems, there’s a new Trump controversy. He’s done way more enough than to get the average person cancelled from every platform on the planet. He has gotten away with literal crimes. MULTIPLE crimes. Ever since he started his campaign in 2015, he has done stuff that should’ve made him the most unfit person for office imaginable. So why do people still go along with him?
This sudden dawning forced me to think up a list of things he had said or done both in recent memory and all the way back to the early days of his campaign. For some reason, this nation seems to have a short-term memory, so I decided in almost a fit of anger at 11:00 at night (on a school night mind you) to write up a list to remind everyone.
It was done quickly. It was done when I was tired. It was posted to my notes, which was never a particularly popular thing to begin with. I’ll link the post, but here’s the list unaltered so you can read it.
The Post
I’ve seen arguments for Trump that are very confusingly worded for a high school student such as myself to understand, often dealing with economic policies and such. I doubt they are true, but I honestly don’t know as they confuse me. So in moments like these, I naturally question whether or not the authors might have a point, or begin wondering if I’m on the wrong side.
In moments like these, however, I like to step back and think of what I’ve seen Trump do or say that were as blunt as a hammer.
He mocked disabled people.
He insulted a heroic veteran in his own party by saying, “I prefer my heroes not captured.”
He insulted veterans yet again by degrading the Medal of Honor below the status of Presidential Medal of Freedom since the Medal of Honor recipients are “either in very bad shape because they’ve been hit so many times by bullets or they’re dead.”
He and his campaign turned a recent visit to the sacred grounds of Arlington Cemetery into a political stunt.
He tried to ban Muslim refugees from entering this country.
He supported the separation of migrant families at the border, leaving innocent children, regardless of what their parents had done, in hellish conditions.
He claimed wildfires were caused by exploding trees.
He thought nuking a hurricane would work (if his genius sharpie rewrite method didn’t work first).
He not only failed to properly address COVID, but he encouraged his supporters to disobey COVID restrictions, making it worse. He sowed irreparable distrust against doctors and the scientific community as a whole, along with the vaccines they made. He also encouraged the use of dangerous alternative treatments. His administration’s failure to handle the disease likely got far more people killed than would have otherwise, my own grandfather included.
He has promised to be a “dictator on day one” if he gets reelected.
He has been convicted of 34 felonies.
He has been found liable of sexual abuse in a case where E. Jean Carroll accused him of rape.
He started selling Bibles, profiting off of religion, when his legal troubles were costing him too much.
He’s refused to be honest about his business dealings and taxes.
He has lied well over 30,000 times.
He had over 100 classified documents in his possession after leaving office, then began turning his supporters against the FBI when they took the documents back.
He has exploited and taken advantage of the government, religion, and his own supporters shamelessly, profiting off of them with merch and pretending to love God.
He paid hush money to a porn star during his first campaign to keep her quiet about the affair they had when his trophy wife was pregnant with his son.
He created massive distrust against the election process, the backbone of democracy, by baselessly claiming an election was rigged.
He condemned violence caused by a political movement he disagreed with, but then incited a mob to storm the Capitol with intentions of killing other government officials, including his own vice president, to keep his petty ass in office. When they attacked, he dragged his feet to release an official statement, and when he finally did ask the rioters to stop, he told them, “We love you.” Mind you they were still hunting his vice president at the time he said that.
He has isolated his supporters in a trapping “us vs them” mentality, furthering them into a twisted cult of personality, widening the divide between them and their friends and family. He has radicalized so many people who believe they’re being patriotic or religious into agreeing with sick and vile ideas.
Donald Trump is a traitor, a criminal, a rapist, a liar, a cheater, a con artist, a bigot, and a fake. I am damn near convinced there isn’t a single good bone in his body (nor a single bone spur). All he has done is spearhead the Republican Party’s radicalization and helped polarize a nation. He has exploited America, patriotism, religion, and you time and time again. There is nothing remotely confusing about any of that, unlike every argument I’ve ever heard supporting the guy.
And if you can support him after all that, that is beyond me.
It wasn’t the best work ever, but it got a huge weight off my chest, even if temporarily. My moral dilemma was cleared up. Things started making more sense in my head.
That post sat on my account for a few days with little attention, which I expected about as much. I knew Substack notes could help you grow your column, but it hadn’t worked for me yet. Then, around that time, an earlier post (linked here) started getting more attention than any of my notes before it. That got me excited, but I never could’ve guessed what would happen next.
My note on the list of inexcusables from Donald Trump suddenly started getting attention. That was very hopeful for me, a Wannabe Author (get it?). But then it started getting more attention. And more attention. And more attention.
At the time of writing this, that post has 430 likes, 27 comments, and 57 restacks.
Previously, my most popular post on Substack had 455 views. Not likes, views. This note alone has blown everything else I have ever done on this platform way out of the water. Never before has any message of mine reached so many people. For that, I am extremely grateful to every single one of you.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you. This gives this wannabe author some hope of his dreams maybe getting realized.
But the topic of the post isn’t heartwarming. It’s actually rather sad. But I am also encouraged by the outpouring of overwhelming positivity from readers. I know this post probably only really cycled through the feed of already liberal thinkers, but it’s encouraging to see how many people think this is important.
Really, I could go on and on about how much this has meant to me, but there’s something I want to address. User Malathi Raghavan posted this.
This is one of the questions that compelled me to write this late one night in the first place. Why? Why is Trump even a valid option? Are his supporters unaware, benefiting from him, or both?
I think it’s a mix of all three.
Some are just uniformed or are fed the lies. They believe the lies. Or at least they believe that Democrats are “unpatriotic” and “want to raise their taxes, steal their guns, and kill babies,” so they think Trump is the better option. Maybe they think Trump is all they have left. I feel bad for those stuck in this trap, this web of lies that seems inescapable. The truth seems just as brutal as the lies. Who do you trust when both sides are seemingly extreme?
Others at least believe Trump being in power gives them more freedom to be greedy. They probably can see through some of the lies. They are deeper than a lot of the casual supporters. They vote for an asshole just so they have an excuse to be an asshole. Those I find far less sympathetic.
Then there are those who I think are a combination. They believe the lies, and they genuinely believe he’s the best thing for them. They buy into his cult.
I still don’t know how to feel about Trump supporters. Depending on the perspective, it’s hard to use it as a judgement of character. Really, the fact that he has this kind of support is a testament to our short-term memory as a nation. We can just brush off all of these things he’s done as “semi-normal.”
So allow this and my other posts to be a reminder to the American people how dangerous this traitor is. Again, let me reiterate, he is not a patriot nor a savior but a traitor. Let that list I wrote be a reminder of that.
And once again, thank you all so much for spreading that list’s message.
The Wannabe Author Thanks You
Thank you so much for reading this post. Your viewership means a lot to this tiny publication. Please, if you liked this post, consider hitting the like button and maybe even sharing it. I’d also encourage you to read some of my many other posts. I have been posting nearly weekly for the past year, so I have a lot of reading material.
If you like my work and want to support The Wannabe Author, please consider subscribing. That would mean so much to this amateur writer. Long time readers may have noticed a complete rebrand recently, which I am fairly proud of. Finally, my publication has a proper name.
Again, thank you so much for reading.
You express yourself effectively. If Gen Z doesn't take over the ballot box by participating on Nov 5 - then Gen Alpha (a demographic label I recently read being used) will have a diminished future. Climate change will never be taken seriously until those whose lives are at stake become a political force. Trump has used his power of influence over the MAGA base to intimidate the Republican Party. Gen Z needs exert its unused potential to exert influence over our government. Our current system confuses power with money. Power is in motivating a significant voting block. Hopefully Roe-vember is coming where women's voices are heard.
I have also given all of the issues you mentioned a lot of thought. I have family and such who follow him. I couldn't understand it.
Then, after watching repeated interviews with people who said they liked his policies but could not name a single one, it struck me.
He hates who they hate. It doesn't seem like something on which you would hang the fate of the country, but there it is.
No one gets enough history in school anymore to understand how Fascists work. When the Brown Shirts took Hitler to power, they did it, among other things, to get rewarded. As soon as he consolidated power, the "Night of the Long Knives" followed. They were either executed or sent to Concentration Camps.
Read "True Believer" by Eric Hoffer. It lays it all out.
Thank you for your post. I enjoyed reading it.