As someone who did not vote for Donald Trump, I can honestly say that I accept him as our country’s president. For the sake of our country, I hope he does a good job in the upcoming four years. That being said, his first few weeks in office has already sparked controversy all around the world.
I am aware that the reason you voted for Trump may not have come from a hateful place and not all of you should be generalized as racist, homophobic, or misogynists. I understand that you have your reasons and priorities that you believe Trump will shed light on and that is why he got your vote. I fully respect that you voted according to what you believed would make our country even better than it is, because at the end of the day that is all anyone can ask for.
What I do not understand is the shock and anger some of you have toward President Donald Trump’s actions. As the saying goes, “what you see is what you get.” Throughout his campaign, he has shown and told us exactly what he wanted to do and right now he is fulfilling them. While I’m sure some Trump supporters are thankful he is following through on his word, I know other Trump supporters aren’t so happy with the outcome.
If you are shocked the by his attempt of the Muslim ban, which I assume most Trump supporters wanted the ban, it isn’t anything out of the blue. Trump made it clear in his campaign about his plans on a Muslim ban and he even put it on his website last year. If you are shocked that this 15-billion-dollar wall will potentially be paid for by US taxpayers, I guess I somewhat understand. He did say that the Mexican government would provide the funding, so he did lie about that. However, did you honestly think the Mexican government was going to pay for a 15-billion-dollar wall? If you are shocked that instead of paying attention to his intelligence briefing he decided to fight on Twitter with Nordstrom, I think he has shown us many times before he would rather be on social media than deal with real issues and that should not be a surprise. If you are shocked of his plans to defund planned parenthood and the reinstatement of the global gag rule, once again, Trump has talked about his stance on abortions and his opinion on telling women what to do with their bodies throughout his campaign. These are all of the things he said he was going to do as president. Not to mention, his previous actions as a candidate had foreshadowed the threat he poses on freedom of speech, or of the press, as president.
This letter is obviously not for the people who support all that he has done so far. It is not for the Trump supporters that had hoped these were the actions he would take. If you are one of those people, I am glad that your vote did not go to waste and I hope you are feeling the relief and security that Trump has provided you thus far. This letter is for the people that voted for Trump with the notion that he was bluffing. This letter is for people that did not take him seriously. While I am sad that some of you regret your vote, I do not believe it is fair to use the “I voted for Trump, but I didn’t know he was actually serious” excuse. If the things he was saying throughout the campaign was an issue for you, then maybe you should have taken it seriously. Everything that happened in that overwhelming election unfolded right in front of us and I do not think the outcome of it should leave anyone surprised.
The past is in the past and what’s done is done. All we can do now is stick together as a country. No matter if someone voted for Trump, or Hillary, or no one at all, it is in everyone’s best interest that we look out for each other. There is a wave of uncertainty in our country and around the world, so it is vital that we spread positivity and hope: “United we stand, divided we fall.”
Photo credit: Cover photo by Gage Skidmore, Photo 1 courtesy of Pixabay