Why I, a Liberal, am Relieved Trump Won
And the hope this gives me for Democrats
Well, it's been a month since the election. The initial shock for some has worn off. The panic and celebration that rippled through our country seems to have worn off. Perhaps it will return. In this moment of relative calm, it's probably a good time to talk about what happened.
I've read multiple articles from liberal-minded people as they shared their perspectives on why the Democrats lost. This article isn't going to retread that same territory. I find most of those articles a bit annoying, personally, because they suggest that the result of the election wasn't entirely predictable to begin with. Of course, I understand many were shocked. Many were not shocked but were heartbroken. Yet, for some of us, the writing on the wall was there all along.
First of all, I'll admit that I was relieved by Trump's election. I think he's a selfish, aggressive narcissist not driven by values but by an incessant desire to “win.” Listening to him in interviews is mind-numbingly boring to me as he recounts story after story about how great he is, how bad others are, and demonstrating how utterly unable he is to remember a single woman's name.
And I was relieved he was elected. I resonate with the words of Liza Libes when she said, “a valueless, anti-intellectual, volatile candidate seemed slightly more appealing this time around than a multicultural woman who claimed to uphold democracy,” (bold emphasis mine).
Most liberal folks find that notion not only disturbing but offensive. Many will read no further simply because I say this. This, itself, is the problem.
I could give you a lot of reasons I think Trump won. His victory was obvious to me this time—as obvious as it was to me in 2016 after Bernie dropped out. What disturbs me the most is how many rank-and-file democrats fail to notice the glaring issues with the democratic party such that they are surprised and horrified by such an obvious conclusion.
I'd love to share some of the reasons I think Trump won—the moral decay of the democratic party, the democratic censorship, the apparent contempt for actual democracy that the Democrats reveal through actions like denying secret service protection to RFK Jr. Though I won't talk too much about these. I'll mention just one.
Overlooking Genocide
Despite the positive, prosocial messaging of the Harris campaign, there was one glaring and obvious omission from the proclamations of compassion: the people of Palestine.
It's quite telling that the campaign that was based on espousing the virtues of compassion, empathy, and moral superiority continued to soft-pedal and sidestep the issue of the ongoing genocide of Palestine. The democratic party was once the anti-war party. It was the peace party. Though now, while United States weapons support the ongoing genocide in Palestine, most democrats remain silent.
Since at least 2015, the democratic party has been becoming increasingly hollow and weak. For three years in a row, the leading democratic candidate—endorsed by the establishment—has run on the exact same platform: “We must defeat Trump.”
Trump—with his loudmouthed, arrogant, xenophobic ways—is the perfect bogeyman. However, in the past decade, I have not once felt that the democratic party was interested in earning my vote. On the contrary, I have felt personal contempt from the leaders of the democratic party. Rather than presenting a coherent and courageous vision for America in the face of opposition, I feel that the democratic party has reduced itself to empty pandering while undermining the very values of democracy, honesty, and compassion that they so liberally espouse (pun intended).
What has frustrated me most over the past 8 years has not been Trump's brazen xenophobia, misogyny, or flagrant disregard for the environment. What has frustrated me most has been that the democratic party has been in a state of moral decay and my political allies have been allowing it to happen.
It is astounding to me that so many people in America were entirely willing to overlook genocide to get in line behind Harris. I understand that Trump also supports genocide. Yet, the difference is that Trump's support of genocide is morally and intellectually consistent with the rest of his platform (unfortunately). Whereas supporting genocide as a democrat is a deep betrayal of democratic values—and I hardly heard a peep.
It’s our job to hold our representatives accountable for betraying our values. But while 75% of Democrats oppose the war in Gaza, Harris was still able to sidestep the issue.
A friend of mine—who has been a proponent for Palestine for decades—held a sign that read, “Genocide is not a lesser evil.” He told me he received more aggression for that sign than any other he had held. Of course, this is likely because people perceived him as not supporting Harris (indeed he wasn't). Then, he was likely assumed to be either directly or indirectly supporting Trump. Somehow that was considered to be worse than opposing literal genocide.
I keep using the word genocide because it astounds me that that word alone hasn’t been enough to unify collective will in the US. Gaza has been razed to the ground. I could point to several sources that corroborate this: here’s just one. Though either you know this already or you're choosing not to.
I feel strongly about this. I have a lot of frustration, anger, and disappointment with the political left for allowing what is supposedly our party to let us down to such a degree. Yet, I do understand. And I do have compassion. Trump in the white house is a legitimately frightening prospect for many reasons. And when people are scared, a lot of mental faculties become degraded. People do things they otherwise wouldn't.
I have compassion for this. And I'm writing to my fellow liberals to say this: we can and we must do better.
There was a time when the democratic party was the party of peace and moral courage. It seems to me we have allowed the fear of Trump to supersede all other concerns. When simply the indication that one might support Trump is considered more offensive than literal genocide, we must recognize that we have lost our way.
While it didn't happen, I can imagine a possibility in which we had held the democratic party to the standards that most Americans—particularly liberal Americans—hold. If there had been a large, widespread, and powerful political will to only vote for a candidate that opposes genocide, that might have been enough to pressure Harris to adopt a different stance. Trump absolutely wouldn't have budged, but Harris might have.
But we didn't do that. We were scared to do that. Scared of “dividing the votes” and “handing the election to Trump.” I believe the Harris campaign counted on the fear of Trump being strong enough for her to avoid taking a strong stance on Israel and many other issues—police reform, government lobbies, censorship to name a few. This is the same thing Biden counted on in 2020, and the same thing Clinton counted on before him. It worked in 2020, but it didn't work this time.
And now we have Trump in the Whitehouse. And despite how appalling he is to me, I’m relieved for two reasons:
Reason #1:
Despite his narcissistic tendencies and his flagrant support of Israel, I think with Trump in the Whitehouse, we are less likely to end up in a third world war. Many don't know that the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists thinks we're closer to nuclear armageddon now than we have ever been. There are multiple signs that Russia is preparing for WW3. Some are not so obvious. Most seem either unaware or are intentionally overlooking how the US government—supported by establishment Republicans and Democrats—has been deliberately provoking Russia to war for at least a decade.
Meanwhile, Trump is lambasted in the media for being buddy-buddy with Putin while the Biden administration rushes toward war.
For all his issues, Trump doesn't like war.
While I still fear the ongoing escalation of matters in the Middle East under Trump. I see no reason to believe that Harris would have been better. Trump at least tried to broker a peace treaty in the Middle East as president, as ill-fated as that was
Reason #2
The second reason I'm relieved by Trump's victory is perhaps even greater than the first. Again, I find myself deeply disturbed by how many people who share my liberal values were unaware or willing to overlook the issues I presented above. I found myself disturbed by how easily the invocation of the name “Donald Trump” seemed to strip so many of my friends and family members of the capacity for rational conversation. There is only one reason for this that I can see: shadow projection.
By making Trump the bogeyman, the liberal groupthink has successfully turned Trump into the psychic receptacle for everything we're unwilling to recognize and embrace in ourselves. Thus, we lose the ability to accurately perceive both Trump and everyone who supports him. We lose the ability to witness ourselves honestly and look with a critical eye at our own behavior.
I chose to be away from town on the day of the election. I had trouble talking to many people about politics in the days leading up to the election. I feared that if I shared my view that Trump might not be the worst thing in the world, then folks might question my values, my intelligence, or my worth as a human being. I thought I would lose friends. While these fears certainly speak to my own insecurities about being an outcast—these fears are also grounded in observation. I have many experiences of being painted in colors that aren't my own simply by speaking against the prevailing orthodoxies.
Yet, after the election, something shifted among my friends. There was a hard edge that many in my extremely liberal community had that finally seemed to soften. I didn't feel this even in 2016. While I admit to my frustration with all those articles about why the Democrats lost, I must admit that they’re soothing, too. It feels like for the first time since I've been a liberal activist—my comrades are looking in the mirror.
I still believe in the values of liberal-minded folks. Despite my frustration, I still think of liberals as my people. And I believe if there's going to be a political revolution that I want to be a part of, it will come from the left.
And it will come only when the left has embraced its own shadows enough that it can begin to understand and not just demonize the right.
Many on the right are indeed closed-minded, arrogant, judgmental, and rude.
Many on the left are, too.
While many on the left celebrate the murder of Brian Thompson, maybe we see that we can be every bit as violent as the violence we decry.
Then we can embrace humility and begin the hard and unglamorous work of bridging this political divide.
That way, in 2028, we won't have to choose between the “lesser of two evils” anymore.
I have one personal request before you go. I would LOVE to write much more often. In my wildest dreams, I earn enough money through my writing that that’s my primary means of supporting myself. If you share that dream with me, please do support the work. I am committed to never putting my words and thoughts behind a paywall. I believe in the democratization of ideas. Yet, just one of these articles takes me many hours to write—on top of my professional life, community organizing life, and the ongoing education and self-study I pursue to be able to express thoughts like this. Thus, if I am going to dedicate myself more fully to this work, it will only be through the generous patronage from people like you. Monthly patronage starts at only $6 a month. And I do accept one-time tips through Venmo @wildsoulcounseling.
And if you, like me, like to try before you buy, ANOTHER way to support me is simply to subscribe and share with people who you think will benefit from reading this.
Thank you!
Daniel
And don’t forget to share!
While I would not use the term "relieved", I do believe Trump is the President the U.S. needs - just as I did in 2016, when I opined that the U.S. is like an alcoholic that needs to hit bottom before coming to its senses and Trump was just the man to take us down. I was wrong then, but perhaps he just needs more time.
I take issue with your suggestion that Harris supports genocide or, at best, stayed silent on the issue. Both Harris and Biden were quite clear in their calls for Israel to dial things back in Gaza and their concern for the horrible toll on civilians there - both publicly and privately. Admittedly rhetoric and actions are not the same and the Biden administration should not have continued to provide offensive weapons to Israel. Would Harris have continued the tradition? We might never know. There is little doubt in my mind, however, that a Trump administration will quite happily continue to arm Israel and likely support the permanent annexation of both Gaza and the West Bank.
Our democracy has [arguably] been under threat since before the ascension of Donald Trump, indeed his ascension is a symptom, not the cause. Many would argue that democracy here is nearing the end of a reasonable life span as, predictably, we have become more and more spoiled and complacent as a population. I suspect most Americans in the 1950s, 60s and 70s tended to vote for the candidate they believed was best for the nation. Now, I am convinced, most voters support the candidate they believe is best for them personally.... and tomorrow, not years down the road. That sort of selfish narcissism leads to exactly what we see today: shortsighted policies and an every person for her/himself attitude which is perfectly reflected by our representatives in City Halls, State Houses, Congress and the White House. We no longer have an electorate willing to roll up its sleeves, work hard and make near term sacrifices for the greater good down the road. Desire for immediate gratification rules the day. Life is just too easy for many of us. For the rest of us who might be struggling, we are easily deceived as far too many either lack the education to know any better or the character to care.
So, I am not at all relieved that Trump won, but am cautiously optimistic that his likely acceleration of our race to the bottom will be followed by a slow climb back up to the top.
While I understand - and agree, to a point-your views,I have to disagree with your conclusion. Politics is complicated. Many Biden supporters were angry at those who called for him to withdraw from the race. There were rumors that the Harris camp was involved in the effort. So when she did run, she had to walk a very fine line,to set her own path, but not to disrespect the sitting president who had endorsed her candidacy. During her campaign, Harris repeatedly called for an immediate ceasefire, and supported a two-state solution with an independent Palestine.
It is naive to expect an end to the genocide with Trump in office. It will only be worse. With Trump in office, the Ukrainians will be left to the Russians. Our status with our allies has been permanently damaged. They will be justified in never trusting us again to live up to our responsibility as a member of NATO, the UN, or any individual agreements with allies. This is not a good think nor a relief. It is an enormous tragedy that we all will suffer for.