A long time friend (and Republican) and I had a little back and forth on Facebook yesterday. The exchange we had, I think, really gets to the core of the dispute (on Trump) between folks like me (NeverTrumpers) and reluctant but faithful Trump voters. /1
His big grievance relates to how reluctant Trump voters, like himself, have been characterized negatively as a result of their association with Trump. He feels they are basically “lumped in with Trump”. He sees this as unfair and not very accurate. /2
He recognizes Trump as a raging asshole and someone that he otherwise would never associate with but he believes that in life - you have to work with assholes and tolerate assholes - if they are high performers and accomplished at achieving tangible objectives. /3
And I think this 1 view right here -is the epicenter of the fracture in our views. I don’t believe there is ever a situation where you should tolerate dishonesty & divisiveness & a lack of integrity - even if you are dealing with a high performer that compensates you well. /4
I believe individuals’ tolerance for asshole behavior =the dividing line between reluctant Trunp voters & people like me that would never think of supporting the guy. If you are ok with a transactional relationship where the asshole gives you nice things-you can hold your nose.
The above covered part one of our discussion. Part 2 had to do with his frustration regarding people “lumping him in with Trump” as he clearly disapproves of a lot of Trump’s behavior.
I’ll finish this by telling you what I told him.
I’ll finish this by telling you what I told him.
I don’t need a priest or a preacher as president. I do need someone that does not lie in every other sentence. I need someone who is not singularly focused on dividing the country. And someone that is not purposefully cruel.
I believe if you stand for honesty & integrity-you demand that of anyone you associate with . You demand that of your coworkers & staff. And The politicians you support. And I believe your association should be contingent on their actions.
I will never tolerate dishonesty & cruelty & bad character in a transactional relationship. If I associated with someone like Trump just because he gave me stuff that would mean that I didn’t truly value honesty and integrity - if it came at too steep of a cost.
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