I Welcome Trump Supporters
I want MAGA followers even if we are not best friends
I see many fellow leftists who say they don’t want Trump fans to follow them or subscribe. Personally, I strongly disagree with that. You may not like what I say about Trump or your values, but if you’re still willing to stick around, that’s something I can respect.
During my time on X, I’ve actually had numerous Trump supporters whom I liked a lot as people. Strangely, we managed to get along despite my being very honest about how negatively I viewed their political opinions. Perhaps a big part of that was my ability to accept that many of their other traits were admirable.
Humans are complex, as I keep observing. There are people who do amazing things and come across as having high moral standards yet utterly fail in other areas. Another thing I recognize is that political views and values are not permanently ingrained features. You may not be able to change your skin color, sex, height, or many other traits easily. But you can change your values.
I’ve met people who used to be violent criminals, but somehow turned their lives around and became a force for good. You can find plenty of people who once belonged to groups like the KKK, neo-Nazis, or Islamist terror organizations but eventually saw the error of their ways and changed.
You may be a MAGA scumbag today, but you don’t need to be one tomorrow. That I label you in disparaging ways is about honesty and what I see as a need to show that values and behavior have consequences. You cannot be part of a vile movement without it affecting how the rest of the world sees you. If we tiptoe around you, offering pleasantries, we’re just shielding you from the ugly reality.
I know this isn’t a very effective way of changing people. Few responds well to insults. But most of you cannot be changed. The debate is long dead. I spent years trying to talk reason with MAGA-type right-wingers. It never got very far.
All I can show for it is that I made right-wing friends online, but I never fundamentally altered their views. So, this is more about making a stand—about being true to myself and making it clear that I do not accept or tolerate the cruelty and authoritarianism of the MAGA ideology.
Here’s my challenge to you Trump supporters: If you can call minorities, LGBTQ people, single moms, Mexicans, undocumented immigrants, welfare recipients, and a long list of others nasty names, then surely you should be able to handle me giving you unflattering characterizations.
If you want to engage with me, I will keep it civil. If you can abstain from nasty characterizations of others, I will avoid negative characterizations of you and stick to the subject matter.
Remember, this isn’t really about the left and right. It’s much more about the world versus the American MAGA right. I have no quarrel with normal conservatives here in Europe. By and large, they are decent people. We simply differ in our political preferences and visions for the future.
And no, MAGA is not about politics. MAGA is an extremist movement spreading hatred and division. Hate isn’t politics, and it shouldn’t be treated as a mere political disagreement.
I am an atheist socialist, but one of the most admirable people I have known was a deeply religious Christian with many conservative values. However, this was a man who took Jesus’s message of love and compassion seriously. MAGA Christians, in contrast, are not Christians. They have rejected everything Jesus preached and replaced it with intolerance and hatred. They have more in common with the Pharisees.
Why do I harp on this? Because I want to make it clear that many of us on the left who are deeply critical of you don’t have a general aversion to the right. Being a decent human being isn’t about being left-wing or right-wing. There are plenty of horrible left-wingers as well. I strongly object to those who wanted Trump to be assassinated or thought Israel had it coming with the October 7, 2023, attack.
The left certainly has its moral failings, as seen in the outsized support for Hamas. Feel free to say nasty things about those who support Hamas terror. But the existence of bad people on the left does not excuse your support for a horrible extremist movement.
No, of course, MAGA is nothing like Hamas, but here’s what you must not forget: MAGA has far more power and influence in the world. The U.S. is the most powerful empire in history. U.S. policies have a massive impact globally. You may say MAGA isn’t killing people, but shutting down USAID has already cost lives. Cutting support to Ukraine will also result in many deaths.
So, in short, if you are MAGA, I don’t want you gone. You are more than welcome to follow me and engage in discussion. Just don’t expect me to like what you stand for or sugarcoat my opinion of it.