Questions for Trump Supporters

Since election day a question has been nagging at me: "What do we owe Trump supporters?" It's an especially pointed one for me because I can count so much of my family among this group. This post is part of my process of figuring out how to approach his supporters, how to think about what we owe them and what it's okay to feel towards them. Deciding these things simply based on their vote is, for me, too simple. I'm betting that many Trump supporters are uneasy about what they've helped unleash, and that some are so uneasy that they're willing to stand up against some of the violence their less cautious peers might do. So getting answers to the below questions seems like a better way than dismissing people outright.

I pose these questions as someone deeply worried about the changes a Trump administration will bring to this country, and potentially to the world. I also pose them wishing I’d done more to call out the failings of the Obama administration. While Obama helped advance progressive causes, he also expanded a terrorizing, legally ill-defined drone program and didn’t do enough to close Guantanamo. And he was negligent about developing Democratic power in the states and left the door open for future Presidents to abuse their executive authority. So my questions come from a sense of apprehension about the future and my own failings in the past, but also from a small space of hope that our shared principles can guide us forward.

If you voted for Trump, whatever your reasons, you’d be hard pressed not to admit that his temperament and lack of experience warrant our close attention to his administration. Many, many in his own party have argued this or something similar, often in much stronger terms. Closely watching Trump, his administration, and his supporters is a responsibility that should fall particularly heavily on you, his voters, because you've brought him to power and you are uniquely positioned to call out his bad behavior and the actions of other supporters.

If you find yourself answering “no” to these questions, lots of people, myself included, are going to have a hard time taking your commitment to this country and its ideals seriously. Put another way, you'll be going against the values of reason and pluralism that make this country great in the moments when it manages to be great. But if you're answering "yes," maybe we can hold out hope of working toward some of the same goals. 

1. Will you acknowledge that Trump has a penchant for dishonesty and error even worse than that of other politicians, and a worrying reluctance to inform himself and make decisions based on present and historical realities? Will you further acknowledge that he has proven himself gullible and susceptible to bad information from bad sources? (For example, here, here, here, and here.) Will you watch his decision-making processes to the best of your ability and, when they fail to account for the best available information, denounce them directly to his administration and/or to your elected representatives with a phone call, letter, or other communication?
2. Will you acknowledge that Trump’s conflicts of interest are, if not dealt with immediately, unconstitutional, dangerous, and deligitimizing to his Presidency? (For reporting on this, see here, here, and here.) Will you insist that he place his assets in a trust that is truly blind (not, as he has said, controlled by his children), and that he further change course on these matters immidiately by being transparent and doing all he can to remove these conflicts?
3. Will you acknowledge that Trump has laid a foundation for hatred and violence, particularly against nearly anyone who isn’t male, white, straight and Christian, and has emboldened racists and racist groups? More importantly, will you denounce expressions of these kinds against any person, whether in speech or deed, and, whenever possible, intervene on victims' behalf? In the likely event that identiy-based violence increases during a Trump administration, will you write or call your elected representatives to tell them they must be denounced publicly and dealt with legally and politically?
4. Will you acknowledge that Trump has normalized sexual intimidation and violence and encouraged the objectification of women? More importantly will you denounce expressions of these behaviors, whether in speech or deed, and, whenever possible, intervene on victims' behalf? In the likely event that these kinds of behaviors increase during a Trump administration, will you write or call your elected representatives to tell them these kinds of things must be denounced publicly and dealt with legally and politically?
5. Will you acknowledge Trump’s inability to recover from perceived slights, and further acknowledge that the vindictiveness that comes from this quality is inappropriate and potentially disastrous in a man who controls the full resources of the Justice Department and the U.S. military? Will you acknowledge that it is possible to know when he acts from these motives and do what you can to oppose these actions, no matter his stated reasons for them?
6. Will you acknowledge Trump’s record of failed businesses and the legally questionable management of his charitable foundation? Will you further acknowledge that this record, along with his record for not paying employees, means we should be on the lookout for corruption and incompetence in his administration? Will you denounce these things if they are reported widely in news media?
7. Will you acknowledge Trump’s unconstitutional hostility to a free press? Will you insist upon the rights of journalists to investigate him, his administration, and his policies, and to fairly and openly share their findings without fear of reprisal?
8. Finally, will you think hard about where your loyalties lie and pledge them not to a specific person, administration, or party, but to the well-being of the country, its institutions, and all its people?