October 30, 2024
Joseph Backholm

I’m not a big Trump fan. It’s not just that he has behaved in ways that are beneath the dignity of the office and what we should expect from adults, it’s also that I’m a conservative and he isn’t. He’s a big spending, social moderate/progressive. The 1992 version of Bill Clinton was more conservative than Trump 2024, and I wore all black to junior high to mourn the election of Clinton. So, while I don't have the enthusiasm I wish I had for a presidential candidate, I’m voting for him and here’s why:

1. At least he doesn’t hate me. As a small government, Christian, social conservative, I wish Trump saw the world the way I do. He doesn’t. But at least he doesn’t have disdain for people who see the world as I do. Kamala has personally weaponized the legal system against people like me because of what we believe and cheered when others did the same. I’d prefer to have an ally in the White House, but I’ll take the person who isn’t actively trying to harm me if that’s the best option available.

2. Trump is often right. For all the things I find objectionable about Trump, he’s not merely a broken clock, he’s right about many things. His anger is often channeled in the right direction. He likes America and believes America’s leaders should prioritize the interests of Americans. He doesn’t articulate it well, but he sees wokeness for the morally bankrupt, societally destructive force that it is. He also recognizes that evil exists and believes the priority should be to stop evil rather than explain it. He employs common sense and doesn’t require a focus group or a committee to recognize when something is stupid. He doesn’t have a good grasp of the big picture, but he’s decent at calling balls and strikes. Kamala Harris is wrong about almost everything that really matters.

3. I much prefer Trump’s team. When you elect a President, you get thousands of staffers, appointees, and advisors as part of the deal who run agencies that have huge impacts on people's lives. I prefer a Trump team to a Harris team in the same way I’d rather spend a month on the beach in Maui than a month trapped underground in a collapsed mine. It’s not close.

4. I don’t want anyone I care about ever appearing before a Kamala Harris judge. Decades from now, long after we’ve all moved on from Trump and Harris, there will be judges making decisions that greatly impact civil liberties, families, and the rule of law. If my kids or grandkids ever end up in one of those courts, I passionately do not want someone Kamala Harris appointed making important decisions that affect them. And then there’s the Supreme Court. We don’t need any more justices who don’t know what a woman is.

5. Harris is an actual threat to democracy. Trump is insecure and emotionally handicapped, and we saw the liability that creates after the 2020 election. I don’t condone his behavior but our system is built to contain people like Trump and did. He wasn’t going to end democracy or elections because he couldn’t. Whatever the size of the temper tantrum, there is no mechanism for him to do that. Harris and her friends intend to change the rules so people like me will have no more influence in America. If given the opportunity, she would give illegals the ability to vote, add states to the union, change the rules of the Senate, and expand the Supreme Court to pack it with people who think like her. The intent and result would be a one-party Congress and a Supreme Court that rubber-stamped whatever that Congress did. This outcome would be orders of magnitude worse for democracy than Trump’s behavior after 2020.

6. Trump believes in free speech, Harris doesn’t. Harris is part of the left that has made the transition from liberal to leftist. Their platform involves stopping “misinformation�, which is any speech they don’t like. If she had the chance, I am confident Harris would severely restrict free speech. I’d rather deal with someone who abuses the right to free speech than someone who wants to get rid of it.

7. Trump likes school choice, Harris doesn’t. This issue is a passion for me. I believe most of our country’s problems can be directly connected to two issues: fatherlessness and public education. Fatherlessness is mostly beyond the reach of government, but the catastrophic harm that has resulted from a government monopoly on education can be significantly remedied by giving parents the ability to direct their children’s education. Trump would support this reform, Harris supports the status quo.

8. Trump is much better on the border. Trump made border security a national concern. If the Biden/Harris team had any interest in having a secure border, we would have a secure border. She talks like a border hawk today simply because polling tells her she must, but I think past behavior, not current political desperation, is a better indicator of future behavior. I want the border to be secure and I think Trump would do something about it. I don’t think Harris would.

9. The world will be safer with Trump as President. Most of the world doesn’t share America’s obsession with feelings, especially not the bad guys. One of the reasons two wars have broken out in the last two years, in addition to policy decisions that made them much more likely, is that bad people don’t respect or fear progressives. During his first term, I was concerned Trump would launch missiles during one of his temper tantrums, but I was pleasantly surprised to see his judgment when it came to his most lethal powers. Since I’m not at all concerned about him having the nuclear codes, the benefits of someone who understands evil and leverage make Trump a far better option to deal with the world’s worst people. I also don’t want a military where people are concerned about preferred pronouns.

10. The elite hate him. This is a bit of “the enemy of your enemy is your friend� analysis. The swamp in America is real and swampier than most of us realize. There is a group of elites who believe they have the right to manage our lives and pay themselves well to do so. The disdain Trump feels and shows towards this group, especially in media, is generally justified. They are awful people who lie with impunity to protect themselves. They hate Trump because Trump is unimpressed by them and doesn’t agree that they deserve to rule the rest of us. They should be smoked out and sent to get real jobs where they can make someone’s life better. The idea that Elon Musk would end up leading an efficiency initiative where he just randomly fires 50% of all federal employees is a dream I’d never want to wake from.

So there you have it. I understand the position that both Trump and Harris have disqualified themselves for various reasons, but obviously, I don’t find it persuasive. I am concerned enough about the left’s vision for the world that I feel an obligation to do what I can to stop it from materializing, even if the medicine has some side effects. So, I’ll vote for Trump and then I will pray that God will give America mercy we certainly don’t deserve.