The past four years have been unlike anything we have seen in American history. In 2016, despite presenting Republicans with a deep bench of suitable, conservative candidates for president, Donald Trump emerged as the party’s nominee and turned this country on its head.
I and many other established Republican political consultants tried to warn our country that choosing a narcissistic, self-absorbed, reality TV celebrity with no experience in public policy, foreign affairs, or governing would not end well. We tried to tell them that Donald Trump was not a true conservative, nor did he represent the core values of the Republican Party. We warned voters that a Trump presidency would be chaotic at best and a threat to our democracy at worst.
Despite the warning signs, voters took a chance hoping he would grow into the role: “How bad could he really be?” As it turns out, it has been worse than anything any of us could have imagined.
We never foresaw the cruelty this president would display as he separated Hispanic refugees from their children at the border. It never occurred to us that an American president would lock those children in cages, without even meeting their basic needs, in a land foreign to them where they didn’t even speak the language. But, it happened, and we watched, horrified and helpless to do anything to stop it. What did these children do to deserve to be treated like animals?
There was no way to predict that our president would stand with dictators instead of our allies. It was embarrassing for us, the beacon of democracy in this world, to have our president fawn over our enemies.
It was appalling to watch an American president unapologetically sell out the Kurds, who have fought alongside our own men and women in uniform. But it happened, and we watched, horrified and helpless to do anything to stop it. Who thinks it’s acceptable to turn on our allies in their time of need?
We had no way of knowing Donald Trump would fan the flames of racism in this country; that he’d dog whistle at white supremacists. We couldn’t predict the daily lies he would tell or the gaslighting that would be inflicted on our nation. We didn’t realize he would refute science and hide information during an international pandemic that so far has taken more than 221,000 American lives.
It was unfathomable that the Republican Party in California and elsewhere would engage in voter suppression. But it all happened, and we watched, horrified and helpless to do anything to stop it. Our children were watching, too, and parents around the country had to find a way to explain why our nation made the choice it did four years ago.
It is rare in this world when we get a chance to correct a mistake. It is imperative that Republicans around this country take a step back and reflect on all of the division, hatred and chaos Donald Trump has been responsible for during his term as president. We must ask ourselves if this is truly the path we want to see our party and this country continue down or whether we want to unite in the fight to win back our country.This president has been anything but presidential.He lacks empathy, loyalty and kindness. He is a school yard bully who is dragging our country into peril. We no longer have to watch, horrified and helpless to do anything to stop him. We are at a crossroads in this country. Voters made a mistake in 2016, but they have an opportunity to correct it now. I hope they do.
Mike Madrid is a co-founder of The Lincoln Project. He’s a former political director for the California State Republican Party and a longtime Republican political strategist with an expertise in Latino voting trends and analysis.
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October 30, 2020 at 11:00PM
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Question your loyalty to Trump’s Republican Party: Mike Madrid - OCRegister
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