The Baboon Who Will Leave Us Alone
The best thing that ever happened to Donald J. Trump politically was his worst critics. He was flawed, but they were stone cold crazy. Self-declared rational liberals still descend into a frothing rage at the mere mention of his name. His 2016 critics deemed him a satanic monster, drastically lowering the bar for him. Americans recoiled at his opponents. Trump was sometimes bombastic, but Hillary Clinton and Liz Warren screamed at voters.
Trump will always be offbeat stylistically, but he is certainly not Hitler, Stalin or Pol Pot. His worst critics still fail to grasp this. Trump does not seek to murder Jews, imprison blacks, or perform conversion therapy on gays. He does seek to cut all of their taxes. He compares projects A and B to determine which has a better net present value. This is hardly a genocidal madman’s philosophy.
Conversely, the worst thing that ever happened to Trump politically was his biggest supporters. Many of them respond to any criticism of Trump with a heat seeking missile basted in ghost chili peppers. They fail to distinguish leftist malevolence from constructive criticism emanating from his own voters. Many Trump voters like his results while still wishing he would stump with more discipline.
Whitewashing Trump’s behavior is perilous because his most ardent MAGA supporters constitute less than an electoral majority.
Elections are still decided in swing states by swing voters the late Rush Limbaugh described as “ambivalent loyal Americans.” They like their president personally and want him to succeed. Frustration with policy failures do not diminish their respect for the office. When it is a close call, they give their president the benefit of the doubt. This led to the 2004 reelection of George W. Bush and the 2012 reelection of Barack Obama.
In 2024, the people do not see a close call. Voters are suffering. They know Joe Biden and Kamala Harris let them down. The bar is low. All Trump must do is be an acceptable alternative. Swing voters who like Trump’s policies still grapple with his behavior.
The bottom line is that too many swing voters see Donald Trump as a baboon.
This characterization is grossly unfair. Trump graduated from Wharton business school. He turned his father Fred Trump’s comparatively small real estate business into a multi-billion-dollar empire. Trump does not smoke or do drugs. He has never even tried alcohol. He enters his office at 4:00 in the morning. He has raised and donated millions of dollars for charity. He has hired tens of thousands of people, helping poor people reach the middle class and middle class people reach the upper class. His children are smart, successful and poised. If Trump is a baboon, then so is half the country. Sadly, this is how many left of center people view Trump and his voters.
Yet arguing with persuadable voters against an unfair characterization is often a terrible political strategy. Addressing their concerns matters more than winning debate points.
When swing voters praise Trump’s policies but not his behavior, they are telegraphing their concerns with a megaphone. Win them over by being friendly, agreeable, sensible, and most importantly, likable.
“Look. You may see Trump as a baboon. At least admit he can do the job. Most importantly, he will leave us alone.”
This removes the objection and shifts focus back to issues and policy.
Most people just want to be left alone. They know Trump will not regulate our light bulbs, washing machines or toilet bowls. He will not force people to drive ugly, low quality electric vehicles. He will ban mask mandates rather than guns, alcohol, tobacco, sugary sodas or red meat. He will not allow criminals and other zealots to seize college campus buildings and terrorize innocent Jews and Christians. He will allow small business owners to do business.
Far from crazy, Trump will give people the freedom to enjoy life without being harmed by the real crazies. Radical leftists and Islamists hate him. That alone shows he possesses a significant amount of normalcy.
Rational swing voters grasp the American creed of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” They want to be left alone.
Admittedly, Trump’s style is not for everyone. Yet substantively, he knows how to fix problems and get the government leviathan off of our creaking backs.
For those on the fence, Trump does not have to be Zeus. He just has to be better than the Democrats, which he definitely is.
To the swing voters, swing that voting lever for Trump. Label him a baboon if you must. Just know he can do the job and he will leave you alone.