David Weissman, a former conservative blogger for the Times of Israel who’s made a name for himself on social media after having a crisis of conscience over his support of Trump, is on a journey. It began with a chance interaction he had with comedy megastar Sarah Silverman, who he at one point accused of caring more about illegal immigrants than about American veterans — of which Weissman is one, after 13 years in the US Army.
The story is like what we all dream of happening to our right-wing uncles over a family reunion: Someone, maybe you, figures out the exact right thing to say to him that gives him an epiphany, and he suddenly comes around, renouncing his MAGA ways and embracing Medicare For All.
It’s rare, but it happens — and Weissman is proof.
He was a self-described “Trump troll,” who took joy in the agony of those upset by the election of the 45th President. He freely admits at this point that he had no interest in finding out the truth behind many of the right-wing tropes he gladly joined in on: Benghazi, Her Emails™, and the absolute demonization of Barack Obama.
But when that journey took a turn, he was almost blindsided by not just how wrong he was, but how much room he had for the empathy he learned was missing from his prior political stances. If personal growth is about learning just what good you’re capable of, then David must feel about 9 feet tall right now. That’s why today, it was no surprise for me to see a tweet from him looking to grow even more:
I’ve spent years as a conservative columnist demonizing @BarackObama, @HillaryClinton, Muslims, immigrants and black lives matter, is one apology enough? Or is one acknowledgement that I was wrong enough to make things right?
— David Weissman (@davidmweissman) January 14, 2019
We think you’re doing just fine, David. Just keep spreading the word.
Featured image via screen capture
