Sometimes it seems like big media — the Times, the Post, and even many of the cable news networks — has focused on all the wrong things in the last two years when it comes to gauging the sentiment of the majority of Americans.
After all, it stands to reason that Donald Trump, having become immeasurably worse in literally every regard than he ever was while he was running for President, would have driven more of his supporters away than can even be counted. And yet we see story after story set in Midwestern rural diners filled with Trump supporters whose most harsh criticism of a man who has permanently damaged the credibility, reputation, and social norms of this country is usually something like, “I wish he would stop tweeting.”
That just doesn’t cover it.
And so we look back to our friend David Weissman — a convert from the Trump cause — as a bellwether for what is possible when good people who made a bad decision see the error of their ways. We’ve profiled David before, when he had a tweet that went viral which he addressed to Hillary Clinton in a sort of apology for having believed the things about her that those surrounding him had told him were true.
Now David’s been featured in The Forward magazine online, and to be honest, we want to spread the word to help counteract some of the unproductive stories that make it seem like there’s still a vibrant community of support for Trump.
The trick for David to snap out of the Trump haze was to ask the right question: Why does the left cite so much more fact, science, and expertise than opinion and emotion, the traditional tools of the right?
I used to be a Trump supporter, even a Trump troll. But in the past several months, my eyes have been opened to the true nature of President Trump’s base — and of President Trump himself…I have realized that while Trump has been pushing one version of American culture, America consists of many wonderful cultures, which makes this country unique, and more importantly, a Democracy.”
Weissman weighed in on the politics of supporting Israel, on gun control, and even on how the political punditry can’t always be relied on for straight answers.
You can read his entire post in The Forward and if you get a chance, engage him on Twitter — he is very active, now that he’s found a political voice he can be proud of.
Featured image via Nial Bradshaw/Flickr
