Donald Trump and His 74 Million American Voters

The constitutional qualifications for being a president of the United States are that the person must be a natural-born citizen of the United States, have been a resident of the United States for at least 14 years, and be at least 35 years of age. A criminal conviction does not affect eligibility, although a person can be disqualified by conviction in a Senate impeachment trial. In other words, the former president can continue campaigning in the next presidential election. The prospect of the former president becoming the 47th president of the United States while serving a prison sentence is unsettling, bordering on the surreal. One cannot help but wonder how the Secret Service would function in such circumstances.

Photo by Jose M on Unsplash

Hunter Biden's struggles with drug addiction are widely known. When cocaine was discovered at the White House earlier this year, Hunter briefly came to mind, although I also wondered whether it might have been planted to falsely accuse him. Hunter is an easy target for those eager to damage President Joe Biden's character for political advantage.

As his plea deal with the U.S. Justice Department collapsed, I thought of the former president's two adult sons, Donald Jr. and Eric. Many Americans have long suspected them of benefiting from their father's presidency. We've suspected Jared Kushner of using his influence to provide advantages to his allies while his father-in-law was in the White House. So is it unfair that Hunter Biden is now suspected of criminal activity when there may be evidence worth investigating?

His father being the President and facing an election has put a spotlight on Hunter's conduct, but we cannot give him a pass simply because we fear the political consequences. If Hunter committed crimes, whether federal income tax evasion, a false statement on the Firearms Transaction Record, or questionable relationships with foreign entities, those actions must be investigated and addressed. If we refused to do so out of political fear, we would be no better than Team Trump.

Clearly, I am not on Team Trump. This may shock some of you, but I am also not on Team Biden.

While my politics lean left of center, and I identify as a Democrat, I am also a realist who believes this nation desperately needs a centrist rather than increasingly polarized ideologues. Calling former President Trump a politically polarized ideologue rather than a dangerous narcissist may sound restrained, but I cannot dismiss 74 million voters from the 2020 presidential election. They voted for him because they didn't see him as a dangerous narcissist, but because they connected with him on at least one social, economic, or political issue while he was in the White House.

In the 2016 presidential election, nearly 63 million Americans voted for Mr. Trump, making him the nation's 45th president. Four years later, roughly 11 million more Americans joined them. Former President Trump is not the root of the problem. He is a hateful and ignorant bully, but he isn't powerful because of his hate, ignorance, and bullying. He is powerful because 74 million Americans legitimized all three. Without those voters, Mr. Trump would be another washed-up television personality, often escorting his businesses through bankruptcy courts. Six of his businesses have sought bankruptcy protection.

It is unsettling that 74 million Americans voted for him, isn't it? Those 74 million Americans are the political reality many of us prefer not to confront. We live in a deeply polarized society. Our views have become more extreme, and our tolerance for disagreement has steadily eroded. I'm sure there are bigots, sexists, and bullies among those 74 million Americans. I know a handful of bigots, particularly people whose behavior reflects entitlement, sexism, or bullying, among the 81 million Americans who voted for President Biden in 2020. Neither side is entirely free of ugliness.

I am not afraid of former President Trump. What unsettles me are the 74 million Americans who voted for him. I don't believe all of them are bigots, sexists, or bullies. Many are likely hard-working people frustrated with a social service system that often appears broken, even as the United States provides billions of dollars each year in foreign aid. We should help everyone we can, but is it hateful or ignorant to want our government to care for struggling Americans first?

I'm relieved when I read about undocumented immigrants arriving in buses from Texas and receiving housing, food, aid in connecting with family, and legal services from the city, nonprofits, and NGOs. Yet the contrast raises an uncomfortable question. Why can the city, nonprofits, and NGOs come together so quickly for undocumented immigrants, yet struggle to do the same for the 75,000 people experiencing homelessness in the greater Los Angeles area? Why do we welcome and provide aid to undocumented immigrants, while thousands of our own residents continue living in inhuman conditions on our streets?

Are some of those 74 million voters angry at how we value aiding those from foreign soil while neglecting those already in need on our own soil? I thought about that when I read about undocumented immigrants arriving in Los Angeles earlier this week. We should help everyone we can, but the reality is that our political and bureaucratic systems rarely allow us to help everyone equally. If we have to pick and choose, should we prioritize foreign aid, or should we first ensure that everyone in our own country has safe shelter, food, water, clothing, and medical care?

And should that aid be for a lifetime, or should we instead provide occupational rehabilitation and pathways toward self-sustainability rather than permanent dependence on the system? Are some of those 74 million voters frustrated with our overburdened and often failing social service system? Perhaps it is time to stop relying exclusively on ideological frameworks and begin applying practical management and operational discipline to our social service programs. They have struggled for decades. Perhaps the way we run them needs to change as well. As Albert Einstein said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Is that what some of those 74 million voters want? Not perfection—just change. Any kind of change, rather than the sense of national exhaustion that comes from repeating the same policies for decades while expecting different results. Even an ardent Democrat would have to agree that former President Trump represented a dramatic change in American politics. I wouldn't call him a breath of fresh air, but he undeniably disrupted the system.

Former President Trump pointed at minorities for Americans to place their frustrations, anger, desperation, and fears upon. Scapegoats have always been politically convenient. Isn't it easier to blame someone for our frustrations and uneasy feelings? There is a strange emotional relief in having someone to blame. Trump understands this instinct well. He is, after all, a remarkably effective marketer.

I worry that we focus too much on the former president. While it is historically significant that he has been charged in four criminal cases with 91 felony charges, those charges may not persuade many of his supporters during the campaign. Years have passed since the alleged criminal activities took place, and the indictments began just as the Republican primary campaign kicked off. Former President Trump's indictment in New York relates to alleged criminal activities from August 2015 through December 2017. From the perspective of his supporters, the timing alone is enough to fuel conspiracy theories.

We should let the prosecutors do their jobs. At the same time, the country must find a way to speak with—rather than simply condemn—those 74 million voters. We need to work toward discussions, negotiation, and alignment on social, economic, and political issues that respect human rights while addressing legitimate frustrations. We must win over handfuls of voters across many issues, because those handfuls can eventually become millions of voters. We need to face the reality that “our way or the highway” politics is a luxury America can no longer afford. That highway leads directly back to former President Trump as the 47th president of the United States. If the country is to move forward, change cannot come only from the other side. It must come from all of us.

More essays:

Are We Abusing Self-Care?

Because We Don’t Live in a Perfect World

Breaking of Invisible Minorities

I'll Pass on Forgiveness

ESSAYS | RECIPES | STYLES | IG

Comments

Will Love Give Us the Courage to Let Our Dad Go?

I believe the cruelest thing a human can experience is burying their child. While the only thing guaranteed in life, from the moment we take our first breath to our last, is death, for a parent to bury a child is not the natural progression of life. For more than six years, I have watched my Dad go through rounds of chemotherapy, years of dialysis, emergency room visits, and hospitalizations where doctors advised against further medical treatment—until my brother vehemently fought for it. If you ever need a medical advocate, you should hire him. Perhaps it is the lawyer in him that convinces doctors to shift their medical opinions. My Dad asked, and my brother passionately advocated for him for days so he could receive his first round of chemotherapy more than six years ago, which the doctor at first refused to administer since it was an unusual treatment for his autoimmune disease. He would have passed away within a matter of months without it. He did squats after his first chemothera...

My Last Gift to Dad Was a Do-Not-Resuscitate Order

When Dr. Moon, a pain management specialist, told me about Dad’s wish, it was not the first time I had heard it. A few days earlier, Mom had told me that Dad wanted to be transferred from the hospital to hospice. I did not quite understand what hospice meant at the time. Between that conversation with Mom and the one with Dr. Moon, I had watched Dad take about twenty steps with the support of a walker and the assistance of a physical therapist. After seeing him come out of critical condition, I took those steps as a sign of recovery. So I was surprised when Dr. Moon told me that Dad had expressed his wish to end all medical treatments and go peacefully. I had been struggling with the continuation of his medical treatment. Three days after I wrote Will Love Give Us the Courage to Let Our Dad Go? , Dad passed away peacefully, as though he had simply fallen asleep, with a morphine drip erasing the pain that had once dominated him. He was eighty years old and had spent the last six years o...

Curated Clutches: Tiny Bags, Big History

Before the clutch became the red-carpet punctuation mark of a gown, it had a more domestic ancestor: the reticule, a small handheld drawstring bag that emerged when women’s hidden tie-on pockets began losing their usefulness beneath slimmer, sheerer late-eighteenth- and early-nineteenth-century dresses. What had once been tucked under petticoats was suddenly carried in public, and privacy became ornament: silk, velvet, beadwork, embroidery, a little theater of necessity held in the hand. The bag was never only a container; it was a social adjustment, a concession to fashion’s old habit of taking away utility and selling it back as elegance. Yoko Ono: Music of Mind at The Broad The modern clutch came into its own in the 1920s and 1930s, when evening moved faster, dresses grew sleeker, and women needed only the glamorous minimum: powder, mirror, lipstick, perhaps money, perhaps not. Tiny dance purses, Art Deco shapes, celluloid and Bakelite, metalwork and beading turned the bag into an o...

Balsamic Caramelized Brussels Sprouts

Brussels sprouts are one of those polarizing vegetables. They are either embraced or avoided with conviction. I once avoided them entirely, until I tasted them finished with balsamic glaze . The bitterness softened. The edges crisped. What had felt harsh became unexpectedly compelling. Roasted Brussels sprouts with caramelized edges, glossed in balsamic reduction and finished with brown sugar, change the equation. The exterior turns crisp and almost candied, while the centers remain tender. Sweet and acidic. Charred and balanced. While these Balsamic Caramelized Brussels Sprouts are dependable as a side dish, they hold their own as a meal in a bowl. INGREDIENTS [serves 4 as a side] one pound of Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved balsamic glaze made from a half cup of balsamic vinegar two teaspoons of brown sugar salt and pepper to season olive oil to drizzle Preheat the oven to 400°F. Arrange the Brussels sprouts cut side down on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Lightl...

Are We Living in 1864?

My heart sank. There it was on my iPhone: a New York Times headline— Justice Dept. Asks for 1-Day Sentence for Ex-Officer Convicted in the Killing of Breonna Taylor . It took me back to 2020. The deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd made headlines and triggered Black Lives Matter protests across the nation. Thousands of us marched, raised our fists, shouted Black Lives Matter, kneeled, shouted I can't breathe, and continued to march as we shouted no justice, no peace. Untitled by Robert Longo, 1981, at The Broad It was the year that made many of us realize that we hadn't changed much since the brutal torture and murder of Emmett Till in 1955. He was only fourteen years old when two white men brutally beat and killed him. There was no justice for Emmett Till 70 years ago. The judge rejected the Justice Department's sentence recommendation of one day and sentenced Brett Hankison to 33 months in prison for violating Breonna Taylor's civil rights. Was i...

Slow Cooked Gochujang Chicken

Created while I was developing a Dakdoritang (Korean spicy chicken stew) recipe for a slow cooker, this dish turned out to be something entirely different. Although the ingredients resemble those used in Dakdoritang, the flavor and texture developed in an unexpected way. Instead of a stew, the gochujang-based sauce thickened and clung to the chicken drumsticks as it slowly cooked, deepening in flavor over four hours. In a slow cooker, the sauce does not reduce the way it would on the stovetop; rather, the natural thickness of gochujang and the starch from the vegetables help create a rich sauce that coats the chicken. Ceramic bowls were wheel-thrown and glazed by me. While not what I originally intended to create, this Slow Cooked Gochujang Chicken turned out bold and deeply flavorful. Sometimes the results we did not plan for are far more interesting than the ones we set out to make. A note about the spearmint: while not traditional in gochujang-based dishes, it adds a subtle herbal b...

Stir-Fried Tteok (Korean Rice Cake)

Tteok, rice cake in English, has many types, such as sirutteok made by steaming, jeolpyeon made by pounding, and hwajeon, which is pan-fried. The most well-known tteok, often simply referred to as tteok, is garaetteok, used in tteokbokki (spicy rice cake) and tteokguk (rice cake soup). Ceramic bowl was wheel-thrown and glazed by me. Another garaetteok dish I enjoy is this Stir-Fried Tteok. Made with sliced rice cakes—the same shape used for rice cake soup—for quick-fire cooking, this dish is loved for its precise balance of savoriness from soy sauce and sweetness from sugar. INGREDIENTS [serves 1 as an entrée] one and a half cups of sliced rice cake a three-quarter cup of shredded cabbage five shishito peppers, sliced in halves two green onions, diced three ounces of seafood mushrooms two tablespoons of soy sauce two tablespoons of sugar a quarter teaspoon of minced garlic vegetable oil If you are using fresh rice cakes, then you do not need to soak them in water. When using refrig...

Quick Fire Stir-Fry Beef

Time is always fluid. It never holds for more than a second, carrying us from the present into the next. I feel rushed at times, even when there is neither expectation nor commitment—only an impatient anxiety, as though I am about to run out of time. This sense of urgency often pressures me to neglect myself, to overlook the quiet moments within my own space, both mental and physical—the small pleasures that offer comfort and serenity... the simple act of slowing down with ordinary things that allow me to feel lived. Bowls were wheel-thrown and glazed by me. For me, that is cooking. As much as I enjoy dining out, cooking allows me to decompress and reset. The ritual—focusing on the ingredients, the process, the rhythm—at times releases me from the chaos that consumes me. There is a quiet satisfaction in savoring a meal of my own making, held within the calm of my space. The dishes don’t have to be opulent. A simple dish, like this Quick Fire Stir-Fry Beef, offers a gentle pause—a brief...

Gwyneth Paltrow is Aloof, So What Are You?

There are days when I feel utterly disconnected from the world. It took an IG feed from Diet Prada for me to learn that Gwyneth Paltrow had starred in an ad for 51 Park, a luxury residential development in Herzliya, Israel. Herzliya is an affluent coastal city north of Tel Aviv, and the project is being marketed as a luxury residential development there. To be clear, 51 Park is not in Gaza. It is in Israel. But precision does not make the geography innocent: parts of present-day Herzliya overlap with or sit near the land of al-Haram, also known as Sidna Ali, a Palestinian Arab village depopulated in 1948. Lisbon, Portugal There is misinformation about where the 51 Park residential development is located, and the distinction matters. If our beating of Gwyneth Paltrow is going to be effective, it should at least be accurate. I have never liked her. I have never hated her. Even before the 51 Park ad controversy broke, I felt she was irrelevant. Her acting skills are not impressive. Would ...

Because We Don’t Live in a Perfect World

SB 1338 has been on my mind since California Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled the policy known as the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court in March 2022. Cutting through the verbiage from both supporters and opponents, CARE Court essentially creates a system of court-ordered medical treatment for up to twenty-four months when an individual—often unhoused and living with a psychotic disorder—is deemed unable to make medical decisions in their own best interest. Photo by Matt Collamer on Unsplash In the months that followed, organizations such as Human Rights Watch and the ACLU raised objections to the policy. I found myself dumbfounded by many of their arguments. Some critics claimed there was insufficient evidence supporting SB 1338. Yet the evidence that the current system of social services and voluntary interventions is failing can be seen within the first few steps into Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles—a fifty-block district designated since 1976 to contain m...

Exhaling Life

Search This Blog