If George W. Bush, John McCain, Mitt Romney, or Liz Cheney were elected to serve beginning in 2025, I would not be happy but I would be reasonably sanguine. I had respect for the Republican Party before MAGA: it represented classic conservative values just as most Democrats represent progressive values.

I am a moderate who has voted for Republican and Independent candidates, though I am more progressive than conservative by far in today’s world. I took the Civil Rights struggle to heart in my youth and consider myself an environmentalist. I will die thinking that public schools that bring all of us together is one of America’s best inventions.

In factual, verifiable terms Donald Trump is a man of bad character who instigated an attack on the Capitol creating millions of dollars worth of damage and killing several people. He was twice impeached. He is a convicted felon. In the closing days of his recent campaign he joked that a bullet might find a way through protective glass toward him but would likely kill a member of the press, which he suggested would be a good idea. He talked about Arnold Palmer’s genitalia in a campaign appearance. That he said and did all of this is public record as is his insult of war hero John McCain and his recorded interview proclaiming that he could touch women at will.

The leader of a country is the symbol of the entire country. To the world at large Trump is America. We now have a strong man leader like Putin of Russia. Sure, theoretically he is more restrained than Putin but he is our American Putin. “Work hard, be of good moral character, and tell the truth, and you can grow up to become President” is out the window. Trump is a refutation of Washington, Lincoln, FDR, Kennedy, and Reagan. He dirties the office he holds.

NYC ran out of places to park refrigerated trailers to store deceased COVID victims. Trump presided over the epidemic often shouting down the country’s scientific advisors. He did despatch a Navy hospital ship to New York’s harbor. His voters forgot the seriousness of the epidemic and the world-wide economic downturn that it precipitated. Broken supply chains take time to reform.

The Biden administration spent big to revive the Trump economy they inherited at the end of January 2020: the Democrats pushed through the infrastructure projects that Trump promised but never delivered on. The Biden administration also brought back advanced chip factories to U.S. shores. The consensus of economists is that the spending initiatives spared us from a recession.

Steady economic growth has exacerbated one of our country’s fundamental problems. We are short on workers. The approximately 14 million illegal migrants in our country clean our hotel rooms, install shingles on our roofs, cut our meat, care for our sick, and pick our produce. American business brought them here and depends on them.

The Biden administration capitulated and Democrats voted for new border controls as per Republican leadership’s wishes. Trump vetoed the vote on the bi-partisan bill to help his candidacy. He needs to keep the border controversy alive to stoke controversy.

In my mind Trump won because most of his followers are low on information. Truth Social, X, and Fox are organs for spin, lies, and propaganda. Outside of those three media players, all other sources are considered “main stream” thus unworthy because they put objectivity over Trump worship.

I am a citizen. Of course, I hope the Trump administration is successful. It could be if he shelved his bully/ insult artist act for policy debates followed by Congressional votes. Maybe we should discard free trade and put tariffs on imports. I would love to see that idea debated in a way that could win me over. Perhaps we should use the nation’s police forces and military go door to door/ business to business to root out the aliens. Put the plan in the form of a bill and hold a vote. Perhaps we should discard health care access achieved by Obamacare. I would love to read the text of Trump’s plan.

Cut taxes further for the the richest; a trickle down could help the middle class this time. Discard the environmental initiatives to reduce carbon pollution. Maybe we are silly for considering environmental stewardship. Perhaps NATO is not worth the effort and Putin should be allowed to take neighboring countries.

I want to see all of this that I have heard Trump propose but I want to see it in the form of legislative debate that puts the ideas clearly before the voters who think they want such initiatives. He should encourage public Congressional debate as did LBJ in my youth who put this great question before the people: “Should we maintain segregation and unequal treatment or integrate to make all citizens equal?” I remember that contentious debate well that moderates and progressives won in the time when America was not great.

Putting something in writing seems to have helped me with my frustration. I am aiming to be a cooperative “elite” and see what billionaires Trump and Musk have in store for us. We will have an exciting four years of rule by Trump from his mansions and golf courses. He has the right to rule because he won. The majority should rule.

The forty-seventh President inherits a country that has at last ended the unnecessary war in Afghanistan, the world’s best economy, and an out-going administration that promises cooperation in the change of administrations, not insurrection. The new President should strive to leave his term with the best economy and absence of war as Joe Biden has.

I am going to remember President Carter walking to his inauguration every time I hear people like me called elites by the elites just elected. Doing so helps my blood pressure.