My Wild Ride Aboard The Never-Ending Trump Train

Ben Pfriem, Staff Writer

Our President’s political career has been loud and controversial at every possible turn. But he has made himself one of the most dedicated fan bases a political candidate has ever had in recent times. Like a true businessman, he’s made himself his own brand “MAGA,” which is so widespread as to be considered obnoxious. Through his campaign, he’s been a “no-nonsense” type of guy, the “American tycoon” personification, or in the eyes of his opposition, he is both bigoted and incompetent.

During the race:

Trump’s initial go at a presidential campaign was largely mocked by all outlets of media, FOX and MSNBC included. He began to pick up speed as he held rallies all over the country, broaching upon the most controversial subjects of 2016. He gathered a following in rural regions all over the Mid-West, areas where industry had left. President Trump appealed to coal miners, auto union victims, assembly line workers and blue-collar workers from many walks of life. When fighting for the Republican nomination, he proved himself vulgar, acting like the true reality television star he was. Soon, he was the GOP nominee, leaving Ted Cruz in the dust. Trump struggled to come to terms with working with the GOP, as his policy was certainly more liberal than the republican agenda allowed.

2017:

I was disappointed at Trump’s inauguration, being a Clinton supporter at the time, thinking her to be the “lesser of two evils.” I was soon exposed to a right-leaning point of view, as I explored more conservative media outlets. Trump won me over around March of 2017, as he showed he was more than capable of improving our country’s unemployment rate. His promise of building a wall was soon his primary selling point. His ideas of how to secure the border with Mexico were great. For all intents and purposes, I was a true “MAGA” believer, though more than tolerant of alternate points of view.

2018:

Well into Trump’s first term, I soon became very outspoken, bringing my conservative politics into every debate in Mr. Bonner’s third period US history class. I followed Trump with dog-like loyalty, not seeing just how much he had changed as a politician since his inauguration. Later in the year, after noticing his failures at diplomacy, his constant petty lies and the endless stream of egotistical Tweets, I adopted a more liberal approach at politics, and made strides toward being a so called “centrist.”

Today:

The two things I’ve learned from Trump’s legacy are to never dismiss your opposition and keep an open mind. Rational discourse is the key to our democracy, and our generation holds a huge role in preventing political divide from seeping into anarchy.