Are They Happy Now?

I promised you all a list of action steps that I’ll be taking in an effort to step into the next four years with purpose and hope. But before we go there, I wanted to take some time to acknowledge a harsh truth that I think a lot of us are trying to ignore: many people voted for this administration. And they are happy with what is happening right now. 

I’ve been surprised by the seemingly giddy undertone of “I told you so” that I’ve been seeing make the rounds in my own liberal bubble of NYC. People seem to think that now that everyone is seeing just how much chaos Trump is willing to sow that his voters might be feeling some regret. And sure, I’ve seen the posts and articles showing that certain people didn’t realize that these policies might actually affect them personally. But using this as a “gotcha” moment is yet another example of how the Democrats are failing their constituents. Who cares if some are feeling regret today? They voted already. It’s done. And no amount of playground taunting has ever worked on this particular brand of bully. 

And do we really believe that these anecdotes represent a significant proportion of Trump voters? I sure don’t. While it may feel soothing to you to pretend otherwise, I think it’s more likely that the vast majority of people who voted for this administration are actually thrilled with what’s been happening the past few weeks. 

I don’t say this to piss you off. I call it out because I think putting our head in the sand (the ostrich method, as I referenced in an earlier article) is doing more harm than good. And breeding even more polarization. I made it clear that my plan after this most recent election was to lean in rather than run away. I want to try to understand why so many of my fellow Americans have priorities that are so vastly different from mine rather than simply judging them from afar. So that’s my first action step: increase my understanding. To that end, I wanted to take some time to examine the individuals who are over the moon about how this administration has stepped in and started swinging. 

Still don’t believe me that lots of people are thrilled? I’d obviously encourage you to ask the people in your network who voted for the current administration (they exist, trust me), and to listen to their answers with curiosity rather than judgement. But if you don’t know any (that you’re aware of) or are hesitant to reach out, I wanted to show you all some info I got through Mosheh, a journalist that I follow who does his best to present unbiased news — and thus has amassed a following that manages to contain both far-left and -right voters. He asked for the Trump voters in his audience to anonymously report on how they were feeling after the first few weeks of the administration, and here are some of the results:

Obviously these answers are from people who 1. Follow Mosheh in the first place, and 2. Chose to type out their responses, so I’m in no way claiming they’re some scientifically representative sample. But I think they do a good job of illustrating my point — these people are not unhappy. In fact, they’re generally satisfied with how the administration has been spending their first few weeks in power. 

If you read through all of the responses that Mosheh shared (which I’ve done), you can see a few specific trends. And I think it’s worth thinking about them rationally, rather than with criticism or knee-jerk disdain. Below are the key sentiments that I saw from supporters of the current administration: 

1. The “swamp” is finally being drained.
   • These voters want the massive government cuts that we’re seeing. They don’t mind that it’s causing chaos and potentially halting cancer research in the meantime. Because in the grand scheme they believe it’s serving a greater good of weeding out corruption and overspending in our institutions. 
   • I don’t know many people who don’t believe that the government moves too slowly, wastes time and money, and don’t wish that their tax dollars were spent more strategically. But this is “the ends justify the means” mentality in real life, and the right has clearly chosen to embrace Machiavelli. 
   • It’s tempting to scream about the individuals (and organizations) who are going to be hurt by these actions, but again I ask you — who is listening? I’m not saying don’t be angry or call things out, but in a moment where we’re all already feeling exhausted and drained, I’m begging you to pick your battles based on when you can actually make a difference. And this means thinking strategically about when the right parties (pun intended) are listening. 
2. He’s getting things done.
   • While those on the left are screaming at Trump to slow down and think about his actions before diving in head first, his supporters are loving the move-fast-and-break-things ethos that — let’s face it — is nowhere clearer than in his embrace of Elon Musk. Sure there are some people who think Elon is going a bit far, or are surprised by just how intimately Trump is embracing him. But overall I think people are thrilled to have a billionaire genius in their corner (he may be an evil genius, but he’s certainly brilliant too even if you don’t want to admit it). 
   • As someone who feels that Democratic leadership spent way too much time paying lip service to moral righteousness or policing people’s rhetoric and not enough developing an actual game plan to win, I sympathize with the sentiment that progress feels nice. And if the actions were furthering your own priorities and values you might feel differently about what’s happening right now. Even if we all want to shout from the rooftops that these actions should be being performed by qualified individuals with the proper credentials and security clearances, not our President’s billionaire buddy. 
3. He is taking back control over where our money is going.
   • As much posturing as the right wants to do for various interests, the truth is they have always been the party of money. So it should come as no surprise that a lot of the weeding out of “fraud and corruption” is actually simply a justification for them to be able to cut off and divert funding where they personally want it to go. 
   • We have checks and balances for a reason, and as I’ve already discussed Trump is pressure testing these systems like never before. When you couple the frustrating speed of the existing bureaucracy with the startup-speed mentality, it’s a little terrifying to think about the amount of damage that might be done while the court system (because let’s face it, a lot of this is going to be settled in the courts) plays catch up. 
4. He’s bringing back common sense.
   • I think this is a particularly important sentiment to call out, because it’s the one that I think opponents of the current administration might feel most strongly about. But from their perspective (take a look at this Fox News article, for example), everything that Trump is doing just makes sense. Even if he lies to get there. Even if he angers people along the way. At the end of the day they’re happy to look the other way on all the bluster in the name of good old common sense. Their common sense. 

I’m not spelling this out to make you even angrier. I’m doing it because I’m hoping it will help increase your understanding of the other side of the debate here. The nearly half of our fellow countrymen who CHOSE this option. 

Aristotle said that “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” Maybe it’s time we all try to take a page out of our own playbook and entertain some open mindedness about individuals with different perspectives and life experiences than we’re used to. You might argue that the other side doesn’t deserve our patience and understanding here, but we’re supposed to be the empathetic ones. And if we want to not just make it through the next four years but also make a difference in furthering our own values, we need to understand where the other side is coming from.