Table of Contents
It’s the morning after, and I’m trying to collect lots of thoughts.
I spent three years living in a red state before moving to Israel on election day 2016. I never expected Trump to get elected because even in the Bible Belt it felt like it was taboo to outwardly support him. If you did, you were mocked. You were derided. Hell, in 2016 you were called “deplorable” by Hillary Clinton and in 2024 you were called “garbage” by Joe Biden.
And then he won.
Four Years of Shock
I and most of the world were shocked. And the next four years were jam packed with lots of ridiculous moments. Crazy tweets. Insane speeches. A presence none of us could have imagined occupying the White House.
But hey, it wasn’t all bad. And that is especially the case for Israel, where Trump is basically beloved. Where he is looked at as the best friend Israel ever head. And there’s a boatload of evidence to support that idea. I remember thinking that if he continued on as president, peace in this region might actually be possible in my lifetime. He left office a tiny hop away from Israel normalizing relations with Saudi Arabia, something up to that point unfathomable.
But then he left office… and less than three years later Israel was plunged into this gruesome war, and my hopes of peace in my lifetime were thoroughly shattered.
No, neither this war nor Russia’s war are a direct result of Biden’s presidency. But we in Israel would be naive to not notice the stark contrast between four years of no war versus what we have now.
Trump was so obviously better for Israel, that it’s hard for many here to imagine a different choice. Now you might say it’s childish or inappropriate to cast a vote based on one issue. But I think it’s utter hypocrisy. I’ve spent the last three months watching those living in the States highlight reproductive rights or the economy or someone simply not being Trump as the sole reason for their choice. Well damnit, shockingly enough the people in Israel choose Israel.
Two Trump-Related Posts
Now putting that all to the side for the moment, this election cycle was filled with demonizing, fear mongering, and hyperbole. On both sides, even if one or both feign virtue or claim to represent joy or unity or democracy.
I want to address two types of posts I saw during and after election day.
One type I saw throughout the night: “I am so scared right now.”
I want to put your mind at ease. You might loathe Trump. But he’s the devil you know. We already had a four-year Trump presidency and guess what: We’re all fine. Everything’s OK. America is still standing. Democracy has been preserved.
Some things over the next four years will upset you. That’s par for the course when your candidate loses. But please stop being scared. Your life will be significantly more similar now than different. You’ll just get to make more angry posts on Facebook and you’ll get four more years of late night shows mocking the bad orange-haired man.
But everything will be fine.
If you love the States and you admire its democracy, then trust in the system. Know that things can’t get too mangled. And if they go off course, it’s just a few more years before you get another opportunity to put things back together.
But please remain calm. I guarantee you your nice life will still be nice four years from now. And America will still be standing.
No Friend of Mine
But it’s the other type of post, when the results were finally in, that upset me far more. They basically looked like this:
“You know who you are. You voted for Trump. You stand for racism, sexism, and fascism. You are no friend of mine. Identify yourself. I have no room for you in my life.”
I was shocked at how much posts like this upset me.
I’ve been in this world for nearly 50 years, an American citizen the whole way through. In that entire time presidents have mostly been irrelevant to my life. I think the most frustrated I ever was at a president was when I received a hefty fine because I didn’t have health care. Why? Because I chose to pay for healthy food and a gym membership rather than exorbitant fees for a service I wasn’t going to use. I was infuriated that the government had the nerve to steal money from me because of a choice I made.
The president who made that decision was Barack Obama. I hated the policy, but I was indifferent to the person. It didn’t reflect on how I felt about democrats or black people or any of my friends who supported Obama. I am proud to say that in those same nearly fifty years I have never pushed away a friend or family member over political disagreement.
Pawns in Someone Else’s Game
But we’re all in the wrong here.
We’re all falling for politicians and media who seek to divide us for multiple reasons that provide us no benefit whatsoever. We’re pawns. Neither Donald Trump nor Kamala Harris really care about me or you. They have agendas, and their path to accomplishing those agendas require your vote and your manipulated photo opportunity.
I plead with all my friends: Discuss with me. Argue with me. Hell, scream your head off at me when we passionately disagree on a topic. But never stop being my companion. And even if you do, I won’t stop being yours. There’s a bigger picture out there. Everything falls apart the moment we let disagreements stand in the way of our deep personal connections with one another. And the moment we lose sight of the fact that we agree so much more than we disagree. And even if we didn’t, there is no reason we can’t still care for each other.
The Same Team
I know the words pouring from my fingers right now might not be as clear as they could be. I’m still collecting my thoughts. I’m still watching America divided in ways that would concern any reasonable person. My words are just flowing wherever they’re flowing, and my thoughts will hopefully become clearer with each passing day.
In the meantime, to my friends who support Trump: Congratulations. I hope he serves the country faithfully and leaves it better than he found it. To my friends who loathe Trump with all their being: You’ll get through this. In just four years you’ll have an opportunity to support someone else, someone different. But please don’t abandon friends over this. None of those on top are worth it.
Presidents change frequently. Friendship is forever.
And always remember, we might play the game differently, but at the end of the day, we’re all on the same team.
