There can be no doubt that Trump’s supporters are hugely supportive and proud of the president. Many feel that he has done amazing things that are unparalleled in the history of the U.S. Republic. Detractors, on the other hand, are quick to point out that he has leveraged political processes to promote his own personal interests. It’s dizzying to realize that we are viewing an American landscape from two different lenses. This is Trump’s America.
Trump Supporters
It is clear that Trump has done everything within his power to address the demands of his base. Through the nomination of conservative judges to massive deregulation, Trump is clearly hitting his base with their wishes. Here’s a list of Trump’s accomplishments in this regard:
- Slashed the Corporate Tax Rate to 21% from 35%
- Cut over 860 Regulations
- Nominated over 161 Federal Judges
- Nominated 2 Supreme Court Justices
- Begun the process to repeal the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)
- Declared a national emergency to fund the Mexico/US Border Wall
- Removing previous gun regulations
The president has also engaged in promoting conservative social and religious values including reducing the rights of transgender individuals and overall LGBT issues, repealing abortion funding and support, and removing the requirement of employers to provide contraceptives using religious beliefs as the foundation.
Those who follow president cite these achievements as evidence that the country is on the right track. That the economic growth inherited by Trump was non-existent until after his inauguration -a claim that is easily refuted. Trump supporters, not surprising, find the current environment to be positive.
Detractors
Those not in line with President Trump’s conservative views, on the other hand, have a different view of the country. With major issues such as climate change, racism, and economic inequality growing, they view the current state of the country as being in peril.
Nowhere is this more clear than in the perceived corruption going on within the Trump administration. The first two years of Trump’s presidency were colored by the Mueller investigations look into possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. The results of the investigation laid out 10 instances of possible obstruction by the president while, at the same time, not finding conclusive evidence of collusion between the campaign and Russia. Further corruption includes Trump’s repeated belief that it is legal to seek election advice and interference from foreign entities. All of these facts are dismissed by supporters of the president -despite extensive evidence for both.
Two Realities
The clear takeaway from both supporters and detractors of the president is that we are seeing the existence of two realities within the fabric of American politics. Faith in political ideology leads both sides to fail to seek common ground and -most importantly- fervent devotion to each individual ideology. Conservatives rally around the president for feverishly passing through legislation and executive order a conservative agenda. Centrists and Liberals rally around the congressional majority as a means to provide oversight on the perceived recklessness of the Trump administration.
Stuck in the middle is everyone else. The media walks a fine line between reporting the facts (which are often denigrated by the administration as being fake news) and appeasing the winds of political ideology. The nation stands divided and our longstanding institutions are coming under fire from both sides. The two realities that exist in this country will no doubt continue to drift further apart -testing the very constitutional framework that defines the American experiment. All of this leads to a very uncertain future for countless Americans.
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Jason A Woodruff 