‘Are Liberals Helping Trump?’ Asks ‘The New York Times’
A recent post in The New York Times posed the question, “Are liberals helping Trump?”
Liberals have become more and more outspoken as Trump’s presidency progresses, but at what cost? Many people believe that the aggressive tactics from the left have isolated would-be sympathizers, pushing them further and further into Trump’s camp.
One such man, a South Carolina conservative named Jeffrey Medford, said that he voted for Trump, although he did so “reluctantly.” The small business owner remains critical of many of the president’s policies, such as the travel ban which temporarily halted immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries.
Medford “should be a natural ally for liberals trying to convince the country that Mr. Trump was a bad choice,” said Sabrina Tavernise of The New York Times. Yet his forays into political debate have been met with “contempt and an attitude of moral superiority” from the left.
“We’re backed into a corner,” said Medford.
“There are at least some things about Trump I find to be defensible. But they are saying: ‘Agree with us 100 percent or you are morally bankrupt. You’re an idiot if you support any part of Trump.’ ”
He added, “I didn’t choose a side. They put me on one.”
The hostility towards even the smallest support of Trump has driven the wedge between liberals and conservatives ever-deeper.
Another Trump supporter, Bryce Youngquist, told The New York Times, “The name calling from the left is crazy…They were making me want to support him more with how irrational they were being.”
While there is hostility on both the left and the right, liberals have a lot more to lose if they continue to alienate conservatives. If there is to be any hope of keeping Trump in check, political zealots on both sides will need to find a common ground.
Many people on the left view any conservative as the enemy, but there are outspoken people on the right who are critical of Trump and his policies.
Recently, conservative political commentator George Will “wrote in his syndicated column for the Washington Post that Congress can ‘limit presidential discretion’ and ‘crimp the modern presidency’s imperial swagger,'” reported the Inquisitr.
The Inquisitr also reported that former Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain has warned about Trump’s war on the media, saying that limiting the press “is how dictators get started.”
Of course, the liberal name-calling from the right doesn’t help either. The vitriol-fueled war between the two sides is a playground fight between bullies that no one can win.
Twitter users on both sides of the political scale come equipped with insults aplenty, arming themselves as they enter the trenches of social media to prove moral superiority. Like a political version of Whose Line Is It Anyway, “everything’s made up and the points don’t matter.” Why bother keeping score when no can win?
Hillary Clinton is “Neocon Fascist warmongering treasonous scum” posts one user.
Another self-confessed “deplorable” Trump Supporter posts a list of “things that make liberals cry.”
9 Things That Make Liberals Cry
????????? pic.twitter.com/KwdPC4kzdp
— TheLibSlayer (@turnNYred) February 18, 2017
On the other side, liberals are calling Trump supporters “fascists,” and compare Trump to Hitler.
If you say 'Fascist' instead of Right Wing Conservative Authoritarian @RealDonaldtrump Supporter, you can save yourself about 55 Characters.
— Fresh Brew (@TheFreshBrew) February 19, 2017
“Republicans are…stupid, poor and sick,” says one Twitter user.
Proof Republicans are still stupid, poor and sick… pic.twitter.com/5s9s1ypbZ5
— ?#VoteDemocratic (@TMDILL1) February 17, 2017
Rather than engaging in name calling and trying to claim the moral high ground, liberals, conservatives, and everyone in between (because yes, moderates still exist—even in this seemingly segregated political climate) need to start working together.
[Featured Image by Alex Wong/Getty Images]
