In a political version of Unsolved Mysteries, it’s hard to fathom why the President is so despised. While it’s understandable for progressives to disagree, oppose, and even dislike Republican presidents, when coherent debate is sacrificed for all-encompassing hatred, it’s fair to question its toxic source.
Yet such intense loathing becomes even more confounding when reviewing Trump’s accomplishments since his reelection.
Elected largely chosen to secure the border and to deport “worst of the worst” illegal immigrants, that goal is being achieved. The economy, in shambles during the Biden administration, has greatly improved. And America has again achieved net energy independence.
Moreover, through the DOGE initiative, wasteful government spending has decreased. Crime has significantly declined in cities where Trump has sent the National Guard. And taxes on overtime, tips, and Social Security have greatly decreased.
Tariffs have largely been equalized among trading partners, and NATO nations have agreed to pay their fair share of defense costs. And many drug prices have fallen to most-favored-nation levels since Trump jawboned drug manufacturers.
On the world stage, Trump has brokered admittedly fragile ceasefires in several long-standing conflicts between Israel and Hamas, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Cambodia and Thailand, and Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The President ended illicit drug exports from Venezuela and removed its narco-terrorist leader from power. And most importantly, Trump launched Operation Epic Fury, crippling Iran as the world’s leading state-sponsored exporter of terrorism.
So, ignoring or greatly devaluing those accomplishments, a commonly verbalized reason for Trump Derangement Syndrome is that Democrats don’t like his demeanor.
Clearly, the president does not suffer fools gladly, and his sometimes abrasive approach toward those he considers incompetent or uninformed is often seen as “unpresidential.” And since his background is that of an “in-your-face” businessman rather than as a seasoned politician, such uncompromising statements, when out of context, are weaponized by opponents.
Yet, what matters most is policy and results, not personality. This is especially true since politicians often rely on advisors to craft their statements, agendas, and public personas. And as the personalities of micromanaged politicians are thus largely a charade, one’s often inflexible opinion on their character is based on counterfeit evidence.
Another reason why progressives are blinded by Trump hatred is confirmation bias. That is, because people are hardwired to avoid uncertainty and protect their self-esteem, they seek information supporting what they already believe.
Thus, by ignoring, dismissing, or downplaying information contradicting personal beliefs, one’s worldview remains intact, and the discomfort of being mistaken is avoided.
But such intellectual stagnation has a cost. And that is, mindless resistance to contradictory evidence traps us in a group-loyalty echo chamber, impeding growth and fueling the omnipresent political tribalism currently displayed.
Now, of course, confirmation bias is not solely a shortcoming of progressives. However, since the “Big Three” of mainstream media — ABC, CBS, and NBC — lean left, and even more so MSNBC and CNN, political narrow-mindedness has ample opportunities to flourish.
And although right-leaning Fox News and, to a lesser extent, Newsmax also have dedicated followers, it is nearly impossible to counter the left-leaning confirmation bias driven by the numerical advantage of legacy media sources.
That said, the mainstream media fabricates Trump-hating “facts,” leaving little room for nuanced perspectives or honest disagreement. This collective voice of hostility divides families, destroys friendships, and ensures that irrefutable truth is sacrificed for undeniable ignorance.
Yet before the rapid rise of such specialized political networks, podcasts, websites, and print outlets, news was controlled by just a few nationally available sources. And since those services had to appeal to a broad audience commercially, their political commentary was typically delivered down the Cronkite middle.
But today the masses can satisfy their political interests through forums tailored to their positions on the political spectrum, reinforcing their beliefs and promoting increasingly unyielding extremes.
Thus, by drinking the polarizing Kool-Aid of the mainstream media, many are reluctant to abandon their good-versus-evil mindset, especially when feeling smugly self-righteous about Trump’s supposed depravity.
Once adopted, such feelings of moral superiority become difficult to challenge and serve as an emotional incentive driving hatred for the President.
But Trump’s take-no-prisoners approach is not without fault, as it has provoked endless attacks on his character, behavior, and policies. Even so, there is still time for him to realize that leading his construction empire is not the same as leading a democracy, and building casinos is not the same as building bridges across the aisle.
This is especially true when dealing with opponents who can’t easily be dismissed with a wave of his hand, a “You’re Fired” decree, or unwise attacks on their character or physical attributes.
And who knows, perhaps a kinder, gentler Trump might finally convince progressives poisoned by bitterness to finally realize that malice masquerades as certainty, gullibility is the child of prejudice, and hatred makes fools of us all.
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