The Non-Trumper Trumper

There was a letter to the editor in the Star Tribune a couple of days ago that left me aghast. I dug it out of the recycling pile to reread and I've decided to post it because I feel compelled to inflict it on others.

Assuming the writer, Steve Wexler of Plymouth, Minnesota, is telling the truth about not being a "Trumper" — which is far from guaranteed — it's hard to get into the head space of a person who thinks the things Steve writes:

Let me start off by saying I’m not a Trumper — I voted for Joe Biden in 2020. I voted for Trump in 2024 because I believe the Democrats’ policies are ruining our country, but that’s a much larger discussion that could take paragraphs to debate and end with no conclusive outcome. My reason for writing is I am so tired of reading about all the potential negative consequences of Trump’s policies. And they are all someone’s guess because, at this point, no one really knows what the effects of his policies involving immigration, DEI, federal government cuts or the 50 other things he is moving forward at a fast-paced clip will really have on our country.

But all the Star Tribune and the media ever present is the potential negative consequences. Nowhere have I read in any media report, “Here are likely positive outcomes!” The media hates Trump, and I get he’s caused most of that, but the days of presenting both sides of the news are gone. The days of independent reporting without taking sides are a thing of the past. The news media, including our beloved Star Tribune, has become another source of reporting filled with individuals' opinions and, in many cases, liberal “sky is always falling” spins to sell subscriptions and influence people.

I, for one, miss the old days of presenting facts with both sides of the debate or story and the potential positive and negative outcomes. Today every report contains the negative impact, especially when it comes to Trump. Nowhere do we ever read the benefits of what tariffs could bring, or that closing our borders could save the U.S. X number of dollars, or when we get back to hiring the best candidate for the job regardless of race, color or age, what that positive impact might look like. Nope, all we read is “The sky is falling!” Truly a sad situation for so many reasons.

The media hates Trump, eh? That's why the New York Times bends over backwards to never label obvious lies as lies, and why media critics constantly decry the pro-Trump bias of much of the media. Of course right-wing media labels the rest of media as hating Trump, so maybe that tells us what kind of media Steve spends most of his time with.

Steve doesn't appreciate that there is an objective reality about tariffs according to economists (except the ones in the tank for Trump), or that the anti-"DEI" tsunami is resulting in hiring less qualified white people. He wonders if "closing our borders" could save the U.S. Does he mean save the country from something bad? It seems that he does. 

All of this sure sounds indistinguishable from a self-described "Trumper" to me. Steve might be better off describing why he voted for Biden in 2020, if he really did.