I recommend never arguing with deluded Trump supporters because it’s self-defeating, since it’s impossible to convince someone who doesn’t accept reality; but I believe they should be verbally challenged. If we let them make false statements without being challenged, that emboldens them to repeat their propaganda and it gives them a false sense that we approve of what they say because we didn’t contradict them. Yet, if we verbally challenge them, then they know there are social consequences to saying something false. The verbal challenge should be 1) calm, 2) reasoned, and 3) brief.
Furthermore, if they permeate their beliefs in a public space, we have the right to contradict their beliefs in that space. If we don’t, they think they own the social environment, that they are thought leaders and only their opinions matter. And they think they can silence people with different values. I want to emphasize that I recommend making a verbal challenge, not trying to change their opinions because the goal isn’t to change them but to 1) increase our solidarity with people with our values who may be present and 2) erase their false entitlement that they own the public space and can force us to listen to their beliefs without complaint because only their opinion matters.
I am posting this today because I met a Walmart employee today who was promoting pro-Trump ideas and this is my complaint to the manager:
Dear Store Manager, this morning I visited the Framingham, MA Walmart-store # _____-to get an extension cord for my American flag light, and as I was parking my mobility vehicle at the exit a store employee stationed near the door began conversing with another man lamenting Trump’s election loss. I stated I was glad Trump left the White House because he has a history of sexually abusing children and bears significant responsibility for the 400,000 Americans who died of COVID-19. The employee started making false accusations against our new president such as accusing him of racism even though Biden is best known for being VP to our first black president, hired our first black VP, and supports programs to help minorities, while Trump is known as aiding and abetting white supremacists. I left soon, because I was there to shop instead of arguing about politics. I don’t think the price of shopping at Walmart should be being forced to listen to employees’ political opinions. Please train employees at store # _____ not to talk about politics in front of customers.
The press has often written about Trump’s cold-hearted coronavirus policies that are the major reason for our high fatality rate, so I don’t have to provide evidence here. However, the press rarely writes about Trump’s sex abuse and almost never writes about his pedophile lifestyle. I compiled a lot of research but you can learn the basic evidence by reading All the President’s Women by Monique El-Faizy and Barry Levine, The Truth About Trump by Michael D’Antonio, and “A Timeline of Donald Trump’s Creepiness While He Owned Miss Universe” by Tessa Stuart of Rolling Stone.
These sources provide testimony about Trump’s criminal sex preferences and acts. For example, he is accused of preying on teenagers and children since the 1970s. He allegedly raped and killed a 12-year-old girl in the 90s. He told numerous sex partners they reminded him of his daughter Ivanka, had sex with women on his daughter’s bed, and tried to get a beauty contest employee to agree with him that his 15-year-old daughter was sexy. He was friends with Jeffrey Epstein for 15 years even though people near Epstein knew he was a pedophile who molested 3 underage girls per day. And a mafia security guard quit his job protecting mafia prostitutes from violent buyers the day he saw Trump bring an apparently underage girl to the brothel to have sex with him and an adult prostitute.
So, it’s obvious why I didn’t want to listen to men lamenting that “Trump has left the building.” Why should I lament that we rid the government of a child molester and serial rapist? We should let Trump supporters know if they decide to use a public space to promote a child molester, child murderer, serial rapist, terrorist, and white supremacist who stood by and let 400,000 people die of COVID-19 unnecessarily then they’ve got to prepare to to hear words that challenge them. Just remember not to be dragged into an argument with them, but to make a strong point and leave.