Some people actually have escaped the Trump MAGA bubble. Not many. But some. Here’s one example:
Ex-MAGA: I believed that Michelle Obama was a man. That Barack Obama was part of the Muslim Brotherhood, and worst of all that the Sandy Hook in 2012 was completely fake and the parents were crisis actors.
All of these theories about Barack and Michelle Obama were very much rooted in racism. Sometimes I think Republicans develop conspiracy theories to deal with things that they just can’t accept. They’re in total denial and they rather just live in a fake reality than a real one. Which is why they deny the existence of climate change, and why something like January 6 happened. As we know, so many still live in the fake reality that the 2020 election was stolen.
So because I believed in all these theories, I believed that Democrats were totally evil and that Republicans were the good guys.
In 2012 I started knocking doors and making phone calls for Mitt Romney. Then in 2013 I campaigned for Ken Cuccinelli in the Virginia Governor’s race. After that I got an internship with the Republican Party headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. I was also the Vice President of the young Republican’s Club at my high school.
I was ALL IN.
In 2016 I knew that Donald Trump was running I just didn’t think much him. I voted for Ted Cruz in the primaries, which is nothing to be proud of, but at the time I thought he was more principled and more presidential. When Trump won the nomination I fell right in line, because when you think the other side is evil you can’t imagine voting for anyone but you’re own guy. So I happily voted for Trump.
I thought I had some unconventional wisdom that other women just didn’t. Yeah, I know.
Later in January of 2017 I went to attend Trump inauguration in DC as you saw. I was arrogant, I felt vindicated and I did not care that there were thousands of protestors there. I was there to support Trump.
So you might be wondering what was my breaking point? I wish there was one moment I could point to like “Yep, that’s it.” But truthfully it was a process of realizing what I already knew deep down, that he as unprincipled and unpresidential. One thing I will say is that once you realize he has a severe case of narcissism it helps explain a lot of his behavior. Then you’ll realize he should be absolutely nowhere near the oval office.
I’m not saying he isn’t responsible for his own behavior, he is. Once I came to the realization that he actually has a mental illness everything started to make sense
That’s when I got angry.
Because I realized the Repulican party had been coddeling him this whole time with zero push back and now he was a monster. I used to think that eventually he would do something so bad that it would be the final straw for the party, but that never came, and it still hasn’t come.
It also showed me the truth. That everything the party said they believed in was a lie. Every value was a lie. Because if you could stand by a man like Donald Trump you didn’t have values. You didn’t have principles period.
To me, it lifted the curtain on everything. Now I’ve dedicated the rest of my life to stopping Donald Trump and undoing all the damage that he’s caused. I joined the Democratic party after that and since then, I’ve never looked back. It’s the best decision I ever made.
Realizing that everything you thought as true, was a lie, was a tough realization, but a necessary one.
Yes, I have famiy and friends who still worship Trump and yes they have blocked me on Facebook. But that’s ok, because they don’t want to be reached. They don’t want to have a dialogue. They just want to live in a safe world of conspiray theories and denial.
For those who can be reached and want to be reached I think it’s important to maintain respect on both sides. [Too late for that!] Because just like how I thought Democrats were evil, and we were the good guys, my mind changed.
Their mind can change too. Now my advice to Trumpers is “get the hell out of there while you can.” You probably know deep down that he’s unfit, don’t be afraid to say it.
Lastly, turn off conservative talk radio.
This young woman is a rare exception to the rule. And we could use many more people like her, unfortunately they are in very short supply — and our nation is running out of time before the net election.
