We are now approximately one year into Donald Trump's presidency. And while the administration was off to a rocky start, we have seen some major accomplishments from the Trump administration so far. Not the least of which was one of the biggest tax cuts in American history (which will save the overwhelming majority of taxpayers money in the coming years). Also, Donald Trump was successful in nominating and confirming a supreme court justice to fill Scalia's vacant seat; something the Obama administration failed to accomplish. At the same time, Trump has failed on several of his major promises. There is no "Muslim ban" (thankfully, as such a ban would likely be unconstitutional). And the wall is dead in the water. If an individual were to look at the accomplishments of the administration objectively, detached from personal bias, they could probably find things to be happy with and things to be disappointed in. And that is what I'm trying to establish. The Trump presidency, so far, has had its share of ups and downs for everybody. But Trump is neither the standard bearer of the altright, nor the second coming of Reagan. Nor is he the next Hitler. He is a fairly standard Republican, slightly right of center, president.
So why, then, do we constantly see Trump being insulted by the media left and right, far more than would be expected of a typical president? Why do we see attempts to push the narrative that Trump is a racist? There was recently another "Women's March" to commemorate the anniversary of last year's event. And the left continues to push the idea of Trump as a boogeyman. Why? Are they hoping for a blue wave in congress in the midterms? Perhaps. But rhetoric not grounded in reality will not lead to lasting gains, and could very well backfire. There are plenty of reasons to oppose Donald Trump. There are plenty of policy positions he holds that I myself disagree with. And nobody should silence themselves in the name of politeness. But there is a difference between honest disagreement and debate and outright hysteria. And folks, this is hysteria.
This hysteria is dangerous for American political discourse. If people think Trump is a Nazi, then what will we do about actual Nazis? If an offhanded comment from ten years ago about women letting Trump grab their genitals makes him a rapist, then what is the appropriate response when an actual rapist comes along? We, as Americans, owe it to ourselves to engage in honest and straightforward discourse without resorting to underhanded tactics like overinflating the sins of our political enemies. If this is what the future of American politics holds, then things will only get worse.