I've long complained about the general adherence to what I call sports rivalry politics, the thing where you support a party at all costs regardless of its actions, the way you support your local sportsball team. Indeed, you can self-identify with a party, but it doesn't mean that it is led by the correct, moral people. In the case of Donald Trump, if you identify as a classic Republican, you can't support him. It's not even that he's a vile human (and he most certainly is that), it's that he doesn't align with the classic values that you say you identify with.
| Republican values | Donald Trump actions |
|---|---|
| Champions representative democracy. | Suggests without proof that elections are rigged. |
| Strong Constitutional values, including a strong judiciary. | Labels judges as conservative and liberal, wants loyalty from appointees. |
| Free speech is critical to a functional democracy. | Calls the press an enemy of the public. |
| A free market economy allows the market to decide. | Engages in a tariff war, advocates subsidizing entire industries. |
| Personal responsibility is the cornerstone of citizenship. | Takes no responsibility for anything, finds scapegoats and boogeymen for every problem, encourages followers to look for people to blame. |
| Deregulate all of the things. | Try to regulate (largely failing in the courts) anything he doesn't like, including social media, congressionally budgeted spending, women's health, etc. |
| Public education is one of the core American advantages for success. | Appointed an education secretary with no education experience, who didn't even attend public schools. |
Keep in mind, these are only the broad policy ideas that Republicans tend to adhere to, many of which I think over-simplify governing, but Trump doesn't subscribe to any of these things. It doesn't even get into the many moral issues of racism, misogyny, disregard for science and the general disregard for the sanctity of the office. If you're Team Republican, he flies in the face of the core things that Republicans tend to stand for.
Perhaps you need a different leader who checks those boxes.
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