As a working, now semi-retired journalist, I’ve read the columns of conservative George Will for the better part of four decades. With the exception of his lyric odes to baseball, I have almost never agreed with him, even as I admired his formidable command of the English language.

In 2016, he quit his lifelong affiliation with the Republican Party when he realized that Donald Trump would be the GOP’s candidate for president. Since then, Will has been one of the few conservative voices to criticize Trump.

This past weekend, in a Washington Post column, Will urged the American people to not only vote Trump out of office in the upcoming November election but to also vote out every Republican in Congress, especially those in the Senate, for their enabling and fawning behavior toward the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

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I concur. 

Quite aside from his thousands of lies and corruption, Trump was/is utterly inept in his handling of the novel coronavirus pandemic, directly contributing to the unnecessary and avoidable death of thousands of Americans. Compared to other nations’ leaders, most have done a vastly better job than Trump, and only a handful as bad or worse.

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And then there’s George Floyd’s recent murder at the hands of Minneapolis cops. Dozens and now hundreds of cities and towns —including Steamboat Springs — have seen protests against police brutality and deeply embedded racism in the nation’s justice system. Trump has responded by pouring tough-guy rhetorical gasoline on the situation, cowering in a White House bunker, then having White House-area protesters tear-gassed and driven away, just so he could strut over to a nearby church to brandish a Bible for a photo op.

His supporters and enablers should be deeply ashamed. But they won’t ever fess up to actually being ashamed of their Dear Leader.

Trump voters did not vote for Bunker-Boy for his empathy, compassion, understanding of the Bible or economics or science or medicine, nor for his leadership, honesty, transparency or love of humanity.

They voted for Trump because he hates the same people they do. That’s the heart of Trump’s political support. 

The Lincoln Project, a group of prominent, conservative Never-Trumpers, recently boiled the question down to a simple choice in an ad you can find on YouTube.

Are you going to vote for Trump or America?

You cannot do both.

Brodie Farquhar
Hayden