Brace yourself.
To be fair to the full spectrum of independent thinkers in this reading and listening audience, I feel I would be remiss not to share some of the information that has recently been fed my way. People share lots of stuff with me—and I always appreciate it—though I don’t always have time to weave it into the daily program. Today, I want to circle back and place front and center some very contentious information.
In Tuesday’s report I posted a poll inquiring as to your perspective on Trump’s running for 2024. My desire was to better understand where everyone stands on the issue, and not surprisingly, the vast majority of responses indicated that Trump is by far the best candidate we have, and perhaps the only candidate with the chops to stand up to the deepstate and rectify the current situation.
I agree with the premise.
However, to be fair, there is also a different perspective on the situation that is held by plenty of other liberty loving red-blooded Americans all across the country. Like I said, there can be no denying that Trump is a divisive figure, even on the right—and I’m not just talking about him being a thorn in the flesh of the party bosses. There are plenty of Republicans, Christian conservatives, and Constitutional independents who have their reservations about the man, even if they’ve voted for him twice before.
From what I have gathered, some people feel as if there are some things about Trump that don’t quite add up—and I believe these concerns deserve to be dealt with.
Now, before you unsubscribe or excoriate me for blasphemy, please hear my heart on this. I claim the Torch Report is the “truth you can trust”—NOT because I ask you to take my word for anything, but because I do a ton of research to present you with the information you need to develop your own informed perspective. On that note, if I had come across information that wasn’t necessarily popular, if I had uncovered some facts that cast the circumstance in a different light, you’d want to know, right?
It is in this spirit of sharing information, of throwing all the facts out on the table so that you can make your own decision, that I’m about to present some of the main concerns that some people have—that some of our fellow patriots have—about Donald Trump. Please do not be quick to dismiss what I’m about to say. Instead, stay curious and consider how many of our allies may feel about these issues.
For the record, I voted for Trump in 2016, again in 2020, and I’d vote for him again in 2024. This time last year I was in Washington DC with the People’s Convoy, helping to give voice to the millions of American patriots all across the heartland who were desperate to Make America Great Again. In other words, I’ve got skin in the game so to speak, and I’m not just an armchair quarterback. I’ve talked with people, face to face, all across the country who absolutely LOVE Donald Trump, and I completely understand why. In fact, I’ve celebrated Trump’s accomplishments and relished his brazen leadership with many friends around many a campfire.
Me sleeping in the car on the 6,200 mile People’s Convoy road trip:
Other people’s rides were cooler:
Trucker coffee:
The whole trip was amazing and there were more Trump flags than you could possibly imagine. Here’s a shot of the send off group right here in the gorge:
And just to make the point, here’s one more shot from the state capitol:
I am not a Trump hater. I am not anti-Trump, and I sure as hell am not a never-Trumper. But I am an exceedingly curious peasant, and I wouldn’t shy away from asking hard questions and taking a look at all the facts. When someone says something I disagree with, I look into it. How else can I defend my perspective, unless I can take a look at where the other person is coming from? How can I have a well-informed perspective if I don’t take a look at the information that’s being presented?
With that in mind, to kick off this excursion into the free-for-all hellscape of free speech, I want to share a poignant comment from an article I recently read. It felt like this particular comment, coming from a self-described “real conservative,” was a good baseline for understanding some of my fellow conservatives’ hesitation about Trump.
Here’s the screenshot of this “real conservative” person’s comment:
Oh really?
That’s the first thing that went through my mind when I read that. Oh, really? Is this even true? Is this guy just making this stuff up, or is there some substance to it? Did Rush Limbaugh predict Trump would lose the election because of his support for more gun control? DOES EVERYONE KNOW ABOUT THIS BUT ME?!
Well, before pontificating on this particular set of concerns, I had to do some digging to figure out how much of this is BS, and whether or not any of it were true. It kind of blindsided me in a way, to see it all spelled out like that. Looking over that list, it suddenly became very clear why some patriots don’t trust The Don as much as the majority of patriots do. So maybe the majority hasn’t heard about this stuff?
My mind was reeling. What’s really going on here? Let’s take it one step at a time:
FIRST: Is any of this true?
Taking it line by line:
Does Donald Trump support Gay Marriage & the LGBTQ agenda?
Are you ready for this? It turns out there are many articles that indicate he does. This excerpt from an article in USA Today, written by a member of the Republican National Committee named Robert Kabel, spells it out in plain English:
“It should come as no surprise that Trump’s agenda has been a boon to the gay community. Through his philanthropic work over the years with charities combating the AIDS crisis, his previous support of amending the 1964 Civil Rights Act to include a ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation, and his early support of gay couples having the same rights and protections as straight couples, Trump was an ally long before he was president. He is likely even the first private club owner in Palm Beach, Florida, to admit an openly gay couple. He didn’t abandon these principles when he assumed his position behind the Resolute Desk.”
I’m sure that this issue isn’t a deal breaker for a lot of people, but I am curious how many Trump-loving Christian conservatives are aware of this stance—and if so, how do they feel about it? No doubt this whole issue could spark a firestorm of conversation, but let’s go ahead and move onto the second point of contention:
Does Donald Trump support more Gun Control & 2nd Amendment Violations?
Again, there are plenty of sources that prove that he does in fact support infringing upon the 2nd Amendment rights of law abiding citizens. In his book The America We Deserve, after deriding Republicans who “walk the NRA line,” Trump declared:
“I support the ban on assault weapons and I also support a slightly longer waiting period to purchase a gun.”
That’s a pretty bold statement that most certainly would rankle many 2A advocates—but wait, there’s more. On Feb. 28, 2018, President Trump addressed a room full of lawmakers and declared, “You’re scared of the NRA.” He then called for a “powerful” bill on background checks, and made the following statement:
“I like taking the guns early, like in this crazy man’s case that just took place in Florida. He had a lot of firearms. They saw everything. To go to court would have taken a long time. So you could do exactly what you’re saying, but take the guns first, go through due process second.”
“Take the guns first, go through due process second.” REALLY?
I mean, maybe that’s not a deal breaker for some people, but geesh that’s a hard one to stomach! As it turns out, quite ironically, a legal website called ABOVE THE LAW—who assesses past presidential records, looking at legislative actions, not political rhetoric—has determined that “Donald Trump Was The Strongest President On Gun Control In The Past Quarter Century.” Supporting the banning of bump-stocks and assault rifles. Mandating more restrictive background checks. It’s all there.
And for the record, Rush Limbaugh did warn that Trump might well lose his election, precisely because of his anti-2A stances on gun control. This is all verifiable fact.
Take a deep breath.
Experience has shown that when I encounter information that doesn’t jive with what I already believe to be true, I almost immediately reject this new information and begin rationalizing my previously held perspective. Often times I have to fight the knee-jerk reaction to dismiss something that doesn’t align with what I believe to be true. This is human nature. We are emotional creatures.
That said, we can deploy our logical mind like a tool and stay curious about the information in front of us. Thus, whether or not you feel miffed about the fact that Trump has long supported gay marriage and gun control measures, it is imperative to keep an open mind and not just ignore the historical record.
The above revelations may be uncomfortable to acknowledge, but the links are there for you to see for yourself. As I dug into the concerns presented by a fellow liberty loving American, I found lots of things I didn’t know. For example, it turns out that Donald Trump does support eliminating the debt ceiling entirely (what does that do for national debt?), he does support government funded Universal Health Care (how’s that going to affect the deficit?), and he did blame pro-life groups for the Republicans loss during the mid-term elections:
Maybe you’re fine with all of the above, but it should also be understandable why many patriots are not okay with all of the above. My point here isn’t to change your mind, or change your vote, but to shine light on how other people think. These issues should raise a brow, and I can accept that all this causes some people to have concerns. Beyond all that, another huge looming question brought up by certain people is this: What has Trump done to help all the J6 prisoners?
Friends, I don’t have an answer. I don’t have an explanation for why Trump supports gay marriage, banning assault weapons, expanding government entitlements, or insulting pro-lifers for political miscalculations—but I think all the above does help explain why some people, some liberty loving Americans, are looking for other options when it comes to the 2024 election. That’s not unreasonable, is it?
Will I vote for Trump again? Yes. Do I have my reservations? Yes.
Would I be willing to consider another option? Yes.
The lesson here, for me, is to keep my eyes wide open. I do not place my faith in any man. I do not know how this will all play out, but Providence is sure to play its part.
TR 320 - Some Things You Need to Know