My wife was working near our Trump yard sign. It didn’t take long for a bicyclist to to yell, “Trump sucks!” At least he didn’t call her a racist, fascist, or a Nazi as he whizzed by.
The same can’t be said of President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, or any number of members of Congress and the media who disparage Donald Trump with these insults. At a recent hearing, Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett called Trump a “would-be Fuhrer.” Some neighbors who support Trump are afraid of putting up yard signs for fear Trump haters will allow their dogs to poop on their lawns. Some Trump supporters won’t answer polling questions about their support for Trump; that’s why polls probably underestimate Trump’s support.
There isn’t room here to debunk all the false claims brought against Trump. Some, like Russia collusion and the Steele dossier, have already been shown to be Democratic dirty tricks. A few, however, are so untrue that they deserve rebuttal.
Trump did not call white supremacists “very fine people” during the Charlottesville demonstrations about removing Robert E. Lee’s statue. Harris has made this charge so often that she must think that by repeating it often enough it becomes true. The sad fact is that when people keep hearing things that are demonstrably false some believe them. Trump said there were “very fine people” on both sides of removing Robert E Lee’s statue, not that white supremacists were fine people. Liberal-leaning fact checker Snopes reports that the charge is false.
Similarly, the smear from a story in The Atlantic that Trump once called U.S. troops “suckers” for their sacrifices is not credible. The article quoted anonymous sources. Later, Trump’s former chief of staff, Marine Gen. John Kelly, repeated the charge. Again, Snopes fact-checked this hoax: “In sum, the claim stemmed from a story by The Atlantic, which relied on anonymous, second-hand reports of Trump’s alleged words; there was no independent footage or documented proof to substantiate the in-question comments; and Trump vehemently denies that he once called service members ‘losers’ and ‘suckers.’ While it was certainly possible that he said those things, Snopes was unable to independently verify the claim, Kelly has never claimed he heard Trump say this smear.”
And the charges that Trump is fascist? Fascism is a far-right form of government in which most of the country’s power is held by one ruler or a small group under a single party. Fascism is usually totalitarian and includes nationalism, authoritarianism, ethnic purity, antisemitism and militarism.
First, Trump has been a strong supporter of Israel and his daughter’s husband, Jared Kushner, is Jewish. Trump is credited with engineering the the Abraham Accords, normalizing relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Comparing him with Hitler is absurd. If anything, Trump is less militaristic in his positions than Harris, for example, in Ukraine.
Did Trump contest the 2020 election? Yes. Did he call for an insurrection? No. He specifically told the Jan. 6 rally at Capitol Hill to “be peaceful.” He contends he tried to get more security for the rally before it occurred. According to the New York Times, Democrats have been shameless about contesting presidential votes, too, objecting to counting electoral totals in 2000, 2004 and 2016.
Trump did not act as an authoritarian in his first administration. Despite Hillary Clinton’s clear violation of U.S. law concerning top-secret memos going to her private server, Trump declined to pursue further investigation into her emails. Contrast that with special counsel Jack Smith’s staffers visiting the White House and meeting with Biden staffers before Trump’s indictment. Longtime Department of Justice official Matthew Colangelo played a critical role in Trump’s indictment in New York City.
What are the facts on abortion? Harris has claimed that Trump would sign a national abortion ban if he becomes president. To the contrary, Trump has explicitly said that he would not sign such a bill. He personally supports allowing abortion in cases of rape, incest and when life of the mother is at risk. During his debate with Harris, he said, “Many states will be different, Many will have a different number of weeks or some will be more conservative than others and that’s where they will be. At the end of the day it’s about the will of the people.” In fact his position on abortion has disappointed some in the pro-life community.
Do yard signs make a difference? Political scientists say they make small difference and in close elections a small difference can be a deciding factor. I put up our yard sign because I am not afraid to show that I am voting for Trump. I supported someone else in the Iowa Caucuses and wrote to decry the choice between Trump and Biden. As I wrote in the Register, I find both Trump and Harris flawed.
However, I am voting for Trump because I agree with him on the issues. Polls indicate that much of the public does, too. Harris has flipped her positions on issues, especially the border. I take her at her word that her “values” haven’t changed. That is exactly what worries me! As Sen. Bernie Sanders says, “I don’t think she is abandoning her ideals. I think she is trying to be pragmatic and doing what she thinks is right in order to win the election.” And if she is elected I expect her to drop her new positions and revert to her former policies because they are in line with her “values.”
Dr. Greg Ganske is a retired plastic and reconstructive surgeon who cared for women with breast cancer, children with birth defects, farmers with hand injuries, and burn patients. He served Iowa in the United States Congress from 1995 to 2003.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Opinion: Repeating debunked Trump accusations doesn’t make them true
