Pedro L. Gonzalez was a vocal Donald Trump supporter until he wasn’t. Like many of his voters, Gonzalez found Trump’s populist messaging appealing in 2016. But while most partisan media figures engage in post hoc justifications or nonsensical cover stories in defense of their preferred politicians, Gonzalez is one of those rare people who likes to assess reality instead. In this week’s Unaligned, he takes us through his political journey and how conservatives reacted to his willingness to confront the right.
If you know anything about me it’s easy to understand why I was drawn to Gonzalez. It’s exceedingly rare to encounter political writers or commentators who have enough honesty or self-reflection to critique their own side. It feels as though the country is sinking in the tar pits of partisan hackery and there isn’t any real effort to escape as we all continue descending deeper in the muck that will ultimately end us.
Any clear-eyed Democrat who engaged in a sober assessment of their party would have known that Kamala Harris et al., were racing toward a brick wall in 2024. Every poll indicated that voters were dissatisfied with President Joe Biden’s handling of immigration and the economy. Yet those concerns were inadequately addressed on the campaign trail. As Trump was campaigning on shutting down the border or implementing astronomical tariffs to (laughably) boost the economy, Harris was regurgitating tired lines about “saving democracy.”
It turns out that Harris’ horrible campaign strategy was by design! According to the post-election book Fight, Biden didn’t want Harris to differentiate her vision for the future from his unpopular leadership. His precious ego was more important than keeping Trump out of the White House. “Remember kid,” Biden allegedly told Harris right before her debate against Trump, “no daylight between us.” She listened. She lost.
The whole affair disgusted me. The inability to accept constructive feedback and recalibrate was shockingly stupid. Of course, Democrats were enabled by allies in the press who glazed their every move despite obvious mistakes being made. By helping cover up Biden’s mental decline, morning Joe hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough made Democrats weaker, not stronger. By pretending as though there wasn’t a migrant crisis for three straight years, Democrats created a policy vacuum that was exploited masterfully by Trump, whose favorability is currently underwater in every area with the exception of immigration.
Now the same insufferable media glazing is taking place on the other side of the political aisle with Trump back in office. Are you witnessing the destruction of that nest egg you spent a lifetime building? Maybe stop complaining because “it’s just numbers on a balance sheet,” according to top Trump fluffer Benny Johnson. “Everyone loses money…it builds quite a bit of character,” he declared.
I desperately want to Americans to break away from the wild political pendulum swings that result from the dumb tribalism that excuses poor leadership. Governing isn’t some inconsequential sporting event. Things will continue to devolve if voters fail to demand more from the party and politicians they support.
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You can follow Pedro Gonzalez’s work on Substack at ReadContra.com.
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