Letter I Am Going to Send to Trump

 Suggestions?

Clayton E. Cramer

clayton@claytoncramer.com

 

October 28, 2021

 

Dear President Trump:

 

Yes, I think the election was stolen from you, but that is not the reason for this letter.  I voted for you in 2016 and 2020 and contributed to your 2020 campaign.  The subject of this letter is: even though you were running against Hilary Clinton, I had some misgivings about voting for you.  In 2020, I was one of those “broken-glass Trump voters”; you did so much for America and kept your campaign promises that I would have crawled across broken glass to vote for you. 

 

Unfortunately a number of my family members (and I suspect millions of other Americans), even those who voted for you in 2016, will likely not vote for you in 2024 if you get the nomination.  The reason is gentleness.  This is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit.  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” [Galatians 5:22-23]  Having claimed yourself as a Christian, gentleness is something that you should exhibit.

 

Aside from the spiritual dimension, gentleness is a powerful election strategy for getting many voters who are shying away from you, and who likely shied away from you in 2020; this had disastrous results for America.  The disaster is far from over; like many other Americans, I can see this leading to a bloody civil war.

My suspicion is that your brash, brusque, and abrasive public persona is a combination of growing up in New York City, where “You get in my face, I get in your face,” perhaps enhanced by your time on The Apprentice, and the vile accusations that you were a Russian agent.  Accusing a patriot of being an agent for an enemy nation would drive almost any of us to fury.  Responding to meanness with meanness does not play well to most Americans; it also made your enemies in the media feel even more justified in their calumnies.

Think about President Reagan and the many false accusations made against him starting with the supposed October, 1980 negotiations with Iran.  His responses were so mild and good-natured that the Democrats called him the “Teflon President”; none of the mud they threw at him would stick, and he won re-election.  He did this with a similar, although less powerful economic recovery than your Administration created.  Reagan also made extensive use of humor to defang his enemies.

Think about President Bush: While his policy mistakes attempting nation-building in Afghanistan and Iraq were among America’s most costly mistakes, his response to ferocious attacks, such as the picture of him as BusHitler, was gentle.  He generally ignored them.  At the time, I was frustrated by his seeming willingness to accept this abuse without a more vigorous response, but in retrospect, like Reagan, his gentleness was such an endearing property that he easily won re-election.  Remember how gently President Bush responded to the angry Iraqi who threw a shoe at him in a press conference in Iraq.

Respond to policy attack with policy defense.  Respond to personal attacks with simple denials and a statement of contrary evidence.  As part of encouraging gentleness think of this observation from Harvard Business Review:

Someone sends you an email message or a text, and you’re unsure how to respond.  It’s about a complex negotiation, or a politically sensitive situation. Or maybe it’s just from a person who unnerves you.

For a moment, you pause. But for most of us, most of the time, that pause doesn’t last long. Instead we react, feeling the need to immediately craft a response. And often we then hit “send” without fully thinking.

Antisocial media is one of the big sources of polarization in America and that is intentionally so; anger means more tweets from twits and more likes and dislikes on Facebook.  Consider making only the most limited and thoughtful use of antisocial media, if at all.

Please don’t lose the 2024 election.  Yes, it is hard to imagine President Biden (or more likely President Harris) beating you.  But America will not survive another four years of this madness.  Model all the gifts of the Holy Spirit: but for you especially, gentleness.

Very Truly Yours,

Clayton E. Cramer