Respectful Answer
Opposing views are welcome, here at notanotherdemocrat.com. If someone submits their opinion and allows that opinion to be posted on our website, we will reply with enthusiasm. What you're about to read is a side by side rebuttal to the comments made by Richard Bliecher, here.
The "answer" on Quora, that inspired Mr. Bleicher, to comment with the referenced reply, was our answer to the question: How will Trump supporters deal with Trump losing the 2020 elections if that happens?
Mr. Bleicher then replied, respectfully, "Hey… while I have your attention, I thought I’d ask you a couple questions. I’m genuinely curious and not looking for an argument. Your original post here was more than two years ago, prior to the 2020 election. Has your opinion of Trump changed at all since then? Do you believe the election was stolen? Do you approve of his actions and behavior since then? Are you hoping he’ll be president again?"
Then I replied, "Has my opinion of Donald Trump changed since 2019? Not at all. Having lived in the great State of New York from 1995 to 2015, I’ve met my share of people from Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island; Donald Trump was not a surprise then, and he still isn’t a surprise now. In fact, I have greater respect for him, now, then I did back then. Why? Because he is a product of some of the most dog-eat-dog competition based markets in the world. His peers are some of the hardest working, most “in-your-face” take it or get the *F* out kind of people there are. To survive in any business in NYC is a miracle. To actually make money, even if it was just a little, the OLD fashion way, is a testament to the man’s fortitude. In 2015 I was like, “I can’t stand this guy. He’s an *ssh*le! However, during the debates, listening to his practical plain, “I don’t give a *F* what you think.” to the establishment, it was exactly what this country needed. We needed a George Patton. Since then, he has beaten them all. Russia-gate, pee-pee hoax, litigation, betrayal, disloyalty, and the empire of the left. For this, all by itself, my opinion of him increased appreciably.
Do I like everything about the man? Who does? LOL If you’ve been to NYC, can you possibly say that everyone you meet was, “Hey, welcome to the big apple, can I wipe your butt for you?” Anyone expecting George H.W. Bush’es from here on end, failed to understand the mood of the conservative right. I would go as far to say, most of us grew in our admiration for the man - especially in contrast to the clown show that his Joseph R. Biden. (Not argumentative at all.)"
Then we have Mr. Bleicher's "Respectful Opposition" we republished in part, here on this website.
Here is our rebuttal.
Introduction
Richard Bleicher is a 52 year old sales consultant who claims to have grown up in the NYC area, in the 80s and 90s. He claimed that anybody who is in their 50's or 40's, from that area, "will tell you that Trump has been a corrupt, grifting, morally bankrupt, malignantly narcissistic, megalomaniacal, spiteful, petty, vindictive, bullying, pathologically lying, Con Man for his entire life for decades before he entered politics".
After reading this comment, I felt sad for Mr. Bleicher. Had he candidly disclosed where he grew up, he would have said, "I'm from Jersey, right across the river, but I knew a lot of people who hung out around some of Trump's properties, and they hated the guy!" That would have been more believable. I am very skeptical of people who have an all encompassing opinion of someone, without ever considering the facts carefully
We spoke with and knew plenty of people who grew up around the "Trump properties." One spoke with us, just, before creating this webpage. Here's a quote from our new friend we will call "Saul", who had no idea why I asked or my politics.
"I grew up near midtown. We all knew who he was. Never met the man. However, we respected him, because he was always respectful of us. I was homeless for 2 years. I hung out around central park. Mr. Trump let us stay in one of the public areas of his building, during the cold, so we could stay warm and we could wash up and use the bathroom. As long as we didn't f*ck anything up and were decent, he didn't mind."
Business Dealings
When Trump's Taj Mahal Casino was fined $10 million, the average person would imagine that as a lot of money. However, relatively speaking, it's not when you consider Trump ditched a business that was destined to lose money. He sold the business to Carl Ichon for $50m. Carl went on to lose $350m plus. $10m civil judgment was a "parking ticket" and AML cases for casinos are just as prolific.
To be accurate, the Trump organization was fined $2 million by the State of NY for ignorantly navigating election laws during 2016 election. In the stipulation, Ivanka, Don Jr. and Eric Trump were ordered to take classes and become aware of compliance regulations. No criminal charges were filed.
No excuses, here. Trump did make it his business practice through the years to beat contractors up for costs. He routinely tried to get out of paying money he owed them, frequently claiming "shoddy" work as an excuse to withhold full payment.
charities and truth
In a New York Times (yes, the NYT) article, they confirmed that the Trump Organization run by Eric Trump, has raised over $15m for St. Jude's Children's Hospital, over the last 10 years (sic. 2017). I didn't
According to this infamous Washington Post database of "Trump's Lies", one of the quotes is:
"Claims about immigration spiked just before the 2018 midterm elections, as Trump unsuccessfully tried to keep the House of Representatives in GOP hands with exaggerated claims about “caravans” of undocumented immigrants approaching the border." Washington Post
This claim was up front and center stage, in the article about how Donald Trump was lying to the American people on so many things, it was traumatic just to keep count.
By now, it should be apparent to everyone that Trump's claims about the border were not exaggerated at all, but under-estimated. So the FACT yet remains, Trump is known for KEEPING his promises, unlike most politicians who are VERY well known for NOT keeping their promises.
integrity - Decency
Allegedly, Trump took $1.9 million out of campaign donations prior to the 2020 election and shifted it to his own personal account. Yet there are no criminal referrals, no grand jurys, no arrests. The FBI was on his door step and they weren't even concerned about financial records. Things that make you go, hmmm.
Democrats are incensed that Trump mocked a disabled reporter. The incident was at a live rally where 10's of thousands of people were watching. Millions of people saw the video. Public figure. Trump gives back what he gets. At least the reporter was man enough to take the hit. Fair is fair.
What would you do if your son bragged about how rich he was and used a lewd inference to describe how women throw themselves at wealthy men? I would be very upset and demand he apologize.
If Donald Trump visited my work shop, he would ask me, "Do you work in this 'sh*t hole'?" I would respond with embarrassment and clean it up; send him a picture. He would reply back, "much better".
Policy and government
My esteemed leftist Quoran. You said that the "composite" GDP for Donald Trumps' term was .95%. You said, "One of the worst in history." What exactly is the "composite GDP"? I had to look it up.
Turns out, it's a made-up term. The real term is "composite Leading Indicators". I had to look that up, too.
According to the Office of Economic Co-operation and Development, here is the CLI as it impacts the larger "Inflation Rate" in some of the world's largest markets:
