When I was young, and my father was living, he proclaimed that he was a Democrat because the Democratic Party was for the working man, as he used to say.  He was proud to be a working man. I admired him for that.

My father was a printer, a skilled tradesman who believed that one could better themselves by working hard. And like my father before me, I, too, believe by working hard and smart one can achieve anything.

In this election season, I saw hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people, go to Trump rallies. I did not understand why people flocked to him. It seemed that he was their voice, speaking to a world that would not listen to them. To find out more, I attended the Trump rally in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Monday, November 02, 2020. I wanted to find out who these people were who went to the Trump rallies.

I drove up to Wisconsin. After parking my car, there were cars scattered everywhere. There must have been about 10,000 cars or more. I walked to get a ride on one of the many buses. The lines were about a half-mile long. As I walked to the end of the line, one of the buses stopped near me. I got on that bus. I was lucky.

When arriving at the Kenosha airport, thousands of people were already moving toward where Trump would speak. There were two lines, one line on each side of the gate. Each line was about a quarter-mile long. After 30 minutes, I made it to the gate, traversing a maze of portable white fences, slowly making my way forward to the metal detectors. My feet were killing me.

It was cold that night, and we waited until 8:00 p.m. until Trump arrived. I asked the people that I met whether, in their opinion, they believed that the Democratic Party had abandoned the working class. Everyone said yes. They said that the Democratic Party no longer represented their interests or cared about them. One person said that he did not believe the mainstream media because they lie to the American people. I did not know what to believe. I just listened, trying to make sense of what I heard.

At 8:00 pm, Trump arrived. He shared what he believed. He told the people what a Biden presidency would look like. I think that the people believed Trump, not because they were sheep being led to slaughter, but rather because he gave words to the feelings in their hearts. Near the end of the speech, I decided to beat the crowd and make the trek back to the buses.  

I was on bus line number one. After walking, which seemed like forever, I finally found the bus that would take me back to my car. When I got to my car and decided to drive east towards Sheridan Road. After several miles, I turned south onto Green Bay Road towards home. When I walked in my door, the heat warmed my bones. I walked up the stairs to my office. I sat in my chair in front of my computer. I had an email about an interview with Bernie Sanders. I opened up the Newsweek article and pored over it. Did Bernie Sanders agree that the Democratic Party had abandoned the working class? The answer shocked me. Sanders stated that the Democratic Party was now the party of the monied class and the coastal elites. What happened?

I am a printer’s son, the son of a working man. Working people are my people. They are not just employees working 9 to 5, scratching out a living. They are small business owners. They are entrepreneurs. They are individuals willing to risk it all for the dream that they can be successful if they work hard and get a few breaks along the way. I thought of my grandfather, a self-employed plumbing contractor. I thought of my grandmother, who inherited a hair dye business from her great aunt, continuing the business well into the 20th Century. These were my people. They shared their dream with me, and expected me to continue the dream. Although it has not been easy, I have tried to follow in their footsteps. While getting ready to sleep, I remembered who I am, a working man’s son, not a coastal elite, even though I lived twenty years in the Boston area. This is why the elites never liked me. I was not one of them. I was a printer’s son, a working man’s son.

In the morning, I called my brother. I apologized for the many times over the years that I thought and spoke ill of him. He did not want an apology, but I insisted. My brother shared with me that a week before our father died, he finally convinced our father that the Democratic Party was no longer the working man’s friend. My brother has stayed true to the principles and values our father taught us. It was I who strayed.

I then realized that I had made the right choice. I voted for the person who represented the working people of this country. I could not vote for Joe Biden because he said in the debates that he is the Democratic Party. He is the party of the coastal elites, the monied interests, the banks, the technology clan, and most of all, the mainstream media. I voted for the man who was ridiculed, insulted, and hated from the moment he started running for the Presidency. He would not obey the elites. He was not a socialist, not a Brahmin like Kamala Harris.

I can only think of three reasons why people voted for Joe Biden. First, they are elites. Second, they are rich, want to stay rich, and do not want anyone else to get rich. Too much competition. Third, they still believe that the Democratic Party represents working people. They are being deceived, and even Bernie Sanders has said so.

This is why I voted for Donald Trump. One can accept or reject my reasons. If you voted for Joe Biden because you are an elite, we have little in common, and that is that. If you are not rich, the second reason cannot be right. Perhaps the third reason is probably the right reason? One may still believe that the Democratic Party is the working person’s party. You are being deceived. The Democrats are lying. Remember when Hillary Clinton called Trump supporters deplorables. She was really saying that she is an elite and that she has nothing but contempt for the working class. This means she wanted my vote and that I was all that I was good for. She did not respect me. I was a “deplorable” in her eyes.

Image: Pxfuel