I tried not to be too vocal, but it is no longer possible
Posted by Harry Kraemer | Feb 23, 2026 | 7 |
Going all the way back
to 2015 when Donald Trump first announced that he was running for president of
the United States, I was tempted to share my personal opinion. I had read a lot
about his behavior, and more importantly, had carefully listened to his speeches,
talks, and interviews.
Prior to the 2016
election I had always been labeled as a strong moderate Republican. That was a
fair characterization since I had never voted for a Democrat in a presidential
election. However, given that I spend the majority of my working life teaching
“values based leadership,” I felt there was no way I could vote for Donald
Trump. Nonetheless, I decided to not be very vocal for the reasons listed
below:
1.
I truly believe in our
democratic system, and if the majority of my fellow Americans voted to make him
president, I felt the right thing to do was try to be supportive despite the
personal difficulty.
2.
An important part of my
faith and religious beliefs that I was taught beginning in first grade was to
love everyone, not to judge others and give people the benefit of the doubt. I
was taught that there may be reasons for someone’s questionable behavior that
could be understandable if I was closer to the situation.
3.
When I asked friends who
actually supported Donald Trump whether what he was doing was the right thing
to do, the response was often: “Harry, look at what Obama did, or what Clinton
did, or what Biden did. They were much worse.” While I found this an interesting
rationalization, once again, I tried to give Trump the benefit of the doubt.
So why now? Maybe it is
becoming a grandfather and really worrying about the next generation. Maybe
it’s because I love our country, and I’m worried about the direction in which
we are headed. Maybe it’s because I have many friends around the world who are
constantly asking me questions that I don’t have an answer for. Maybe it is
President Trump’s response when asked if anything limits his presidential
power: “Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only
thing that can stop me. I don’t need international law. I’m not looking to hurt
people.”
Here’s a list of the
“top 10 questions” I am constantly asked by my students, friends, and
colleagues from around the world:
1.
Harry, why does your
president call people derogatory names and make fun of them?
2.
Harry, why does your
president feel the need to add his name to the Kennedy center and have airports
named after him?
3.
Harry, you teach values
based leadership. Is it right for your president to be involved in business
transactions the generate billions of dollars for his family while he is
president? (Some friends will say, look at what President Biden and Hunter
did…. Yes, very bad but I don’t think it was billions of dollars.)
4.
Harry, why does your
president want to make Canada the 51st state? Isn’t Canada an ally of the
United States?
5.
Harry, why is your
president demanding to purchase Greenland? Isn’t Denmark an ally? Don’t you
already have military bases in Denmark that you can expand at any time?
6.
Harry, why would your
President state that NATO never supported the US in Afghanistan and Iraq when
more than 1500 Europeans died supporting the US in those conflicts? How would
you like to be the spouse or parent of one of those killed?
7.
Harry, isn’t the United
States’ relationship with NATO during the past 80 years one of the key reasons
why there has not been a third World War? If so, why does your president say
that NATO doesn’t matter?
8.
Harry, why would your
president and vice president accuse the president of Ukraine of starting the
war with Russia and not saying thank you for American support?
9.
Harry, I understand that
past administrations did a horrible job of protecting your US borders that
enabled millions of illegal immigrants to the US. I also understand that some
of them are serious criminals. However, why would the current administration
accuse virtually all immigrants of being “serious criminals” with the severe
treatment that resulted in several deaths in Minnesota? Is this behavior
consistent with the values of your country during the past 250 years?
10.
Harry, isn’t one of the
most important parts of the American system of government the three independent
branches? Why does it appear that your president totally ignores the
legislative branch as well as the Supreme Court?
In addition to the above
questions, I found the situation that developed last Friday raised additional
questions. If you didn’t notice, the Supreme Court in a 6–3 vote
ruled that President Trump did not have the legal right to
impose “reciprocal tariffs.” The court found that Trump had overstepped Article
1, Section 8 of the Constitution, which summarizes the powers granted to
Congress: “The Framers gave ‘Congress alone’ the power to impose tariffs during
peacetime,” the Court’s majority opinion stated.
Since I am not a lawyer,
I am not close enough to know the right legal answer on the tariff issue.
However, I believe it is not my responsibility to know the right answer. That
is the reason we have a Supreme Court, and under our three branch system, when
the Supreme Court makes a ruling, I was taught they are the final judge until
the law changes.
So what happened?
Instead of accepting the decision, our president called the judges who voted
against his wishes “a disgrace to our nation,” and he further stated about
Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gotsuch (whom he appointed during his first
term), “I think it’s an embarrassment to their families, if you want to know
the truth, the two of them.” Really? I find this lack of respect for our legal
system and the Supreme Court to be way beyond unacceptable
Okay, well, as I said, I
have really tried to be less vocal, but I guess we all have limits. I know
there are many people who will completely disagree with my opinion, and that is
fine. That is part of your right as Americans. This just happens to be my opinion.
