“Trump has authoritarian tendencies. But I’m not worried.” 23 cartoons that sum up a crazy week

Why are you a Republican?
Daniel Chen: This goes back to 2016, when Trump ran against Hillary Clinton. All my school friends and teachers were against Trump. They said he was a bad guy with a bad character. When I asked my father who he voted for, he said Trump because he was good for the economy and would get rid of all regulations. That got me thinking. I started looking around myself. I joined debate clubs and started listening to speeches and reading politics. One of the teachers on the debate teams was great. He taught us to understand the positions of the other side. He is libertarian.

Who is your father?
He is a software engineer. My mother and he emigrated from China. My father doesn’t care much about politics. He voted for Republican Mitt Romney in 2012, for Trump in 2016 and for Biden in 2020.

And 2024?
My parents don’t want to vote. You have both candidates left.

You too?
I’m voting for Trump.

The stereotypical Trump voter is a white, poorly educated, grumpy old guy who sees a conspiracy behind everything he doesn’t like.
These stereotypes are not true. They only apply to a minority on the fringes of Trump’s support base. The left and the media try to portray support for Trump as approval of his bad qualities. But I think people support Trump for his good qualities and ignore the bad ones.

What are the good qualities?
I think he has good political instincts. He is excellent at taking down his opponents. People like that. He also governed well and pushed many conservative issues during his presidency. If he is re-elected, we will see the same thing.

What are Trump’s bad qualities?
A negative factor is that he sees things in black and white. He divides people into those who are loyal to him or not. This drives him to attack those who are not actually against him as enemies. Seen in this way, he is his own worst enemy. And his character is disappointing, which is another negative point. Trump was a celebrity for years and part of left-wing Hollywood culture until he ran for president.

Trump claims the 2020 election was fraudulent and that he won. Do you agree?
I do not believe that. He lost fair and deserved. He continues to hammer home the idea that the 2020 election was a theft. I can tolerate his whining, but I certainly don’t agree with it.

What do you think about climate change? Many Trump supporters also think this is a scam.
I believe climate change is real. By the way, I think Trump believes that too. But the effects are exaggerated. The media and the Democrats make us believe that we are dealing with an existential threat. The alarmists have announced the end of the world several times, but it has not happened. We need to take sensible climate action, but not radical ones. We need to take another look at nuclear energy and explore innovations more closely.

What do you think of Trump’s threats against migrants and migration?
A clear distinction must be made between legal and illegal immigration. We must reject all illegal immigration and deport all illegals, but we must continue to accept legal immigrants. My parents came from China with visas, residence permits and eventually naturalization. This is how the process works. America is a nation of immigrants. We accept the best and brightest who work hard. When it comes to illegal immigration, we don’t know who is coming. They may be criminals or terrorists, they drain our resources and they have no respect for the law.

Every group of new immigrants to America faced such suspicions. Is the hostility against illegal immigrants, especially from Latin America, racially motivated?
I do not believe that. I’m from Texas. This is quite a Spanish state. Last summer I worked in San Marcos, a small town in Texas, very rural, with a lot of people who you would describe as stereotypical Trump voters. Everyone got along well with the Mexicans and were very concerned about illegal immigration. The people who outright label less affluent whites in rural areas as racists are the affluent whites in wealthier areas, like the Austin neighborhood where I grew up. My friends and colleagues are all there Liberals. By the way, there are many Hispanics who are also against illegal immigration. That’s why Trump gets approval among them. If Trump said he was against all immigration, I wouldn’t support him.

Democrats point to strong economic data and say the economy is doing well. Does that appeal to you?
No. The economy is doing badly. When people talk about the economy, they talk about inflation. Everything has become more expensive, you can see that when shopping or at the gas station. That’s why people think the economy is in bad shape. Biden has allowed a terrible inflation to develop that could have been completely avoided.

How?
The Biden administration continued absurdly high Covid spending after the pandemic had already passed, and increased spending again with its Inflation Reduction Act. Moreover, the central bank has left interest rates at historically low levels for too long instead of raising them.

Give a lot to talk about social issues such as racism and gender issues, sexual orientation. How important is that to you?
For the general population, these things are less important. The election campaign is about immigration and the economy. They play a major role at the university because left-wing students and professors are in the majority. The left has built a racial hierarchy in which they classify all whites as inherently privileged and all blacks as least privileged. The Hispanics, perhaps the Asians and other ‘non-whites’ are in between. Based on this, people become… affinity groups organized and awarded jobs or endorsements under DEI programs – diversity, equality, inclusivity. It goes too far.

Does this also apply to the numbers? What happens when you challenge these systems?
You stand in line or you get a bad grade.

How important will the abortion issue become, and what is your opinion on the right to abortion?
It is overshadowed by immigration and inflation. It’s been two years since the Supreme Court struck down the right to abortion. People get used to the new status quo. I am personal per lifetime. I believe that all abortion should be banned, except in cases where the mother’s life is at stake.

Do you follow what’s happening in the world? Many in Europe fear a second term for Donald Trump because they see him as unpredictable, unstable and dangerous.
During the first semester they raised false alarms, but nothing happened. Trump was the first president in a long time not to start another war. When he was president, we had a more peaceful world. Hamas did not attack Israel. Russia did not attack Ukraine. There was peace in Asia. Under Biden, supposedly a master of foreign policy, we see the world going up in flames.

A President Trump would pull the plug on American aid to Ukraine.
He will try to negotiate an end to the war. The Europeans may not like that. You can complain all you want. If Europe cares that much, they can do their own part.

Not only in Europe, but also in the US, some fear that Trump will be an autocrat, an authoritarian ruler who does not play by the rules of the game. Many people think this is dangerous.
He has authoritarian tendencies, I can see that, but I’m not worried. Our constitutional framework will be strong enough to keep this under control. And after a second term, he will leave the political scene to make way for a younger generation of Republicans and conservatives.

Will your position change if Trump is convicted? How important are the many lawsuits for you?
I think they should be rejected. They are all absurd. None would be raised against any other political candidate. They are only there to strain his resources. There is no truth in either case. This is also evident from the studies. If Trump were convicted, it wouldn’t change my opinion in any way. I don’t need a court to form an opinion.

I meet many people who revere Donald Trump as a leader. It’s like a cult. How do you feel about this?
There are bad sides to Trump and his supporters. I’m only a Trump supporter because there is no alternative. I supported Vivek Ramaswamy in the primaries and then Ron DeSantis after he left office. We need a generational change, new leaders. This comes after a second Trump presidency.

Why weren’t DeSantis and Ramaswamy more successful?
People vote for Trump because he is entertaining and charismatic.

Where do you get your information from? Social media?
My use of social media is quite limited. I don’t even watch TV news anymore, I don’t want to improve their ratings. Most of what I know comes from long formats, such as videos of lectures. Lots of YouTube. And I love podcasts.

Do you watch and listen to Steve Bannon, Trump’s first strategist and advisor?
Never. Hardly anyone talks about Steve Bannon. He is unimportant.

You said your parents won’t vote. Many are not happy that they have to choose between two very old men. Who benefits from low voter turnout?
It will hurt Biden because he is incredibly unpopular and because Democrats are not enthusiastic enough to mobilize for him. Biden voters will hesitate to go to the polls. Republicans have more energy right now. Anyone who loves Trump will walk barefoot on broken glass to vote for him.