O'Neill: Corrupt Political Factions Came for Trump, But Found a Formidable Force Instead
“They’re not coming after me,” former president and front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination Donald Trump often tells crowds at his massive rallies. “They’re coming after you, and I’m just in the way.”
That’s true. But it’s also true that they really are coming after Trump, too. And the American people have stood in the way.
It started in 2016. Stepping into political life made Trump political enemies. The Republican candidate for president went from being a real estate magnate and beloved celebrity with a long-running TV show to the most hated man in public life.
It wasn’t enough to smear him for his perceived personal flaws; his Democratic rival called him a Russian spy, and so did the media — all while the FBI was unlawfully investigating his campaign.
His supporters didn’t believe Russiagate, not because they’re brainwashed fanatics but because their common sense told them the story was nonsense. So they stuck by Trump and became even more suspicious of his adversaries, the same people coming after them, too.
Even as it got worse, they stuck by him.
They knew the impeachment was a set-up. They saw that COVID was being used to destroy the economy that Trump enabled and that they themselves built through their hard work and inspiration. By tying his second impeachment to the Jan. 6 protests, Trump’s adversaries signaled they were targeting his supporters, too. So his supporters stuck up for themselves and stood by Trump.
The raid on Mar-a-Lago, the arraignment on criminal charges, the civil case in a New York court, the federal indictment on classified document charges, and the continuing investigations were all designed to push Trump out of politics and into jail. And it’s all meant to send a message to his supporters: No one can help you now — if we can do it to him, we can do it to you. Surrender.
But it’s not working. And that’s because Trump’s hunters misunderstand the character of our great country.
They thought they could cut off Trump from the rest of the nation because they come from a part of America where loyalty and love count for little. For people like that, relationships are strictly transactional; they’re about what you can do for me now. These are the kind of friends who take flight at the first sign of trouble. They imagined that those who believe Trump represents not only their interests but also their values see the world the same way.
They couldn’t have been more wrong.
For the majority of our great nation, you make a good name for yourself not by getting it in the newspapers, but by keeping your word. You make a living to support your family through hard work, not through Ivy League networks and insider trading. And when family and friends are going through a hard time, you stick by them, rally around them, and remind them why they’re loved and respected. These are the people you want to be around; these are the people who make our nation great.
So when the corrupt political faction that is destroying our country and laying waste to our constitutional order came for Trump, they found America standing in the way. What a people, what a nation — wise, courageous and resilient.
And to our opponents, we say: Do your worst. We can take it. We’re still here. It’s our country.
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