I Stayed Silent Until Trump. I Won’t Be Silent Anymore

GUEST OPINION

American flags at Washington, D.C. (File Photo – Matt Hecht)

I never used to speak out about politics. I believed in civil disagreement, in letting others have their views without judgment. I’ve even been a Republican at times. But that was before the party lost its way, before it became unrecognizable, swallowed by extremism, cruelty, and the cult of Donald Trump.

By John Lafauce Jr.

If what I’m about to say offends you, if it “triggers” you because you still defend that man, then we are not the same kind of people. Honestly, I’m okay with that.

This is not about Republican versus Democrat. It’s about right versus wrong. It’s about patriotism, decency, compassion, and basic morality–qualities that should transcend political identity. Supporting Donald Trump, in full knowledge of who and what he is, reflects either a deep denial or a stunning lack of character judgment.

Let’s stop pretending the truth isn’t out there. It is. The lies are out there too, heavily packaged and promoted by the likes of Fox News, twisting reality to protect their chosen figurehead. They scrub stories to keep Trump’s image clean and label the truth as “fake news.” So many Americans eat it up. This is not journalism. It’s propaganda. It’s lipstick on a pig.

Trump cons people. That’s what he does. He uses people like poker chips to advance his personal goals, then discards them when they’re no longer useful. Look at his broken promises. Look at his business record. Look at the way ICE now operates under his vision, like a rogue militia empowered to destroy immigrant families, including U.S. veterans, students, and workers who form the backbone of our economy.

Mass deportations aren’t law and order, they’re cruelty. They’re ethnic cleansing under a white, Christian nationalist agenda. Project 2025, if you’ve read it, reads like something out of an authoritarian playbook. They’ve set “goals” — quotas — for human removals. When criminals didn’t fill the tally, Dreamers were next.

This is not some distant political issue. This is personal.

My son had intellectual disabilities. To see a man like Trump publicly mock people like him, not once, but repeatedly, is an open wound that never truly heals. And now, with efforts to eliminate the Department of Education, children with disabilities will suffer even more. My son isn’t here to feel those cuts, but millions of other families will.

I also think of my other son, just 18, stepping into adulthood. What kind of future does he face under this rising tide of hate, division, and misinformation? Wages are stagnant, the cost of living is soaring, and a reckless administration is now poised to gut the middle class to serve the ultra-rich. The American Dream is turning into a nightmare.

Trump’s legacy is one of destruction. Every business he’s touched has failed. Every institution he’s led has suffered. And now he’s poised to bankrupt the very soul of our country for his own gain.

Say what you will about Kamala Harris or any other Democrat, at least she stands for building something up. Trump only tears things down.

So no, I won’t stay quiet anymore. I won’t “respect other views” when those views support cruelty, corruption, or authoritarianism. Silence is complicity, and I won’t be complicit in watching our country fall to fascism.

This isn’t about politics anymore.

This is about who we are, and who we’re willing to become.

John Lafauce – A man who misses the way things were.