This column is an explanation of the reasons I’m going to cast my vote for Donald J. Trump next Tuesday. It is not an explanation of the (many) reasons why I’m not voting for Kamal Harris. And, I’m not addressing the lingering (but diminished) concerns I have regarding the former President. If you want to learn about those concerns, I wrote about them several years ago.
Although not material to my decision to vote for him, Trump still occasionally writes or says something that makes me wince and wish he hadn’t. That characteristic appears to have diminished over the past few years but it still, in my mind, rears its ugly head from time to time.
“Concerns” and “winces” aside, I believe Trump’s qualifications, characteristics and aspirations for our Nation, are exactly what is needed at this chaotic and perilous moment in history. I would like to share my reasoning with you in the hope you may find it compelling. But whether you do or don’t, thanks for reading and considering my rationale.
I’m not a clinical psychologist, but I have spent a professional career analyzing people from afar. Judges, jurors, witnesses and clients or prospective clients, all had to be assessed with the utmost care. Often fortunes, freedom even on occasion life itself, depended on an accurate analysis of people, their character and their motivations. I sometimes made mistakes, but over many years and analyses, I felt I got better at it.
Thus, after eight years of studying what Trump has said and what he has done in his political life, I’m comfortable with my assessment and that assessment has led to my decision to cast my vote for him.
When making an assessment of a person, an important tool is to look at that person’s work history or career and simply determine whether it’s marked by success. With Trump there isn’t any debate about his success as a real estate developer. That doesn’t mean he has no failures, but it does mean that his body of work, taken as a whole, has been a success. Moreover, the success has been achieved not only in a tough and competitive business, real estate development/construction, but primarily it was achieved in a location known as a tough and competitive place, New York City.
Anybody in the development/construction business in a large city, is going to have to develop two skill sets to be successful: a “hands on” relationship with the construction trades and their unions as well as the government regulators who have great influence on the cost and efficiency of a development project. With the trades and trade unions, Trump clearly had such a relationship and I believe that constant association over a long period of time explains Trump’s affinity for blue collar workers, and their affinity for him. Trump and the people who work with their hands have been and are now, “sympatico”.
The second skill set the successful developer needs is to be a master negotiator. At every step of development i.e., purchasing property, contracting with multiple construction companies and sometimes multiple sub-contractors, dealing with governmental bodies having jurisdiction over construction and development, and monetizing the end product – the developed property - negotiation is a necessity - a necessary means to a successful end.
How does this relate to qualities important to a successful presidency? Developing a relationship with and sitting across the negotiating table from a New York City building inspector or a hard bitten and gruff labor boss, is good training for building relationships and negotiating with some of the characters that occupy positions of power around the Globe. The Art of the Deal is (or should be) just as applicable to diplomatic negotiations as it is to construction site negotiations. The principles are the same
Another tool I use to asses what kind of a person I’m looking at, is to find out something about the person’s personal life – to identify and then take a look at the close friends and family, of the person I am assessing.
Trump’s family is extraordinary. All of his children are successful in their own right, and there is an absence of scandal and controversy surrounding them. They publicly but sincerely complement their father, his success and his qualities as a person and a dad. By all accounts, the children of Donald Trump share his penchant for hard work and success. Of course, their mother deserves credit also but that is not to diminish the role their father has played in their upbringing. It is apparent that Trump’s children love and admire their father and their father loves and admires them. That tells me something about Trump. Perhaps it’s irrelevant to some, but not to me.
As for others who are close to Trump, I have been more interested in those he has chosen for positions in his campaign and as surrogates and members of a transition team should he be elected. I think his choice of people to assist in the political tasks at hand are a good clue to people who Trump will rely on during his term as President. I find it interesting that many of them are former competitors in the Republican primary of 2023/2024
Of course, Trump has already made one selection of an important position should he be elected: J.D. Vance of Hillbilly Elegy fame. Vance’s book, Hillbilly Elegy, chronicles his impoverished and difficult childhood in Appalachia. Author, Marine, Yale law graduate, successful entrepreneur, U.S. Senator, and independent thinker, Trump’s choice of Vance as his V.P. pick has proven to be a home run. The two men complement each other.
In the short time since assuming the second spot on the Republican ticket, Vance has displayed intelligence, competence, and a serious but pleasant demeanor. The 78-year-old Trumps’ selection of Vance as his Vice-Presidential nominee reassures Americans that someone of competence and intelligence is waiting in the wings to run the country should the need arise.
The group of surrogates selected to represent Trump during the campaign – Tulsi Gabbard, Elon Musk, Doug Burgum, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., are all intelligent, creative, and successful people in their own right. They all seem to me to be independent thinkers with strong personalities, people whose advice and counsel would be of great benefit to a President Trump. Add to that list, those who successfully served in Trump’s prior administration and who have been on the political sidelines during the 2024 campaign. People like, Mike Pompeo, John Radcliff, Larry Kudlow, Wilbur Ross, and others. I believe most of them will be involved in a second Trump administration and that too is reassuring.
Selecting outstanding, successful, intelligent people as advisors, surrogates and potential cabinet members is not a characteristic of an insecure, incompetent or dictatorial leader. On the contrary, it is the characteristic of a real leader who is secure, confident and comfortable in his own skin.
But, assessing the people in and around Trump and who will likely be a part of a second Trump administration, is only part of the process of making a decision on whether to vote for Trump for President. After all, for the most part, competent people staffed the Clinton and Obama administrations and I voted for neither of those former Presidents. There is another important factor.
There is the matter of policy. To my way of thinking policy is just as important, if not more so, than personality or even party affiliation. The policies of the Clinton and Obama administration were antithetical, for the most part, to what I believe constitutes good governance. So even though those administrations were competent, their policies were inconsistent with my beliefs.
What about the policies of a prospective Trump administration? I believe watching what a politician does is far more revealing than listening to what he or she says. For the most part, we know what the Trump policies will be in a second term because we know what they were in his first term. None of the Trump first term policies have been repudiated and I can’t think of any policy of the first Trump administration with which I disagreed. There were some policies that were modified due to political considerations but I’m thinking about announced policies before they went through the legislative meat-grinder. There were none that were offensive to my idea of good governance.
In the context of the issues being litigated in the current campaign, I am on the same page with the Trump campaign. I support economic policies that favor low taxes and reduced government spending, elimination of fraud, waste and abuse from government programs, a secure border, both north and south and strict enforcement of laws prohibiting illegal immigration , a robust national security posture, a strong and lethal military, negotiation of an end to the war in Ukraine (with guarantees for that nation’s independence), continued support to all of our allies, including Taiwan but especially to Israel in its time of need, enforcement of sanctions against Iran and prevention of Iran obtaining or developing a nuclear weapon. That’s a tall order, but those items are consistent with Trump’s campaign promises.
A point of personal privilege concerning Trump’s proposal to eliminate taxes on Social Security: As a retired Social Security recipient, I have never understood the rationale for taxing Social Security. I started paying Social Security taxes in 1952, at age 13. From that day until I became self-employed in 1973, I and my employer on my behalf, contributed to the Social Security Fund.
After becoming self-employed, I continued contributing self-employment taxes into the Social Security fund. Up until 1983, recipients of Social Security were not taxed on their benefits. Trump proposes to return to the pre 1983 system and I support that proposal. I also support the other tax reduction proposals he has made, provided government expenditures are reduced.
Trump’s opponents have declared that if elected he will use the presidency to settle old scores. I’m not interested in supporting a candidate who believes in retribution for past political sins but I am interested in supporting a candidate who believes in the enforcement of law without fear or favor, and the prosecution of violators. Trump’s statements are consistent with that view.
Achieving the goal of returning to the rule of law, will not be easy because favoritism, corruption and “lawfare” are embedded in many agencies, departments and branches. It will require walking a very fine line, devoid of politics. To execute the duties and achieve the goal, it will be important to choose wisely when nominating the next attorney general. He must be a person of scrupulous work habit and unquestionable character and ethics.
For the reasons stated above, and because of the wisdom and good judgment already in place, I believe such a person will be sought out and found by Trump if he is elected. The nomination of an attorney general candidate will likely be the first self-imposed test of whether I chose wisely in casting my ballot
From the convergence of good people and good policy will flow good governance. That, the American people deserve and I believe will be received if Trump is elected.
There is one other consideration I should mention that has affected my decision. I believe that courage is a most important virtue in a leader. It is important because, among other reasons, all other virtues depend on it. The challenges likely facing the next President will require courage if that President is to lead the Nation in overcoming the many and varied challenges on the horizon. Over the years Trump has displayed unquestioned courage in the face of great challenges, danger and chaos, most recently in Butler, Pennsylvania after he was shot. Trump admires courage and is courageous himself.
For the above reasons, Trump has convinced me that he deserves my vote and I intend to deliver it on Tuesday.
Ray Hunkins, a distinguished alumnus of the University of Wyoming and its College of Law, is retired from the practice of law and from his ranching, farming and livestock businesses. He has been active in Republican politics and was the Republican nominee for Governor of Wyoming in 2006
