Wake Up America Before It’s Too Late! By Maria Grant

I am becoming increasingly depressed as I watch the results of each state’s primaries to select the Republican and Democratic nominees for president. I realize that the number of voters is smaller in total than in many previous primary election cycles, but when you tally the number of people who have cast their ballots for Trump, I am appalled. Here is why.

The list of Republicans who have openly opposed Trump in this election cycle and stated unequivocally that he is unfit to enter the Oval Office ever again is exceedingly long. It includes former Republican Vice Presidents (Cheney and Pence); former Trump Cabinet officials  (Barr, Coats, Esper, Haley, Kelly, Mulvaney); former Trump executive office officials (Bolton, Cobb, Davis, Gidwitz, Griffin, Grisham, Hutchinson, Kilberg, Kramer, Lavin, Matthews, McMaster, Miers, Omarosa, Karen Pence, and Troye); and current Republican U.S. senators (Cassidy, Collins, Murkowski, Romney, Rounds, and Young). 

I will not bore you with more individual names, but they include seven former Republican senators, seven current Republican representatives, more than fifteen former Republican representatives, three current Republican governors, several former Republican governors, and current state and local officials too numerous to mention. Hello America—please tune in. Many of these people vocalizing their alarm are Trump appointees selected to work in his administration. Some collaborated with him on a daily basis. They know him up close and personal. And they are telling you that he is not the guy you want to be the leader of the free world. Listen to them. 

When I was a partner at an international consulting firm, we had 360-degree feedback. If any employee or partner got reviews such as these from so many former colleagues, I can guarantee you they would not be employed by the firm for long. And I can double guarantee you that there is no way they would be considered for rehire. So, in the face of so many scathing reviews, why do Americans pony up to vote for Trump again? 

Next, let us consider how many people associated with Trump have gone or are slated to go to prison. They include Steve Bannon, Roger Stone, Allen Weisselberg, Peter Navarro, Michael Cohen, Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, and Elliot Broidy. And then there are the more than 1,000 people who have been charged in connection with the January 6th attack on the Capitol. Need I mention that Trump has promised to bring Paul Manafort back into the fold for this election cycle? Manafort was found guilty of money laundering and campaign violations related to pro-Russian politicians. And now Trump wants him back to work on this year’s campaign. Interesting choice for a guy who is clearly in need of producing cash to post bonds.

And then there is the number of convictions and indictments Trump faces. He is the first former president in the history of America to face criminal charges. He faces more than 80 felony counts after being indicted four times this year, including charges on mishandling classified documents, Federal election interference, a hush money scheme, and Georgia election interference. Already he has lost a civil suit in New York dealing with tax fraud and a pair of large defamation cases. 

Trump has declared bankruptcy at least six times. That often means creditors, which could include lenders, suppliers, pension plans, etc., were never paid. In addition, Trump has a long record of not paying vendors or forcing them to receive only a fraction of what they were due.

Call me crazy, but why on God’s green earth would anyone in their right mind vote for him? I want him to stay as far away as possible from anything having to do with promoting democracy and freedom. Many of my friends have said that if he gets reelected, they plan to leave the country. They do not want to live in a country where more than half the population believes this disreputable fraudster should lead America. And they cannot begin to fathom why any woman in her right mind would vote for him given his crass and crude comments about women, the abortion situation, and then, of course, there is the defamation and rape conviction. I stay up nights thinking about this. My friends are seriously good people who are dedicated to promoting democracy and making the world a better place. Now they are so distraught that they find themselves planning possible escape routes to other countries.

Maya Angelou once said, “When people show you who they are, believe them.” I do. I hope and pray that you do too. 

Maria Grant was principal-in-charge of the Federal Human Capital practice of an international consulting firm. While on the Eastern Shore, she focuses on writing, reading, gardening, piano, kayaking, biking, and nature.