The 2016 election left many families divided. For many people, the election, which saw business tycoon Donald Trump ascend to the nation's highest office, signaled a further decline of democratic ideals.
By 2020, as Trump embraced conspiracy theories about the integrity of the 2020 election—a development many analysts had predicted would happen years prior—those concerns metastisized.
And by January 6, 2021, the day a mob of Trump's supporters stormed the United States Capitol on the false premise the election had been stolen, many had reached their breaking point, including supporters of the ex-President. Oh, and we haven't even touched the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic or the Trump administration's response (or lack thereof).
Trump is more than just a leader for a particular faction within the Republican Party. He is dogma. And after some Trump supporters decided to walk back their support, things got interesting.
People shared their stories with us after Redditor rickandtwocrows asked the online community,
"Former Trump supporters, what were your experiences when you stopped being a Trump supporter?"
"My entire family..."
"My entire family on both sides of my parents are unwavering Republicans. I’ve grown up under their influence and would repeat the things they told me to people at school and curse them for thinking anything different. In fact, if I dig deep enough into my closet I’ll be able to find my Trump socks and bright red hat to match."
"Since I moved out I started to experience the world firsthand instead of secondhand and realized that my previous views were a huge slap in the face to myself. It’s difficult to be around my family for long periods of time because no matter where we are, they make everything political and poke at me for thinking otherwise."
"Feel free to believe anything you want, but I hope more people open their eyes and see that our current situation benefits very few people."
TemporaryContest201
I think it speaks a lot to your character that you were willing to reevaluate your views.
"My 17-year-old son..."
"I used to be a very conservative guy. My 17 year old son passed away in early 2020. The parents of my best friend who passed away 10 years prior showed up to our house to offer comfort. When I answered the door, she was wearing a button that said “Trump Chick” and he was wearing a camouflage hat with the word “Trump” across the front."
"Rather than a simple I’m sorry for your loss, they spent the next 30 minutes complaining about illegal immigration, abortion and homosexuals. Our friends, largely conservative Christians but generally good people spent more time preaching the gospel of Trump during that time than offering any comfort, not that should have felt obligated to."
"It was my very liberal cousins who showed up out of nowhere to help set up his service. I received more love from my gay boss, a few of my lesbian friends, and one of my co workers who may or may not be an undocumented immigrant than I did from my right wing friends and family."
"It was the teen trans couple who my son made friends with who offered me a hug and shared about the wonderful time they had with him. It was the experiences that moved me more to the middle and realize that the far right people in this country are bananas."
"My son was a Christian who truely loved everyone. He would’ve been repulsed by Trumps actions. I try to follow his example."
Hillbilly415
You have our condolences.
What has always astounded me about the Christian conservative right is how much time they spend focusing negatively on others.
"It all started in 2020."
"It all started in 2020. Started wearing a mask because of Covid. I didn’t want to die and wanted to keep my family safe. I also work around the public and my mom had just been diagnosed with cancer."
"I live in a very red state. So red that our governor held a day of prayer to rid our state of Covid. So going to the store and wearing a mask was like walking into a trap. People would try to ram me with their shopping carts, give me dirty looks, treat me like I’m second class because I have a mask on. So that started my journey into changing the way I thought."
"Once my mom passed I connected with family that I hadn’t been in contact with since childhood. Huge Trump supporters. January 6th happened and my world crumbled. How could any American stand behind these traitors? I decided at this time that I was done with the Republicans and changed my political party the very next day."
"Family that I connected with since my moms funeral deleted me off Facebook, family stopped inviting my family to birthday parties, lost friends, my life changed. But I do not regret my choice one bit."
fatdad89
People tried to ram you with their shopping carts... this is a mentality I can never understand.
"My views changed..."
"My views changed during the pandemic. More so during the 2020 election. After Biden won, many people that I know went on rants about vaccines and how Biden is somehow the supreme commander of gas prices. It hurts me to see that those I know are convinced Trump is a hero when he is very much the opposite."
January 6th was the last straw, and I was completely done with the conservatives. They have lost my respect. I feel ashamed for having called myself a conservative for so long, but at least I’m done with them now."
FlotPlays
I still don’t understand why people believe one man is responsible for gas prices. Look at supply, demand and corporate. The economy needs more factors to work.
"I was an avid Trump supporter..."
"I was an avid Trump supporter all the way up until Jan 6th, it was like a switch in my head. Then after that I started to realize how bad of a person he is. I remember defending all the stupid/immoral/racist things he did because I thought he was going to save the U.S. God I felt so dumb after I came to my senses."
MillionPanda69
At least you came to your senses. That there are millions out there who back what happened on January 6 is terrifying.
"I realized..."
"I realized that “owning the libs” isn’t a valid political outlook. I really stopped supporting Trump, and later stopped being conservative once I started caring about actual issues like healthcare, and wages and stuff, not about crap like “forced diversity” or “cultural marxism” or “emasculation.""
savethebros
"When he made fun..."
"When he made fun of captured war vets, that’s when it crossed the line for me personally."
Jason163758
You and a lot of other people. Don't mess with the veterans.
"Trump was one of the worst offenders..."
"I became a Christian and began like, actually reading the Bible. The more I became in touch with faith, the easier I could see Republican politicians parading the Bible around and using God’s name for their own gain without actually living by the Word."
"Trump was one of the worst offenders, and I wondered why I ever put any faith in him that could have been used to help the poor, the needy and the sick exactly as Jesus would."
__Tdot__
What would Jesus do?
Answer: Not any of that.
"I expected Trump..."
"I expected Trump to lead the country in a productive manner in 2016. He led the country into chaos in 2020. Then when the Republican Party decided to back Trump after the January 6 Insurrection, I decided I'd never vote for another Republican cause again."
CleverlyCoathanger
For many who believed he could lead the country after 2016, COVID-19 was a total wake-up call.
"It was equally mind blowing..."
"I mainly supported Trump way back in 2016 because I liked McCain, and figured they would have similar values. But it was quickly lost when he started disrespecting his advisors, especially disrespecting Mattis."
"As someone who was in the military I remember people loved Mattis and for his 44 years in the military to be discounted by someone with no military experience showed me that Trump was more about power than actually caring about the welfare of others."
"It was equally mind blowing seeing people suddenly switch and then denouncing the general I saw them praising literally months prior. For me that was an eye opener, and everything else just was icing on the sh*t cake."
solitarytrees2
My, how quickly people turned! Unsettling, isn't it?
Although Trump has not officially declared that he will run in 2024, he is very much the favorite to win the GOP nomination. How many followers will he have gained or lost by then? Only time will tell.
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People Break Down The Differences Between Biden's First Year In Office And Trump's
At the start of Donald Trump's presidency, protests raged in response to a ban he ordered via executive order to seven Muslim-majority countries. At the start of Joe Biden's presidency, the nation was still reeling from the Capitol riot, which had happened just two weeks prior.
The country is currently in a remarkably divided time and political bonds have frayed further, charged with anger.
But the real question here is how did these two men do?
Opinions varied, which made us more excited to read them after Redditor HannibalGoddamnIt asked the online community:
"Dear Americans of Reddit, how do you find this first year of Biden's presidency compared to Trump's?"
"Instead of taxing the rich..."
"Well, there is pretty much one thing that's continuing to make me mad. It's that Biden lowered the threshold from $20,000 to $600 to get a 1099-K form."
"Instead of taxing the rich, they want to go after the gig economy (like door dash, or Uber) or small time eBay sellers to nickel and dime them to death. Most people using these platforms are doing so as a side gig to make enough money to support their families. So let's go after those people and not the billionaires, right Biden?"
ColtsFanNY
To which this person replied:
"Guess it's good for my local card shop. Before the change I could sell for 80-90% of market value through various platforms. After fees I'd come out ahead of my local stores trade in value."
"Now, taxes plus fees means I barely make more, and dealing with shipping and customer problems just isn't worth the hassle. Now I just trade in for straight cash."
Weasel_Boy
"During the first year..."
"During the first year of Trump’s administration the majority of news headlines were about Trump."
"During the first year of Biden’s administration the majority of news headlines were about Trump."
st11es
To which this person replied:
"It’s actually kind of scary because Biden has done some things that need to be brought up but it’s like a radio silence around him. Unless it’s about his pets."
Legeto
"At least 90% of people..."
"At least 90% of people couldn't even tell you 5 things that the president has done since taking office, let alone give a good opinion on a president's performance. For some reason everyone cares a lot about the election process, and then completely ignores what the elected president does beyond that point."
HellizBlazer
To which this person replied:
"To be fair, that’s partly the point of a republic: vote some people in to deal with these problems since we don’t have the time and most aren’t qualified/educated enough on every world problem."
"Still, people should actually learn what a president does and pay attention to what they do, not just what happens to occur while they are president; although, it’s probably more important to focus on congress members that represent you."
selfproclaimedtot
"He expanded..."
"He expanded Bears Ears National Monument and so that’s a plus. Besides that, not much to say."
jebhebmeb
To which this person replied:
"He's also gotten a ton of judges confirmed. When it comes time to evaluate all the racial gerrymandering bills from red states, that's gonna matter."
gsfgh
"The minimum wage..."
"The minimum wage was supposed to go up. Still waiting."
The_Sad_Whore
To which this person replied:
"Plus he promised to eliminate $10K in student debt immediately and then just…. Didn’t. With no explanation."
OOOOOOO
"Meanwhile..."
"Trumps first year was breaking news nearly every day about how awful and evil the man was and how he was destroying our democracy. I bought into it all. Looking back, policy-wise, his first year was pretty basic and may have been good for our country. Optics wise, his presidency was a dumpster fire."
"Meanwhile, Biden’s first year has been the opposite. His policies are terrible. The country seems to actually be worse off than it was when trump left (this of course could be trumps fault to some extent, although Biden did campaign on how the buck stops with him). Meanwhile he gets handled with kid gloves by the media, for the most part."
IAmANobodyMA
To which this person replied:
"The Biden administration is quickly becoming a disaster. It's as if they are intentionally trying to make things worse. They are not held accountable by the majority of the news media - the same news media who knowingly lied about the Trump administration. A lot of folks are turning on the Democratic party, so the midterms should be interesting."
dee_berg
"He's managed..."
"He managed to make it a whole year without committing obstruction of justice, so that's a positive."
grombleduke
To which this person replied:
"The bar is so low."
sacrificialfck
"I feel like..."
"Is one year really long enough to see any true outcomes of changes though?"
"I feel like, if we think about it, a lot of changes that are put in place during a president’s time in office take years to make some kind of difference and then the current president gets blamed for consequences of some previous leader’s actions/decisions."
courtenax
To which this person replied:
"Is 4 years even enough either? How much can an administration even get done in that time? The other world leaders just laugh and wait it out for the next president."
BarrettBuilt
"The cost..."
"The cost of living part hit us all really hard. People who I knew were well off got slammed hard. Everyone is really struggling now. Meat prices are awful and so is gas. Groceries are looking the same as my truck payment now."
CuriousWrangler
To which this person replied:
"Where I live gas has gone from a 4 year low of $1.12/gal to a current $3.10/gal. Supply didn't shrink, so I can only assume lockdowns affected refining and distribution."
Wundei
"I just wanted..."
"I just wanted a return to the normal problems of government, not having to worry so much about itchy trigger fingers, massive grifting/corruption, gross incompetence, and boorish performances."
"So I guess I got what I wanted. Do I wish Biden were better? Yeah, of course. But given the state of politics in Congress, I didn't expect much."
thenextvinnie
To which this person replied:
"So good that I can go back to ignoring the White House."
Singlewomanspot
And there you have it. Many of the discussions were conducted in good spirits.
Sure, a few disagreed and some were perhaps harsher than others.
That said, there is no denying that much needs to change in the United States before it can be whole again.
Have some thoughts of your own? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!
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Tom Brady Makes Shady Dig At Trump's Election Lies During White House Super Bowl Event
Earlier this week, President Joe Biden invited the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl win earlier this year. The tradition would normally have been relatively uneventful in a year like 2021, except for some comments made by Tom Brady.
Brady was an obsession for former President Donald Trump. Seeing the athlete visit Biden in the White House is speculated to be a personal nightmare for the former President.
However Trump felt about the visit, it's sure to be worse when Brady made this joke:
Brady: Not a lot of people think we could’ve won. In fact, I think about 40% of the people still don’t think we won… https://t.co/n8yBEFhbeY— Acyn (@Acyn) 1626796724.0
Brady also made fun of the bad nicknames Trump tends to come up with.
President Biden praised the team for their win and called the team an example that it's "never too late to come together and achieve extraordinary things." He also used the opportunity to recommend people get vaccinated.
The whole situation struck the internet funny.
Who's in charge of making sure Trump sees this? Can we get the clip on a show that he hate watches? Something on CN… https://t.co/6wK8Kfv3sP— Jon Favreau (@Jon Favreau) 1626815530.0
Gotta confess. Didn’t have Tom Brady trolling Donald Trump at the White House on my July bingo card.— Dan Rather (@Dan Rather) 1626810622.0
@SusanIsSicOfGOP @Buccaneers @POTUS I thought the same thing!— JangoFett (@JangoFett) 1626821095.0
Who knew Tom Brady had jokes?! https://t.co/N5dOEO8uaV— Doc King-Lewis (@Doc King-Lewis) 1626841117.0
The Buc's visit marks the first time a Super Bowl champion team has visited the White House since 2017. The Patriots won, with Brady's help at the time, though the athlete himself skipped the tradition.
This likely upset Trump, seeing as the former president used to use his Twitter account to defend Brady while he was caught in a scandal over using deflated footballs.
However, not all of Brady's history is so easily forgotten, including a "Make America Great Again" hat he had in his locker in 2016.
@Quicktake Too late to try and save face, a-hole, you stood by his side the entirety of his 4 years of terror— Meh (@Meh) 1626806728.0
@EliStokols Nice try, Brady. We can’t forget this https://t.co/xMvHgW4koz— Kristine Kenyon (@Kristine Kenyon) 1626797183.0
@Sharpe222 @EliStokols Almost. Almost— Jack Rios 🇺🇸 🏳️🌈 (@Jack Rios 🇺🇸 🏳️🌈) 1626796491.0
This is the first NFL visit by Super Bowl champions since 2017.
In 2018, the Philadelphia Eagles were uninvited by Trump due to protest during the National Anthem. In 2019, The Patriots won again, but chose not to go, though they confirmed it had nothing to do with politics.
And of course, the 2020 winners, The Kansas City Chiefs skipped due to the pandemic.
Head coach of the Bucs, Bruce Arians said it was an honor to be invited to the White House and hopes the political divide in Washington can be overcome for the American people.
Despite years of efforts to brand himself as a business genius, former President Donald Trump's business practices paint a different picture under scrutiny.
Whether it's his numerous failed business ventures or the shady claims in his financial documents, Trump's dealings have landed him millions of dollars in debt and there's reason to believe some of them operated outside the law.
Among Trump's properties, his two resorts in Scotland have proven to be the most financially unstable, with neither turning a profit since they opened.
The resorts, Turnberry near Glasgow and Trump Golf Links International in Aberdeenshire, are "dependent on loans from Trump and US-owned entities to stay afloat," according to Business Insider. The UK's Companies House records indicate the properties are £113,425,000 (around $160 million) and £44,400,049 (around $63 million) respectively.
But, according to the Companies House reports, the loans were created in British Pound Sterling and issued interest-free. Compared to the U.S. dollar, the pound's value has plummeted since Trump issued the loans. As a result, when those loans are paid out in dollars, Trump will receive significantly less than what he originally doled out—tens of millions of dollars less in fact.
Business Insider spoke to investment analyst Stephen Clapham, who said Trump's loss results from his failure to hedge his investments:
"Hedging is what every business does unless there's a specific reason you can't do it - for example, you're investing in ... somewhere where the capital markets aren't developed enough to allow you to hedge the currency ... The most likely explanation is that Trump has made this loan and incurred a significant loss."
Trump's purported business acumen once again saw skepticism.
Super genius businessman did what? https://t.co/yvhXVrPZqb— Christine (@Christine) 1623703182.0
If this is "The Art of the Deal" I think I'll pass on his infinite business acumen. Business Insider: Trump lost $… https://t.co/NiAt7vfk7K— Diogenes (@Diogenes) 1623659209.0
FAILING TO HEDGE CURRENCIES??? HOW CAN YOU ATTEND WHARTON AND TOTALLY MISS THIS MOST BASIC FUNDAMENTAL STRATEGY???… https://t.co/bHCrpsWgbp— Neil Gerardo - MRX Chairman - ID#32140089 (@Neil Gerardo - MRX Chairman - ID#32140089) 1623511990.0
So just as bad with his own $ as ours. Trump lost $40 million on his Scottish golf clubs by failing to implement a… https://t.co/EueBRCwQOr— April Green (@April Green) 1623520990.0
Clearly this guy isn’t a great businessman ... https://t.co/47zOCmRJT7— Al Wright (@Al Wright) 1623525750.0
Others speculated the loss was part of a money laundering scheme, though there's no evidence now to support that claim.
It's called money laundering!!! https://t.co/Fb9EVTZOcW— public/private safety expert (retired 01/21/21) (@public/private safety expert (retired 01/21/21)) 1623519806.0
suppose this is a money washing operation in Scotland? https://t.co/phYx2b7C1c— Dr Meaux Dawn Lee (@Dr Meaux Dawn Lee) 1623595746.0
Either way, it doesn't look good for Trump.
For realsies this time.
The Universal and Blumhouse film has a new release date of March 13th, and a new ad campaign about how "the most talked about movie of the year is one that no one's actually seen".
The uncanceled film even comes with a brand-new trailer.
The most talked about movie of the year is one nobody’s seen yet. #TheHuntMovie opens in theaters Friday the 13th o… https://t.co/t5Cz6DVBFj— The Hunt (@The Hunt) 1581439964.0
The film is loosely based on the short story, "The Most Dangerous Game," where a man becomes trapped on an island owned by a rich and successful hunter who has grown bored with game hunting, and instead hunts humans for the challenge.
In the movie, 12 strangers who have shared conservative views online are kidnapped and hunted by rich elites. Everything changes when one of the hunted, played by Betty Gilpin, fights back.
The film was set to be released last year, on September 27, 2019. That is until it became mired in controversy.
In early August, the Dayton and El Paso shootings horrified the nation as the two events happened in less than a day of each other. The Hunt came under heavy criticism for its violence after this.
Two days later, Donald Trump tweeted his distaste for the film, causing it to be pulled a day later.
....to inflame and cause chaos. They create their own violence, and then try to blame others. They are the true Rac… https://t.co/r6f1K8zGkk— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1565376255.0
However, as we now know the movie wasn't canceled entirely. It has been scheduled for release next month, with a new ad campaign taking advantage of the controversy.
The change in release date came with a new poster that has quotes from negative news coverage of the movie, effectively providing all the advertisement this movie needed.
Decide for yourself. #TheHuntMovie opens in theaters Friday the 13th of March. https://t.co/LYYxDYHPo7— The Hunt (@The Hunt) 1581454893.0
"Exploitative rather than opinionated" – Daily Mail
"Shows Hollywood for what it really is, demented and evil." – Fox News
"Designed to stoke division in the country" – The Wall Street Journal
Obviously, this movie is an attack on Trump-loving Americans by the evil Hollywood bigwigs.
@TheHuntMov @UniversalPics I want you to know that I will be among the millions of people who will no longer watch… https://t.co/kjT4k3giIn— goldenmean (@goldenmean) 1581468973.0
@THR This movie is a disgrace and should not be allowed to be released!— Lori🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@Lori🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸) 1581449095.0
Might just a well put another jihad bomber on the cover. This content is irresponsible even for America hating Holl… https://t.co/yHyfq1NEsx— Mr_Mic (@Mr_Mic) 1581487757.0
@THR Just in time for the democrats to lose massively, out comes this fantasized post election strategy of coordina… https://t.co/8uljDLoVY1— Melvin Ferd (@Melvin Ferd) 1581453233.0
However, these criticisms against the movie are missing the point. The "right wing" hunted are the protagonists and the "liberal" elites are the villains in this movie.
If you have a problem with the violence in this movie, sure, understandable. America has always had people protesting violence in movies and television.
I'm sure if that's the case, you also weren't a fan of the Death Wish remake.
But the main detractors have a problem with the apparent premise of conservatives being hunted for sport, like anyone in their right mind wants that. Killing conservatives is portrayed as a bad thing in this movie, and the liberal elites are unlikeable.
Also, The Purge series pretty much did the opposite of this as a hard-right wing party took over America and instituted what amounts to legal killing of the poor, so it's not like this kind of extreme satire is unheard of, let alone become popular.
I honestly don't understand people anymore.
I've seen #TheHunt. It's a pretty broad satire. Liberals are depicted as champagne-swilling, private jet flying eli… https://t.co/aW9zVDN5p3— Brent Lang (@Brent Lang) 1581441557.0
But any time someone says your a snowflake for having a critical reaction to movie -- just mention THE HUNT. Anyti… https://t.co/uEQxclOYNi— Ashley “Offramp to the Danger Zone” Lynch (@Ashley “Offramp to the Danger Zone” Lynch) 1581448774.0
@ozziebear224 @BreitbartNews Ozzie, those films exist they are called the purge and its sequels , there is even a t… https://t.co/HCAshuwMgE— bigballsofbritishfury (@bigballsofbritishfury) 1581465804.0
Did we all just collectively forget the Purge movies? It’s good if we did, but I would’ve liked an email about it. https://t.co/Ef4hqfuoQ3— Austin DuVall (@Austin DuVall) 1581459507.0
The Hunt is slated for release on Friday the 13th next month, a date I'm sure is in no way ironic. It stars Betty Gilpin, Emma Roberts, Hilary Swank, Glenn Howerton and the nightmares of your weird conservative uncle.