Last October, Ron, a 55-year-old construction analyst for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), was furloughed for 43 days as the Trump administration took a sledgehammer to federal agencies’ budgets under the Department of Government Efficiency, an initiative led by the world’s richest man, Elon Musk.
“We voted for Trump, not realizing that he was going to slam as hard as he did, but it was on day one when he sat down, right after inauguration, and started signing those executive orders and just trashed us federal employees, it was a kick in the teeth,” Ron said.
“If people would just listen and research and do something other than just listen to Fox News, we may all be better off, but it’s going to take an open mind and an ability to say, ‘I made a mistake,’ because once you say you made a mistake, you can turn the ship around,” said Chrissey Kelley, 50, a stay-at-home mom.
Speaking out against MAGA cost the Kelleys relationships with friends and family members who support Trump, but in sharing their story, they hope to inspire others having doubts about the GOP.
“It’s okay to be wrong. You made a mistake, it was a bad choice, but it’s not the end of the world. We can fix it. We just got to ride it out and hold strong and support each other through it,” Ron said.
. . . Chrissey said she became a Republican as soon as she started voting.
“You were just a conservative. There was no thought behind it. You listen to Fox News, and you listen to conservative outlets, and you’re spoon-fed,” Chrissey said.
Ron, who served in the military for 25 years, said the 2008 housing market crash left him “really disillusioned with the Democratic Party.”
When he couldn’t find work in Detroit, he moved to Georgia. He supported Republicans because he associated them with bigger spending on defense.
Ron said he supported Trump with donations, bumper stickers and the “whole nine yards” of MAGA.
“I bought into the lie about the stolen election and all that, and I thought January 6 insurrectionists were actually patriots,” Ron said.
“I just remember being content with thinking that he was what we needed, and he was going to drain the swamp in Washington until he got into office this third term, and realizing that I was dumb as a rock, and I believed everything that I was spoon fed.”
. . . “Just watching the policies of what’s happening in our world today unfold one by one by one, I just started drawing up very different conclusions and found out that I was clueless, and most people are today, but now I’m awake and looking at it for what it is, and I cannot believe that he had my support,” Chrissey said.
“It’s lie after lie after lie.”
Ron said he now votes for Democrats, and Chrissey said she considers herself an Independent but has voted for Democrats three times now, something she “never thought in my entire life” would happen.
“The road we’re headed down now, if we don’t turn this truck around, we’re so close to going off the edge of the cliff that we need to stick together,” Ron said.
“We need to put our country back together. It might take decades, but don’t give up. We need to be vocal. Stay strong, and follow our laws and Constitution, and hold strong with our values, not the values that the MAGA claims that we have, but the values that we’ve had in the past 250 years from the founding of the country til Joe Biden’s era.”
So NOW he regrets it, now that it affects him. Well too late now the country is destroyed. Does he really think the next person coming in is going to give away all that power. Sure things will just go right back to normal.
Was? Nah you just jumped ship because it affected you negatively. You still dumber than a rock drooler.
100% this. If he didn’t lose his job he’d bend over backwards and take more of it.
Ron, who served in the military for 25 years, said the 2008 housing market crash left him “really disillusioned with the Democratic Party.”
When he couldn’t find work in Detroit, he moved to Georgia. He supported Republicans because he associated them with bigger spending on defense.
He was so upset at the Democrats for the 2008 housing crisis (Which was caused by private equity, not the government, also remind me who was the fucking president in 2008? I seem to have lost my memory on that /s) that he moved to the south and supported increased spending on the military and defence instead of checks notes FUCKING HOUSING.
Fuck this absolute twat.
Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans are big fans of spending on housing, not since the Red Scare of the 1950s. Investments in public goods carry a faint odor of socialism and are therefore verboten in the United States.
The (Republican-led) government did play a role in bringing about the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis: George W. Bush’s administration successfully lobbied for the abolition of regulations which had previously prevented people with insufficient credit from getting a mortgage approved.
But of course the right wing narrative held Jewish bankers at fault for inner city types defaulting on their mortgages, bankrupting Lehman Brothers et al. Not a combination of deregulation and corporate greed.
Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. These people were inundated with powerful propaganda and influential family structures and managed to escape it. MFing these people and calling them twats isn’t going to win their hearts and minds and working people need as many allies as we can gather against a billionaire class that continues to tighten their grip.
I’m just as frustrated as you and people like them voting these ghouls into power is the reason they’re in power, but they speak some truth here and maybe they can convince some of their mags family to change course.
Ron, who served in the military for 25 years, said the 2008 housing market crash left him “really disillusioned with the Democratic Party.”
I lost it at that. The market fucking collapsed while Bush was president. That’s some genuine “everything I know is from watching Focks Nooz”
Ron said he now votes for Democrats
So then he is still a conservative
“Ron, who served in the military for 25 years, said the 2008 housing market crash left him “really disillusioned with the Democratic Party.”” …what? How unaware does someone have to be to say something like that? The GOP took (literally) the WH and held congress for most of the years leading up to the '08 Crash. I mean, not knowing that the GOP are the ones that led us into the Great Depression (a feat they’re about to repeat) is one thing, but this moron was alive and presumably can read during the events he is describing.
Great now we’re up to what 7 defectors? Just 70 million more to go.
Wait a minute, I hadn’t read it until now.
Ron, who served in the military for 25 years, said the 2008 housing market crash left him “really disillusioned with the Democratic Party.”
Who was in office when this happened, you stupid fuck? Was is a man named George W Bush? Was he a dem? I don’t appreciate the dems (they don’t do anything but perpetuate the status quo; I want socialism), but this man betrays his lack of thought with that quote.
Ron said he supported Trump with donations, bumper stickers and the “whole nine yards” of MAGA.
I always found it funny that stupid people sent money to “a rich guy” for the first campaign. Of course, his many failing businesses don’t matter after the graft of his second term. Whether he was close to insolvency or not, he’s got a lot of money now.
“I bought into the lie about the stolen election and all that, and I thought January 6 insurrectionists were actually patriots,” Ron said.
“I thought stupid, violent criminals were good people. Like the guy wearing the Auschwitz tshirt who was in a lot of media.”
realizing that I was dumb as a roc
Oh my fucking god, he said exactly the thing I said about some other right-wing assholes!
The wife:
I just started drawing up very different conclusions and found out that I was clueless, and most people are today, but now I’m awake and looking at it for what it is
No, most of us aren’t. You’re just a fucking dumbass. Others read and learn and check facts and verify what people say. I’m not clueless. There’s a lot that I don’t know, but I am not someone who just listens to a blowhard and nods my head like you did. Wait, let me put gauze on my ear to show support for some jackass who loots my country because I don’t know what’s real and what’s not. We need a ballroom!!!
Ron said he now votes for Democrats, and Chrissey said she considers herself an Independent but has voted for Democrats three times now, something she “never thought in my entire life” would happen.
Well, I’m sorry to say that the dems will disappoint and these people will return to fringe right-wing bullshit as a result. We need actual leadership and change. I voted for Bernie but he’s retiring and even he wouldn’t call out the genocide in Gaza (fuck israel). Give us people who want to upend the system to take care of people and tax billionaires, I promise they’ll get votes. Instead, Chuck Schumer will blah blah blah blah blah and Nany Pelosi will retire on a pile of money.
“One of the Greatest Wall Street Investors of All Time Announces Retirement”[0]
Who was in office when this happened, you stupid fuck? Was is a man named George W Bush? Was he a dem? I don’t appreciate the dems (they don’t do anything but perpetuate the status quo; I want socialism), but this man betrays his lack of thought with that quote.
To be fair, the response to the financial crisis happened in one of the brief times when Democrats had the presidency and a supermajority in Congress and the bailout didn’t really impact ordinary people very much. I think if they’d have gone full FDR they’d have had majorities for a long time after that, but they didn’t.
But, yeah, the rest of it is bullshit.
Yeah, yeah, it’s true. But you’re just repeating what they said and then adding “Duh!!”
I dunno, they’re agreeing to speak out, it’s not nothin’. Yes, they’ve enabled genocide and fascism but no more so than those who didn’t vote at all.
…and they’re speaking to fellow Trumpers saying “you’re not the only fools”.
I know we all want to shout “leopards ate your face!”, but this is what shifting opinions will look like.
Is the Trump administration the worst fascist ever? Their policies are very anti-ordinary people. At least most other fascists have “socialist” policies to appease the population for as long as possible. The Trump regime’s broad policy, in every sense of the word, is “fuck you, got mine.” What a baffling buffoon. But my guess is that Trumpian fascism is more rooted from American individualism; which makes Trump an outlier.
They’re speed running fascism, but they never finished reading the history on how those kinds of regimes ended.
Long live Caesar.
they never finished reading the history on how those kinds of regimes ended.
Because it is all emotions. Fascism is the rejection of reason.
Something, something doomed to repeat, something, something, doomed to watch.
Has no job, struggling financially yet donates money to Trump who not only was a previous billionaire himself (was close to bankruptcy when he was running I think) but received donations from billionaires. Truely a new level of intelligence.
Negative IQ
A kick in the teeth isn’t enough for these idiots. They need to be kicked in the balls. Repeatedly.
They kinda did by voting Republican … They just didn’t know it.
Congratulations on breaking out of the conditioning and cult, even if only recently.
You still voted for the Pedophile Party though. 3 times. Do better.
Zero congratulations. Fuck this turd and what he help create. This goes far beyond just America and his stupidity and utter ignorance and incompetence has affected the world.
He is the problem. Not just Trump or the GOP. These fucking idiot people who get to vote based on “feels” are the reason the whole fucking world is in this mess, not just the USA.
we need to stick together
Tell that to the disappeared that went to the US concentration camps thanks to your trump vote
Former cult members explaining how to leave a cult.
Former cult members explaining how to leave a cult…
… After the cult burned you and hurt billions of people globally and you want to separate yourself from the cause.
Most of the comments in this thread show exactly why Europe needs to get away from the US as far as possible, even if they do vote differently next time. Everything is set up to be polarizing, nothing has more than two options… democrat/republican, left/right, good/bad, winner/loosers, popular/unpopular, smart/dumb, ingroup/outgroup… and once you’re pigeon-holed you can’t ever be rehabilitated, because the other side won’t let you. Come to think of it, that seems like a side-effect of internalized consumerism, “Broken? No need fixing, just get a new one!”. Combined with American individualism, staging and making a huge fuss about themselves, plus the lefty urge to feel intellectually and/or morally superior (while chanting slogans against hierarchies and classism LOL) they will never be able to reconcile and just swing back and forth between political extremes ad infinitum. That country is a lost cause for at least my lifetime, we need to find allies that can deal with grey areas and know how to fix things, including relationships.
Most of the comments in this thread show exactly why Europe needs to get away from the US as far as possible, even if they do vote differently next time.
They won’t. Most European countries are just like the US. Only 5 or 6 years behind. It’s full of stupid emotional ppl who want simple solutions to difficult problems. They want to be able blame all their problems on someone else. Friedrich Merz, Macron, Keir Starmer are all versions of centrist democrats in their respective countries and all they’re doing are leaving the public pissed off. All it would take is a charismatic right winger to come in and I guarantee things would look exactly the same as the US
No country in Europe has the idiotic power concentration that the US has… maybe Hungary has/had it but Orban was kicked out and the new government has an absolute majority to roll things back and make them more. We’ll see how that goes, but the start looks promising. All countries in Europe have more than (de facto) two parties and many form coalitions… within the EU they are all somewhat dependent on other countries even. Most people and parties here still have the skill to make compromises. Also on average people here are more sceptical of shit that is spun around on “social” media and there’s a mostly functional press landscape with far fewer billionaires involved than in the US. No offense, but what you claim sounds like you have zero clue about Europe… I guess I know which side of the pond you’re from.
I live in Germany genius. I get to see first hand how your all easily scared and vote against your best interest all because of those “mmigrants”. The AFD continue to get more and more votes every year. Italy voted in a facist sympathizer and Spain has nostalgia for Franco. You’re thinking is exactly why things are getting worse. You have this holier than thou arrogance that makes you think you can never slip back into facism. And I get to watch all the same talking points ppl said about trump never getting elected get repeated while the population votes more and more right wing nuts in.
Living in France, Germany, and Spain has taught me you Europeans are all just as stupid, naive, and arrogant as Americans. The funniest part is all my german friends say most of Europe is 5 years away from looking exactly like the US
Edit: also European arrogance is honestly worse. American arrogance is from more of a place of ignorance/propaganda and white supremacy. European arrogance is more smug/vain but also comes from white supremacy
Wait until actual diversity approaches.
Well you can take the American out of the US, but you can’t… never mind.
I would ask in what way I claimed I was “holier than thou”, but frankly I don’t care. I would also ask what media you consume, because it’s clearly not giving you a differentiated picture. But you and your friends sound like the whiny, defeatist lefties (probably pretty young too), that are exactly why things sound like they are getting worse, leading to cozy self-imposed surrender, so again I don’t care. Luckily I am seeing a growing number of people and organizations that are analyzing mistakes and creating ideas for the future and acting on them, which is why I am positive that Europe will not look like that failed state across the Atlantic in 5 years at all… I never claimed that we can never slide back into facism and I don’t claim it will be a linear path, but as long as there’s enough people doing effective shit against facism, which includes getting people out of those bubbles and welcoming them when they made it out, maybe even analyze how they got dragged into the right-wing narrative in the first place and getting active against those root causes as well, I’m hopeful. The doom-scrolling whiners that run away as soon as things get a bit uncomfortable won’t help, but I don’t see those being the majority.
Edit: Yeah, yeah, everything is white supremacy in the end… leftist folks have been sounding like broken records for years, having nothing to offer except pearl-clutching and online-outrage. That won’t improve things, hasn’t worked so far, won’t work going forward.
Im in my mid 30s and my friends range from their 60’s to their 20’s. Plus Im a black dude. If theres one thing i can easily recognize its white arrogance and you’re embarrassing need to sweep it under the rug is reminiscent of America. Europe is LITERALLY the home of white supremacy and you went around the world ransacking thE globe yet somehow you think it just magically ended after WW2.
Youre probably one of those city folks who never venture out into the country side and see the ignorance and hatred of those in rural communities who feel left behind. You yourself exist in a thought bubble because you probably only surround yourself with those that agree with you. Germany thought the Social Democrats would never work with the AFD but look what happened.
You can fight all you want but the biggest issue in american politics isnt leftist giving up. Its centrist siding with facist and thats exactly what’s happening across Europe. You can be as hopeful as you want but as long as right wing politicians stoke the fans of hatred vs immigrants and ppl keep falling for it you’re screwed. Id honestly say you’re dumber because you can see the playbook playing in real time in America but you all keep falling for it. Imagine supporting the National Front, UK conservatives, AFD, or FDI after you saw what Trump was doing. Yet here we are
Yes here we are… still whining and misdiagnosing the root causes, and playing the “people who lived on the same continent of where you are now ages ago did bad things so you inherited guilt and must always be wrong”. Exactly the divisive playbook that will not get anyone anywhere good. This is getting dull, have a good one and greetings from the country side (admittedly not the very poor and left-behind kind).
I’m sick of sharing a planet with cave people
I promise they didn’t stop believing terrible things. Don’t consider these assholes “the good ones” or the ones “that converted”. They hate people who aren’t like them. They’re probably racist (I don’t know that). They’re probably bigots against other religions (especially from Brown places). They just found out that the asshole they worshipped doesn’t give a shit about them. They didn’t become good people with positive values.
What are the odds this dude votes for Vance in 2028?
If Vance is the RNC nominee, it’s probably the only way I’d think less of them.
Well. There’s lots of ways. That’d just be one of them.
1,000,000% he is voting republican all the way down the ticket in 26 and 28. They won’t learn, they won’t change, they won’t grow.
They’ll vote red, lose even more, might have another minor revelation but they’ll drool they’re way back red
