The only way out is THROUGH
A rebuke to damaging clout-chasers and an encouragement for REAL American patriots
I’ve been writing a lot lately about how difficult real patriotism is. It’s a painful and often lonely road, and perhaps I feel it more pointedly than others do. There are various reasons for that, but it has reminded me why doing the right thing is rarely the easy thing.
In 2022, on the heels of the midterm elections, President Trump announced his reelection campaign during a speech at Mar-a-Lago, and he said something that stirred my heart. “We need every patriot on board,” he said. “Because this is not just a campaign, this is a quest to save our country.”
I remember thinking, “That’s me! I’m a patriot. I’m on board. Let’s go!”
In November 2022, people were quaking in their boots about the potential political threat of Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla.
Conservative commentators and pontificators were quick to eagerly write Trump off and criticized him for firing the first shot across the bow at the Florida governor before he had even announced a presidential run – but of course, Trump already knew DeSantis was going to run.
I resolutely argued that Trump, no matter the score, would be an infinitely better candidate than DeSantis for two reasons:
One, nobody can own Trump. His financial freedom made him the favored candidate for me. DeSantis, unlike Trump, was (and still is) beholden to megadonors and lobbyists who ultimately pulled his strings (and Americans saw this plainly during his failed presidential campaign in 2023-2024).
Second, based on Trump’s career and personal life, as well as his performance in the White House, it was clear to me that he would never quit, and that he would be the Republican nominee in 2024. I was right – and so were many others who read the writing on the wall.
It can be a little ridiculous to watch the yo-yo of conservative commentators and podcast hosts who resolutely defended Trump in 2020, totally abandoned him in 2022 and 2023, and are now back on board the “Trump Train” in 2024 because they want to a piece of the glory, too.
And glory it is – overcoming four massive indictments and more than 90 felony charges in different legal venues (not including a wild defamation case from ex-Elle columnist E. Jean Carroll and a multi-billion-dollar civil fraud suit brought by New York State AG Letitia James) is no small feat. Trump may be the only person on earth who can handle not just the financial burden of the legal battles lobbed at him from every angle, but the mental and emotional battle that it doubtless incurs.
When I think about his life – what it was and what it now is – I am encouraged to keep going. Politics is a dirty, bloodthirsty world. Like business, everyone is out for blood, but in politics, it’s a swirl of competitors vying for power, wealth, control, and notoriety.
In this noisy cacophony of competition, the message of patriotism and liberty can be lost, and too many people make fools of themselves, denigrating the credibility of the movement in exchange for “likes” and seedy revenue.
But the war for the soul of our nation is not about cocktail hours, shady favors, and empty fundraisers where there is too much wining and dining, too much empty criticism, and too much complaining. It’s about staying focused on a mission to save the country, and there is a shortage of true American patriots in this world who are really willing to maintain that focus.
Winning means taking action, wherever you are, however you can. Whether it’s writing or talking to your neighbor or knocking on doors and getting friends registered to vote. There is value in every technical detail of the fight, and the real patriots – the real fighters – are not concerned with earning fame or fortune in this “quest” to save the country from tyranny and destruction.
These are the people who have my respect, and these are the people who are doing the real legwork of saving the nation. The people who put their heads down and get the hard work done, day after day, without complaint, without underlying motivations, and without fail.
Wherever there is power, there will be drama – there’s no way around that. I’ve seen my fair share of it, and I don’t like it. I want to get in, get the job done, and get out. While my frustration with conservative infighting and empty clout-chasing is fair and well-placed, the key to success in winning America’s freedoms back is simple: never quit.
Never lose that mission focus. Never give up. Never be afraid to punch back. I know what it feels like to be mistreated, underappreciated, and betrayed. That’s business. That’s politics. That’s life.
I’m inspired by the words that Donald Trump wrote in 2007 in his book, Think Big and Kick Ass in Business and Life:
With everything you do, find a mission or grand purpose beyond money that you can become passionate about. Find the higher ground above the greedy exclusiveness of people who only care about money…no matter what your job is presently, do it with passion and magic will happen. You will meet the right person and get noticed. I have seen this over and over again.
There is wisdom here that resonates deeply. Often, it’s just when I think that I’m having the absolute worst time that something will happen to counteract it – that moment when I keep pushing through rather than giving up.
In fact, this is how I met President Trump. I wasn’t thinking about anything other than writing the truth, saving the country, and trying to keep my nose to the grindstone when I was invited to meet with him in Florida. A surprise indeed.
When I arrived at the gates of Mar-a-Lago, a very kind security guard gave me a ride on his golf cart to the club entrance. He said, “Are you nervous?”
I replied, “Oh! You know why I’m here?”
He smiled. “Oh, I know,” he confirmed.
He stopped in front of the door and said, encouragingly, “Good luck. I hope it changes your life.”
I reflect on that moment often. It did change my life. I thought about my work for the country in a new way after our chat. President Trump was very kind and thoughtful in his conversation, and I was struck by his great sympathy for the nation’s decline.
After we talked, I thought, “If he can keep going, then so can I!”
And so I do, and so, I hope, will all of you. We need every patriot in this fight, it’s true. We don’t need fair-weather patriots or soldiers of fortune. We don’t need partiers or cowards or users. We need people who are willing to be truthful, transparent, relentless, unwavering, and brave.
The only way out, after all, is through.
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