How I Finally Learned To Handle My Trump Supporting Friend
"He accused me of an ad hominem attack, except I wasn’t attacking - just telling him the truth."
by Ben Cohen
I have a Trump supporting friend who contacts me intermittently to discuss politics. He takes a combative approach knowing full well I’ll take the bait and engage in kind. My friend usually begins our interactions via text with a diatribe about socialism in Venezuela, or a joke about identity politics.
“Before we get started, let me first congratulate you on inflation hitting 130,000 % in Venezuela,” he texted me recently. “You were right: under Socialism people do have more money!”
Hilarious. Trump supporters’ obsession with Venezuela never ceases to amaze me, particularly given none of them could point to the country on a map.
“Or the capitalist miracle in Somalia I take it!” I replied.
For the better part of three years, I have reacted to this type of provocation with this type of response - when Trump supporters use Venezuela as proof socialism doesn’t work, I use Somalia as an example of the failures of capitalism. My friend declares Trump’s presidency a success becau…