I still keep the picture in my portfolio. It was a warm summer night. We were at Safeco Field, downtown Seattle. My youngest grinning from ear to ear, with a noticable two front teeth missing, holding up a sign, “We love you Rock!”
Against the conventional wisdom of my wife, I got her hooked on watching WWE. The Rock, nicknamed, “The People’s Champion.” How her eyes lit up when the Rock emerged from the tunnel on his way to the ring. I’ll never forget it. He was her Champion. He was going to defeat the “evil” Mr. McMahon.
I got that same feeling when Donald J. Trump came down that escalator in Trump tower and announced his candidacy for President of the United States in 2015. And I was not alone.
He was “The People’s Champion.” Finally, someone who was going to disrupt the swamp in Washington. He was for the forgotten man. He was for the ones who Obama once said, “you know those people. The ones who cling to their God, guns and religion.”
He was the underdog, the dark horse, the outlier, and a long shot. He wasn’t a politician. He was a wealthy real estate developer from Queens, New York, and his message of America first resonated. His rallies were filled to over capacity in every city across the country. He was a phenomenon. He ignited the hearts of all those who love America. He fanned the flames of Patriotism that laid dormant during the eight long years of Obama.
He was an enigma to the elite, the enemy of the establishment, and a stark contrast to the traditional politician. He confounded them. He was controversial,
and he was, often times, crass. There was no middle ground. You either loved him or hated him. He certainly didn’t speak like a politician. You knew exactly how he felt about things because he told you, straight out. You didn’t need to try and figure out his angle. However, someone like Donald Trump wasn’t welcomed by the establishment media. It was an an adversarial relationship to say the least. Even many in his own party hated him. Despite the overwhelming opposition he went on to win the primary by defeating ten competitors, and became the 45th President of the United States. And although he lost his second term in what could be called, the most controversial election in history, and he’s not going away. He still is the the Republican party’s front runner. If you thought he’d be riding off into the sunset, like in a cowboy movie, you’d be mistaken. Just like Arnold in the in The Terminator, he’d tell you, “I’ll be back.” And he will. Why? Because the people still need their champion. And everybody loves a good comeback story.
Today, my little girl is a young adult and I see that same light in her eyes watching Trump speak, as she once had watching The Rock coming out of that tunnel in Seattle long ago. “We will never give up. We will never give in. We will keep on fighting, fighting, and America’s best days are ahead” Donald J. Trump.