There were reasons for conservatives to be concerned.
For one thing, he changed his voter registration 6 times. He’s been a Republican three times, a Democrat twice, an independent once, and a member of the Independence Party (then the NY branch of the Reform Party) once. He ran for the Reform Party nomination in 2000, won two primaries, and pulled out. During the course of that campaign, he called Pat Buchanan a Nazi.
For another thing, he was a Clinton Foundation donor. Until the campaign started, he was listed on their page as one of their biggest donors.
President Trump praised his liberal pro-abort sister as a great judge, and suggested that she would be a great Supreme Court justice.
In a TV interview with Tim Russert, Trump had declared himself fully “pro-choice” (i.e., pro-abortion.) He later changed his view, but so did Romney and everyone knew that in Romney’s case it was entirely an election-year conversion.
He had endorsed government health care in at least one of books and even implicitly on the campaign trail, with his pledge that everyone would be covered, and “the government’s gonna pay for it.”
Trump had even made some concerning statements on immigration, as recently as 2015:
(July 26)
http://www.frontpagemag.com/point/259589/donald-trump-endorses-amnesty-illegal-aliens-daniel-greenfield
“Now, a lot of these people are helping us, whether it’s the grapes, or whether it’s jobs, and sometimes it’s jobs, in all fairness, I love our country, but sometimes it’s jobs that a citizen of the United States doesn’t want to do. I mean, there are jobs that a lot of people don’t want to do. I want to move them out, and we’re going to move them back in.
“I mean, a lot of people don’t understand that, but the DREAMers, it’s a tough situation, we’re going to do something, and one of the things we’re going to do is expedite — when somebody’s terrific, we want them back here.
“I have to tell you: Some of these people have been here, they’ve done a good job. You know, in some cases, sadly, they’ve been living under the shadows. ... If somebody’s been outstanding, we try and work something out.”
[The article continues] This is in line with what CNN’s Chris Moody reported Trump saying during a press conference in Chicago at the end of June. When asked what he would do about the illegal immigrants already residing in the country once the border was secured, Trump replied, “give them a path,” according to Moody.
https://soundcloud.com/glennbeck/beck-blitz-donald-trumppro-amnesty
(As of July 14)
http://liberteanow.us/2015/07/14/2601/
Trump: You have to give them a path. You have 20 million, 30 million, nobody knows what it is. It used to be 11 million. Now, today I hear it’s 11, but I don’t think it’s 11. I actually heard you probably have 30 million. You have to give them a path, and you have to make it possible for them to succeed. You have to do that.
(As of August 10 — remember all these dates on the Trump quotes are 2015!)
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/422351/donald-trump-immigration-amnesty-build-wall
“Asked about his immigration ideas on CNN, Trump was a mess, beginning with the old “jobs Americans won’t do” canard favored by open-borders proponents (a canard because it always leaves out the relevant qualifier: “at current wages”), then suggesting that we should deport the millions of illegals who are already here only to turn around and bring them back (”I want to move them out, and we’re going to move them back in, and let them be legal.” This process would include those brought here as young children, who will be deported and recycled based on the criterion of whether they are — Trump’s word — “terrific.” What might constitute a federal terrificness standard remains unclear. “We’re going to do something,” Trump said. “I’ve been giving it so much thought. You know you have a, on a humanitarian basis, you have a lot of deep thought going into this, believe me. I actually have a big heart.”
[The article continues] Deporting some 11 million illegals who have for many years evaded deportation only to reimport them under an expedited legal immigration system, the contours of which currently are undefined, and then granting them some sort of permanent legal status is simply another variation on amnesty, and a complicated, expensive, and thick-headed version of amnesty at that. Like the proposed reform program of 2007, which would have purportedly required illegals to be present in their country of origin when applying for legal status, this isn’t just amnesty — it’s also amnesty-laundering.
So as you can see, there were reasons for conservatives to be concerned. This was all out there during the primaries. None of it is new information.
Some conservatives believed that that was who Donald Trump is. If you believe that, you’re not going to support him.
Thankfully, so far, he has proven those concerns wrong. Given that, it is much easier for conservatives who were skeptical to support the president.
Excellent summary! I get your perspective.
The Clinton’s at his wedding, etc...
From my perspective every word out of his mouth from escalator ride aligned with my conservatism 100%.
I saw no alternative and went on faith and my own judgement on character.
Cruz lost me in Iowa with the voter shaming nonsense and his support for amnesty.
Went to a Trump rally in Grand Rapids, MI early in the campaign when all the hecklers were in full force. What a trip. Just an incredible experience.
Glad that my faith and judgement were proved right by his accomplishments.
When ever I hear anyone badmouth him because he’s not moving fast enough, considering the flack he’s taking on all sides I’m amazed at what he has been able to do and those comments anger me.
Thanks again for the well thought out and articulated response!
Ed D