Why I Left the Democratic Party to Support Donald Trump

I was a Democrat from the time I cast my first vote in 1980 until 2016. That was when I changed my party affiliation to Republican to vote for then-candidate Donald Trump in the Republican primary in my home state of New Jersey. The experience of living life and my pursuit of self-sufficiency led me to a newfound respect for conservative and libertarian ideas and to realize that capitalism is the cornerstone of a free society. It is, as Michael Novak asserted, “not a system much celebrated by the poets, the philosophers or the priests. From time to time, it has seemed romantic to the young; but not very often. Capitalism is a system that commends itself best to the middle aged, after they have gained some experience of the way history treats the plans of men.”

After a long career as a musician, I returned to college in 2008 to finish the degree I abandoned in 1980. During my college days the second time around, I sought to pursue the intended purpose of a college education: to enable students to think for themselves, to change intransigent stances, and, most importantly, to develop the ability to formulate well-resourced arguments with those with whom one vehemently disagrees. I have always believed that there are two types of education: what one learns within the halls of academia and what one learns while living one’s life. Both types of education are valuable, and what one learns in the streets through bitter disappointment should be distinct from what is taught in a college classroom. The wise person realizes this and uses both types of education to his advantage. During my time at Columbia, I noted the brightest students came from a conservative or libertarian perspective.

Moreover, they tended to be the only students who wanted to have an open dialogue or suggest concrete solutions to policy questions. The campus progressives embodied many of the hypocrisies prevalent in the United States today. They spoke of socialism with great reverence publicly while working behind closed doors toward the end goal of securing a lucrative position in investment banking or management consulting. They were too often unable to think for themselves, as well as fearful to go against their peer’s favorite causes such as Black Lives Matter (BLM) and Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS). At Columbia, the worst thing anyone could possibly be was a Trump supporter. One of my classmates, Benjamin Sweetwood, wrote an op-ed in The Tab outlining the reasons he supported then-candidate Trump. He faced an incredible backlash on campus, but his experience proved valuable. I realized that neither my classmates nor many in the Washington, D.C. establishment desired spirited debate. Instead, they typically wanted torpor and groupthink. Those at both Columbia University and in Washington, D.C. generally wanted the masses to continue to be lulled to sleep by garden-variety political candidates beholden to corporate America, which became, in turn, unduly influenced by woke activists. I knew that a certain New York City businessman was the dynamic and charismatic leader the United States needed to hold off its collectivist drift.