My response to conservatives who say 'I didn't vote FOR Trump; I voted against Hillary!'

What do I say to liberals to get them to understand we did not vote for Trump, we voted against Hillary and everything she represents?

This, in my opinion, is perhaps one of the worst examples of political contortion and justification for a conscious choice that you and many like-minded people made in November 2016.

Maybe you’re being disingenuous, to put it mildly.

Or maybe this is what you tell yourself to assuage your own doubts about your choices, considering how poorly the man you helped elevate to the highest elected office in the United States is regarded by most people who are not:

• Republican*
• Conservatives
• Evangelical Christians
• Die-hard Trump supporters who hate Muslims, liberals, Barack Obama, Mexicans, LGBTQ, intellectuals (because they tend to lean toward the liberal side of the political spectrum), and anyone who doesn’t buy “their” President’s Make America Great Again snake oil

The truth of the matter is, you can tell me all you want that I didn’t support Trump, but I hated Hillary and all she stands for, and I’ll still say that your argument is, plain and simple, a cop-out.

I mean, you could have voted for a write-in candidate or one of the other candidates (Gary Johnson, Jill Stein, etc.) on the ballot to express your displeasure with Mrs. Clinton and still not give Trump your vote. He probably would have won anyway, but you would have been able to have your political cake and eat it, too.

But here’s the thing.

You didn’t.

You didn’t choose to use your vote to support a third-party candidate that would not have gone to either Clinton or Trump.

You voted for Trump.

I don’t know how they vote where you live, Mr. (or Mrs.) Trump voter. I don’t know if you had to pull a lever, punch a hole in a ballot card, fill in a bubble on a card, or pushed an option on a touchscreen electronic voting booth. The option was marked Donald J. Trump - R. It did not have a caveat option that said Voted for Trump under protest because I hate Hillary Clinton and all she stands for.

And the vote can’t “read your mind for intent.”

So, basically, if you want to be honest with us, as well as yourself, stop saying, “I did not vote for Trump, I voted against Hillary and everything she represents.”

Just say, “I voted for Trump in 2016.”

*And even among Republicans, there were many people that neither supported Trump (the two ex-Presidents Bush, Jeb Bush, George F. Will) nor voted for him. In fact, Will has left the Republican Party and become an Independent voter.