This Is What It’s Like Dating Someone Who Supports Donald Trump

I suppose I should start off by saying that my (long-time) boyfriend is one of the best people I have ever met, and I trust him with 100% of my life — or at least I thought so until this current presidential election began.

He is older than me, being 16 years my senior. We grew up during completely different generations, and his political views make that extremely evident. Like so many other fellow millennials, I guess you could say I am very left wing. I am pro-choice and in strong support of Planned Parenthood and all of the good that they do for our female community with the services that they provide; I want full equality for women, including income and job eligibility equality; I am a strong ally to the LGBTQ community; I believe in gun control and more extensive background checks; and I support universal health care. I have six children, five of them being girls. It would be an understatement to say that I am terrified of all of them growing up in a country where they may not have the same opportunities or privileges as others, depending on their gender or sexual preference, whatever that may turn out to be. All I truly want is a country where they feel (and are) accepted and can thrive to their full potential.

Call me naïve, but when my boyfriend and I started dating and decided to begin our life together by starting a family, our specific political views were not on my mind. He was (and still is) so good to me, and he has treated me with more respect than any man I have ever dated. I knew that he was traditional and wanted to provide for our family and didn’t expect me to work but being the independent woman that I am, I prefer to be in the workforce just as much as he is. It has only been when I was with child that I admitted defeat (that’s exactly what it felt like) and decided to quit to stay at home when my health and that of my unborn babies could no longer tolerate it.

He knew that I was full of girl power and loved the gays and respected my opinions on those matters. Once the presidential election was in full force, that’s when I learned how much he was more against me and those that I support than he was for us.

I can live with the fact that he doesn’t want stricter gun laws. Granted, he’s a Southern man from a small town in Mississippi. I can live with the fact that he doesn’t trust Hillary Clinton as president because she clearly cannot be trusted and has completely changed her views on everything since beginning this presidential election. I also understand that the *email situation* and investigation has lost the trust of many.

What I cannot live with is the fact that he stands behind a man that has no respect for women, the LGBTQ community, other races and other religions. How can you support a man that talks about women like they are mere objects that can be used and tossed away for their own selfish gain? You can call it “locker room talk” if you’d like, but it is sexual assault when there is no consent. Get real. He bashes Hillary for representing a rapist in court, but he actually made a remark that only a rapist himself would say, so what does that tell you about the man that you’re putting your daughters’ rights (and futures) into his hands? How can you stand behind a man that thinks that races or religions other than his own can cause a person to be disposable and not deserve the same treatment and opportunities as he does?

I try my best to not judge others on their political views because what’s the point in trying to convince someone why they should change their minds when they’re clearly blinded by what they want to see? (I suppose those against my views would say the same about me, as well.) I bite my tongue on Facebook and only share my views through funny, passive-aggressive memes to keep the mood light and refrain from starting a feud with Facebook keyboard gangsters. (We’ve all got ‘em on our friends list, and you know it.) To each their own. But it is terrifying knowing that the man that I love and the father of my children, supports a man that will not support us. I have spent hours upon hours trying to open his eyes and his heart to the seriousness of the situation to no avail.

What’s going to happen to us if Trump wins this election? This is a real fear that I have, and you should, too. To have someone that wants to rule with such hate towards others is not the way to make this country great again. We need someone that loves and supports every American and wants us all to thrive in a country that was based on freedom and opportunity. They say that we millennials get offended too easily but all we truly want is true equality and security for everyone alike. I don’t see the harm in wanting our neighbor to feel as safe and welcome as we are supposed to feel in the Land of the Free. If loving my neighbor, myself and my children is wrong, then I don’t want to be right.