The Donald Trump Interviews… Martha McPhee Speaks Out

Exclusive Interview by Karen Beishuizen

Martha is 60 and lives in New York. She is a writer and a professor.

KB: Why do you dislike or even hate Trump?

How do I count the ways? He is terrifying because he is power hungry, understands what he needs to do to get the power and he does it on the back of lies. He is the wrecking ball of democracy. He is willing to do whatever it takes to succeed, say whatever will work, whatever will scare people into believing that he’s the savior. What did he say at the debates about Democrats killing newborn babies? People listen to him. He knows how to harness this, weaponize this. In his desire for ultimate power, condoned by the Republicans because he is the wrecking ball who will tear down pluralism, he will not hesitate to use force, shed blood. Here is a quote from a recent article in the Atlantic:

From the Atlantic:

Kevin Roberts, the president of the Heritage Foundation, which aspires to staff a future Trump administration, has made clear that the MAGA right contemplates using this newfound imperial power to employ political violence against its opposition. “We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be,” Roberts told the far-right network Real America News. Trump’s supporters seem less to wish to govern than to rule indefinitely by force, and they believe that the Court has given them its blessing.

KB: How do you view his supporters?

With confusion. My sense is that Trump gives them a voice. Trump is harnessing their fears and speaking their truths in ways they haven’t felt free to do. But Trump is not playing straight with them, with anyone. He is using all possibilities in his quest for power. I went to a rodeo in rural Idaho the other day. I felt like I was in a foreign country, but in a good way. Here is a culture that is different from mine, but underneath the veneer of difference everyone gathered feels the same—wants to love their families, have their children succeed, enjoy happy lives, eat, play, be left alone and free. The divide feels both vast and slight. If only we could not judge and let people do their own thing. If I want an abortion that is my business, if you don’t want an abortion for you and yours that is your business; if I believe in Christianity and you believe in Buddhism, so be it. Underneath we want the same things. This divide is all superficial even if it goes very deep. We must let people be. If I am gay and you are straight who cares? I don’t threaten you because of my sexuality; you don’t threaten me because of yours. The world is a better place if we are allowed to be who we are. If we hide, we are not honest. It’s hard for me to believe that common humanity isn’t a goal for all – when all the division, used for political gain, is pushed aside.

KB: Why should Trump never be President again?

He is unfit. He is a convicted felon. He incites violence. He is a rapist. He loves dictators. He aspires to be one. He does not represent the will of the majority of people in the USA. He does not value inclusivity. He was a terrible president who created distraction through chaos. He is in this for himself. His policies are dangerous. He is aligned with Project 2025 which is scary beyond measure. A woman’s right to choose.

KB: Why is America better off without Trump?

Because Trump is in this for himself. And for that self he will do anything. He will and has incited violence. He is ruining the American Experiment. He has come in and understood that to have power he must destroy democracy. To succeed he has been cruel. Cruelty will not make America great again. Nor will violence. Nor will manipulation, nor will allegiance to dictators, to Putin. Nor will leaving NATO or forging new alliances with said dictators at the expense of our allies. But above all, we have seen Trump as President. We know what that looks like. Chaos and disfunction—lots of death because of poor handling of covid (inject yourself with bleach!), loss of jobs, a tanked economy. Why in the world would we want to live that again? And then just listen to him (think of his convention speech), he’s nuts and nonsensical and speaks crazy – sharks, Hannibal Lecter. Come on!

KB: Why should people vote for VP Kamala Harris?

Things have dramatically changed since I started writing this. Joe Biden has left the race, as the world knows, and now Kamala Harris is essentially the nominee for President of the United States of America. This floods my spirits with immeasurable joy. You can feel the energy in the air—even alone on a walk in the woods in red Hunterdon County, New Jersey. When I learned that Joe Biden dropped out, I burst into tears. I didn’t want him to go though I knew he had to. Too much noise was focused on his age. This blocked out focus on all of Trump’s egregious plans and endless gaffs. As soon as the torch was passed, I felt tremendous relief and was very proud of how the democrats handled this. Even the timing of the announcement, perfectly executed to take back the news cycle. I felt hope again.

Vice President Kamala Harris was my first choice in the early days of the 2020 race for president. I like her because she is smart and incisive, her energy is positive, she is fearless and on the right side of the ideas and knows how to deploy her intelligence and understanding. Those traits have only sharpened as VP and as the world has dramatically changed and as a rogue Supreme Court is taking away freedoms. VP Harris speaks powerfully to the idea of freedom and what needs to be done to preserve it – especially a woman’s right to choose and racial equality. This election is about the kind of America we the people want—autocracy or democracy. It’s up to us to make the choice. Kamala stands for freedom, understands this is not about her, understands how to make the argument, spells out simply the stakes. I want to live in her America.

KB: Why are you a Democrat and how do you view the Republican Party?

I am a democrat because I believe we are in this all together and that some of us are more fortunate than others and yet we are in this all together. We are better when we recognize that, that all people are created equal and deserve to be treated equally. Democrats have stood by this principle. Republicans have not. They have become a party of fear, and they are willing to destroy this American experiment, using all tools of manipulation to create the white supremacy of minority rule.

They are not fair; they do not play fair. They lie and cheat and steal to get ahead. It is only through these means that they have a majority on the Supreme Court. They lost their way and have put us inside a Margaret Atwood novel. Republicans believe that only their view is the right view, and they don’t care if blood is shed in the pursuit of that view made reality. And that view? It is so small minded, ungenerous, nuts. I am sick to my heart by where we stand. This election is not about Harris though she brings joy and vigor and so much excitement to this momentous challenge. But again, the election is about democracy, and we must fight like hell for it. Vote blue, up and down the ballot so we can eradicate the country of this vile disease. We have the power to do this.

KB: 500 writers signed an open letter to stop Donald Trump in 2016. You were the one of them. Why did you sign it and would you do it again this year?

Yes, I did sign that document. It felt important even if futile, but I wanted to be on record. I would sign again any document that would record my horror at the prospect of another Trump presidency. So much has changed since 2016 and Trump has become emboldened by the success of his own lies. I do fear for our democracy. I fear the hate. I fear the desire for control. But with Harris now at the helm I feel hope again, the kind I had when Obama was running so long ago now.

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