“I like-a-Trump and I no afraid to say it. Lotta people don’t say they like him because they afraid of liberal like you. But lotta people like him, ” Mom said.
I always considered myself a moderate. But to my Chinese mom, anyone that wasn’t a die-hard, Democrat bashing, Obamacare-hating Republican was a liberal. She considered Bill Clinton a borderline Socialist. I understood why. Mom’s father was the head of the Secret Police under Chiange Kai Shek and her entire family had fled mainland China when Mao won the Cultural Revolution. Mom immigrated to the US in the early 1960’s. She started and ran a small business importing skin care from Switzerland for 38 years. In many ways her life exemplified the American experience. And she had no qualms about expressing her opinions in her still, broken English.
“Donald smart. He genuine. He didn’t read the script. He thinking what he talk. He talk what he think. He didn’t afraid upset other people,” Mom said. “Donald Trump going to save our country”
I think Mom was feeling how a lot of Americans were feeling. She just had no problem admitting it. Even when Trump would say overwhelmingly offensive things, like when he called women pigs, Mom’s response was, “He gotta’ good sense of humor. ” When Trump would say Mexico is going to build the wall. Mom said, “Good idea. They should.”
“You see, Ricky,” she’d say to my husband who spent part of his time on the board of the Los Angeles branch of the ACLU, “I know you Democrat. You like a help a poor people but Trump going to fix this country. Poor people gotta learn to work.”
“The country’s not broken Emily. Have you been watching a lot of Fox News again?” asked Rick.
“I don’t watch too much TV. I just know. I know things,” Mom said.
Later my dad told us, “I don’t know what to do. I come home every day and your mom is sitting there screaming at the TV. Calling everyone idiots for saying the facts. And then I try and talk some sense into her and she screams at me too. Thank God she can’t tweet.”
Mom walked in and heard this, “Goddamn you, Steve. You keep bugging me about Donald Trump, I stop give you stock tips. You gonna pay!”
While Mom had no experience in investing and had never bought a stock in her life, she had touted Facebook and Google stock early on and had recently pushed my Dad into buying Time Warner Stock since they, “Charge us so much, must be making lots of money.” Mom was a ‘financial genius’, according to herself.
Mom would come over for dinners on Sundays and walk in saying, “I know you people don’t agree with me. You all Democrat. No understand business, but I don’t want to fight with you.”
“Mom, it’s not that we don’t respect your opinions, it’s more that your opinions don’t seem to based on any facts,” I said.
“What you mean?” asked Mom, “Everything I say fact. I no liar.”
“It’s not that you’re lying. I just don’t know how closely you’re following a diversified news source.”
“That not true. I watcha CNN, I watcha CABC. Your daddy make me. They all mean to Trump,” she said.
“So do you know anything about the other candidates like Kasich?” I asked.
“Kasich? Nobody like him. When he make mouth like this. (mom makes her mouth into a small O shape that looks strikingly similar to a cat’s butt hole) Look very strange. Something wrong with him. Who can listen when man talk out of hole in his mouth?” she said.
“He seems like the most reasonable Republican to me,” Rick said.
“All I say is fact. Kasich no smart. If he smarter, more people like him,” Mom said and started chuckling to herself. “Trump call Kasich one in forty-one or something like that. So funny. And he right. Kasich eat a lot wherever he go. Take big bite. Maybe he no want to talk so he put lotta’ food in his mouth.”
Rick said, “I’m surprised you didn’t support Jeb Bush since his brother was your favorite President.”
“Uugh, that guy got no personality. Boring and no cute. His brother got a very cute face. That why he win,” said Mom.
“What about Ted Cruz?” asked my dad, “Why don’t you like him?”
“Uugh,” said Mom “I hate Ted Cruise. He tricky. He trick lotsa people. He talk he like a preacher, he pose a few second, then talk, talk, talk.”
And there were the days she would come to my house and camp out in front of the TV before any of us were home. Last time our housekeeper, Noel, was there. Mom cornered her.
“You smart woman. You must like-a-Trump too, right?” Mom asked Noel who hailed from Guatemala .
“No I don’t like Trump,” said Noel, “He is a sexist, racist idiot.”
“Me and you can no discuss politics,” said my mom and turned away. She did turn back momentarily, “We can still be friend. But no discuss politic. I have to say I disappoint in your intelligence.”
When I asked my mom how she felt about Trump splitting up her beloved party into fractions, she grew thoughtful.
“It’s true. Republican old. They behind time. Lotta’ Republican say they cannot vote for Trump because he not conservative about abortion. People so stupid. Who care women get abortion? No big deal,” Mom said, “Trump is good for women, good for Spanish worker. He just has a big mouth. I don’t say he perfect. He calling people name too much. He has a fault. But he better than other.”
Our last political conversation with the family occurred while my parents, kids, Rick and I were getting frozen yogurt.
Mom had to share her news. “Guess who supporting Trump?” she started, “Stan.”
“You mean Stan from Aquarium World?” I asked, “ The guy who steals gold fish from the store where he works and sells them to you cheaper?”
“I don’t think he steal. Stan very smart man. He like-a Trump even though his wife Mexican and no like-a Trump,” Mom said.
“So you’ve got Putin and Stan the fish man on your team?” I said.
Mom nodded, “Good business people.”
“Grandma, for real? You like Trump?” Elyse, my 6 year-old daughter laughed.
“Yes, I like him a lot. He a good looking man too,” Mom said.
“I don’t like Trump,” my 2 year-old daughter Serena parroted.
“Your problem is you brainwash by your parent,” Mom told Serena.
“You really think a guy that says the rude things Trump does should be our President?” I asked.
“I no say he perfect. He do say some stupid thing. I write a letter to his wife to help him, explain him how to give speech,” Mom said.
“You wrote a letter to Melania?” I asked, “Where did you send it?”
“I send to his house. Even send second day air so she take me serious,” said Mom.
“What did it say?” I asked.
“I tell him this my suggestion for campaign speech. I tell him to say, I hate KKK, they bad people. And tell people demonstrate, if you be quiet you can sit in back and listen to my speech. I tell you how I make America rich,” Mom said.
We were in a crowded Westside frozen yogurt store. This was definitely not his fan base and people were starting to look at us.
“We do not discuss politics in Pinkberry,” said Rick.
On the surface, my mom did not look like the stereotypical Trump supporter. She wasn’t white or male, and had never worked a blue-collar job. I don’t think she even knew any blue-collar workers, unless Stan the fish guy counted. But in my opinion, Mom saw Trump as what America was all about; capitalism, brashness, the magical land where even an obnoxious undiplomatic rich guy could become the President. I believe this spoke to my mom because she saw Donald Trump in herself; a go-getter who’s not afraid to speak his mind, even if what came out sounded more like a Comedy Central Roast than a candidate for president.
Finally, by powerfully verbalizing his fear-based, blame-and-gain ideas, Trump has validated and given a voice to the feelings of many in this country, including my mom. And he’s managed to do it with the same Trump confidence and certainty with which he ‘fired’ Gary Busey on Celebrity Apprentice. I’m no Trump supporter, but I do find him shameless, entertaining, and funny at times. Truthfully, I could say the same about my mom. But while I love my mom to death, I wouldn’t want her for our President.
Update: In the immediate aftermath of Trump’s comments about Judge Curiel, Mom said, “Maybe Trump not so smart. Maybe his mouth too big to be President.” However, a couple days later, after Trump changed his tone, Mom’s opinion boomeranged back. “I still like-a-Trump. He mostly smart.”