I am a Democrat. Some of my dearest friends and family are Republicans. Obviously, they hold political positions different from mine. However, I still care about them, and they remain important to me. We have had different positions for years, but we could discuss politics and agree to disagree.

That is how it used to be. Now, if Trump is being discussed and a friend points out he saved taxpayer money by streamlining government and I counter with the fact that he added more to the national debt in four years than Obama did in eight years, that friend becomes irate. I think my friend feels it is necessary to defend Trump even in the face of the facts.

On Facebook, it was pointed out that Trump lied about the federal government not aiding affected states after the hurricane. Trump said this even though a Republican governor told Trump that he had immediate aid from FEMA and Biden called him personally saying to call direct if his state needs anything more. This is what Trump was told. He knows the truth, but he still continues to repeat that lie. A Trump supporter reacted that the writer was evil and should die and go to hell — all for telling the truth! Factcheck multiple sources; don’t condemn the truth.

Trump supporters are good people. They are not evil subversives. They are being manipulated to the point that they refuse the truth. The FEMA director was interviewed on IPTV. She was asked about the damage in Trump’s lies. She said because he lied suggesting the government wanted to take their homes, some Trump believers were refusing to evacuate in the face of a hurricane. Does Trump care? He refused to ask rioters to stop and watched TV when policemen were being beaten. When he was told that Pence was being threatened with hanging, he said, “So what.”

This is a man who would throw his supporters and his country under the bus to get what he wants and to feed his ego. I am afraid that the one thing he certainly did not lie about is that he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue, and they would still support him.

Just because Trump says things again and again does not make them true. He is offended when he is fact checked; his lies are important to him. Don’t let him manipulate the truth.