While the thought of Donald Trump as our president makes me cry and feel sick to my stomach, I have to say there is something that gives me some hope. I know intelligent, kind, compassionate people who actually believe he may be a fairly decent president. Not all of his followers are in the “basket of deplorables” labeled by Hillary Clinton. To be sure, some are indeed racist, sexist, fascist white supremacists, but most, I think, are basic, down-to-earth, hard working Americans who truly believe Trump will do some fantastic things for our country, and I pray they are right!

It gives me some degree of comfort that there are ordinary, decent people who see something in him that I do not and really think he will keep the promises he has made to help the American people. There certainly will be no reason for him not to keep them. He’s got a Republican House and Senate that will likely work with him to get things done. At least we will assume they will. They certainly haven’t done much for the past eight years except fight against Obama. It’s time for them to start earning the money the taxpayers have been paying them, and Trump might just be the one to get them going.

I have never in my life wished to be so wrong about a person, as I do now with President-elect Trump. Please let us be shown what his loyal followers see in him and be able to block out the hurtful, thoughtless things he says and tweets. We will wait with bated breath to see what he will do (as actions speak louder than words), and hope it will measure up to what all those good people who believe in him think he will do.

We are, indeed, all in this together for better or for worse.

Patty Lavallee

Ocean Shores