A Different Look

I bit my tongue. Now you can. It's the only way to get a look under the hood of MAGA Trumpism

I never know whether to be surprised or upset when people discover that I’m not a one dimensional monolith of liberal thought. Often, we are so clad in our political armor, that once we lower the face mask, the scope of our vision is limited.

I found this to be true when I eulogized my former colleague, the conservative voice of commentary in this newspaper, the late and greatly lamented Jim Kelly. Dr. Kelly was a husband, father, scholar, teacher and navy captain. Each of us has many attributes. Defining us on a single one is usually misleading.

It is in that spirit that I offered my friend, Marty Mischel, the opportunity to rebut David Frum, a speechwriter for George W. Bush, who is now a pundit writing for major publications. In a recent Atlantic article, Frum proffered that Trump’s no Republican at all, and that MAGA has nothing to do with the Republican values of small government, strong military, and free markets.

Conversely, Marty says Donald Trump is the best president of his lifetime: “When he ran in 2016, I despised him, but his actions proved me wrong. He is not perfect, but his love of country and bravery in the face of impeachments, assassination attempts, etc., have shown that he is exactly the type of historical leader that moves mountains. I’m happy he is leading my country toward making America great again.”

I thought it would be interesting to give Marty space here to engage in a Trump v. Traditional Republican debate.

[Due to space considerations, I did not rebut Marty, plus, I have my say here every week.]

Frum on Iran: “Trump is arrogant”

Marty: Perhaps, what person in his position isn’t? Why is this disqualifying? To suggest that his only motivation for removing the threat of a nuclear Iran is his is arrogance assumes he isn’t acting on real world information or only to spite his predecessors.

Frum on style: “Trump is reckless”

Marty: Assumes Trump is just winging it without thought or purpose. The devastation to the Iranian armed forces and ballistic capability was one of the most stunning and well-planned military achievements in human history. They no longer have a navy; they no longer have a functional air force; their missile program has been set back decades and multiple layers of their terroristic leadership, including the Ayatollah himself, have been excised.

Frum on governance: “Trump hates procedure”

Marty: Trump has worked within the confines of his Presidential powers from day one, just ask SCOTUS. When he does get an unfavorable ruling such as the tariffs case, he finds another way to achieve his goals. He is under no obligation to keep entrenched, adversarial bureaucrats employed in the Executive Branch that he oversees. Every POTUS has not only the right but the duty to staff his administration with loyal people best suited to carry out the vision for America that the voters chose him for.

Frum on inconsistencies: “Trump is panicky”

Marty: He could have taken the easy route and claimed “Mission Accomplished” after devastating Iran’s military capability. Frum is incapable of understanding that what Trump says vs. what he does may not always align and for good reason - to keep his enemies off balance and uncomfortable. His unpredictability is one of his best assets. If he wanted good polls, he wouldn’t have moved on Iran in the first place and allowed them to stockpile an insurmountable ballistic missile and drone capability that would shield them and their nuclear program from any future conflict. With a protected nuclear arsenal, the Iranians would be free to close the Strait of Hormuz at will, bully their neighbors, radically increase their terror proxies & become the hegemon of the entire Middle East.

Frum on behavior: “Trump is gullible”

Marty: Frum, again without evidence, claims “he’s negotiating an exit that concedes most of Iran’s demands and leaves Iran in a more dominant position over Persian Gulf oil traffic than it occupied before the war.” He has no clue what Trump has “conceded,” no idea what Iran’s “demands” are, and emotionally projects his lack of understanding of the conflict onto Trump as if it were some universal, empirical truth.

Frum on leadership: “Trump can’t lead”

Marty: Probably the most ridiculous statement of them all. If he can’t lead, how did Trump win two Presidential elections, remake an entire political party into a dominant MAGA coalition, and become the prime-mover in bringing an end to multiple conflicts throughout the world, like no other world leader in recent memory? It is laughable to suggest the most consequential POTUS in generations “can’t lead.” While Frum was sitting in his cushy office snidely whining about him, Trump was working his ass off day and night trying to undo the catastrophic damage caused by the Joe Biden auto-pen administration.

© 2026 Jon Sinton