McRae: Putting Americans first

Note: This following article is written and offered by Mississippi State Treasurer David McRae and his opinions are that of the writer and not necessarily that of this publication.

By Treasurer David McRae

This July, at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, a young man attempted to assassinate President Donald J. Trump. Photos show the bullet whizzing by, tearing through his ear, coming within an inch of his skull, and carrying the potential to change history. It was a horrific day for America.

This kind of political violence has no place in our democracy. We can disagree on policies, but it should always be values, not violence, that determines the outcome. While many of us know this, it’s clear that political debate has grown more aggressive in recent years. Sadly, I fear that too many have begun to dehumanize our leaders, seeing them only as the embodiment of policies we despise rather than spouses, children, and grandparents.

In the hours after President Trump was shot, Melania Trump gave us a glimpse of what her family nearly lost. To them, Donald Trump isn’t a figurehead of the Make America Great Again movement. He’s a husband and a father – and we’d all be better off to remember that.

Let me share the message in Melania Trump’s own words: “A monster who recognized my husband as an inhuman political machine attempted to ring out Donald’s passion – his laughter, ingenuity, love of music, and inspiration. The core facets of my husband’s life – his human side – were buried below the political machine.”

Days later, I was able to witness another glimpse into Donald Trump’s humanity while at the Republican Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His oldest granddaughter, Kai Trump, took the stage to share that to her, he was just a “normal grandpa” – the kind that snuck soda and candy to his grandkids when their parents weren’t looking, asked about sports and school, and printed off their report cards to show off to his friends.

I have supported President Trump for quite some time. I believe his economic policies are reflective of the conservative values we celebrate in Mississippi. I share his understanding that a smaller government leads to larger freedoms. I see the same threats he sees when illegal immigrants cross our border, drug traffickers flood our streets with Chinese fentanyl, and precious American tax dollars are used on non-citizens as our own citizens suffer. But these last few weeks have forced me to look at him as more than a political leader, but as a person who (like so many of us) is just trying to do right for his family, his community, his country.

I’ll leave you today by sharing a little more of Melania Trump’s beautifully written narrative: “We are all humans, and fundamentally, instinctively, we want to help one another. American politics are only one vehicle that can uplift our communities. Love, compassion, kindness and empathy are necessities… [And] when the time comes to look beyond the left and the right, beyond the red and the blue, we all come from families with the passion to fight for a better life together, while we are here, in this earthly realm. Dawn is here again. Let us reunite. Now.”

Mississippi Treasurer David McRae is the 55th Treasurer for the State of Mississippi. In this role, he helps manage the state’s cash flow, oversees College Savings Mississippi, and has returned more than $85 million in unclaimed money to Mississippians. For more information, visit Treasury.MS.gov.