MY POLITICAL VIEWS
By Bằng Phong Đặng Văn
Âu
As a Vietnamese
refugee who has lived in the United States for nearly half a century, I am
deeply grateful for the freedom this country has given me.
In this article, I
explain why I support President Donald J. Trump and the Republican Party, and
why I believe America's future depends on the political choices its citizens
make.
I invite readers to
read my article and consider my arguments.
In a free country like the United States,
every voter has the individual right to choose which political party to
support. However, choosing a party to govern the nation is much like the advice
our ancestors gave their descendants: “Choose your friends wisely.” A Western
proverb expresses a similar idea: “Tell me who your friends are, and I will
tell you who you are.” In my opinion, only a person who is profoundly misguided
would vote for the Democratic Party, which I believe has clearly betrayed the
nation.
Yesterday, a friend who lives far away called
me and asked, “Have you voted yet? And which party did you vote for?”
I replied, “I voted for the Republican Party.”
I then explained my reasons.
The Republican Party, under the leadership of
President Donald J. Trump, has proposed a program to strengthen the U.S.
military, help American farmers sell their products in foreign markets, prevent
both adversaries and allies from exploiting America's national resources at its
expense, secure the nation's borders, and establish savings accounts for young
people so that, by the time they turn eighteen, they can have approximately
$250,000 available for college, without having to borrow money from the federal
government to pay for their education. The administration has also sought to
attract major foreign companies to invest in the United States.
In short, President Donald Trump has presented
concrete plans for economic development and the strengthening of America's
military power. In my view, unlike politicians who make empty promises and
speak eloquently without delivering results, President Trump acts on what he
says.
Several South American countries that had been
drawn into China's so-called Belt and Road Initiative — a strategy I believe
Beijing has used to expand its influence and encircle the United States
economically and strategically — have now shifted toward closer relations with
America rather than serving as China's proxies.
As for the Democratic Party, I see no
convincing program or comprehensive plan from its leaders to make America
prosperous or to help the nation meet the challenges of international
competition. Instead, what I see is a relentless campaign of attacks and what I
consider deeply unreasonable smears against President Donald J. Trump.
Any reasonably informed person, I believe,
should agree with President Trump's position that only American citizens should
have the right to vote in American elections. This is a fundamental principle
of national sovereignty and should not even be a matter of controversy.
Yet I heard Mr. Talarico, a candidate for the
Texas State Senate, declare that President Donald Trump was demanding that only
American citizens be allowed to vote, and that such a demand was “racist.”
Upon hearing such a statement from a man
running for the Texas State Senate, I could not help asking myself: How could
the Democratic Party nominate someone who, in my opinion, displays such a lack
of basic political understanding?
In 2024, I watched Representative Liz Cheney,
a Republican and the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, campaign
for Kamala Harris in the presidential election. Before his death, former Vice
President Dick Cheney himself also called on Americans to vote for Harris. I
was deeply contemptuous of those whom I regarded as traitors to their own
party.
More recently, I learned that a daughter of
former President George W. Bush had contributed money to support Mr. Talarico's
campaign for the Texas State Senate. This further reinforced my disappointment
in the character and political judgment of people who once held the highest
offices in America or belonged to the country's political establishment.
Under ordinary circumstances, President Donald
Trump could remain at home resting, and I believe the Republican Party would
still win decisively. He would not need to campaign day after day. As I have
said, a person possessing even a modest degree of knowledge and conscience
could hardly bring himself or herself to vote for a Democratic Party that, in
my view, has declined in almost every respect.
Most alarming of all, I believe the party's
policies and political direction threaten to turn this beautiful country into
“Animal Farm.”
Looking at the Democratic candidates as a
whole, I find many of them unworthy of public office. In my opinion, they
display both ignorance and self-interest because they seem unable — or
unwilling — to recognize the damage their own party is doing to the country.
Finally, I believe that any Vietnamese person
who is genuinely a refugee from communism, yet refuses to vote for the
Republican Party under President Trump's leadership, should seriously examine
the principles and political convictions that guide his or her decision.
Bằng Phong Đặng Văn Âu, October 22, 2026
bangphongdva033@gmail.com Telephone 714 – 276 -5600
