Story highlights Kayleigh McEnany: Donald Trump's audacious, unflinching boldness in face of criticism is a virtue

Trump has set the politically correct prison walls aflame, she says

Kayleigh McEnany is a CNN contributor. She recently completed her Juris Doctor coursework at Harvard Law School. She graduated from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and also studied politics at Oxford University. The views expressed are her own.

(CNN) It was about a year ago that Donald Trump stormed onto the political scene. Many were taken aback by the confident, unapologetic and far from politically correct New York businessman -- including me.

I admit that, for the first month of his candidacy, I had my concerns about Trump. I questioned, for example, whether someone with such cutting yet candid honesty, a candidate who veered so sharply from so many of the usual political expectations, could ever become president. The more I watched Trump on the campaign trail, though, the more some of these supposed weaknesses turned out to be strengths. I kept an open mind.

Kayleigh McEnany

Having spent years in academia -- at Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, Oxford University and Harvard Law School -- I encountered a wide range of worldviews. Some of the most interesting were from my Oxford tutor, a former Palestinian Liberation Organization representative with whom I frequently disagreed, but who I grew to understand and genuinely respect. My Harvard law professor, meanwhile, held views on the criminal justice system that sharply contrasted with my own, but that professor taught me the importance of thoughtful, civil interchange between opposing viewpoints.

These are lessons that I have kept with me, and which have helped inform my political views -- including a willingness to be open-minded about Trump's candidacy.

Like many others, I fully expected Trump to back down from his controversial statements as any good, scripted Washington politician would. After all, such brazenness was not permissible in mainstream political discourse. But rather than backing down, Trump pushed forward and the media was incensed. His audacious, unflinching boldness in the face of an onslaught of criticism is a virtue that I would not just come to accept, but also to appreciate and admire, leading me to endorse him before voting ever began.

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