Readers may recall that during the 2016 presidential campaign I was most definitely not a Trump supporter during the primary season. (A stance that President Trump took great delight in reminding me of in a telephone call he made during inaugural week.)

Once Donald Trump became the nominee he had my support and my vote.

That didn’t mean he was immune to criticism or suggestion from me, far from it, but it did mean I wouldn’t work to undermine him before and after the election.

As the Trump Administration continues, it’s obvious the ranks of former-opponents-but-now-Trump-supporters are growing.

Editorial cartoonist Gary Varvel, of the Indianapolis Star, recently wrote a column titled, “How I went from a Trump critic to a Trump supporter.”

Like me, Varvel began by not taking Trump seriously, although I will admit he was much harsher on the president than I was, “When Trump announced he was running for president, I admit that I didn't take this millionaire, hotel magnate, reality TV show celebrity as a serious candidate. I doubted his ability to do the job. So I drew him as a clown. In fact, my cartoons were as critical of him as many of my liberal cartoonist friends.”

Again, in agreement with me, Varvel felt the name-calling, the flood of tweets and the “braggadocio” was unpresidential and beneath the dignity of the office Trump aspired to fill. Varvel concluded, “Trump became the Muhammad Ali of politicians.”

Then a strange thing happened after Trump was sworn in and moved into the Oval Office. He changed Varvel’s mind by “keeping those promises.”

The list of kept promises is long. Approval of the Keystone pipeline. The rule that eliminated two existing regulations for each new one proposed. The tax cuts. The economic expansion. The end of the Obamacare individual mandate. And best of all, the Constitution-following list of judges.

Varvel concludes, “I admit that I was wrong about Trump. He's not a clown. He's a businessman, entertainer and now the president that I didn't want but now think we need… In my opinion, Trump has had the most successful 18 months as president than any other I've ever drawn.”

Varvel is one of a growing legion of former Never-Trumpers who have been persuaded by his performance in office. Yet there are still prominent Never-Trumpers holed up like Imperial Japanese troops found decades after the end of WWII, still carrying on the fight.

As correspondent Brit Hume commented to Never-Trump Generalissimo Bill Kristol who is claiming to be pro-Kavanaugh while remaining “anti–Trump,” “I suppose you can also be pro-tax cuts, pro deregulation, pro-defense increases, pro gun rights, pro-life and anti-Trump. But at some point, it begins to seem ridiculous.”

My sentiments exactly. I welcome Varvel into the Trump camp, knowing he will continue to criticize when he thinks the president is wrong. It’s the same position I maintain.

Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Michael is an in-demand speaker with Premiere speaker’s bureau. Read more reports from Michael Reagan — Go Here Now.



Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian’s Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now with added humor!)." Read more of Michael Shannon's reports — Go Here Now.