I read about this speech by Tom Klingenstein in an American Thinker editorial by M.B. Mathews:
I recently wrote a column about why I believed Trump should not run in 2024. I was wrong. I allowed my distaste for Trump’s personality to override his virtues, which are considerable. Some people want Trump without his vices. I was among them — until yesterday, when I watched and listened to Tom Klingenstein’s speech titled “Trump’s virtues.” It was masterful and shamed me that I did not make the distinction between Trump’s character and his virtues, the former being deeply flawed, the latter being almost perfect. I need to man up in my defense of the former President’s virtues. The speech was among the most pointed I have heard and deserves some exposure. [. . .]
In 2016, we loved Trump for his outspokenness. But many seem to have changed their minds without cause; Trump is the same today as he was before he was elected. The very things we disdain today are the things that made him the man for our time.
Here it is:
Mathews concludes:
These very things are what the Left hate, yet it is not their favor we need to care about. They will not embrace anyone on the Republican ticket and certainly not one they cannot bully. We need to stop worrying about acceptance of our candidates by the Left or they will have won.
Republicans, however, should not forget that it is his support and the spirit they embrace that have become the life force of the Republican party. Among the talked-about alternatives to Trump I have not yet seen anyone who possesses or even understands Trump’s virtues. Nor have I seen anyone with his backbone and fortitude. One does not appreciate the strength of relentless gale-force winds until one is in the eye of the storm.
…which is exactly where Trump and we are at this moment. We have to prepare for the gale-force winds we will encounter. To not do this is to ignore the lessons of the recent past and it will be forever to our sorrow to ignore them.
His virtue must be the standard by which we judge other candidates.
Amen and amen. We don’t have to like his personality but his virtues far outweigh it. I humbly stand corrected and offer my mea culpa.
Stella's Place 
Tom Klingenstein:
Trump revealed—not “caused”—the divide in this country. He shifted the overton window and gave his supporters the breathing room to voice their discontents. This may have been his most important achievement, made possible by qualities independent of policy. You cannot win a war unless you know you are in one.
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This reminds me of a favorite quote:
https://i0.wp.com/www.bookofthrees.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/img_8969.jpg?w=1200&ssl=1
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Let’s try this again: Intelligence, Energy, Integrity
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I fixed it for you. Take out everything after the .jpg.
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I have noticed a lot of complaints about Trump from some supposed previous supporters. I feel this way, too. It doesn’t matter to me how he says things or does things, he is what we need now. And, we need him now more than ever.
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Amen to that, Mom! Ever ridden in a New York taxi cab? Trump reminds me of those taxi drivers, and he has never EVER offended me…not once!!
Only tarnish on his Superman badge, in my opinion, is his unquestioning support of his advisers on the vaccine…they were already corrupt and in on the horrible scheme.
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What an excellent article! So glad someone is saying what needs to be said.
Only on very rare occasions have I wished our President had not said something, such as when he criticized Ron DeSantis. But my feelings toward Donald Trump are overwhelmingly positive. He’s often hilarious and says what we are thinking. Underneath it all is his love of America, her virtues, her success, her kindness, her history, and her ability plus desire to correct herself when she’s wrong.
It’s very true that President Trump is the same man today as he was when he began his business career. He’s unique, a doer, an accomplisher, a fighter, and the person we need to keep America from going over the cliff forever.
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I want my guard dog to be mean; junkyard mean. The fact that Trump tweets what everyone thinks is a virtue, not something to be afraid of.
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I agree.
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“Woke Comms” is an apt enough moniker, but their end goal is feudalism rather than communism.
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Great points made, though – thanks Stella. I will pass along to the needy!
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Yes.
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