Not Trump — please

Iremember the year I turned 18 and the thought of registering to vote was so awesome. I couldn’t wait to vote for president.

I was proud to register as a Republican.

Over the years — I have drifted more to the middle. In Arizona, when I covered more and more politics — it was more logical for me to become an independent. In this space, on more than one occasion, I have said I still lean right on a lot of issues.

However, I have to say, I do not get the Trump loyalty. I cannot gure out how he is still pulling so much support nationwide. He is being indicted for a lot. Whether you agree with the indictments or not — the reality is he’s still got a lot of legal troubles on his plate.

Yet — he still ies around the country touting his “amazing” leadership abilities, asking for money, which appears to be paying legal bills, and claiming he will still make a great president.

However, here is the reality — to those Republicans saying they are going to vote for Trump in the primaries — I ask, have you thought about the end game?

A man whom I’ve stayed friends with and whose family I knew growing up recently posted a plea to his Republican friends on Facebook. He begged his Republican friends to realize that Trump cannot win the whole thing and it’s time to go with another candidate. He speci cally brought up Ron DeSantis.

He speci cally said in ation and the economy are big reasons to look beyond Trump.

I have been a bit surprised that DeSantis has not gained more ground among Repub- licans. Even with his recent stumbles I am surprised he has not gained more ground with the party. elma Grimes is the south metro editor for Colorado Community Media.

In my friend’s plea, he stressed that Trump absolutely will not win the general election. I agree with him.

While Trump may carry the Republican vote — he will not carry the una liated and independent voters. He will not gain anything among Democratic voters.

To win the whole thing — a candidate has to get some votes beyond their own party. Trump cannot do it.

To those still wanting him to be president — it will not happen.

Nikki Haley, Mike Pence and Ron DeSantis have a better chance of getting the una liated voter over Trump.

To those sticking with Trump — do you want to win the entire thing and get Biden out of o ce — or do you want to stand by Trump and lose?

I’m not saying the Republican candidates have my vote as of right now, but I will say Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis have a better shot of getting me to vote Republican than Trump does.

I can’t say I’m over the top with the job the Biden/Harris ticket has done to date. A good, strong leader may get me to consider the other side.

I believe Trump has divided this country too much. I believe he has helped in creating the hateful country we are dealing with on both sides of the aisle. Is he solely to blame? No. But, he carries a lot of it.

We need a di erent leader. We need di erent people to represent the conservative party.

I hope the Trump-for-life supporters start questioning whether loyalty to him is more important than having new leadership in the White House in 2025.

LINDA SHAPLEY Publisher lshapley@coloradocommunitymedia.com e summertime is always a great way to reacquaint ourselves with reading if we have not been as diligent in our e orts. Vacations and staycations o er us that time to unwind and relax with a good book. For me, depending on what I am reading, a great book transports me to di erent places, in di erent times, inspires creativity, and helps me to learn and grow personally and professionally.

As part of our company’s onboarding process, we are invited to connect with new hires at every level of the organization and wherever they may live. Technology of course makes scheduling these calls and having these calls very easy when we are connecting with new remote team members. e other day I had a wonderful call with our newest team member, Adam. What we found that we had in common was a love for reading. And it was a great reminder for me that each year around this time, I publish my reading list and recommendations.

I love this quote by S.I. Hayawaka, “It

ERIN ADDENBROOKE Marketing Consultant eaddenbrooke@coloradocommunitymedia.com is not true that we only have only one life to live; if we can read, we can live as many more lives and as many kinds of life as we wish.” So spot on.

We all have our di erent genres of the types of books we enjoy reading. For me, I go through a cycle of ve di erent types of books and then repeat the cycle. I start with a faith-based book, then a history book or biography, then move to a business book, add in a personal development book, and then go to a ctional book. I have found that the diversity in my reading keeps me wellrounded and a ords me the opportunity to engage in conversations with people regardless of their own reading preferences. Reading so many di erent types of books also inspires tremendous creativity.

So here is my current reading list, hopefully one or two may be of interest to you.

Faith-based books: “Mission Possible” by Tim Tebow, “All ings New” by John Eldridge, “If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat” by John Ortberg, “Let the Journey Begin” by Max Lucado, “ e Carpenter” by Jon Gordon

History or biography books: “ e Forgotten 500” by Gregory A. Freeman,

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