President Trump,

I’m writing today as an American with some things to say I feel you need to hear.

First, congratulations are in order, because you once again pretty much made mincemeat out of the biggest hitters Washington D.C. had to throw at you. I said back in 2016 that our dysfunctional federal government was going to lead to someone emerging from the shadows and rising to prominence by simply saying their primary task was to dismantle the status quo in D.C. That’s pretty much what you’ve said from day one, and then some.

So now that you’ve made your way back to the White House, I want to share a few things from the heart. I’m a proud right-leaning Christian Southerner, and even though I know you much better than I did eight years ago, I’m still not sure how well I identify with you or that you can identify with someone like me. I was raised in blue-collar homes by working-class men and women, had a full-time job when I was 15, and haven’t stopped working since. Needless to say, I didn’t get a ‘small’ $1,000,000 loan from my father to help me out. I’ve observed and understand breaking back all day as a basic way of life because it’s part of who I am.

Where I’m from, we don’t care for braggarts. Humility is something that you get in your raising. If you’re good at something you don’t have to brag about it – everybody knows. Of course, with that said, we’re also raised to understand that it ain’t bragging if you can back it up, and I guess you’ve got some stuff you brag about that you feel you can back up. So I suppose we will have to tolerate the bragging and ego, although we’d prefer not to be forced to.

But there are a couple of things you need to clearly understand about most folks like me. There are some things we simply will not tolerate.

One thing we can’t stand is a bully. You’ve shown a bad habit of making fun of people who aren’t as fortunate as you are. You’ve even talked about and embarrassed the wives of your opponents, which for us Southern men is a line crossed for sure. It’s just not necessary, and I hope you’ll do better, and be better this time around.

We don’t like hypocrites. I’ll never forget you citing the National Enquirer – yes, that beacon of journalistic integrity that in the past has run such Pulitzer-worthy stories as “I Had Bigfoot’s Baby” and “World War II Plane Found on Moon” – to accuse Ted Cruz’s father of conspiring with Lee Harvey Oswald with the JFK assassination. But then, just as soon as it wasn’t politically expedient to stand by it, you said that you didn’t even believe the claim was factual.

There are a bunch of other examples of you making fantastical claims about something and then backing off of it. The moral here might be making sure something is accurate before you ever even say it.

This leads to another thing most of us can’t stand: a liar. I’ll just let that statement stand on its own volition.

I could go on, but I think you get the point. You’ve lathered a lot of folks up over the last few years with your confidence, but at the same time, you’ve also completely turned off a lot of folks with your unnecessary vitriol.

With all that said, it is my sincere hope that the failed assassination attempt on your life provided a crystal clear moment of introspection and reflection regarding your place on this planet and your important role in history, and perhaps even a dose of humility and thankfulness, too. All of those are vitally important.

Mr. Trump, what a lot of us have been praying for is someone who isn’t necessarily a “unifier,” but someone who isn’t afraid to acknowledge a good idea even if it comes from the other party, otherwise called in most party circles these days “the enemy.” But they aren’t your enemy, Mr. Trump. They are Americans, and they care about their children and the future of their nation just as much as you. Just because their ideology might not align with yours 100% doesn’t mean they have nothing of value to bring to the discussion. Be willing to not just listen to them, but to hear them as well.

Americans should be Americans first and foremost above everything else, just as every politician should be American first and party politicians second – period. Wouldn’t you agree?

Sir, respectfully, most Americans aren’t interested in much of anything regarding Greenland. What we are interested in is the systemic dysfunction and rot we’ve witnessed overtake our nation’s capital over the last few decades which is endangering our stability and dousing the light of hope for our children’s future. In fact, I feel very confident in saying that most of us are flat-out sick and tired of it.

You’ve made history already as only the second American president to ever be re-elected after being voted out of office. It is my sincere hope and prayer that you will seize that historic opportunity to truly make a positive difference in the lives of all of us who call this nation our home, and I will be pulling for you to do just that.