The Irrational Poison of Trump Hatred

For nearly two decades, Oregonians have sent Jeff Merkley to Washington with the expectation that he would fight for Oregon jobs, Oregon families, and Oregon values. Instead, too many of his votes and statements over the last nine years have been driven by one overriding emotion: hatred of Donald Trump.

That hatred has not only clouded Senator Merkley’s judgment; it has led him to oppose policies that would plainly help the people of Oregon and the United States, simply because Donald Trump supported them first.This is not principled opposition. This is Trump Derangement Syndrome in its purest form, and it is both irrational and deeply unhealthy for our politics.

When a politician’s first question about any policy becomes “Did Trump propose it?” rather than “Will this help the American people?”, the public interest inevitably comes last. Senator Merkley has fallen into that trap again and again.

Consider border security. President Trump made securing the southern border and enforcing immigration law a centerpiece of his agenda. Senator Merkley responded by becoming one of the most vocal defenders of sanctuary policies and open-border activism in the entire United States Senate. He has repeatedly voted against funding for border barriers, against ending catch-and-release, and against measures that would allow ICE to remove dangerous criminal aliens living illegally in Oregon communities.

The result?

Oregon now ranks near the top in fentanyl overdose deaths per capita, with Mexican cartels using our state as a distribution hub. Farmers in eastern Oregon watch helplessly as illegal labor undercuts wages and trespassing damages crops. Housing prices in Portland and Bend continue to soar in part because of unchecked migration straining supply. These are real Oregonians being hurt, yet Senator Merkley’s reflexive opposition to anything associated with Trump has prevented common-sense reforms that the majority of Oregonians actually support when polled without partisan labels.

The same pattern repeats on foreign policy. President Trump moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and brokered the Abraham Accords, the most significant advance toward Arab-Israeli peace in a generation. Senator Merkley’s response has been to co-sponsor legislation that would restrict aid to Israel, to vote against anti-BDS measures, and to issue statements more critical statements about Israel than about Hamas, Hezbollah, or Iran combined.

This is not the traditional Democratic support for a two-state solution; it is a punitive posture adopted largely because Donald Trump was the most pro-Israel president in modern history. When hatred of one man causes a senator to tilt against America’s closest ally in a dangerous region, it is the American people, and ultimately the cause of peace itself, that suffer.

Energy policy offers another glaring example. President Trump sought American energy dominance through expanded domestic production and export of oil and natural gas. Senator Merkley has opposed virtually every pipeline, every LNG export terminal, and every attempt to open federal lands for responsible energy development. Oregon families now pay some of the highest electricity rates in the continental United States, rural communities watch good-paying jobs go to other states, and the Port of Coos Bay sits idle instead of becoming an energy export hub that could transform southwestern Oregon’s economy, all because policies that would help Oregonians bore the fatal defect of having been advanced by Donald Trump.

This is not leadership. This is irrational hatred.

Healthy politics requires disagreement, yes, but it also requires the ability to acknowledge when your opponent has a good idea. Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neill could hammer each other by day and share a drink by night. Bill Clinton signed welfare reform and NAFTA despite fierce opposition within his own party because he believed those policies would help Americans. Even Joe Biden kept some of the Trump tax cuts in place when he could have let them expire.

That is mature statecraft. What we have seen from Jeff Merkley is the opposite: a senator who appears incapable of supporting anything, no matter how beneficial, if it carries the taint of Donald Trump. That is not strength; it is weakness. It is not principle; it is obsession. And it is certainly not what Oregonians deserve from their senator.

Oregon needs a state that prides itself on independence, pragmatism, and getting things done. We send people to Washington to solve problems, not to nurse grudges. Russ McAlmond is running for Senate because he believes we can have strong borders and humane immigration policies, support Israel without abandoning the pursuit of peace, and produce American energy while still protecting our environment, all without checking first to see how Donald Trump feels about it.

In 2026, Oregonians will have a clear choice: continue with a senator whose voting record is dictated by personal animus toward a president, or elect new leadership that puts Oregon and America first.

It’s time to move past the politics of hatred and get back to the politics of results.

Oregon can do better. Oregon must do better.