Surprisingly, I Was Wrong Not to Vote for Trump

 A shorter version of this piece appeared in The Washington Post. This is the full version.

 

 

By Wahab Raofi

I am a registered Republican. And like many others, I didn’t vote for Donald Trump. His tone and rhetoric alarmed me. He said things that sounded extreme — like letting Europe defend itself, raising tariffs, or threatening to deport immigrants en masse. I feared the worst.

But in hindsight, much of what Trump actually did — particularly in his foreign policy — has turned out to be effective.

As Bret Stephens of The New York Times wrote, Trump may go down as a “surprisingly successful president.” He achieved what others only talked about. NATO’s European members and Canada began spending more on defense — something past U.S. presidents asked for, but too politely. Rather than dismantling the transatlantic alliance, as his critics feared, Trump arguably reinvigorated it.

Realizing my mistake set me to thinking. Much of my adult life has been consumed by a single question: What does it mean to be smart? What makes someone smart — and how does one become smart? My definition of intelligence has evolved with my age.

In high school and college, I thought it meant getting good grades. Later it became about making more money. Then it shifted again — to securing my future. Now in my seventies, I question all those ideas. I've come to believe that intelligence is not about credentials or conventional success. It’s about making sound decisions, solving real problems and anticipating the future — even when others disagree.

I  now realize being smart doesn’t always mean listening to experts or reading books. Sometimes it means trusting your instincts — your gut.

That lesson hit home earlier this summer during a short visit to Kabul. I was sitting under a tree chatting with a few local caretakers of a residential compound. One man, having just completed his afternoon prayer, folded his worn mat and joined us. As the conversation turned to geopolitics — Gaza, Iran and the plight of Muslims — he offered a bold prediction.

“I think Trump is going to attack Iran soon,” he said, gently stroking his beard and looking to me for insight. He knew I had lived in the U.S. for over three decades. What he didn’t know was that I had written extensively on international affairs. I didn’t mention that. I simply replied, “No, Trump doesn’t want war anymore. He wants to end it.”

Weeks later, back in the U.S., I was stunned by a headline:
"I ordered the bombing of Iran’s nuclear facility."

I had been wrong again. And that’s when it hit me: writing articles and reading expert opinions doesn’t automatically make you wise. Book knowledge is valuable, but it's not the whole picture.

There’s another kind of intelligence — intuitive, instinctive, often unspoken. Trump calls it “gut.” And perhaps that’s not such a bad word for it.

My childhood memories echo this idea. Growing up, I was fascinated by how village elders — many illiterate — would resolve complex conflicts over land, water, family disputes, even killings. Their sense of justice wasn’t taught in classrooms but born from lived experience. They listened carefully, reasoned clearly and mediated fairly.

I remember how these elders would open a jirga with a light anecdote or folk story, setting the stage for calm dialogue. Their decisions often brought resolutions that government officials could never deliver. Watching them taught me that real wisdom isn’t always loud or prestigious. It’s rooted in empathy, experience and, yes — gut instinct.

Those moments shaped my path as a writer. But even writers misjudge.

When Trump ordered the strike on Iran’s nuclear site — against the advice of his inner circle — it didn’t spiral into catastrophe. It didn’t trigger a new Middle East war. In fact, it may have shortened one. Tehran has yet to retaliate, and time will tell how it unfolds. But so far, his judgment — his “gut” — has held.

Columnist David Brooks once said Trump was “winning the race to the bottom.” Fareed Zakaria warned that Trump’s rhetoric could unravel decades of alliance-building. Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s Director of National Intelligence, posted a video warning that "political elites and warmongers" were bringing the world to the brink of nuclear annihilation.

And yet, Trump proved them wrong. His instincts — though unconventional — produced results that defied their dire predictions.

Looking back, maybe what I was searching for all along wasn’t just intelligence — it was wisdom. The kind of wisdom that doesn’t come from books or credentials, but from lived experience, instinct and courage. The kind that village elders showed in my youth. The kind that doesn’t always speak in polished language but delivers real results.

Trump calls it “gut.” At first, I dismissed it. But now I understand its power.

I didn’t vote for Trump. I let fear of his tone overshadow the substance of his decisions. I mistook style for recklessness, instinct for ignorance. And I was wrong.

 

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