Why do some support Donald trump?

Question

I’m cutting off my internet friend of 9 months because yikes I just found out her and her whole in real life friend group support him

nightdrot · Accepted Answer

Cards on the table, I am a Republican who does not care for - and did not vote for in 2016 - President Trump. Though I did vote for him in 2020 as while I did not care for Mr. Trump, the alternative of Mr. Biden was - and is proving to be - less appealing.

That all said, actually President Trump's support has been remarkably constant. Hovering around the 47% mark since he was elected and - unusually - not much impacted one way or the other. When the economy was booming, Mr. Trump was at 47%. When the pandemic and impeachment hit - about the same.

This in contrast to, for example, former President Reagan. At his low water mark, the 1982 recession when the rate of unemployment hit 10.8% - until this pandemic induced recession, the highest of the post WWII era - Reagan dropped to 34%. Then the economy began to boom and by 1986, President Reagan hit an eye watering 71% approval.

That is the norm and in that sense President Trump has defied gravity. Albeit at a level below majority support.

The reasons for such being that the country has entered a populist phase - not unlike the 1960s and 70s. This phase inspired in part because of the transition from a manufacturing/extractions base to a service/tech base. Thus even during the booming "pre-pandemic" economy, the lot of the lower middle blue collar (particularly white) class did not significantly improve.

To this was added a certain cultural condescension by the Democrats who were searching out the younger college educated vote. Thus President Obama's remark that the working class - to use that term - were "clinging to guns and religion." Thus Hillary Clinton's infamous "deplorables" and promising to put the miners out of business.

Suffice to say, the working class, which had seen itself as playing by the rules, working hard, going to church and being patriotic, did not cotton to being so dismissed and looked down upon. Their problems are real - declining lifespan, rising suicide, etc. - and being looked down on was deeply resented.

President Trump - for all his many, many failings - read this audience and appealed to it. His "in your face" and telling the politicians, i. e. "the swamp" and the "elites", what they can go do with themselves - to put it crudely - sings to the blue collar class that feels it was betrayed and abandoned. Thus they have stuck to President Trump through thick and thin, come what may, with very little deviation even now.

Of course this very same approach has capped the President's support - again at about 47% on average. The President's knack for pouring salt in the social wounds has made it hard for the college educated, women, among other groups, particularly those thriving in the new service/tech economy, to see any good in Mr. Trump. To these voters Trump is destructive, divisive and self-absorbed. (The latter of which he is and to some degree his own less justified personal sense of grievance allows him to psychologically understand the lower middle class - albeit the latter's grievances are far more justified in material terms at least.)

Reagan, to cite that example, was the opposite. His policies - in their day - were actually more controversial. However, after two decades of tumult in the 1960s and 70s', Reagan had a natural ability to calm the social waters and thus even his opponents came to like him in some ways.

CONT.

JOEY111 · Accepted Answer

in the United states you have a group of people who believe they will become very rich in their lifetime. When this doesn't happen or middle age sets in these individuals start to get angry and look around wondering what happened placing blame on minorities and those who understand the work ethic and requirements to succeed in the modern American era, this group largely feels entitled despite the fact that they themselves probably didn't do much work barely got educated and some total of their existence has been not competing in a capitalist system but looking for handouts. welcome trump a wealthy guy who didn't earn a dime in fact lost most of his family's money in fast and loose steals. Has largely spent his entire life skirting responsibilities and behaving like your typical spoiled rich kid. Top off his deep insecurity and obvious desperate cry for fatherly approval you got yourself the same version although rich but still lacking because in his world in New York nobody takes him seriously the rich people no he was never anything but a loud mouth. The second group of people that like trump are the individuals who populated his administration for the last four years largely didn't give a shit about trump as a matter of fact he was the perfect scapegoat so that they could undertake nefarious business deals and personal gains. purely accepting their position so that they could self promote themselves. And then loosely a third category is the entertainment NEWS CENTER that we have in America whether it's social media or cable news they love trump even though some are against him they cover him like you wouldn't believe.

razelove · Answer

That seems a bit extreme. He was mired in accusations so much that he never got a chance to even do anything. It isn't too surprising though, the facade of the left is to be accepting, while disagreeing with one of their premises means exclusion. The right is portrayed as myopic, racist, sexist and exclusionary, but you could be a gay, pro-choice atheist and fit in on the right or as a libertarian. Be the same on the left and support gun ownership, you're out of the club.

Anyway, over that period of time it sounds like politics wasn't part of your friendship, acquaintance, w/e. Now that it's different from what you would expect as I'm assuming you exchanged some info about each other irl, you need to run away?

As food for thought, if support for Trump is a malicious offense, what about Biden?

TonyV · Answer

Oh so you're one of the people who needs people to agree with every little think or you can't be friends...

Who cares what president your friend likes, we aren't even with Trump right now, right now we have dumbass senial Biden doing his absolute best to ruin everything.

Anonymous · Answer

Probably because we believe in democracy.

But if you really think cutting friends out of your life because they have different political beliefs is okay you’re a bigot and a hypocrite.

But it’s you Lefties that are the “open minded” ones lol. Yet YOU are the ones that end relationships.

Again. Hypocrites.

NamerOfStars · Answer

Because they're tired of being spit on and dincriminated against, and they value posihive goals and results more than politeness and humility. Who else would they support?

TheMajesticKing777 · Answer

So you cut off your friends because they have a different political view than you?

Anonymous · Answer

Because they're either racist, stupid, sexist, stupid, gullible or all of those things combined.

Anonymous · Answer

Try for a moment to set aside your biases and hatred for the man and consider what has happened in the world since he left office.

dudeinohio · Answer

So what... don't discuss politics and you will be fine.

Guardian45 · Answer

I can sympathize; my whole American family are big Trumptards!

Anonymous · Answer

Look at the world today and ask yourself if it's better than it was four years ago.

Amur8711 · Answer

Wow your so tolerant and open minded 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

BCRanger10 · Answer

What's so awful about that?

Andres77 · Answer

That's pretty shallow.

msc545 · Answer

Trumpers tend to be delusional.

Anonymous · Answer

Roughly half the population does.

Why do some support Donald trump?

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