Why do so many people support Trump?

[nightdrot]

Cards on the table, I am a Republican who does not care for - and did not vote for in 2016 - President Trump. Though I may vote for the President this time as while I do not care for Mr. Trump, the alternative of Mr. Biden is 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.

[BeMuse]

I don’t consider him the greatest president ever. I general I don’t even like the guy, but I guess I can touch on a few issues...

Economy
Trump has consistently expanded the NASA budget which was severely crippled under the Obama/Biden administration. While Obama/Biden set America back on technological advancement, trump is moving us forward with new space goals and funding to back it. Trump has created the Space Force in that same goal. That should lead to more aerospace and defense engineering and manufacturing jobs and spur tourism to watch rocket launches.

Trump passed the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act several years back. That created Opportunity Zones which will spur growth all over the nation. This will drive job growth by incentivizing investment in America.

I like Trunp’s Strategy for American Leadership in Advanced Manufacturing. This policy will drive future intelligent manufacturing systems utilizing computer science and robotics to strengthen the domestic supply chain of medical products, food and agricultural products, electronics fabrication, and defense manufacturing. Bringing supply chains back to the USA which is great.

Tax cuts are generally good.

Trump renegotiated some bad trade policies.

The 2018 Farm Bill legalized the production of industrial hemp.

A lot of programs were put in place to help veterans.

Health Care
Obama Care is a nightmarish authoritarian plan crafted by greedy insurance companies and corrupt power hungry tyrannical politicians. It is unconstitutional at it’s very base and if allowed to stand would threaten the very fabric of our country. Imposing a mandate onto a passive individual compelling them into a commercial transaction with a private company merely for being alive and then non-uniformly taxing them if they do not abide by your tyrannical order is civil war worthy. We fought the British Empire over less. This act alone makes Obama one of the worst presidents in American history. Biden was not only part of crafting this hellish legislation and still openly approves of it, he wants to go further and build upon it. This is unacceptable. When Trump enter office he immediately removed the individual mandate from Obama Care via an executive order which is great, but not permanent. If Biden were to be elected, this could be easily reversed which would be horrifyingly bad. Now that Trump has appointed more conservative judges to the Supreme Court, I am hopeful that Obama Care will be overturned in the near future. Trump has adamantly stated that he wants to eliminate Obama Care all together and craft new legislation to regulate health care. He has also openly stated that he wants to included verbiage in that legislation that will protect people with preexisting conditions from corporate refusal for coverage. While there is no detailed plan on what that legislation may look like yet, in my opinion it is far more important that we resolve the overstep by the Obama administration first, not for health care but for legal precedent. We need to kill Obama Care, burn down it’s house, and piss on the ashes first. From there we can negotiate a new way forward and protecting people with preexisting conditions is a good first step.

Environment
I like the EQIP act in the 2018 farm bill. The Great American Outdoors Act is pretty good. I like that he stopped offshore oil drilling around Florida. I’m not a fan when it comes to his position on solar. I don’t have an issue with using oil and natural gas, but it would be nice to see more renewable incentives especially solar.

[Anonymous]

I supported Donald Trump since he announced his first campaign for president back in 2015 for 2016. I was loud and proud to be a woman who supported him. His beautiful family which is married to immigrants and people of other races/religions than himself. I thought his platform for a stronger economy, helping with legalization of illegal immigrants and deporting the criminals who have taken advantage of the united states of america without going through the legal channels that so many have to pay and go through was an amazing idea. The wall is a big idea and also not a lot of socialists understand that 99% of the drugs in the USA are being shipped in from the mexican border, the mexican government knows it and does little to nothing because the mafia down there pays them to walk away. So having Mexico pay for the wall after millions have died from the overdoses each year here might not be such an outrageous idea. The things that President Trump says are no different than the tv talk shows and reality shows 99% of all of us watch and or listen to. Don't know why so many get up in arms over it. If he never became president everyone would still be partying with him and his family in the Hamptons, staying in his hotels, laughing at his humor, etc. No one pointed the finger at Hugh Hefner and all the scandals he had. But when someone runs for public office all of a sudden people and stories just magically appear. Socialism = Communism so if you would like to live like that please give it a go in Russia for a year or two. See how they treat you in the factories and check out what happens when you speak up against their leader.

[supercutebutt]

Nobody who hated Trump started loving him. The people who liked him 4 years ago mostly still like him now. It's an asshole bond or some shit like that.

[Anonymous]

I support trump because he is good for business

[IlluminatiExposed0]

Nobody in their right mind supports Trump.

[Dave31989]

cause they're idiotic retards

[MDollarBill]

Only the sane ones do...

[Anonymous]

It’s a guy thing

[joshtheman]

Because they are brainwashed.

[Vulvalicker]

Because he’s right

[TxBest]

Not me I voted for him

[The_unknown_memer]

Stupidity bro