Does anyone understand Trumps base?

[TaraJo]

I want to understand Trump's base, I really do; it's easier to deal with them if you can understand where they're coming from. Unfortunately, to really understand someone and where they're coming from, you have to be able to understand their perspective in a positive perspective; I can't see the perspective of Trump voters without making them into malicious monsters or complete idiots (or both).

They seem to take delight in governing by spite, laughing when democrats are upset by something even if it's something that's legitimately bad. The only news sources they trust are far right conspiracy sites like Breitbart and Infowars; a lot of them don't even trust Faux News anymore. They seem to distrust or outright hate anything relating to the government unless, of course, it's specific to a republican or Trump.

But..... they seem filled with contradictions, too. The people with "thin blue line" bumper stickers right next to a "Come and get it" NRA bumper sticker is what I mean; if anyone is going to come and collect your guns, it's going to be the police you're supporting with your thin blue line nonsense. You hate government spending, but you say nothing about Trump pissing money away on golf trips and a wall and corporate tax give aways.

Racism seems to play a role here. I'll be honest, this is one area that I can kinda see where they're coming from. Far left, SJW's were pretty obnoxious pre-Trump and being generally against them, I can understand why someone would feel like that. But they had to go and take it to the other extreme. I'll be the first to admit, someone is an asshole if they're saying "all white people are racist," but it's not any better to embrace literal swastika flag carrying neo nazis. Is it really that difficult to find a reasonable middle ground?

I can somewhat understand republican economic policy; it's still fueled by the idea that communism is automatically horrible and anything a society has in common with communism is bad. The values of communism are up for debate at another time, but for now, I'll say that going so anti-communism that capitalism has gone out of control isn't an improvement. Fact is, if we didn't already have them, I don't think Republicans today would ever let us get things like public schools, public libraries, city parks, medicare or the post office. We'd probably be accused of being being some kind of socialist, communist dictator for suggesting them. The only government functions they seem to be comfortable with are police and military which is kinda scary since those are kinda the cornerstones of a police state.

[Fake Messiah]

Maybe there is some sort of mental crisis in such that it is happening in people's worldviews. Like that science, being what it is, is pushing role of God from what ever his role was imagined in nature, which created a crisis in religious people that they embraced a man that wants to turn progress into retrogression. So maybe when he says "Make America Great Again" they hear that he'll resurrect dead God again by bringing them back into the past.

[The Grand Nudger]

Republican economic policy? There isn't one. Just a trickle down fairy tale that's immediately ruined every place that's ever tried it.

Steal from the poor and give to the rich. Yay, economics!



The american right is a nihilistic death cult. They don't believe in government, therefore any policy which absolutely will not work and absolutely will fuck up the civil administration for years is pretty much guaranteed to be the go to policy.

[downbeatplumb]

Republican economic policy?  There isn't one.  Just a trickle down fairy tale that's immediately ruined every place that's ever tried it.

A better policy would be flood up. Give the money to the poor and they actually use it. The rich would still get it in the end but at least it would have passed through other peoples hands first.

[Fake Messiah]

[TaraJo]

Republican economic policy?  There isn't one.  Just a trickle down fairy tale that's immediately ruined every place that's ever tried it.

A better policy would be flood up. Give the money to the poor and they actually use it. The rich would still get it in the end but at least it would have passed through other peoples hands first.

Agreed.  That's the key difference between economic policies of democrats and republicans; both have sold out to corporate interests but the democrats don't want to shaft poor and middle craft people to pander to the rich.  Unfortunately, on economic issues, democrats are largely spineless.  Rupert Murdoch wants a tax cut and Nanci Pelosi will say it's bad for a day or two before rolling over and signing off on it anyway.

[The Grand Nudger]

As the rest of the developed world so often reminds us, our left and right are both on the rightward end of the spectrum. It's largely a difference of opinion as to how to best serve their mutual corporate interests that defines the parties - in the view with maximum cynicism.

[Succubus]

Philomena Cunk & Barry Shitpeas on Donald Trump.

[TaraJo]

So, here's the best I can come up with if you wanted to get a sincere place where Trump fans come from. These seem to be the four traits that make up the Trump base.

1) Reactionary Anti-SJW's. Yeah, I know, SJW's can be a difficult group to deal with. They aren't quite as obnoxious now, but prior to Trump's presidency, they were much louder and irritating and involving themselves in stuff that really shouldn't have involved them in the first place anyway. Annoy enough people and they're going to take a position to the polar opposite of yours. Yeah, many of the Trump fans just love "triggering libtards," just because they want revenge on the PC police that are being jerks online or in college campuses or somewhere like that.

2) They want change. Trump isn't like any politician we've had in recent memory. I'm willing to look at that and see those differences as a bad thing, but they think his big mouth means he's honest and sincere and he talks like a regular person instead of like a diplomat or a statesman. Yeah, you know what, I can give them this; I want change, too, so I can see where this is coming from (even if I think Trumps kind of change is terrible).

3) They distrust the media. This should be expected since Faux News, Rush Limbaugh, Infowars and a host of right wing media outlets have spent years telling them how bad the media is. Why wouldn't they love someone who is direct about how much he hates the media?

4) He's rich. To the financial sector who wants nothing more than a politician who will let the super wealthy do whatever they want, Trump is the perfect president: he knows enough of what it's like to be rich to know how much tax cuts will help them and he lacks so much empathy that he won't have the slightest concern about how his economic policies do nothing to help the poor and middle class people.

[The Grand Nudger]

He told them he would kick out the mexicans and punish their enemies. You're overthinking things..which is definitely not what a trumpster would do.