Trump's base right now are people who have never met an Iranian, and would probably be quite happy to see your coworkers sent to Guantanamo. Trump's policies will stand because his base stands by them, and because the GOP rank-and-file fear Trump, and his people in the midterm elections.
If you want to do something, use your political awakening to help change some minds. At both the top and bottom of the power chain, doesn't matter. Steer the conversation
I'm talking to OP's specific point around siding with Trump. I think the point is that no body on my side understands what matters in terms of motivating the electorate.
I think that's a naive view of Trump "supporters". For instance, it seems like Iranian-Americans were split on Clinton v. Trump [0][1]. I've also talked to quite a few people who voted for Trump but do not agree with his stance on borders or immigration. Finally, depicting all the people who voted for Trump as ignorant rednecks is probably not conductive to dialogue.
Historically speaking such a population is more prone to support authoritarianism than revolution. A good question to ask is: Is it in Trump's best interest for his base to advance economically, or descend further? I am quite confident that Trump and the Republican leadership knows the answer to this question.
But that's my point - a huge percentage of Trump supporters (not all, but probably a majority) don't support Trump for his policy positions. Indeed, there are large numbers of people who voted Republican in the past who love Trump despite the fact that Trump has done a complete 180 on policy items that used to be core Republican positions: support of free trade and being against protectionism and tariffs, support for foreign wars, containment of Russia, etc.
Most support for Trump is at a deep, emotional level (to be fair, strong support for leadership usually is).
It doesn't matter what your reasons are for putting someone in power. You or others may support anti-immigration laws to protect job markets, housing, medical care, etc. Those are valid concerns, but it doesn't matter. Trump is not the change that these people are looking for. Votes are fuel; at the end of the day, anyone who votes for him is complicit in the rhetoric he uses, and bears responsibility for the further spread of hatred and bigotry towards marginalized groups in our society. You might say that those voting for him have nobody else to turn to, that the current political system has disenfranchised them to the point where they have no choice. You'd be correct. There is always a choice to defend those who cannot defend themselves; it usually requires personal sacrifice, and it always reflects on the character of those who make it.
That is likely realpolitik calculus - if they say nasty things about Trump they score points with the incoming Democrat administration, score points with the political insiders in Washington and the Republican establishment probably don't care - it being entirely possible that they don't actually like Trump (Republican establishment != right wing voters). It is a pretty safe thing to offer an opinion on from that perspective. They'll make no powerful enemies.
Trump is missing a shield here that most presidents enjoy. International leaders would still say polite things about Bush the Younger despite him doing objective global damage by leading the invasion of multiple countries. My read on why is because they see a risk that people committed to his policy legacy still hold power in the US government.
While the previous poster is being a little flippant I don't think he's being totally unhelpful. If you want to send the message you are unhappy with Trump then on top of any protesting you do also make sure you get people to vote, when they can, against his policies. There are mid terms in less than two years so make sure the Republicans who support him take a hammering at the polls.
Politicians have put aside their personal beefs with Trump in response to their constituents. The republican base doesn’t want foreign wars and tax cuts, they want to kick the illegal immigrants out of the country and curtail foreign trade. Remember when Joe Biden told black voters Romney “wants to put them back in chains?” The Republican base wants their version of that guy, and that’s Trump. For Stefanik, Cruz, etc., their job is to put aside their personal preferences and get on board with what their constituents want.
Trump voters are a minority, they should be defended also.
Geek philosophy (let's pick Yoda this time) applies to Hillary and Donald voters: Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. Attack the policies, not the voters, not the president. Convincing will happen with compelling arguments that demonstrate these policies are flawed.
This is one thing Trump is doing that should get broad support. It probably won’t though, because some people are physically incapable of agreeing with him.
The problems go way beyond Trump. I'm not his biggest fan by any means, but the hysteria that surrounds Trump weakens the effectiveness of the resistance against the current US administration. The last US President to not pull a series of dick moves was probably Jimmy Carter, Trump is just less adept at hiding it than his predecessors.
Bashing Trump isn't going to work for getting lasting change. A lot of people are tired of the politics of fear. If you want to engage with the masses, look for positive practical non-partisan action that works at the grassroots level. Avoiding getting sucked into the national media circus that constitutes modern political coverage is generally a good idea. Please focus on local change first.
I don't often talk about my politics on HN, but.... I am a republican, which puts me in line to be a Trump supporter naturally. However, if you watch closely---although Trump espouses Republican goals, his reasons for doing so are usually 'odd'. There's no considered logic behind his decision making.
It is hard to praise him, even when he is on your side, because doing so is tethering your ideology to a crazy fellow and you never know what he might do next, because his reason does not rely on any wider principle.
Effectively, they are. They may say that they don't like him, but they voted for him in droves. He got more votes in 2020 than in 2016 -- more than anybody in history except the person he lost to.
There are surely some people who identify with the party but not vote for Trump, but they are a small minority. They may not like him, but if they vote for him, that's how the party will base its policy.
The way we got into a situation with Trump as a major party nominee in the first place was by not talking to people who are very different than we are. The polarization of the country into two parallel political realities is not good for any of us. We should talk to each other more, not less.
I see it differently than Sam here. My father is also a vocal Trump supporter. His path, and the path shared by his friends, appear to me to be driven not by what Trump says he will do, but by what they feel the government has not done. These people feel disenfranchised by their own government who appears unresponsive to their concerns and dismissive of their point of view. And in their world view, by reflecting their fears, Donald Trump appears to be listening to them.
When you overlay this perception of listening, and the historical divide of the role of government (Is it there to take care of you or is it there to enable you to take care of yourself?) It surfaces a lot of Trump supporters.
Because Trump has nearly religious following that scares many many people on the left and right.
They will do ANYTHING to stop him out of fear, anger, arrogance etc.
The problem here is Trump is an expert at reflection.
This HAS ALREADY empowered his base, and strengthened Ron Desantis.
I think the hardest part to accept is nearly half the nation DOES NOT AGREE with progressive principles at their very core.
his base is tiny. he was only elected because he had a base, plus a lot of republicans held their noses and voted for him. His true base is getting smaller every day; I have a bunch of friends in the midwest and many of them have reported that even the folks they knew who were huge Trump supporters have decided he's crossed too many lines (specifically, disrespecting the military, the covid press briefings, attacking people unnecessarily, and not actually helping working people) and plan to simply not vote in the presidential election (rather than voting for biden). I was struck at how many of my friends reported this rapid shift over the past few months.
I agree that the dynamics you describe account for some of the reason Trump's base is primed to latch onto him.
But as far as Trump himself goes, he's not really a Republican. He is solely concerned with receiving praise and feeling tough. There is no master plan; that is really all there is to it.
If you want to do something, use your political awakening to help change some minds. At both the top and bottom of the power chain, doesn't matter. Steer the conversation
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