Why Republicans Vote for Trump

Democrats ask: What could Republicans possibly see in Trump to like?

He is crass, self-aggrandizing, self-serving, disorganized, and dishonest. Most people say the country is on the "wrong track."

Asking a neighbor

It continues. His former aides write books saying he is a lying buffoon. Senior career officials resign in protest over his politicizing official business. He minimized Covid and stymied an effective response, making the US conspicuous among peer nations for how badly we handled it, causing our economy to be lagging behind our peers.

Sounds bad--and yet he has such strong support that he is nearly dead even in the swing states and adding them to his reliable base, he may well once again win the electoral college.

Democrats who watched the Republican Convention with disgust ask themselves: With Trump personally so crass and the country in such an economic and Covid mess, how is it possible that some of the people they know and like--work colleagues, long time friends, relatives--can be blind to Trump's malfeasance. What do otherwise nice, reasonable people see in Trump?? 

Who actually likes him?

1. Republicans like him. Republicans evolved along with Reagan to Bush 42, to Dole, to Bush 43, to Romney, to Trump. There is inertia.

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2. People who are basically anti-tax. Republicans have been, supposedly, the cheap-government party and those voters like the tax cut even if it means higher deficits. They have a strong presumption that tax money is wasted, so waste as little as possible by taxing as little as possible. The 2017 tax cut lowered taxes on most people, at least a little. Worry about deficits later.

3. Anti-abortion people. They consider this a vote of conscience. Is a fetus a real human?  Many people think abortion is a litmus test of humanity with Republicans on the side of care for the vulnerable. Many consider abortion a grave moral error very equivalent to slavery, the issue that created the Republican Party 160 years ago.

4. Trump seems to represent an America that isn’t so polite, isn’t so “international,” isn’t so globalist, and therefore isn’t a patsy.  For example, most Democrats believe that climate change is real and, generally support rules that make a dent on carbon emissions. Meanwhile China and India are building coal plants. A lot of people wonder why America is sacrificing so the 2.5 billion people in Asia can overwhelm with their pollution whatever we do. We are patsies, they think. Same with NAFTA. Same with NATO. Same with the UN. Same with trade generally. America lost jobs so China could take 400 million people out of poverty, which is great for them, but what's in it for the American factory worker who lost his job, they wonder? Trump speaks to these voters.

5. A lot of people don't like Democrats. They see woke, politically correct, anti-racist Democrats as self-righteous elitist prigs. Trump stands up to Democrats.

6. A lot of people are uncomfortable about people of other races and cultures. Hillary was right saying there is a lot of endemic racism in America. A lot of people have some secret judgements and assumptions about the nature of Blacks, Jews, Muslims, Irish, Mexicans, Cubans, Indians, women, gays, whatever. We make assumptions about people based on cues. A 30 year old in a business suit is presumed to be different from a 30 year old in a hoodie. One need not excuse racism or misogyny to recognize it exists. Some liberals call it out to shame it and feel totally righteous in doing so. People don’t like being shamed for who they really are. They consider themselves simply to be normal and realistic. Those people like Trump for being unashamed saying things that come across as racist, things they themselves think.

7. A lot of people think Democrats cannot control "urban violence" which is partially non-racial in meaning and partially racial. Urban is code for Black. The violence going on in cities now is portrayed endlessly on Fox, and discussed endlessly by Trump, for a reason. It is a motivator. White people fear Black violence, and they will vote for leaders who seem to be willing and able to suppress it. Many White people are generally comfortable with White people exercising violence against Blacks, but are anxious when it is the opposite. The 17 year old White boy carried an AR15 to a protest, killed 2 people and was arrested the next day and is called a hero by Fox News hosts.)

8. A lot of people have decided that Trump’s pugnacious self serving narcissism is basically justified by the widespread dislike he endures from mainstream, establishment sources: the highbrow media, academics, scientists, experts, diplomats. On both left and right there is diminished respect for institutions and authority. Trump justifies and validates that disrespect. He disrespects them, too. Trump acts like a bully, but Trump repeatedly calls himself the one beset by critics. A lot of people agree. Trump is the victim. 

9. Guns. For niche of people it is an important, perhaps single, issue.

10. Trump acknowledges the primacy of traditional Judeo-Christian religion. Few Trump supporters think he is religious himself, but he does  the fighting of Jesus--and of American Christians-- for them. The "Bible in the Park" photo was obviously an insincere act of faith, but it was a powerfully sincere statement of position: he was the insincere guy who chose to hold up a Bible.

11. A lot of people have decided that Trump’s obvious personal misbehaviors are simply irrelevant, rather the way lots of Democrats decided that Bill Clinton’s horn dog behavior didn’t matter. People figure strong leaders are virile. People likely think Trump is an adulterous husband, but he is interpreted as strong. He doesn’t wear a mask while making everyone around him take Covid tests daily. He takes what he wants. A majority of white women voted for him. He grabs pussies and America gets a strong leader, and strong is what the admire.

12. He sneers at the media, and people like that. People are now choosing their own media, like Facebook, an Apple feed, or this blog.