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That's certainly an interesting theory, that voting for Trump gave people the illusion of agency in bettering their lives. I've often thought of a Trump voter
by tmuir 10y ago
That's certainly an interesting theory, that voting for Trump gave people the illusion of agency in bettering their lives.
I've often thought of a Trump voter as akin to a Bernie Madoff investor. Madoff's investors were promised, and at least for a time, were delivered great returns. Trump supporters have been told that their good paying jobs will be restored, the government will be fixed, and a whole host of conservative ideals will be implemented, all immediately. Madoff's investors were unwilling to critically examine their investments, because that would be looking a gift horse in the mouth. Trump supporters seem willing to overlook any logistical concern with achieving Trump's plans, because the promised outcome is everything they've ever wanted, and must be preserved.
In both cases, a judgement has been made that the payoff is so irresistible, that any critic can be easily dismissed as someone who doesn't want the "mark" to receive what they believe they are about to receive.
In this context it is understandable why Trump supporters are so keen to accept a single correlation as causation, instead of cautiously evaluating why assertions might not be true. It is human nature to desire positive change in one's life. The more significant or positive that change, and more imminent that change appears, the less likely a person is to balance their emotional response with logical examination.
- slavik81 10y agoThe similarities between the Trump 2016 and the Obama 2008 campaign are rather underlooked, IMO. While the two people couldn't be more different in substance, their campaigns have striking similarities. They were both outsider candidates, promising to fix Washington politics. Both made outrageously unrealistic promises, and had strong campaign slogans evocative of building a better future. "Make America Great Again" and "Hope and Change" / "Yes We Can" both hold very similar promise. The last person to build a slogan on quiet good governance was George W. Bush with "Compassionate Conservativism" back in 2000. Promising significant change seems to be the path to success these days.
- lazulicurio 10y agoAnother similarity: Obama was heralded in 2008 for being the first "social media" candidate, but Trump made that look like child's play with his campaign. For all the complaints about the "media" being biased against Trump, he sure played most of the traditional news organisations like a fiddle, both in the primaries and in the general election.
- tmuir 10y agoI think that can be explained by who Donald Trump is. He is financially independent, held no previous office, and already had a reputation of making baseless claims. Whereas most politicians are self preserving, Trump has nothing requiring preservation. The media continually and incorrectly predicting his campaigns demise, actually gave him credibility with his supporters, showing his resilience. It also hurt the media's credibility with his supporters because he was able to conflate the media's predictions as attacks, instead of being based on events that have precipitated previous campaigns ending.
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