5 ms·

> I cannot understand how anyone can look at him and say, yes, that man should be leading this country They support Trump because they admire him, plain and si

> I cannot understand how anyone can look at him and say, yes, that man should be leading this country They support Trump because they admire him, plain and simple. He's a blowhard who's blustered his way into becoming President of the United States. A regular working-class guy knows he's no Obama, or Lincoln, or Ronald Reagan. But he looks at Trump and thinks to himself, 'If THAT guy can make it, then so can I.' To them, Trump is literally the American Dream of upward mobility incarnate.

mikeash 9y ago
How can Trump be upward mobility incarnate when he inherited tens of millions of dollars, though?
- smallnamespace 9y ago
  Because that part's easy to ignore. He may have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but he doesn't have class. He acts like the boorish nouveau riche who upends all the upper crust's social and political conventions. The more elites (regardless of party) are offended and publish long screeds about how he will destroy the Republic, the more the base love him.
  - mikeash 9y ago
    That's pretty much my problem. Every attempt to understand why someone would support Trump eventually comes down to either "his supporters are complete idiots" or comparisons to Hitler. Express either one and people jump down my throat saying I need to be more open-minded, respect people's opinions, occasionally consume news that doesn't just conform to my biases, etc.
    - smallnamespace 9y ago
      I don't think they're idiots. I think they feel justifiably desperate and are acting rationally within that framework. Who do you trust more -- coastal and city elites who think your religion is hogwash, your values are garbage, your biggest problems are that you're ignorant, racist, and white? A Republican Party that says they're for you, and then turns around and nakedly passes legislation that will gut your communities and keep shipping jobs off shore? Or an untried, loud-mouth demagogue who promises everything to you, but at least he's not part of the same system that's been screwing you over for the past 30 years? When you feel your back's against the wall and you've nothing to lose, you roll the dice.
      - mikeash 9y ago
        But Trump is a coastal, city elite who thinks their religion is hogwash, their values are garbage, and that they're ignorant. OK, he probably doesn't have a problem with racism or whiteness, but it seems like the rest are close enough. And he absolutely is part of the same system. To believe differently you'd have to be, well, an idiot.

mikeash 9y ago

How can Trump be upward mobility incarnate when he inherited tens of millions of dollars, though?

smallnamespace 9y ago
Because that part's easy to ignore. He may have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but he doesn't have class. He acts like the boorish nouveau riche who upends all the upper crust's social and political conventions. The more elites (regardless of party) are offended and publish long screeds about how he will destroy the Republic, the more the base love him.
- mikeash 9y ago
  That's pretty much my problem. Every attempt to understand why someone would support Trump eventually comes down to either "his supporters are complete idiots" or comparisons to Hitler. Express either one and people jump down my throat saying I need to be more open-minded, respect people's opinions, occasionally consume news that doesn't just conform to my biases, etc.
  - smallnamespace 9y ago
    I don't think they're idiots. I think they feel justifiably desperate and are acting rationally within that framework. Who do you trust more -- coastal and city elites who think your religion is hogwash, your values are garbage, your biggest problems are that you're ignorant, racist, and white? A Republican Party that says they're for you, and then turns around and nakedly passes legislation that will gut your communities and keep shipping jobs off shore? Or an untried, loud-mouth demagogue who promises everything to you, but at least he's not part of the same system that's been screwing you over for the past 30 years? When you feel your back's against the wall and you've nothing to lose, you roll the dice.
    - mikeash 9y ago
      But Trump is a coastal, city elite who thinks their religion is hogwash, their values are garbage, and that they're ignorant. OK, he probably doesn't have a problem with racism or whiteness, but it seems like the rest are close enough. And he absolutely is part of the same system. To believe differently you'd have to be, well, an idiot.