AIBU to be curious about Trump supporters

[workhomesleeprepeat]

Not looking to start a bun fight! Long time lurker first time AIBU poster. Bit random but am curious!

I would consider myself liberal politically and generally in support of things that would probably be considered v left wing for the States (free healthcare etc). A lot of my friends are the same. Even the friends I do have in the States are not Republicans. So I am probably in an echo chamber of opinions really.

But I find myself so curious to know what the average Trump supporter really thinks of how he is handling the presidency and recently the pandemic. After watching that interview he did recently on Axios, I couldn't help but think there's something more to it all...so many people on my sm laugh about how 'dumb' he is, but he is basically front page news all the time. Who benefits from this? What's going on the in the background? Is it just him being random or is there some kind of strategy

I have read that Joe Biden is now ahead of him in the polls, but especially now that we can't travel - I doubt I am going to get the chance to ask a Trump supporter what they really think. Are there any on here that do support him or the way he's doing things and willing to discuss?

Before anyone asks why not about politics in the UK or Boris or whatever, I do have similar questions, but I guess the recent interview with Trump really made me wonder what his supporters think, whether this recent period in history has made them consider their position. Sorry if this is the wrong place to ask this question! I know this part of the site gets a lot of traffic.

Opps, sorry, paragraph 2 should read They feel that Democrats claim to be for the poor.

"what the average Trump supporter really thinks of how he is handling the presidency and recently the pandemic. "

You can to get a feeling for the mindset. eg., Trump being obnoxious = "it's great how he fights back." It's funny how Sanders can't string sentences together herself and then accuses Biden of that problem.

Or () poor Trump is treated unfairly by biased people with bad values that aren't part of my tribe.

Shouty Trump hurling insults = confident strongman who shares my values, in his supporters' eyes.

It really comes down to racism. Trump is revenge for all the Americans who voted for Obama—and the evangelical “church” and their “prolife” agenda has used this to their benefit. It’s America hanging on to the last strings of a white, male-dominated society. Those voters who needed what Trump promised them the most—the poorer working class people are getting nothing from this in any material way. Their taxes have actually gone up (and I have a friend who told me of her family members who had to sell their belongings to pay for this unexpected rise...and who will still vote
for him), manufacturing and farming are struggling because Trump doesn’t understand tariffs. Their benefits have been cut. But they are being fed a propaganda that is as old as the history of the USA and dates back to slavery, and ultimately comes down to racism and keeping certain people in their place.

I'm related to someone who voted for Trump. They did it because they believed that Hilary Clinton wanted to allow abortions to be performed up to full term.

That was it. That was the propaganda used in her conservative, Christian community to win trump votes.

Nobody going to talk about the good things he has accomplished then?

MrsJeminaDucj
And yet Biden has said that if you don’t vote for him you’re not really black and today suggested that black people do not have diversity of thought so pretty clear that Trumps not the only racist candidate!

OP - until the Covid situation a lot of people felt that Trump was getting things done. Reduction in unemployment in poor areas etc.
There is no doubt that Obama was more statesman like and diplomatic but by many accounts he did very little in power.

I am glad as a British person that I don’t have to vote on this quite frankly. Trump is Trump but I despise the Democrats also. I wanted Bernie to win the nomination. Democrats have had full control of the mainly black and working class cities for years. They don’t do anything to help them and they never will.

I check on YouTube most days as I am regularly sent about a million Republicans Against Trump videos, where previous Trump voters are crying and apologising to their country - some are very moving.
Hardcore voters are similar to lifelong supporters of shit football teams that have generations of the same family who are so loyal.

A lot of Trump supporters see Trump as one of them. He talks like a normal person to some extent, no formal speeches that were clearly written for him, he speaks to the people, he understands them. This is in stark contrast to Obama who had quite a formal way of speaking in his speeches.

Youbigdosser

About 90% of that list is low unemployment related. Trump inherited a strong economy with shrinking unemployment and basically just didnt fuck it up. Then covid happened and now there's record unemployment.

I dont think Trump has actually achieved anything good (the couple of 'wins' he had had - tax cuts for the rich and more right wing judges, arent wins in my book).

He should go down as comfortably the worst POTUS of all time.

@Paddingtonjuice

I also wanted Bernie but it's probably black voters that gave Biden the nomination.

I'm not in the US and dont really like Biden, but would crawl a mile over broken glass to vote for whoever isnt Trump.

Are there any actual Americans on this thread? I would prefer to hear from them.

I'm a Brit living in the USA. I have Trump voting friends and those who hate him.
Those who support him think he gets a poor deal in the media coverage.
They want a conservative Supreme Court.
They don't want higher taxes.
They think that white people are more restricted in what they can say and do then black people.
They want a return to an America that has passed in reality.

old but gold

It really depends on what you mean by "supporters". People who voted for him did so for a lot of different reasons, they aren't a particularly unified group.

Then there are people who always vote Republican, or people who think he will keep the economy going better.

I heard on a different part of MN that he is fairly popular in Mexico, weirdly enough, because some of his policies have been good for them.

A heck of a lot of people just don't like the Democrats in some way, so any support of Trump they have is passive.

The most vocal one I know isn’t a trump supporter per se, but I’d a republican supporter. He’s going to vote in his home state for a straight republican ticket. So nice for him when he’s tucked up in Australia living the life and doesn’t have to deal with the consequences.

I don’t engage in political conversations here, it could get messy so I don’t really know who amongst my friends are actually for him. I went to a lunch before lockdown and a new neighbour was there, she said in her best southern voice “can you believe they’re trying to impeach our president?” For sure there are supporters of him as an entity. I only see a couple of trump 2020 flags in our neighbourhood.

Am always so curious about the Hilary hate - she's not the most charismatic person, but the hate for her seems really intense from some quarters!

You have to remember that in the same way that after Thatcher, every PM has been a neoliberal and governed for the elite, even Labour, after Reagan in the us, every president has been a neoliberal and governed for the elite. Bill Clinton was a globalist who dismantled what was left of the American welfare state and imprisoned hoards of young black men. Obama was a hawk, a union buster, a man who appointed a Monsanto exec to oversee the FDA.

Hilary is seen to have been very much involved in all of these administrations and as being cut from the same cloth, and sh's never had the personal warmth of either Bill or Obama to off-set that. Plus people thought she saw herself as entitled to the presidency.

My mum has always been moderately conservative both socially and economically. She enjoys reading biographies of Trump, Giuliani, etc where they're made out to be masters of the universe. She finds Trump kind of goofy and funny, like all his bluster is endearing and amusing, but also believes he's an excellent businessman, and I can't get a straight answer out of her about how she squares this image with his bankruptcies (she probably thinks this is his clever way of gaming the system). Idk if she actually voted for him (tmi for me, I'd rather not know) but I suspect she did.

I grew up in the US and there was very little in the way of critical thinking taught in schools. The culture and values are very very different. Individualism, heroism, the self-made man etc are cornerstones of the culture. No one wants to be the kind of loser who can't just make his own way in the world, who can't pay for and choose exactly what he wants rather than sitting and waiting politely for the state to give it to him, so even if you need benefits or healthcare (which everyone does at one time or another), you're not meant to believe in those things. It's important to take credit for your own success.

He spent decades spinning a yarn about himself and his success, and he was a kind of local character in the New York area. His brand was attractive to people who don't want to think much about politics, you already know everything you need to know about him. And if you're not interested in politics you may not realise what a terrible job he's doing, it sort of looks like he's not taking any shit from anyone, he's a disruptor, he puts on a show, he tells it like it is.

All that stuff about America first, let's get the coal mines and foundries back to work etc was clearly bollocks, yet the target audience, who you'd expect to be pretty cynical by now, ate it up as though he was smarter than everyone who'd said there was no future for American industry, as though all those people were wrong and he was right. I don't think they will vote for him again, but Biden won't be a favourite either.

Who can explain how X% of voters are captivated and charmed by a candidate everyone else finds repellant? I never understood Reagan's 'charisma' either.

Bernie was running as a democrat.....

While I'm interested in reading this thread and the replies I was wondering if anyone has any more up to date thoughts? Since the Covid debacle and the US economy tanking? How is Trump perceived right now? Still set up by the "fake news" media?

I live in the US and from my experience of Trump voters (not many where I live) the main points they raise are:

1. The Supreme Court - re-electing Trump lets Republicans pack the court with conservative judges for the next decade or more
2. Tax cuts: Trump passed a huge tax cut for the top 1%. It also blew a big hole in the already-giant deficit but Republicans only care about the deficit if Democrats are in power
3. The stock market - Trump knows business (so they say) and that’s why the stock market has been so strong for his presidency (it’s a 10 year cycle but whatever...)
4. Jobs - job growth was strong until coronavirus hit. Now the story is that job growth would be strong again if the Democrats would stop whining and let Trump reopen the economy - reopen bars, schools, gyms, restaurants etc. Sure, more people will die but it’s mostly poor people and people of color so who cares?
5. Immigration - Trump reduced immigration numbers like he said he would do. He has canceled H1B visas and other temporary work visas this year to stop foreigners from taking American jobs in a pandemic and that plays well to his base even if it won’t make much difference.

That’s all I can think of. From the handful of Trump voters I know, a lot of the impetus to vote for Trump comes from a hatred of politicians, and a desire to ‘own the libs’.

This video gave me an insight into the mindset also. It’s a kind of irrational fervor in the face of all evidence to the contrary e.g. saying Trump is a man of the people who is poorer because he took the job as president when it’s very obvious that Trump has used the Presidency as a way to make money for himself, his son-in-law and daughter’s businesses and to drum up business for his hotels in the US and worldwide.

Personally, I have found that there’s no reasoning with Trump voters. They see and hear what they want to see and hear and are fixed in their mindset no matter what evidence they are shown.

My dad is American but lives in the UK and his family are from West Virginia ( a very conservative Trump loving state).

My aunty posted on Facebook that Trump was the best president ever and they are praying for his reelection.

It boggles my mind but they get all their info from Fox News and their Facebook groups who spin a very different image of Trump (strong, Christian, successful).

It's like Americans are living in two entirely different worlds and shared facts no longer exist.

Bernie was running as a democrat.....
Did anyone suggest otherwise?

I should add that the video I posted is basically propaganda from Turning Point USA, which is a political group that favors Trump. The guy talking is Charlie Kirk, a Pro-Trump activist who writes for Breitbart so take it with a grain of salt. But it gives an insight into the Trump fanbase.

As ProudBoomer has mentioned, it could be more to do with the opposition. America is essentially a two party political system.

I have never liked Trump but still... Hilary? Biden? Awful people with too many skeletons in the closet. And God knows what has gone on in their pasts that we haven't heard about yet. I really don't see them as being better than Trump at all, in any way. They're all dreadful people.

It's like being asked to choose if you'd rather someone pissed in your mouth or shat in your eyes.