Why do some people think Trump is a good man?

[Lyannaa]

There are a lot of people, even in the UK who act like you have offended their mum or dad if you point out what an awful person he clearly is. Even his own family don't like him and plenty of people have said how his relationships with his own children are merely transactional.

If people like him, is it because they are fascists themselves deep down? Or is it some type of mass hysteria?

The Democrats highly encouraged people to vote by post for some reason and the few I know voted for Harris did it by post.

A number of reasons. For example, if they vote by mail you've got their vote. If they say they'll vote on the day they might not turn up. The more of your potential voters who've done so by mail, the more you can focus your canvassing resources on others including undecideds.

When I was out in the US (Florida) in the run up to the previous election this wasn't my experience at all. Most news channels, most newspapers and media sources all touted Trump as credible. The coverage in the US was completely different to the UK

I live in the US. The mainstream media (Network channels ABC, NBC, CBS and Public Broadcasting/NPR) are highly critical of Trump.

Cable News niche channels FOX and NewsMax are pro-Trump and tend to put a positive spin on stories involving him.

Leading print outlets like the NY Times and the Washington Post are very critical of Trump and coverage is predominantly negative.

Most American media is left-leaning and their coverage of Trump reflects that.

That's very interesting. Our newspapers are predominantly right wing so it's difficult to get a balanced view.

Are people getting their news from X?

Oh please. They are nowhere near as critical of them as they should be.
Trumpers s call telling the truth instead of sucking up to Trump a "left wing bias."

Oh please. They are nowhere near as critical of them as they should be.
Trumpers s call telling the truth instead of sucking up to Trump a "left wing bias."

I'm definitely not a Trumper. Most American media tends to lean left, though there are Conservative outlets that are less critical of Trump (if not outright fawning).

Are people getting their news from X?

I think that's where confirmation bias comes in. People who look primarily to social media for news tend to seek sources that reinforce what they already believe.

I love this question, @Lyannaa.

I think the main answer is that he is a great believer in image, he does good PR - and he lies, of course. Anyone can tell just by some minimal reading about him that he's a stingy, cruel, self-centered man. Anyone paying attention would notice that he has no real friends. Other politicians talk about their friends, often dating back to their school days. Trump only has sycophants and business associates. The real question becomes, why are some people so susceptible to his lies, believing the best of him, while believing the worst of Obama and Biden?

I think that your second paragraph is astute, although I might not have put it so harshly. I think many people, especially men, like the idea that he gets away with things a normal person could not - viciously insulting people, grabbing women by the crotch, sleeping with porn stars, cheating on taxes. But a lot of people do seem to enjoy his vicious attacks and cruel plans targeting "lesser" people - women, blacks, Muslims, poor people. And there is something authoritarian/fascist about it. Also, most Democrats believe that in large part, his supporters are just plain stupid. It's easy for anyone to see the blatant lies and petty vengeful actions - but it does mean you have to have a decent, truthful news source.

You're probably right about his family. Many people, including me, consider Melania to be a gold-digger, and he clearly does not have the warm relationships that other presidents have had with their families. As Trump has become even more unhinged, Ivanka has quietly removed herself. (Obama and his daughters were wonderful together.) I'm wondering what would happen to those relationships if Trump was convicted and lost all his money, so they had no inheritance.

By the way, I highly recommend the book Too Much and Never Enough, by his niece Mary Trump. She's a psychologist, and it's a wonderful combination of sharp analysis and fun family gossip.

www.simonandschuster.com/books/Too-Much-and-Never-Enough/Mary-L-Trump/9781982141479

Many people, including me, consider Melania to be a gold-digger, and he clearly does not have the warm relationships that other presidents have had with their families. As Trump has become even more unhinged, Ivanka has quietly removed herself. (Obama and his daughters were wonderful together.)

Surely you can make your case against Trump without dragging his wife into it. I don't care why she married him as it isn't relevant. Get a grip.

JFK was portrayed in the press as the ultimate family man; devoted husband and doting father. That was largely fiction. The argument could be made that Bill Clinton was an effective President while simultaneously being a womanizing adulterer who took advantage of a young staffer. We know only what they choose to reveal and what the press decides will sell newspapers.

The other important factor in people thinking Trump isn't a total POS is because they are members of megachurches whose pastors support him. And if you're in one of those, what the pastor says, goes.

I just could not understand how anyone could see Trump as a 'Christian' until I saw a few accounts from former members of those churches saying that if a pastor says something, you do not question it. If he says a multiple adulterer and conman is God's annointed to Save America and Christianity, you vote for that man. If you question it then, well, God moves in mysterious ways and works His wonders through unlikely instruments.

That's a good point. This sort of thing illustrates why the separation of church and state is so important.

Are you frickin serious???

Yes. I didn’t say he was or wasn’t just asked a question

This story, which Trump tells of himself without any awareness of how it makes him look, kind of says it all to me: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/culture/culture-news/a44116/donald-trump-elderly-man-dying-howard-stern/ - basically a guy bled (possibly to death) in front of him at an event in Mar El Lago and all he could think about was the mess on his 'beautiful floor'

@GanninHyem

@username358
He's just won a landslide. Not bad for someone 'thick as mince'.

Thing is though, he is as thick as mince. And he's a liar and he's completely unfit for office. For goodness sake, he's a convicted criminal. He wouldn't get a job driving a bus in the UK. I just don't understand why posters like username actually think otherwise. I just feel that something else is going on and the vulnerable are being manipulated.

Thank you for your concern but I'm not vulnerable. I just think writing people off as 'thick as mince' isn't particularly conducive to an exploration of why people voted for him.

I could easily write people who voted for Brexit off as thick as mince and vulnerable. After all they believed a shed load of lies but I can look at the context and apply critical thinking.

@dottiehens

@username358
I'm not concerned about your vulnerability, and I wouldn't dream of thinking you are lacking in anyway without evidence. I actually said Trump is thick as mince. He is. Also, I'm not writing him off. Clearly he's popular. But he is thick. Why get so touchy about it? So strange. It is a bit cultish come to think of it.

I quite liked Prescott but my friend thought he was awful. I couldn't care less.

I'm not touchy about it. I just don't think writing him off as 'thick as mince' is helpful. I don't believe anyone is holding him up as particularly intelligent. However millions came out to vote for him and there must have been a reason. It's not because they're 'vulnerable'.

But it is concerning that someone both thick and a fantasist is in such a position of power. Particularly when Trump 2.0 is a very different animal to Trump 1. This time, he's surrounded by more people as dim as he is who most certainly do not have the credentials to make them fit for office.

He told people what they wanted to hear. Immigration is a big political issue in the West, far right parties are gaining power all over Europe and people want solutions.

Trump promised to round up immigrants. I believe he's promised to round up 20m even though there are approximately 11m undocumented immigrants in the US.

Even the Latin American community came out to vote for him because no one likes illegal immigrants.

He says he's going to declare a state of emergency and get the military involved. He's also going to have to build big detention centres to hold people.

He says that he doesn't care about cost which is good because it's going to cost eye watering sums.

I'm wondering what he's going to do about the law because these people have a right to be seen before a court before being deported and their immigration system has a big backlog due to underinvestment.

I'm wondering how people would vote here if Farage made the same promises. Look at his racist Brexit poster of queues of brown people trying to get into the UK and his rhetoric on crime.People voted for Brexit despite the lies.

Farage even got voted in alongside other dodgy Reform MPs on the same promises and millions voted for him because of 'small boats'. This was an issue caused by Brexit which he was the cause of and people still vote for him.

Trump knows how to appeal to people who feel disenfranchised. He appeals to people largely forgotten by the Democrats and knows how to touch the emotions. People have hope that he'll bring change.

Many are pleased at the people he's bringing into government because they're 'real' and not career politicians. He's going to shake things up and that's why they voted for him.

@username358
I'm not touchy about it. I just don't think writing him off as 'thick as mince' is helpful. I don't believe anyone is holding him up as particularly intelligent. However millions came out to vote for him and there must have been a reason. It's not because they're 'vulnerable'.

Good point, either really super rich or very vulnerable. But he got in because vulnerable people voted for him in their droves. Just my opinion

We have expedited removals so if you can’t prove residency past two years you can just be removed as an administrative matter, you don’t need to see a judge (I hope this is further extended tbh)

It should also be mentioned that Bill Clinton was able to mark 12 million ‘returns’ during his 8 years in office. This counts both deportations and voluntary returns due to new restrictions on access to welfare funds, fear of workplace raids, etc.

I believe that millions of undocumented immigrants have been in the US for a very long time, at least a decade. He's also talking about immigrants who have residency and removing whole families. He's going to have to change the law.

They don't care about sexual assault, corruption or the environment.

It's delusional selfishness, essentially.