Here is Donald Trump's support in the Republican primary since the beginning of 2022:
Trump's level of support is bafflingly steady. He routinely blurts out absurdities and nothing happens. He gets indicted twice and nothing happens. Ron DeSantis enters the race and nothing happens. His mental acuity shows obvious signs of decline and nothing happens.
If none of this stuff affects him even slightly, his support must depend on something else. But what? His policy positions are unremarkable. His anti-wokeness is moderate by modern Republican standards. His applause lines are old and kind of stale.
So what precisely is it that motivates so many Republicans to support him through thick and thin? These aren't just MAGA Republicans, after all. There are too many of them. They span the gamut from MAGA to moderate. And their support never wavers.
So what is it? Why do so many ordinary Republicans stick to Trump like glue? What's the attraction? I know it seems kind of late in the day to be asking this, but there really is an enigma here that's never quite been fully answered. Maybe we'll never know.
I'd say, if you have to say it pithily, for the same reason Elvis was popular.
He makes white people seem sexy and reminds them of a time when they were running the show. His "success" also makes them feel like they might have a chance in the multicultural future.
It isn't, in other words, because the music is so good.
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Donald J. Trump makes white people feel sexy? On what planet?
I'm a republican but NOT a Trump-supporting republican. That said, I think one of the reasons so many republicans do support him is correlated to how much democrats hate him. So many people got great enjoyment out of seeing the instances of "Trump derangement syndrome" after the 2016 election.
Well, that is a mature, thoughtful attitude.
The real reason is he IS your prototypical republican: racist, sexist, and homophobic. Why deny it?
And rude. There's no Republican candidate so willing to lie and insult as Trump.
That and momentum clinches it.
We hate DeSantis and Ted Cruz just as much as Trump. Maybe more. What you are saying may sound right in the moment but doesn’t really explain Trump’s support.
This has got to be it- the Republican coalition is largely defined by hating Democrats at this point, as opposed to concrete policy ideas.
Trump totally owns the "Dems hate me" brand, so the low-info Republicans just assume he must be the right guy.
That’s always been Trump’s principal attraction for Republicans. His open expression of hatred.
For decades, Southern segregationists snarled about how much they hated liberals.
Trump (like George Wallace before him) realized that not all those voters live in the South.
Wow, what does that say about the party you still belong to and admit to doing so in public? No policies of any import. Just "I love the guy who hates the people I hate" is now the Republican rank and file most important issue, according to you. And, hey, I don't think you are even wrong. But, what you are saying is that half of the party you still belong to and admit to doing so in public are, bluntly, awful people. Just like Trump.
the corollary would be democrats supporting biden because republicans hate him so much. sorry, that does not compute.
You lie about everything, so why would this be different?
Actually, I never lie. Please provide an example of when you think I've lied.
It's pretty easy to understand Trumpism if you view it not as a normal political movement, but as a cult with a Supreme Leader who cannot fail, only be failed. Where we see a cruel, clownish, wanna-be mafioso, they see a brave martyr willing to suffer the outrageous slings and arrows of the secular world to preserve the Truth -- basically fascist Christian ethno-nationalism. At this point, he's basically replaced Jesus in their lives. I mean, who's seen Jesus lately, and Trump is right there, posting on social media every day! Now *there's* a messiah you can devote yourself to!
You can't push back against that with logic and reason because these people have completely checked out of that paradigm. It will require a generational de-programming.
There are certainly some people like that but they definitely don't constitute all the Trump voters.
As a Republican how do you explain the support that Trump still gets after he tried to overthrow the results of a free and fair election ? All the culture war stuff, and white guy grievance and working class frustration with 50 years of growing economic economic inequality are debatable but how do they outweigh the FACT that Trump did everything in his power (which fortunately did not include the military) to undo a democratic election ? This is as fundamental as it gets. Are Republicans so down the rabbit hole that they overlook this because they don't like AOC or are worried about trans people ? And if that's true, what are you and other supposedly sane Republicans doing to change this ? Democrats are doing all in their power to get rid of Trump. But getting rid of the stench of Trump is on the GOP. When are you going to do it ?
I vote. That's what I'm going to do about it. As far as the support that Trump gets from many republicans, I wish I could explain it. I can't at this point. I think in 2016 it was a lot more explainable. (I voted for him in 2016.) Most people were unsure how he would respond to actually being in the White House. And, as Biden says, we weren't comparing him to the All Mighty, just to the alternative. During most of his term we were able to suffer his nonsense because we agreed with most of his policies and the fact we got three SCOTUS justices (thank goodness). But trying to overturn the election (not to mention his mishandling of classified docs) disqualifies him, in my opinion, from another term. Why others don't feel that way, I cannot explain.
Power?
So you admit you voted for him.
9-9
Yes, I've I said many times, I voted for him in 2016.
What is 9-9?
A Republican who is motivated by concerns like "wokery" or trans stuff should want to see the most electable Republican possible get the nomination. There are a few people like that-- SoCon (and expat) Rod Dreher is an example. The notion that only Trump can or would oppose such people (when others have a solid record too) is just bizarre.
As old age and unoriginal sin is catching. up with me, I have been going to internet sites about folks leaving high control religions. They blow my mind how folks can get trapping in them as they are so off the wall stupid. Scientology is a prime example. I can understand how folks who get born into them stay as they have been programmed for the religion almost from birth.
I think its the wrong question. A more appropriate question is "Why do people support dictators." There is a body of academic literature that addresses this.
To own the libs. Same reason these folks festoon their pickup trucks with giant MAGA flags, and/or giant U.S. flags (which is desecration, since they're going to get ripped to shreds at 70 mph...) Same reason they wear those hats. And those clothes. Same reason they consistently vote against their own interests, enthusiastically, as long as the person they're voting for has an R next to their name. It can't be said often enough: Half of the population is dumber than the other half. And most of them think they're in the smart half.
Like Trump, the straight white “Christian” men who have held 99% of the wealth and power for four centuries (and their wives) now feel persecuted because they hold only 90% of the wealth and power.
They are deeply, deeply resentful that democracy no longer produces the results of authoritarian theocracy. And they want their 99% back. If that requires rejecting democracy, so be it.
I tend to agree to a point, but if your scorecard includes anti-immigration, anti-woke, White Nationalist, anti-abortion, AND makes libs froth at the mouth then DeSantis checks all your boxes as well. No reason to keep up the Trump fandom.
So, my bet is that his Unique Selling Point is that he's an outsider. As in, not part of the establishment (which DeSantis clearly is). He represents the last best chance to break the hold of elites of both parties on the levers of policy.
Trumpism is the product of a fat, sated and bored middle class that wants nothing more from politics than cheap entertainment. Trump gives them the performative cruelty they see and enjoy on professional wrestling.
Spare me the endless hand-wringing about "economic anxiety." The beating heart of Trumpism resides in what old-school lefties called the petite bourgeoisie: small business owners and independent contractors such as skilled tradespeople and real estate agents. They are not uber-wealthy but they are affluent. The people who chartered private jets to attend 01/06 were hardly working class.
I think the entertainment aspect is a big part of it. Whenever I have been able to work up the stomach to watch parts of Trump's rallies, what I see is essentially right-wing standup comedy.
"Trumpism is the product of a fat, sated and bored middle class that wants nothing more from politics than cheap entertainment."
This is a very big part of it.
It is a big part and here's a reason why: DeSantis' floundering campaign trying out-Trump or stating he's Trump but more competent, more able to accomplish their policy objectives. No one cares. They see this little man running around basically staged-managed by his trophy wife and about as charismatic and personable as a five-pound bag of fertilizer. Thank you but MAGA voters will take the real thing. Plus it's much more fun and entertaining and the jokes are better.
The question you have to ask is not "why?" but "how?". How did it get to this point with GOP voters? Obviously Trump being a celebrity and not being politician or have anything to do with politics before 2015 was big factor in his favor. If concern about trade was what voters cared about the most we would already have Presidents Gephardt, Buchanan and Harkin. If concern about immigration was all that voters cared about we would have Presidents Tancredo and Hunter. If an American First foreign policy was No. 1 on voters lists we would have President Paul. So it has nothing to do with "issues" per say other than he's fallen, either through previous viewpoints or from shrewd voter observations, into what said GOP voters want or have preference for in this day and age and the fact as a non-politician he could sell such policies better to jaded GOP voters, already suspicious of anything political at all, better than the politicians could.
The one thing you have to know about the average voter on the Right, as I learned from Austin Bramwell, is that rarely do they recognize their ideology as such, they basically just go along with whomever is at the top of the apparatus, the ones they give their mandate to, says it should be. I guarantee you that a lot of these MAGAites had magnetic ribbons on their SUVs 20 years ago because they all supported the Iraq and Afghanistan war because that what the people at the top i.e. Bush II, Cheyney, Limbaugh and others did. So they went along it even if their kids were dying. Now they're for a non-interventionist foreign policy? I was big Ron Paul supporter back in the day but I even can't believe Paul influenced that many people to change their minds, certainly not to the extent Trump has done so. Certainly didn't show up in the actual polls. I imagine there was a lot of disillusionment after war went sour, WMDs was a lie and Bush II proved to be the worst war leader as President since Lyndon Johnson and that certainly helped Trump and discredit a lot of other GOP politicians and would-be Presidents. But I promise you this: if Trump wins in 2024 and the U.S. does attack Mexico or does attack Iran, those same MAGAotts - you know the ones who are against the U.S. helping Ukraine because they think it will lead to World War III with Russia "peaceniks" - will fully back such a war because Trump is the C-in-C and the libs would be opposed. Anything they oppose they like and vise-versa. I mean it's just ridiculous, but as Bramwell said, its exactly how Orwell foresaw how totalitarianism really works. Ideology matters jack. If people put their faith and trust in a leader, a single leader, who they believe protects them and attacks who they believe is their enemies, their "ideology" becomes so fungible that it becomes practically useless. They only thing they believe in is the leader himself. Where have we heard and seen that story before?
americans watch way to much tv. trump is a tv "star". entertainment not reality is what they want and what they get with trump.
Of course, we've all asked this question since 2015. Some pundits talk about the "hollowing out of industry in the rust belt," etc. Some talk about the "anger over globalization," and stuff about "the elites."
I believe this is all overthinking. I believe the answers are depressingly banal, such as his stupid TV show. Millions of Americans watched The Apprentice and bought his totally fake image as the Man They All Want to Be. Another factor is our national religion: the Cult of the Salesman. Trump is the ultimate sleazebag salesman. Another factor is that lots of voters, particularly men, see trump as their avatar of the guy who just sticks it to the Smart Kids. And a final factor is an American brand of contrarianism, where there is an urge to vote for a guy BECAUSE he is ridiculous, and of course you're not SUPPOSED to do that so of course you MUST do it.
Things like that.
David French has a plausible theory. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/06/opinion/maga-america-trump.html
Seems to be a theme. Death camp guards joy at smelling the smoke from the crematoriums?
To me, it has a very “The Lottery” vibe to it.
50% of Republicans means roughly 25% of the electorate and that absolute, unbreakable floor figure has been around a long time. Trump simply demonstrated that there is literally nothing a Republican can do that will drive the party's support lower than that.
That poll is for people supporting Trump in the primary. I guarantee you that way more than 50% of Republicans will vote for Trump in the general.
One factor I believe has escaped most political observers is the zero-sum worldview that Trump personifies — any gains by others must represent a loss for me. His cult shares this outlook; it underlies the expressions of ‘anti-anti-racism’, anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ+, etc. Here’s one article addressing this issue, but I’d like to see data; say, a survey relating this attitude to political orientation.
https://www.usnews.com/opinion/thomas-jefferson-street/articles/2017-09-14/donald-trump-and-the-rise-of-zero-sum-politics
yes, and this is of course absolutely key to understanding Trump in the context of the last century-plus of American politics. Huge percentages of Americans appear to see the US as essentially a hierarchy of racial groups constantly jostling for power and status. To these people, Barack Obama wasn't a standard milquetoast liberal president, but someone who (purely by virtue of the fact that he himself was black) would try to upend the "normal" socioeconomic pyramid and make all white people suffer so nonwhites could literally take their place.
Dems tend to think it’s about politics, and respond with arguments about political policy. My feeling it is more about identity. Think about football fans putting their teams symbols all over their car and trucks, wearing their fan gear and attending every game they can. Do they switch teams just because they lost the big game by 5 points? Not on your life. Are they impressed by the other team’s charges their coach is cheating? Not a bit.
It's a cult, Kevin.
For a longer answer, Teri Kanefield is one of several with some good thoughts:
https://terikanefield.com/a-firehose-of-insanity-and-the-republican-cycle-of-radicalization/
I agree with virtually all the reasons, except for the one string where Trump's appeal was put down to the "left." That was effectively dealt with by someone pointing out that the poster's "left" was the Fox definition, and for sure, the Trump definition.
Its really just math. Trump, of all possible R's is the least likely to compromise with any Dem on anything. So that appeals to the hard core (a) anti abortionists (he's in their hall of fame), (b) the gun nuts, (c) the anti taxers, (d) the anti minority crew, and (e) the anti immigration crew (also in their hall of fame).
Plus, he's the best at putting down libs.
The big story on Trump that you and the media missed: he owns the churches. They are almost all pro Trump.
Trump surrogates (not the man himself) have spent the last three years touring the right wing church circuit and keeping the troops fired up.
If you know anyone from these churches, you'll know that no set of facts will sway them anymore. Trump support is literally an article of faith these days.
Trump liberates his supporters from honesty and decency — and he does his just by existing, not through any policy position. Liberals, by contrast, often believe a thing merely because it is true. This makes them slaves to facts.
This can appear paradoxical to liberals. Trumpist authoritarians talk about freedom all the time -- and they mean it. Trumpist Christians can worship such a profoundly immoral man because their belief systems are built around affirming Truths that defy facts.