Bear With Me. I’m Trying to Understand

Facebook has been the primary battleground these days for political discourse, a polite way of saying that there’s been a lot of contentious discussion between tRump haters and tRump supporters. It’s had a polarizing effect on many relationships.

My disdain for tRump is unmistakable. However, in an effort to understand why people support him, I engage them on threads from time to time. I try to ask pertinent questions, but often end up in name-calling contests.

As a result, I’ve amassed a pretty hefty collection of articles that attempt to explain the mindset of his supporters.

Here goes. Pour a glass of wine. Get comfortable and let me know if any of the links do not work. 

From the Atlantic: “Trump supporters were also more likely than Clinton voters to feel that “the American way of life is threatened,” and that high-status groups, like men, Christians, and whites, are discriminated against.”
https://www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/558674/?__twitter_impression=true

NYT article on the same study:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/24/us/politics/trump-economic-anxiety.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

But do they see this?

Paul Krugman: “Trumpland is voting for its own impoverishment.”
https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/paul-krugman-trumps-supporters-have-voted-their-own-economic-ruin

As much as we want to believe supporters are just plain stupid, there’s a mindset that is suspicious of facts and different beliefs is what constitutes the truth.
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2017/11/why_conservatives_are_more_susceptible_to_believing_in_lies.html 

From Pacific Standard: "Inside the Minds of Hardcore tRump Supporters" points to a mind-set that embraces authoritarianism and minority resentment.
 
If you believe you “suffered” under Obama, here are some responses.
http://occupydemocrats.com/2017/02/22/trump-voters-say-suffered-8-years-obama-heres-perfect-response/

Rural America is steeped in Fundamentalism, racism, and lack of trust in education. Such a closed system leads to a susceptibility to propaganda. “The real problem is that rural Americans don’t understand the causes of their own situations and fears and they have shown no interest in finding out.”
https://www.alternet.org/election-2016/rural-america-understanding-isnt-problem

Contains a good listing of shady financial affiliations that apparently don’t bother supporters
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/michael-cohen-and-the-end-stage-of-the-trump-presidency

The cult-like mentality of supporters.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-aslan-trump-cultists-20171106-story.html

More on the cult-like mentality.
https://psmag.com/news/a-sociologist-explains-the-similarities-between-cults-and-trumps-gop

And more. "Trying to pry them apart from Trump, to make them somehow see the light and turn on him, is a time- and energy-wasting exercise." From Charles Blow of the New York Times. 

Another explanation is the Dunning-Kruger effect in which people with little knowledge assume they have more. 
A thorough discussion on the psychology of tRump supporters by Bobby Azarian, PhD, a cognitive neuroscientist. 
Azarian also discusses the belief by his supporters that tRump is a Messiah. Very scary.

Trump and his supporters hate the same people.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-people-like-trump/2018/07/23/36514540-8ea2-11e8-bcd5-9d911c784c38_story.html?utm_term=.5f561d402ecd&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1

What to say to those who disparage Hillary Clinton

https://johnpavlovitz.com/2018/04/25/when-you-say-hillary-would-have-been-worse-you-sound-ridiculous/?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=facebook_page&utm_medium=John%20Pavlovitz
  
Pavlovitz asks supporters what they like about him.
https://johnpavlovitz.com/2017/06/16/trump-supporter-love/

Survey shows that supporters voted for tRump because of racism, not economic anxiety.

https://www.thenation.com/article/economic-anxiety-didnt-make-people-vote-trump-racism-did/ 

And they don't see his corruption, but rather the corruption of traditional male-centric values, according to The Atlantic, Why tRump Supporters Believe He Is Not Corrupt.

Maybe it’s not up to us to try to understand them. Call them out for who they are.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/5/13/1763987/-It-s-Not-Our-Job-To-Understand-Trump-Voters-It-s-Their-Job-To-Understand-Us?detail=emaildkre

And if all else fails…

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/6/25/1774930/-How-to-treat-Trump-and-his-supporters-Shame-them-shun-them-and-show-them-the-door?detail=emaildkre

Harsh but spot on. https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/7/4/1777434/-The-Times-finally-gets-to-the-bottom-of-Trump-supporters-It-turns-out-they-re-garbage-human-beings?detail=emaildkre

Here’s the link to the New York Times article cited: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/01/opinion/trumps-purple-family-values.html?smid=tw-nytopinion&smtyp=cur 
Bigotry and intolerance lead to authoritarianism.

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/trump-effect-new-study-connects-white-american-intolerance-support-authoritarianism-ncna877886

Support for the GOP may be coming from the fact that interns in their organizations are more likely to be paid.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/right-wing-millennial-machine_us_5b049aebe4b07c4ea102e0c3

His supporters dig in. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/23/us/politics/republican-voters-trump.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

But are they beginning to see the cracks in tRump’s façade? https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a21775485/migrant-child-crisis-trump-presidency/

Conspiracy theorists 
What’s behind conspiracy theorists?
https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/americans-buying-rabid-pro-trump-conspiracy-theories-120653906.html

A really deep dive into QAnon from The Atlantic. 
From MIT Technology Review, "How to talk to conspiracy theorists."
From The Conversation, rules of engagement for conspiracy theorists.
Debunking Hillary’s conspiracy theorists: http://americannewsx.com/hot-off-the-press/debunked-hillary-conspiracy-theories/

“Now, Republican consultants are concerned that the combination of their voters’ insulation from reality — and Donald Trump’s fragile ego — could cost the party control of the House.”

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/08/2018-midterms-trump-red-wave-gop-base-delusional-fake-news.html?utm_source=fb

“Once you grasp that for Trump and many of his supporters, corruption means less the violation of law than the violation of established hierarchies, their behavior makes more sense.” And, “For many Republicans, Trump remains uncorrupt—indeed, anticorrupt—because what they fear most isn’t the corruption of American law; it’s the corruption of America’s traditional identity.”

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/08/what-trumps-supporters-think-of-corruption/568147/?utm_source=fbb

I’ve read most of the current books that are critical of tRump and focus on his corruption and collusion. This article focuses on the pro-tRump books that have been written. Looks like they confirm the glory bestowed on him by Faux news and his supporters.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/book-party/wp/2018/08/15/i-read-six-sycophantic-pro-trump-books-and-then-i-read-omarosa/?utm_term=.a428a9db934d&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1

The White Women Phenomenon 
And GASP the block of white women who support tRump and came out in support of Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court. 

From the New York Times
White Women, Come Get Your People 
At tRump Rallies, Women See a Hero Protecting a Way of Life

From The Guardian
Women aren't a monolith – and the white women supporting Kavanaugh prove it
 
From the Associated Press
Many women line up in support of Kavanaugh pick 

From The Guardian: Half of white women continue to vote Republican. What's wrong with them?

From Vogue magazine: Why Do White Women Keep Voting for the GOP and Against Their Own Interests?
 
tRumpers speak

A comment from Jan Verhoeff in response to my questioning why women would ever support trump:

“Sally, I'm far more shocked at the women who don't support him. Their reasoning lacks insight into real world situations, relevant fact patterns, and any possible understanding of capitalism. I suppose, if women are truly ignorant of the economy, business development, and negotiating opportunities, they might be against someone like Trump. But I thought most women were smarter than that... Then I see people such as yourself, Sally, commenting, and I know, I've overestimated a good portion of the population. What a sad statement about womanhood in this generation, you're all an embarrassment to women who really do work and support themselves in these times.

“And… And there's another reason not to trust the pussy hat wearing, vagina exposing women who claim feminism as a position of strength. They can't speak without degrading the language and dropping f-bombs in the face of a logical discussion. Their ability to think with anything north of their genitalia just isn't an option. Thank you, Sally Bahner for the rather obvious reminder of who you really are.”

An analysis by Ed Mastoloni of Madison, Connecticut, of what he believes trump has accomplished:

“Since we are now almost a year and a half into Trump’s presidency, here is a list of some extraordinary things he has done — for both good and ill — is nothing short of remarkable. Trump inspires such deep emotions in his critics and supporters that many have struggled to objectively assess his presidency. Some are so blinded by their hatred of Trump that they refuse to acknowledge the good he has done, while others are so blinded by the devotion that they overlook almost any transgression.

“Like all elected presidents (I didn't vote for him or HRC), I’ve tried to give Trump the credit he deserves when he does the right thing, while calling him out when he does the wrong thing. So, here is my list of the 10 best things Trump has done in his first 11 months. 10. He enforced President Barack Obama’s red line against Syria’s use of chemical weapons. When the regime of Bashar al-Assad used a toxic nerve agent on innocent men, women and children, Trump didn’t wring his hands. He acted quickly and decisively, restoring America’s credibility on the world stage that Obama had squandered.
9. He has taken a surprisingly tough line with Russia. Trump approved a $47 million arms package for Ukraine, sent troops to Poland’s border with Russia and imposed new sanctions on Moscow for violating the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
8. He recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Four American presidents promised to do it, but only one actually did. This is why the American people elected Trump. He does what he promises to do, for better or for worse — in this case, definitely for the better. Even Jeb Bush tweeted his approval.
7. He withdrew from the Paris climate agreement. After George W. Bush pulled out of the disastrous Kyoto treaty, U.S. emissions went down faster than much of Europe. The same will be true for Trump’s departure from the Paris accord. Combined with his approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, and opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to exploration, Trump is helping usher in a new age of American energy development.
6. He got NATO allies to kick in $12 billion more toward our collective security. Decades of pleading by the Bush and Obama administrations failed to get NATO allies to meet their financial commitments to the alliance, but Trump’s tough talk and reticence to affirm America’s Article V commitment did the trick. NATO is stronger as a result.
5. He has virtually eliminated the Islamic State’s physical caliphate. Trump removed the constraints Obama placed on our military and let it drive the terrorists from their strongholds.
4. He admitted he was wrong on Afghanistan and reversed Obama’s disastrous withdrawal. In a rare admission, Trump declared: “My original instinct was to pull out . . . But all my life, I’ve heard that decisions are much different when you sit behind the desk in the Oval Office. . . . A hasty withdrawal would create a vacuum for terrorists.”
3. He enacted historic tax and regulatory reform that has unleashed economic growth. Trump signed the first comprehensive tax reform in three decades and removed the wet blanket of Obama-era regulations smothering our economy. We are now heading into our third consecutive quarter of above 3 percent growth.
2. He is installing conservative judges who will preside for decades. With his appointment of Neil M. Gorsuch, Trump secured a conservative majority on the Supreme Court, and he is moving at record pace to fill the federal appeals courts with young conservative judges.
1. He, not Hillary Clinton, was inaugurated as president. Trump delivered the coup de grace that ended the corrupt, dishonest Clinton political machine.
There are many other significant achievements that did not make the top 10. Trump has taken a clear, strong stand against the narco-dictatorship in Venezuela, and he renamed the “Asia-Pacific” the “Indo-Pacific” to include India in the larger task of preventing Chinese hegemony in Asia. Trump has made clear that he is willing to use force to stop North Korea from deploying nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of destroying U.S. cities — which has prompted China to finally put real pressure on Pyongyang. We’ll see if it works.
The record of achievement suggests that, despite the noxious tweets and self-inflicted wounds emanating from the White House, Trump has the potential to become one of the most consequential conservative presidents in modern American history. The question is: Does all this good outweigh the bad?

And finally...  
Are you emotionally drained and exhausted? You’re not alone.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-enormous-emotional-toll-of-trumpism?via=twitter_page