Dissecting Trumper Support
What Motivates Them
On election day I’ve been pondering the reasons why so many Americans will vote for someone who so blatantly lacks the qualifications to hold any public office. The factors motivating his support base vary and include religious, cultural and economic elements. What they have in common is passionate visceral rigidity that blurs his many flaws.
Christians credit Trump for Rowe v. Wade and for the conservative composition of the Supreme Court. Some go further and believe that he is chosen by God. They aspire to a society which stresses patriarchy family and faith.
White uneducated males, blame Democrats for promoting economic globalism, exporting manufacturing jobs and hollowing out industry. White male identity has been threatened by technology in the workplace, which in some cases favors women.
Small town conservatives blame the educated, city-based elite for empowering the “woke” culture. Its ideology has destabilized many sensitive elements of our society. Minorities ascended and gender change was flaunted. Immigrants they imagine have stolen their jobs and increased crime.
These cumulative sources of despair and negation are reinforced by social media platforms and the flood of disinformation. Despite the fact that our economy is the envy of the world, a plurality of the voters still believes otherwise.
The Biden administration gets little credit for policies enacted that over a long term will reduce the globalization drain and return good jobs and manufacturing to the U.S. Legislative initiatives resemble the New Deal in scope and impact. But disenchanted voters focus on the inflationary impact of big spending and delude themselves into thinking that they were better off under Trump.
Democrat state level dominance has eroded twice. The first was after Johnson’s endorsement of civil rights legislation, aborting Jim Crow. The second is the steady drift of rural and small-town voters to the right.
Changing the momentum of this dynamic shift will be challenging.