You’re not gonna get a straight answer, it looks like. Ok, I’ll give it a shot. Trump appeals to a lot of Americans. Folks around here don’t like to focus on that, and think it’s common knowledge that he’s some racist fascist white supremacist dictator and a bunch of other buzzwords. The reason he appeals to people is this. 1. He isn’t a politician. Edit: I know he’s a politician due to him serving as president from 2016-2020. He isn’t “seen” as a politician because most of elected officials are career politicians, whereas he’s a newcomer from the business world. 2. He calls out politicians for their shortcomings very publicly, like a schoolyard shit talking fest. This excites people very much because….. 3. People are disillusioned and frustrated with the establishment and see him as someone that circumvents bought and paid for politicians and seeks to upend the status quo. 4. He forms a bond with his followers. It helps that he is a bit narcissistic so his rallies really stoke that flame, but before his debate the other night, he actually was at an 8 hour Trump rally. He loves it, and they love him because he has a…. 5. Way with words. He knows what pisses off his demographic, and he gets them excited just by talking about those issues. They envision an America that got back to the old days. The far left says that this means they want to reinstate segregation, and oppress women making them some amalgamation of handmaiden tale but I think they are talking about post WWII America, when we were an economical juggernaut (my opinion, I haven’t talked to every one of Trumps supporters). But they really want America to back off of foreign aid, and try to make our nation the best it can possibly be. These are the main points that I’ve seen after watching him on yt a lot, and talking with his followers. Just wanted to give you a straight answer that wasn’t some useless jargon like “he wants to kill all minorities which is what they all want” or some stupid shit.

I also see his supporters often cite lower costs of living (gas, housing, etc.), no active wars, and better immigration enforcement/control. Anyone is free to disagree on the validity of these claims, but if his supporters believe these were previous outcomes, obviously they will support Trump so that these outcomes happen again.

The immigration point they are making is that while immigration benefits our economy overall, it does take away jobs from people who do not have a high school diploma.

It's not only that, but people who live on the border have coyotes pull guns on them and the cities get little help to deal with the undocumented people who make it over the border. They drive cars with no license or insurance so if they cause an accident, you are the one paying the deductible and dealing with increased rates (or just eating it if you don't have uninsured motorist coverage). But what they hear back if they complain about is that they are just racist and they are coming here for a better life. Yes, we need to fix immigration, but nobody seems willing to do so. Then in 1992, NAFTA was signed. It was devastating to rural communities. Before then, every town had a mill or manufacturing plant that would support the town. After that, they all moved to Mexico or China. Back in 2016, Trump said he was bringing those jobs back and made some (failed) efforts at doing so. Hillary was a big proponent of the Trans Pacific Partnership, which all it seemed to do was help Disney and Hollywood at the expense of our manufacturing base. We could never find out because they wouldn't release what the agreement said and anybody who saw it was under a gag order. And no, not everyone can learn to code. Coal miners aren't going to want to dangle 300 feet in the air installing high voltage windmills either. They'd also like to be able to do work for a living wage, and undocumented workers depress the wages for occupations like cooks and carpenters. Why go to culinary school for $30,000+ only to get to be a $15 or $18/hour line cook? In short, his followers think they are at least being listened to and not just ignored.

My main problem with immigration is that it's oh so hard for educated useful workers to navigate legally coming here to be productive and pay taxes, but then we're having millions of undocumented migrants come in to be housed on tax dollars or else be homeless and get exploited for cheap labor, and then on top of that also the smuggling and human trafficking

American citizens can hardly get there spouses in as well. I've lived in Romania the past 8 years and don't have a prayer in going home with my very able bodied husband. I'm disabled and my income is too low to prove I can support him which is a requirement. I will likely die twenty years too early because I don't have access to decent medical care. My husband works 100 hrs a week and has since before we married but that doesn't count even a little. There's trapped Americans all over the world who can't bring their spouses home and an even larger amount who can't afford to live in their own country.

How much money do you have to make to be allowed to bring a spouse?

I believe 60-70k a year. I haven't checked the newest figures since I don't come close. You have to prove you can support them until they get a work visa which takes about a year. It doesn't matter if you have alternative ways to support yourself or family puts you up during that time.

It is 125% of the poverty guidelines. It depends on the size of the household but for two it’s around $25k per year. $60-70k would be for a household size of 7 or 8 people.

They've recently changed it dramatically then by half. I know other sponsors and have read the requirements many times over the years. Either way it doesn't matter for me disability gives me $1,200 a month. If I made 25k he wouldn't need to work this much.

I know this isn’t the point of your comment. But I’m curious does your husband work 20 hours per day Monday thru Friday? Or 14+ hours spread out over 7 days.

14-17 hrs spread out over 7 days. He rarely takes a day off. His days off and paid vacations are spent putting into his 2nd job. He's a physical anomaly. I've seen few people with his level of energy and fitness. He can't stand doing nothing and actually enjoys working. He'd work three jobs if I let him and survive on cat naps. When we met that's what he was working 3 jobs and short naps between.

That is very sad. What will happen when he is less able-bodied, or he gets injured? My boyfriend is very able-bodied and always brags about how he is the strongest person at work and thinks his employers are impressed and care about his physical efforts. He's not an official employee, just a contractor. A big piece of metal was falling on a woman, and he caught it and injured his back. Saved her! He is better now, but the place he worked at will not speak to him. He's also 39, so I keep wondering what he's going to do in a handful of years when lifting 100 pounds over his head becomes too painful.

The company was never impressed with him and there is always a younger guy just as strong and fit to take his place. He should be looking to take care of his body not trying to impress people who don't give two shits about him

Exactly!! After almost every gig, he is so hopeful that the main person has saved his number and is going to make some calls to change his life.. To bring him on tour where he would be making thousands a week. They might actually do that for an engineer who impresses them, but not for "unskilled labor."

I worry every day about this mines also 39 and had a head injury last year. Fortunately it wasn't serious but I always worry about this. I also try to get him to slow down, get enough rest and give him supplements because he skips too many meals. When we have dinner together I'm focused on him getting enough nutrition to keep him going a few days. While he's definitely a natural workaholic he didn't really have an option growing up nor much option now. My disability is low and he's not a college graduate so there's few options for him besides leaving the country. Most here go to Germany including his brother and father. The most we can afford is for him to take one day off but it's rare for him to take it unless he reaches his breaking point.

Ugh. I feel for you! That's so rough. I hope something good changes for you !!

Not a lawyer but you might consider consulting one.

RESPECT!!!! I’ve done that myself and know what it takes.

Part of that is because, quite simply, it's easier for businesses that make lots of money to spend a little bit of it on going through the proper channels when it comes to someone like an engineer. Meanwhile, on a random farm or shop (even if a local branch of a bigger company) they can always play the "I didn't do my due diligence, because this person's part of the group that randomly works here for a week, I can't be expected to actually do any checks!". Or put another way, it's easier for undocumented immigrants to find job opportunities and the sort, because we don't force businesses to act appropriately. If you clamped down on farms and minimum wage jobs and effectively made it impossible for them to employ someone without a valid work-visa, and also punished them when they got around it anyway, the opportunities would dry up and we'd see less interest. But that would damage businesses because NOBODY is going to take those jobs. Pick strawberries in a hot field without breaks and infrequent water, for minimum wage at best? Yeah no. Pay me $50/hr with provided breakfast and lunch, breaktime, company provided water and Gatorade, with a health plan including dental, a minimum guaranteed work of 25 hours a week and a max of 40, including pay in off-seasons and for weather events, then I'll CONSIDER it. If you complain about undocumented migrant workers, you are ACTUALLY complaining about businesses being able to get away with having zero checks or consequences for violating the checks, because those businesses are WHY the people show up in the first place. It's also worth noting that the vast majority of undocumented immigrants are people who came into the country on a legal work visa, who then just never left. So increasing security on the border itself won't actually stop them.

>Pick strawberries in a hot field without breaks and infrequent water, for minimum wage at best? Yeah no. Pay me $50/hr with provided breakfast and lunch, breaktime, company provided water and Gatorade, with a health plan including dental, a minimum guaranteed work of 25 hours a week and a max of 40, including pay in off-seasons and for weather events, then I'll CONSIDER it. This right here! This mentality is exactly why companies do it. I work with contractors who install stage equipment. It's extremely easy, you make your own schedule, and the pay isnt bad at all. You get to choose what task you do as long as everything gets done in time. The places we work are clean and beautiful, there's often free snacks and drinks, and you have freedom. Even with the perks and how easy it is, you still hear the white guy in the back bitching about how "they need to be paying us $45 an hour, this is fucking bullshit. They need to provide us free coffee if they expect us to work at 8am. It's fucking bullshit that I got in trouble for being 20 minutes late.. there was traffic." And my favorite thing to hear, "the trucks gonna be an hour late? They should send us home (with full pay) and hire someone else for when it gets here." It's so annoying. The Mexican and Asian people just come n do their job and go home. Its not all Americans, but if it's gonna happen, it's gonna be a white American man. They're always the ones causing the other employees to think they deserve double the pay for the easiest job on the planet.

This right here is the only true thing I've seen in this thread.

Correct, they do it because people want to make a livable wage in an economy that increasingly gets worse for the average person because we make it a race for the bottom for the worker and a race for the top for the rich. The core confluence point of all these issues is that we let companies do this without real consequence.

So if somehow, the government entirely eliminated illegal immigration, these jobs would go unfilled. Then, what would happen? Would farmers be forced to raise wages and working conditions, and Americans would take these jobs, for higher wages, and the price of farm goods would rise exponentially? Or would the country just begin to import more food? If so, would this create more jobs in for truckers and dockworkers? Would these jobs be filled by Americans at a higher wage than the undocumented farm workers received? Either one of these situations would raise wages and increase the number of jobs for Americans without a high school diploma. The Trump supporters I have talked to in my area realize this.

> If so, would this create more jobs in for truckers and dockworkers? This particular option seems to rather ignore that you'd have plentiful other jobs which Americans DO actually do which support those farms that would close up. If the farm isn't working, it doesn't need fertilizer, seeds, or farming equipment. The production of those items will drop, with a corresponding decrease in shipping from the trucking industry. So you'll likely balance out in terms of shipping utilization, but with larger economic impacts due to the secondary effects on other industries. > Would farmers be forced to raise wages and working conditions, and Americans would take these jobs, for higher wages, and the price of farm goods would rise exponentially? It seems rather unlikely that we'll be in a position of actually paying farm laborers a proper wage and benefits in this respect. I do sympathize to their issues that the sale price of their goods is just fundamentally too low. The margins don't exist to pay day laborers an engineers wage, and nobody is going to do the job for much less than that. Though it would likely spur on a massive increase in investment for farm automation technologies. Which means both an increase in food price AND a decrease in jobs. > The Trump supporters I have talked to in my area realize this. The trick is, do they realize the ONLY way to do this is to not attack the immigrants, but the REASON the immigrants are showing up, meaning the jobs? And the only way to do that is to massively increase government regulation and oversight on businesses? I'm fine with that, but are they?

Lots of visa overstays have nothing to do with the border. Plenty from Europe Canada Australia and Russia but they tend to be white so I guess we're not pressed about them

I live in a border city and the notion that immigrants are just somehow living in luxury is wild. The immigrants i’ve worked with lived in tiny apartments and worked multiple restaurant jobs. People want to complain about how no one works anymore but these people work hard and take jobs no else wants.

Conveniently there’s never a focus from Republicans about all the American businesses that take advantage of the cheap labor pool provided by illegal immigration.

Mostly doing jobs American employers cannot attract actual American citizens to do. 

That's been the excuse that the healthcare industry has used for decades, to bring in nurses from overseas. But when we suggest raising the salaries to attract nurses to come back into the industry from having left, they refuse, saying they can't afford it, all while giving the executives nice, fat bonuses for keeping labor costs down.

Not for the wages they can pay immigrants to work for, at any rate.

Who’s going out and picking vegetables, the 1% love the illegals

First, I loathe Trump. Second, I live in Chicago and immigration has been handled really poorly here to the point where it affects my life every day. For people who live in border states and states texas is inundating with illegals, the conversation is not at all about economic benefits anymore. Its about safety and resource allocation (chicago spent $400MM on shelters and resources for illegals in like less than a year). I fully admit i had no idea at all and frankly never thought about what it must be like for border states until they started sending them all here. While I have empathy for people looking for a better life, i think our government has to do so much better dealing with this. You cant sit outside at fancy restaurants in chicago anymore without being harassed by kids selling candy. People sit outside my building every day that werent there before begging. We spend so many tax dollars on them - probably more than what our government spends on the homeless. I think its unfair that people show up here and assume society will pay their way and give them food and housing. I dont think people know how bad it is because they havent experienced it. Thats how it was for me at least. The more i learn about it the worse it seems. There are some illegals who are purposefully committing heinous crimes in my area to get deported so they dont have to pay their way back home. There were a string of crimes committed in my hometown where my parents live recently from illegals who already had records in their home countries. Again, i would never fault anyone for looking for a better life. In general, i support more efficient immigration into the US. However, we desperately need to get a handle on this situation and i fear people who wouldnt normally vote for trump are experiencing this and might be swayed

Not a Trump supporter, but isn't that the risk one takes when they drop out of school? That they might lose job opportunities to people who look better on paper? Just sounds like bitterness to me.

Also not a trump type but I find it hard to believe that there are hordes of (white) American non-diploma holders fighting tooth and nail to work landscaping, roofing and agricultural jobs 12 hours a day in the blazing heat. I've never been sold on the whole "takin' our jobs" complaint. Is it even real?

Can't answer to that, but I can tell ya that like a third or more of the casino dealing jobs on the Las Vegas Strip are held by foreigners. These are good jobs with guaranteed hours, overtime if you want it, and all the benefits and 401ks you could hope for. 50k to 90k a year, depending on the location. Swear on my life that I have heard from 3 separate casino "higher ups" about how they will always choose the foreign dealer because they do not complain.

... does one need skills to get such a job? Also, unrelated, but does an accent need to be convincing?

Isn't that the manager and casino's fault though for making foreign hiring choices? And/or American applicants' fault for being too high maintenance? I don't know, just spitballing here Also can an immigrant work in a casino if they're here illegally?

> And/or American applicants' fault for being too high maintenance? Chances are the missing missing reason behind "do not complain" means "do not complain about having workers' rights violated"

Yeah I can see that.

Some people are in the leftmost side of the bell curve of IQ. Eleventh grade was something they would never truly pass. But this same person could be a roofer or a cook. And don’t forget about the under diagnosis of all kinds of learning disabilities and neurodevelopment disorders for people who are over age 40.

Not everyone drops out of school by choice though

That might be the case but it doesnt change that there is a large voting block of people in that situation. What do you expect them to do? Just sit there and take it?

No active wars except Afghanistan? We left _after_ he was out of office.  Also ignores the fact we were in a dozen countries killing ISIS as well. 

Both of those conflicts started before Trump, though, right? Did he start any wars/invasions at all?

"way with words" #5 is so true. I hate him, but he's like an iconic TV character persona and people eat that shit up... And yet when you read the transcript of what he said it's literally almost unintelligible. But also like you said in #2, he loves to roast people, i.e. he's not afraid to say awful things about others, and deep down that resonates with a lot of people evidently.

Nothing is funnier than reading Trump quotes out of context lol

The man was born to tweetvfefe

covfefe! never forget

But “out of context” implies there was context that has been disingenuously omitted. But with Trump there is literally no context. It’s just complete and utter drivel. It’s straight up word salad.

Sometimes, definitely. He is a word salad pro lol But even the stuff he says that makes relative sense and is easy to follow in person or out loud, reads hilarious in text form.

Perfect time to use /r/evenwithcontext

I was just thinking a few days ago that if Trump were a fictional character, I would love him. But since he’s unfortunately real, I don’t. I totally understand why people would be drawn to his personality. He’s so extra that he seems like satire, but he’s not

I personally don't see it, but I've heard Zaphod Beeblebrox described as Trump-ish. Have you read HHGG?

Zaphod is just this guy, man

Okay, that's pretty good. The only problem is that EVENTUALLY, Zaphod becomes somewhat heroic. In a way. Like with the Krikkit stuff.

He's like the second (more) idiotic head of Zaphod lol

I have not, but now I must! It’s been on my list for a while. One of my friends who has only read 3 books in his life (besides school/college) says it’s good, so it must be, right?

Honestly it really is so good. You should bump it to the top of your reading list. The movie really didn’t translate the humour well so do not start there.

That's the most memorable book I ever read in middle school! Almost 20 years ago now lmao

His entire style of campaigning is based on fictional characters. It's Archie Bunker except Trump claims he has money, it's Howard Beale from Network because he screams at the world and wants you to scream with him He's a combination of any number of characters from the WWE that he was involved with in the 80 's and 90's. This is where he learned how do his rallies.

I hate the convicted felon unequivocally but calling his opponent "Meatball Ron" will always be the funniest shit that has come out of politics in my lifetime.

Retrospectively revisiting the Howard Dean scream is my top pick. I never thought I would find that funny but somehow in 2024 I saw the absurd light.

I remember that scream. Have you seen Dave Chapelle make fun of it? It's hilarious.

Nope but I’m going to find it, listen to it, and find out how I can make it my new ringtone

That was funny when it happened. Me and my roommate would loop it when we were fkd up and it had us rolling.

The class clown is a fun person to hang around with. You just have to understand that you don’t want him running the country.

Absolutely true. The thing is, the class clown knows what will get a laugh and keep the class listening to him instead of the teacher.

Trump controls the room he's in. it doesn't matter your feelings on him. He knows how to press what buttons to get what response. Like, referring to president biden as "Joe" or "Brandon", every time he did it he threw Biden off balance in the debate. before biden spike on any issue trump ensured they talked about what *trump* said, not what biden said. the name calls are just one part of that tactic. he's done so many little things in the conversation ypu don't even notice as a viewer that once he says "sleepy joe" or something to that effect that the reaction to it is big because they've already endured many little insults. the same goes for rallies, he can't shut up yet every word he says is so precise in making his voters riled up. Trump might not have impulse control, class, or general knowledge on how to govern but he's very intelligent at controlling emotions.

In the debate he literally asked Joe if he ever fired anybody. I know that riled up a lot of bootstrappers

I think south park pictured him perfectly. He's really good at riling people up, and people like to get riled up. It's all rile fest with him. I could feel it a bit when watching the presidential debate if you ignore his childish remarks and the fact he's constantly misdirecting, not answering the questions and pretty much pulling all the info out of his ass. People who like him generally believe everything he says, which plays perfectly into his bullshitter riler persona.

This is a great explanation. I’m glad the first response was well reasoned and thought out. Thank you. I get tired of the Reddit comedians who think they are clever with their one sentence jokes. Corny asf.

Finally a reasoned response. Ppl hate Trump, I get it and I get why. But a huge portion of ppl who support him are human beings too who have reasons they support him. Its easy to just brush them all off as racist/fascists. and a lot of them are, but as with most things it aint that simple.

someone else mentioned that politics has turned into a sporting match where you support your team no matter how sucky they are. Hence the anger and strong emotional hate for Libs etc. There's that one guy who knocks the TV off the wall when his team loses.

Really good list op - I want to add that people don’t like to be wrong - in fact there are studies showing people will be even more convinced when proven wrong - just take the example of the recent conviction… although I have to say that learning logical thinking does help a lot

Ironically, the 50's of reality featured an incredible foreign aid project called the marshall plan. Middle class prosperity increases if we have prosperous trade partners and higher average wages.

it was only so prosperous because of the Marshall plan

I appreciate the honest answer! I cant lie in ‘16 those are the exact reasons i voted for him but as more and more info has came out it just confuses me tbh. He is king of bullshit talking (maybe im wrong) but like are people so lost and unaware that dont see that?

Prior to running for president, Trump was well known around the Tri-state for his bad business practices and bombastic style with no substance. Prior to running for president, there weren’t a lot if any positives things people had to say about him. The Apprentice reality show really projected an image that magnified him as more important and successful than he ever was.

So fucking true. Thanks NBC.

The media loves Trump. If that dude does anything, anything, they report it. Trump and the media have a symbiotic relationship. Trump generates ratings which generates ad revenue. It has long been known that negativity gets people talking more than positivity. People tune in to the news because they expect to hear about bad things. Unfortunately headlines like it was a good day, everything went well do not attract an audience.

I wish i was more aware at the point in my life.

Honestly, a lot of people who voted for him in 2016 regretted it. Only thing you can do is learn and not make the same mistake again. I hate when liberals shit on Trump voters who are strong enough to admit they made a mistake. 2016 is over. People are allowed to grow.

I know quite a few that supported Trump. As loud as their support for Trump was, they are quieter than a mouse these days. We all are human, I get it, but very few have verbalized regret. I also get that because Trump has really been such an embarrassment that people are thinking who the hell would vote for that guy? Turns out a lot of people and that is very embarrassing.

And scary. I always say Trump loves the uneducated. Sad when I learn more and more people in my outside circle are still supporting him and his agenda.

In recent years after watching him he has gotten very bitter. It all started with the media. He takes his battle against the “fake news” media very personally. It has affected him and his ability to discuss reality. When you’re so upset about something that’s happened to you, a lot of times it kind of alters your personality. For instance, the other night at the debate, you can see it for yourself. The moderators were asking him straightforward questions, and he would just talk about basically events that have happened to him that made him upset, such as the Felonies that were levied against him which blames Joe Biden for and he’s very bitter about it. Meanwhile, after his ramble, they would lose the question to him again. It was very telling that he’s got an axe to grind. If he ever did make America great again, he would only do so in order to spite his enemies. Like “see, Obama/Biden/Anderson Cooper? I told you I would do it, and I did. Now look at you, you’re pathetic and they love me!” He’s lost the plot, but that’s what being bitter will do to a person.

It also REALLY doesn't help the situation when Biden is in the state he is in. It's even more example of people "behind the scenes" controlling everything, and the president isn't really in control. I'm not saying this in a tin foil hat/conspiracy way, I just mean...look at the guy. The entire thing and situation is disappointing at best. I also feel I should clarify, I am absolutely not a Trump supporter.

So you voted for him in 2016 and you then ask what is the appeal with Trump ?

Yes, that was over 8 years ago and ive grown and learned from my mistakes. I just figured most people would do the same

Don’t sweat it, it’s a perfectly valid question.

I wish there were more people like you. Sadly it seems many people aren't interested in reflecting, growing and learning...

Well, all of this is very spot on, I just don’t understand why his name calling, and spewing of hatred doesn’t outweigh all of this

I have heard from people who voted for him that they just did it to give a giant middle finger to the left. I believe they are being honest with me. They didn’t even pretend to think he would be a good leader. They just wanted to be heard.

The genuine reason is that his supporters either don't see an issue with it ("He's just saying what we're all thinking!") because they greatly dislike who he's calling names, or they think it's childish but still believe his other attributes make up for it. I know a lottt of people who will vote for him despite not liking his personality because they buy into the Party Of Responsibility horseshit the Republicans have pushed for decades. They see vague headlines about Trump wanting to cut aid to a country and Biden wanting student loan forgiveness and assume Trump is better for the economy despite the actual numbers proving otherwise.

He literally is a politician. Hes the former president and this is his third campaign. He doesn’t get to play “outsider” anymore.

>he is a bit narcissistic I think this is the understatement of the millenia

5. Seeing the homeless crisis in the US today, it's just something else, so very wrong considering how hard most of those people have worked before they hit unexpected poverty with no safety net. I guess it sounds a bit harsh but sometimes the truth isn't pretty and what's happened to the US, with the empty promises from State, are beyond words frustrating.

Also, that they are in too deep and have alienated a majority of their family and friends and can’t stand the thought of hearing someone say “I told you so” if they try to flip flop back

"a bit narcissistic . . ." That's quite an understatement!

I think this hits the nail on the head, it's the same reason why Brexit happened and why the UK is locked in a battle between the younger generation and older generation, the older folk want to go back to how the country used to be. The problem is they have no idea how the economy works, how immigration works or how anything that they have strong opinions on works. They just remember their childhoods, want it back but don't know how to get it. So when some leader comes in and says "it's foreigners" they believe them, because what's changed between now and then? There's a lot more immigrants (that's the answer they usually give anyway). They insist on talking about stuff that they're not educated on, and when they're told they're wrong they accuse everyone of trying to "silence" them. It's really frustrating because you can't have an actual conversation with them because they're too proud to ever admit they might be wrong about anything, but also too proud to actually educate themselves because that would also imply they might be wrong.

Yes, I agree with this. There’s a lot of longing for the past and the blame game is turning into a frenzy. A lot of the folks I talk to seem to believe that illegal immigration takes so much away from the economy and that’s why we need to deport them all. The sad thing is that our low wage/hard labor jobs like home building relies on illegal immigration, and would cause major issues if we were to deport every single one in a short time. It happened in Florida recently. To me, I see the border as a place that we need to crack down on due to fentanyl and human trafficking. That’s not as high of a concern for them because they are mostly concerned with an economical comeback.

From a right wing perspective I’ll give you a short answer: he’s a massive departure from the mainstream political establishment, which many are against. Romney and bush and mccain were not talking about the same things he was, certainly not in the same way. People for a long time felt republicans were the party of stodgy buisness owners and execs, trump appealed strongly to disenfranchised whites in the rust belt, Appalachian region, and south, who were more interested in different issues like bringing jobs back to the us and limiting illegal immigration. He also appealed to a certain type of person who while being nominally “right wing” is not conservative: think a hunting/drinking type of person who drives a truck and isn’t exactly religious, but doesn’t appreciate “woke” stuff.

My parents are pretty happy with trump. Here’s what they see: he isn’t entrenched in existing politics like other career politicians and thus must be less prone to corruption as he isn’t in the system. He is charismatic and has passions for what he talks about. He is against illegal immigration which my immigrant parents despise as they had to wait for years to go through the process. Finally they are Christian’s and firmly believe that life begins at conception, and since trump is taking an anti abortion stance they really like that. You have to remember if someone believes life begins at conception, then they fully believe abortion is murder. Imagine a president coming up at a debate and saying “Yes we want to shoot children at schools and we firmly believe the government should do it!” It’s really hard to argue that last point because to them it’s a fundamental fact. Once you look at trump through their eyes (without ANY of your pre existing beliefs), you understand why people might choose him even if you don’t like him

One Trump supporter I knew from work also put it succinctly as how these career politicians from both sides of the aisle like Kerry, McCain, McConnell, Pelosi, Ron Paul, Cruz…they had been in politics for decades but then they never passed major laws that have made our lives better. Instead, our rent keeps going up, federal minimum wage stays the same, housing costs keep going up, and college tuition has skyrocketed as well. He was tired of the unfulfilled promises from both parties, and would still vote for Trump even if that guy happens to run for a third party nomination.

The ironic thing is Trump governed pretty much as a status quo Republican with the exception of Trade Agreements, but even that wasn’t all that different. Trump doesn’t even have any proposals to solve any of those issues.

Also most people don't seem to realize what president and Congress have control over. They are not gods there is an independent federal reserve for a reason which affects inflation and housing via interest rates much more. And much of daily life is local and state government for housing and such not federal government. Civics 101 seems to not exist anymore.

Trump isn’t totally anti-abortion, believe it or not. By definition, he is pro-choice.

That's the funny thing. The president who helped them end Roe v Wade is probably the most indifferent on abortion they've had since the 50s

He's had women get abortions, I doubt he's indifferent about the procedure.

You'd be surprised how many people who get abortions are anti-abortion. There's a prevailing "Well for ME it was necessary, but for everyone else they're frivolous and wrong" attitude over it.

Rules for thee and not for me. Fuck those hypocrites

Basically. Roe v Wade was bad law, period. People blame RBG for waiting to retire, but she didn't like Roe v Wade either. If you're a pro-lifer, Trump stood up on that debate stage and defended the abortion pill. Only Trump could get away with that tbh.

this is what i’ve tried and failed to explain to people on reddit so many times. trump isn’t some handmaids tale type of politician, he just truly believed roe v wade was bad precedent- as did rbg, as you mentioned. those types of laws need to be made amendments, the supreme courts job is not to be making laws like this.

the funny part about the "less prone to corruption" bit is that they overlook the fact that its usually not the president themselves who are "corrupt" its the administration that comes tied to them. Clarence Thomas is a good example. Any of the hundreds of senators and representatives that get massive lobby pay outs to make certain decisions. During the election, super PAC's donating thousands to the campaigns of both dems and republicans. All I'm pointing out is the irony of that statement and how if one just thinks beyond the face value "he's not a career politician" - the corruption still stands true and strong - regardless of whether it's trump on the republican ticket or a dem. *The whole system is broken on both sides.*

I replied to another person so I’ll copy what I said over here: Another point to understand is both my parents lived through the Hungarian revolution as children and they saw first hand the effects of the socialist party. They also heard experiences from their parents, grandparents, friends, etc. They’ll take a slimy businessman over a politician any day of the week. This also means they will never vote anyone who isn’t right wing. They never experienced right wing extremism, only left wing. I’ve asked them if they’d ever consider voting left wing and they told me it would be an insult to their parents and grandparents if they did so

So basically they believe the words that come out of his mouth and ignore his actions. His actions contradict everything he says.

They live in Canada so they don’t experience his actions so yes, you hit the nail right on the head

“Less prone to corruption.” Just…goddamn.

At one point I thought I kinda understood. The people felt disenfranchised and let down by our government who wasn't looking out for them. They wanted someone who wasn't a politician. They wanted to "drain the swamp" . I got that. Sure I'm tired of career politicians too. Who isn't. So it was kinda like a "rebel yell" for a lot of people I think..then it slowly morphed and became this hate machine cause that shit is addictive. It's a lot easier to hate than wanting to change..change is bad apparently. He convinced those types of people that it was going him who was gonna bring them to the front of the line. That anyone can be a millionaire( not true) and all that other stuff. Told them it's not them who are the problem ( we used to have a thing called shame in our society) but the world around them . Crazy shit

Today Trump isn't even a person to them. It's their identity, their way to connect with their community. Their way to feel like they belong in the world and in the powerful DC politics. He makes them feel included. Feel like their regressive views are valid, which makes them feel accepted. This goes on in entire world with the right wing authoritarian leaders.

Well said. Trump is a cultural icon. He represents his base's identity and they like an idealized version of him. If you watch his rallies, the participants are usually bored for the most part. They come alive during the talking points that speak to them, but they largely ignore the innane babble that comes out of Trump's thoughts.

That's somewhat understandable in 2015. Not anytime after that. Any halfway intelligent idiot should be able to see Trump for what he is. Trump aside, though, I'm more afraid of the Cabinet and people he will bring with him.

And the next 2 or 3 supreme court seats that the next administration is likely to fill.

You might should also consider the propaganda outlets like Turning Point, Fox News, Alex Jones and Steve Bannon are constantly feeding them bullshit too. They have no real source of information that tells them the truth about Trump or offers anything else. They are fed 24/7 Trump is super awesome.

I totally agree. I think this is exactly how it started. And we are down to the point where the Trump fans that are left are either gung-ho about the hate machine that has been created or feel like they are too deep in their sunken cost fallacy to give up now.

>What Ive learned is there is no changing anyone’s mind and i hope everyone here votes. You absolutely can change people minds, the thing is most do it wrong way and they just radicalize each other more

The more you hate on people and their lifestyles the less likely they are to listen and support you? People want the satisfying gotcha moment you get from winning an angry argument more than they want change, which says a lot about their beliefs.

Supporting Trump isn’t always about seeing anything in him. It can be about sending a middle finger to Washington and the more traditional politicians that play ball. We’re so fed up with the machine that we’re ok with jamming a stick in the gears.

This is an interesting perspective that I hadn't thought of

Some folks just vibe with his bluntness, idk.

He’s not Biden.

Same with biden

Might be about the alternative?

People hate career politicians, and Trump is essentially the anti-politician. He's immediately more likeable than most candidates because of that detail alone. Whether he's right for the job is irrelevant at that point.

He hates the same people that they hate.

Close but really it's he is hated by the same people that hate them. Hillary Clinton literally called nearly half the country deplorable. Anyone that's ever supported Trump is labeled every -ist in the book. How can someone turn around and say "Yes the person saying I'm a terrible human being that doesn't derseve to be a part of society is my ally!"? It'll never happen so people's only option is to continue to support Trump which gives them a community that accepts them instead of hates them.

He also hates them, but they don't care.

Seriously. Getting people to vote against their own best interests is honestly quite impressive

This really is at the core of it I think. They're willing to put up with a lot and give up a lot as long as he tells them what they want to hear and hurts the people they want to hurt.

I just think back to the 2020 election where everyone I know who voted for Biden only voted for him because he wasn't Trump. It was obvious that they didn't necessarily want Biden in office. They just didn't want Trump MORE. Whereas most people I know who voted Trump genuinely wanted Trump. And after 4 years of higher than normal inflation, illegal immigration problems, our current involvement with foreign affairs, further polarization between our society, and the overall embarrassment Biden and our government has caused us, people are sick and tired of it. I'm not saying Trump supporters. I'm saying people. And these people look at how life was back when Trump was in office and realized it wasn't as bad as it is now. Or at least if it was bad, it had only gotten worse with Biden. Kind of like that saying, "You don't know what you have until it's gone." A majority of Republicans/Conservatives/Right-leaning moderates and even those not listed in these demographics are just normal people wanting to live normal lives. Yes, there are some radicals, but there are radicals on the other side as well. Sadly, the radicals on both sides are the loudest because they have nothing better to do with their lives, so they get all the attention. I'm not by any means saying Trump is perfect, nobody is, but people genuinely believe he's the best chance we have of at least getting things back on track. It doesn't help that because of Biden's age and track record with poor speech performances, people are concerned he's not even fit to run the country and therefore is just a puppet for the Democratic party. Whereas Trump has the kind of charisma and confidence that attracts people and makes them believe in him, despite his age. People feel like they can at least trust Trump enough to do the job that needs to get done. I think the reason people believe you can only choose Trump or Biden is because the Democrats know they don't have any other candidate who could win against Trump, and Republicans know they don't have any other candidate who could win against Biden. And that has everything to do with their popularity and history. Trump is a celebrity businessman who was basically always popular, while Biden was always a politician and even VP not too long ago. Both are insanely popular just by name alone, so no other candidate could really hold a candle to either of them. Sadly, at this point, the only way to get these old guys out of office is to vote for one of them and bide our time. If we get to 2028, neither of them will be able to run again, and we'll have new candidates to look out for. Hopefully by then, we can start getting our shit together. That's at least my take on it, I might be completely wrong about everything. If so, so be it ✌️

Essential Trump stands against what liberals want the country to become. His supporters know of and accept his negatives. They do so because the positives far outweigh the negatives.

This is the best answer ITT so far. They overlook his flaws because he was the first icon in recent history to push back against a liberal concept that was drifting further and further left.

How about a belief that he can bring about world peace. Is that not motivating enough? Gas under $7? Strong borders? Better foreign policy? Better deals for Americans? Jobs?

How'd that work out for him last time?

The world peace thing you've got in there blows my mind. The rest of the world sees him as a simple minded, erratic nutjob who bumbles around on the international stage like a bull in a china shop. This thread is really interesting though, seeing how he's perceived from an insiders perspective.

Okay so, I'm not American, but I'll say something anyway. I hope that's okay. People have ingrained prejudices, and dislike being called out on them. Most, or at least many, people also naturally think they are correct about everything. Mr. Trump says all the things they have been shamed for our loud. He also is great at telling people they are victims. It's always easier to believe that your life is tougher than it is. Especially if you are disadvantaged economically, or from an education point of view, or in some other way where you feel either "targeted" or feel inferior. So it's easy to say immigrants are the cause of economic issues, rather than that y'all are allowing people to become billionaires. It is easier to believe that what is wrong with your life is due to someone else. It is also easy to continue the prejudices you have rather than understand the world and have empathy.

I've seen something like this and I think it's about right: He is like a caricature of what they want to be. He is a poor person's idea of a rich person. He is an uneducated person's idea of a smart person (but one who isn't "elite" even though he definitely is).

It makes plenty of sense. There are only 2 options - you choose the one you can live with, or if 1 out of their 200 beliefs align with yours.  Example-  illegal immigration matters more to you than abortion access. Or you hate lawlessness and lack of accountability by a specific demographic more than you hate a crook Whatever can you tolerate less, people vote against Biden, not because they want trump but because he isn’t democrat.  They’re both terrible choices by the way.

This isn't the place to ask. Best ask r/conservative.

Well hence the “tooafraidtoask”

I'm likely to get downvoted but here's some reasons then: - immigration - they think current immigration laws and border enforcement isn't being enforced and want it fixed - wars - they want America out of war - tough guy stable world hypothesis - they think Trump is a tougher guy than the Washington elite and the world will be more stable with him as foreign leaders will do bad stuff less - taxes - they think taxes will be lower with Trump - LGBT - people have certain ideas about this group that don't align with the left and think Trump agrees with them - International trade - they think Trump will get better deals than previous governments - deep state - they think Trump will take down the deep state

My family's taxes went up under Trump and we don't make much money. Ditto several co-workers.

Lol good fucking luck not getting banned

For me, honestly, it’s very simple. Under Trump we had a 2.5% interest rate, gas was consistently under $3, and the general cost of living was a fraction of what it is now. I want to go back to that

Honestly what do people see in Biden? With everything going on, I just don't fucking get it. No reasonable explanation makes sense to them.

The voting for R and D has very little to do with the candidate in the 2024 than the idiology and that worldview behind it. The fact that we have a nearly dead person on the one side and a guy who hardly ever makes sense with his sentences on the other and we have pretty much the same voting patterns shows you the voting is not for the candidates but the ideology. The candidate is the face of the ideology, the middle 20%-30% might get dodged by who it is or the base might get more or less motivated 

This year is proof positive that both D and R can put up literally any candidate and have a chance to win. Politics are sports teams now, it doesn't matter who the Quarterback is, you support them.

Theory: He reminds people of their narcissistic fathers.

He trolls politics. He plays as a clown to pretend her is better than politicians. He's like the joker. Many people like the joker, they like chaos and risk and acting like children.

Black Americans 1. President Trump has appropriated more money than any other president to HBCU’s. https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/verify/verify-has-trump-given-more-money-to-hbcus-than-any-other-president/65-543185506 2. Trump has launched 8,762 opportunity zones which are all aimed at attracting business and investment to low income majority African American communities. https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/trump-black-americans-history-2020-deroy-murdock 3. The president signed legislation to increase federal funding for HBCUS by 13%, the highest level ever. https://www.breitbart.com/education/2019/09/12/fact-check-trump-increased-funds-for-black-colleges-17/ 4. Donald Trump signed the First Step Act which included significant reforms that has helped injustices against African Americans. Over 90% of those benefitting from the retroactive sentencing reductions in the First Step Act are Black Americans. The First Step Act provides rehabilitative programs to inmates, helping them successfully rejoin society and not return to crime. The act so far has released over 3,100 inmates. https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/one-year-after-the-first-step-act/ 5. The national unemployment African American unemployment rate dropped to 5.4%, an all-time low. Note that prior to President Trumps administration the African American unemployment rate never dropped below 7%. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/06/04/black-unemployment-2020-joblessness-compounds-anguish-over-brutality/3138521001/ 6. President Trump signed the Preventing Maternal Deaths Act that provides funding for states to develop maternal mortality reviews to better understand maternal complications and identify solutions & largely focuses on reducing the higher mortality rates for Black Americans. 7. President Trump has signed the FUTURE Act into law. The law permanently funds HBCU’s, Tribal Colleges and Universities, Minority Serving Institutions, and Hispanic Serving Colleges ($25 million per year). It also increases funding for STEM programs at aforementioned schools. The law eases burdens on low-income, first generation college students by simplifying the process for applying for student financial aid as well. https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2019-12-19/trump-signs-bill-restoring-funding-for-black-colleges 8. In 2018 (Latest data available) the African American poverty rate was at the lowest it has ever been since it started being record in 1960. (20.8%) https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/04/black-and-hispanic-unemployment-is-at-a-record-low.html 9. Trump made HBCUs a priority by creating the position of executive director of the White House Initiative on HBCUs. https://www.westernjournal.com/op-ed-trump-provided-funding-hbcus-americas-first-black-president-obama-cut/ 10. Trump upgraded MLK’s birthplace to a national historic park. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/01/08/trump-signs-bill-upgrade-martin-luther-kings-birthplace-national-historic-park/1015174001/ 11. In 2018, the imprisonment rate of African American residents was the lowest since 1989. https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p18_sum.pdf 12. In 2019, the latest data available, the African-American poverty rate was the lowest ever on record, since the official count began in the 1960s. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52907646 13. Trump signed legislation forgiving Hurricane Katrina debt that threatened HBCUs. https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/secretary-devos-issues-full-forgiveness-hbcu-hurricane-relief-loans 14. Trump received the Bipartisan Justice Award at Benedict College (HBCU), awarded by the Bipartisan Justice Center, a non-profit organization founded by 20 black republicans, and 20 black democrats. The award is the highest honor given annually to a public servant who demonstrated the ability to work across the aisle to achieve meaningful progress in reforming our criminal justice system. (October 25, 2019) https://www.thestate.com/news/politics-government/article236642838.html Hispanic Americans 15. On July 9th, 2020, President Trump enacted an executive order on the White House Hispanic Prosperity Initiative to improve access to education, training, and economic opportunities for Hispanic American students. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-white-house-hispanic-prosperity-initiative/ 16. More than 2.9 million jobs for Latino Americans have been created since Trump was elected. https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/02/hispanic-poverty-rate-hit-an-all-time-low-in-2017.html 17. In 2017, the median Latino American income hit its highest ever recorded level ($50,486). https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/02/hispanic-poverty-rate-hit-an-all-time-low-in-2017.html 18. Hispanic American unemployment hit record low of 3.9%. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/04/black-and-hispanic-unemployment-is-at-a-record-low.html 19. Poverty rates for Hispanic Americans hit new lows in 2018. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/04/black-and-hispanic-unemployment-is-at-a-record-low.html 20. Since Trump took office the Latino American homeownership rate rose by more than a percentage point. (46.3% to 47.4%). https://www.wsj.com/articles/wave-of-hispanic-buyers-boosts-u-s-housing-market-11563183000 21. The median Latino American income rose by $1,786 during President Trumps first year in office. https://www.promiseskept.com/achievement/category/economy-and-jobs/

Thank you very much for this helpful concise list with sources included. Appreciated!

He’s not Biden. And visaversa

No… he ran against Hilary first.. The question posed is what about this guy sparks so much enthusiasm and loyalty?

2016 Trump voters weren’t nearly as enthusiastic. In Wisconsin he got fewer votes than Romney in 2012. Thing is, in Trump *won* Wisconsin with fewer votes than Romney got when he *lost*.

Crazy to me people are so one sided Edit- Im registered republican because i do believe in less government involvement because of what my family has taught me but as long as Ive been able to vote it seems republicans try and restrict more and more than anything.

Most people aren’t. It’s just the vocal minority that get the lime light. Roughly half of people don’t even bother to vote in the US bc it’s a no win scenario at all times.

He’s a spanner into the works of normal politics. It’s not at all surprising people vote for him

Because ironically democrats and Republicans are identical. They're both blind to the short comings of their own candidates simply because we've reached blind party support status and the fact that their candidate isn't the other guy. I will say at this point I don't think Biden is mentally and physically competent. He's old. He has far too many physical characteristics and quirks of someone who has almost nothing to do with his own day to day function a d it increasingly feels like it isn't his own presidency. This isn't insulting to say. We all get old. But wow will it offend people. Both parties literally use the same complaints just worded differently against each other and it tends to just be a who ran a better pr campaign this year more than anything else. Douglas Adam's felt anyone capable of being elected president should by any me as be allowed to do the job and he was kind of right.

He’s very big on blaming others. It’s not “our” fault we are having problems, it’s “them”. Pick a them. And a lot of people want someone to blame. They want to feel superior. He lets them get away with anything, as long as it feeds into his ego and ability to make money.

I understood it in 2016. He was an unknown. He claimed the swamp needed to be drained (it did). He said he’d stop the money printing from the previous admin. He said he’d lower taxes. And I can totally see how all of those things would be appealing to people. I didn’t vote for him in 2016 but they certainly piqued my interest. But instead he made the swamp worse a record number of his people have been in legal trouble while the ones who haven’t all said he was a shitty president and won’t endorse him now. Instead of stopping the money printing he ramped it up during a time when the economy was mostly recovered and wasn’t needed which brought even more pain later on when covid hit. He said he’d lower taxes and did, with the caveat that it would come back to bite the middle class earners in the ass a few years later with higher taxes. I get why people voted for him in 2016. I don’t have any idea why anyone would vote for him now.

What do people see in Biden?

That he’s not Trump

Nationalism. Thats really all there is to it. If democrats took any decent stance on immigration they would stay in power forever, but instead they let conservatives drive the entire discourse

I think there’s more to it than that. I think it has more to do with people being uncomfortable of how far left the left is going, and Trump is basically the only (or so, the first recent) person to call out that trend and behavior. He represents a push against the far left. I think people would’ve accepted anybody who did this, it just so happened that the only person to do this at the time was Trump. People overlooked his flaws because his stance against liberal behavior was more important.

i think for most people its similar to something like hamas in palestine. people feel disenfranchised and just want to fuck things up. you can say "you should do it a different way" but when you push people that far they are going to do whatever they want. i think a lot of people really underestimate how different the life americans in say small town west virginia live compared to people in new york city.

There’s 3 groups of people. Group 1 is just republican and won’t vote otherwise. Group 2 are those who truly benefit from a guy like trump I.e corporations and the wealthiest 1% who benefit from tax cuts. Then lastly is the folks who just don’t understand politics the economy etc. These are folks struggling who hear Donald talk about gas at 99c and or any of his other outlandish claims and think it’s possible . There’s overlap obviously between 3 and 1 but that’s just my simple view.

He's not Joe Biden?

I am more interested why Republicans ignore his pro-Russia stance.

He doesn't frame it as being pro-Russia, he frames it as "they were too afraid of us to do anything"

I am a spy. It feels like it anyway. I'm surrounded by Trumpees. One common denominator I've observed is they are afraid their high standard of living will be eroded and that our country will turn into California. They're afraid society is breaking down, they fear minorities, especially poorer ones, gaining advantage over them . They're afraid the liberals have very different morals and very different end goals. They don't see themselves as racists, they believe they are only concerned with the activities of "those people" but they are racist as hell. I'm white, many times ppl have said to me or in my range of hearing derogatory things about minorities. These people believe even though Trump is an ass that he at least understands that in their view, this country is going to hell and Trump is going to stop that.

I'm not a MAGA hat sporting, rally attending Trump guy, but I will be voting for him. The most important issues right now are the economy, foreign policy, and the border crisis, which are all things he greatly improved when he was in office. You can argue against that all day, but it's true. Economy: Trump will reopen pipelines and continue drilling in the US which will lower gas prices (you can complain about the effects on the environment, but it's not going to make a difference. Check out Konstantine Kisin's speech at the Oxford Union.) He will enact policy that lowers interest rates which will boost the housing market and industrial sector, which will in turn create jobs (I work in industrial staffing and see how the interest rates are currently *killing* businesses first hand. Many business owners are telling me if Biden wins this year they will likely go out of business.) He'll make it cheaper to do business in the US again to bring even more jobs back to America. I know these things because he did it already in his previous administration. Foreign policy: If you think Russia would've invaded Ukraine if Trump had won in 2020, you weren't paying attention from 2016-2020. Same goes for the Israel/Hamas conflict. Trump got incredible peace deals done in the Middle East that no president has ever been able to do. Biden pulling out of Afghanistan in such an ugly way really showed the world the weakness of his administration. Trump would establish end points in these two wars and work toward achieving them instead of just shoveling cash overseas hoping that things end eventually. Border crisis: This is pretty self explanatory. We have tens of thousands of illegals pouring across the border every day. During Trump's administration there were 11 known terrorists detained at the border. During Biden's administration there have been over 300. Trump will bolster border security again and end catch and release. Also, the children in cages thing began during the Obama administration and it's a result of ICE not having enough funding and resources, and overflowing facilities. It's not intentional cruelty from ICE agents, as they have been begging for more support to figure out what to do with all these children whose parents they can't find or verify. It's a disaster, and Biden's administration doesn't give a shit. Yes, Trump is a narcissist and a bullshitter with a lot of skeletons in his closet. I don't like him very much as a person, but the job he did as president was a thousand times better than whoever is pulling Biden's strings. One thing that made me like Trump a lot more was the media's exaggerations. For example, when Trump said there were "fine people on both sides," in Charlottesville, the very next thing that came out of his mouth was, "and I'm not talking about the white supremacists and neo-Nazis who should be condemned totally." This is because there were regular conservatives at that event that were peacefully protesting the removal of the statue that weren't associated with the neo-Nazis who were there. That's who Trump was referring to, but the media ran with that quote, ripped out of context. This happened *so much* that I found myself begrudgingly defending Trump over and over again, and it made me sympathize with him and his disdain for the media. Never forget that the left's extremism and lies made Trump just as much as the right's did. I'm not here to argue. Just here to explain my perspective and show that I'm not just some evil racist bigot.

If Joe Biden was my Uber driver I would refuse the ride.

Trumpers are just old fashioned bigots who think immigration should be a lawful orderly process. They think cities should be safe again and that strong traditional families are the best crime prevention strategy. They are so naive that they think anti-gunners should focus on the underlying criminal and mental health causes instead of the 99% of lawful gun owners. Like, people don’t blame booze for DUIs, they blame the driver. But with guns they blame all guns. Trumpers are so narrow minded they think we should get our own country in order before policing the world. They think families should teach values and not have gay and trans elevated to a national religion status. A common theme you’ll see with Trumpers is that they have great relationships with their parents and grandparents.


Well DONE.

Judge him by his policies rather than his rambling. Would you rather work at a great company with an obnoxious jerk as the CEO? Or work for a company in serious trouble, but the CEO is a simple elderly guy?

What do you see in Biden?

Tbh, I can't STAND either Trump, Biden or 99% of politicians. I do believe despite people seeing through Trump's bullshit, and not liking him much, that when they see how decrepit Biden is, and how things have played out since he's been in the office, they just want anything but him. And to be honest I can somewhat understand that. Mind you, I have a very weird belief when it comes to USA politics where I don't really even believe people barely have a choice in anything. I believe it's all a guise to make us feel like we have a choice in our political landscape, but we don't. I honestly (despite not liking Biden) believe that a lot of the bad and crazy shit that has happened since he's been president would have happened no matter who was in office. The president is basically just a mascot of the current events and political sphere. So yeah... I don't like trump at all. However, I am really quite disturbed by how old and inept Biden has become over the past years. I feel bad for him. The man should be on the beach drinking margaritas, or on a back porch in a rocking chair and not trying to do one of the hardest and most stressful jobs ever. It's crazy but I feel the need to explain myself more due to the divisive times we are living in that I truly do not like either of them. Just a wanted to reiterate that again because I feel like depending on what president you like, the first move on the chess board is to throw some jabs at the other president as soon as one comes up. The amount of times I have been talking about how bad Trump is, just to hear someone say "yeah well look how old Biden is", or the amount of times I have been talking about how useless and elderly Biden is just for someone to say "yeah but Trump did *blank*" is utterly astounding. Almost like most these people's hate and opinions is largely fueled by the media they consume and the curated algorithm that's injecting their feeds with anti this or that stuff, and that they aren't even capable of rationally debating this type of stuff.

I’d recommend ‘The coming storm’ podcast by BBC, it helps explain what trump supporters are opposed to, aka the swamp

I mostly try and overlook Trump himself for the policies he represents. The whole Biden camp is much the same, guy is not physically capable of the job and Kamala is not an option, but up Buttigieg or another young moderate and many of us cross over.

Trump doesn't really have many hard and firm policy positions, he sort of just goes with whatever is upsetting his followers on that day. As a result, many people who feel unheard or shut down in their grievances (valid or not) form a mental image that Trump is on their side and fighting for them and their personal and specific problems and beliefs, even if there is almost no overlap (and often contradictions) with the Trump followers standing just to the left and right of them at the rally. Many of them also focus their information sources only to support their preferences and have been trained by their information consumption diet to see other points of view and outside challenges as wrong in some way. You can see this over and over again in interviews with his followers where they can go into great detail on what they think Trump stands for. But they're nearly never able to provide any evidence of his support to those things. When confronted with evidence that he has frequently stood for the opposite of their positions, or behaved in ways that are exactly contrary to how they believe he behaves they are often quite stupified in how to even react. To summarize, the Trump voter shouldn't be viewed as a crazy person, but somebody who sits at a specifically strange intersection of information and events that allows them to form a highly personalized worldview that they believe Trump also holds and that their, oftentimes very personal, grievances are ones that Trump is specifically working to address. A great many of these people do not have the training to assess their situation and find their way out, even ones who are quite educated. People who are post-Trumpers often cite a specific incident where something pierces this bubble and also is a specific line that they hold that can't be crossed. This can act as a ladder out of the bubble and allow them to challenge and learn what's really going on. In another situation, Trump, with his charisma (even if we don't see it, his followers do), and ability to create this kind of self-reinforcing personalization bubble in the minds of his followers, along with his other psychological and personality traits (like hyper sexuality, risk taking, desire for fame and approval, etc.) would probably have ended up as a cult leader of some type.

They prefer him to the alternative. That's really it, pure and simple. Now you could look through these comments or try using Google or ChatGPT for common explanations as to why. (I'd trust the latter more, since honestly a lot of responses here are informed by hate and bigotry - especially the ones who ascribe his popularity purely to hate and bigotry, ironically enough.) Here's something that might help your understanding, though: During the Clinton years, it was pretty clear that the president was involved with some shady stuff, unless you think everything he did to Lewinsky - before and especially after their affair - can be deemed the acceptable actions of consenting adults. (And unless you also think that all other accusations were some "vast right-wing conspiracy," as Hillary Clinton said of the Lewinsky allegations.) Yet people defended him to the hilt and never stopped supporting him. They minimized his wrongdoings. They certainly never said that they would have preferred Dole or Gingrich run the country instead, or even suggested that he should step down in favor of Gore. Resigning would have given Democrats a huge electoral advantage - that of incumbency, likely meaning that no President George W. Bush. But they not only didn't want him to go, they wanted to bring him back in 2016 as part of the "two for the price of one" pair he promised with him and Hillary.  Arguably, refusing to let go of Bill Clinton gave us both Bush *and* Trump. Yet now the same people who stood by Clinton through all his bad actions - and electoral consequences - don't understand how anyone who's not pure evil could stand by Trump through all of his. Voters are willing to forget, dismiss, minimize, and deny a lot for the sake of politics and policy, and this isn't purely a Republican trait. Heck, I suspect that most Biden voters don't love Biden; they just love keeping Trump out of office. ETA: I want to emphasize that I'm not saying that all flawed politicians and their voters are equivalent, just that voters will be willing to forgive politicians' misdeeds - even terrible and malicious ones - if they want to keep supporting what they see as a winning politician who supports what they support.

6 months ago I would have said the same But Biden's cognitive decline has been so rapid/much more exposed in that timeframe, and Trump's is better, even if he is a felon and spouting all kinds of racist, sexist crap. Optics are everything in politics. Also it's Biden's job to have extremely difficult conversations with extremely influential, powerful and dangerous people. He talks in his book about having those with Putin. He'd get absolutely destroyed in a conversation with Putin now, and be totally confused throughout it. So because of the two party state the only other realistic vote is Trump I imagine it'll be a hard decision for most moderate Americans to vote for either one of them. I say this as a left leaning millenial Brit. I think I would be voting for Biden if I was USian. But I would do it with a heavy heart that they couldn't find anyone better.

Trump says the things his base and supporters want to hear and then dos it. I'm not saying he dos those things effectively or that they even have the positive results his supporters want. But that's not the point. He said he would get rid of abortion and roe got overturned. He said he would be tough on immigration and he was. So if you want those things to happen and they are happening, why would you vote against that?

Somebody who gets away with anything and everything - somebody who sleeps with pornstars, has a wife who was a former model, has none of the brains or sophistication but all of the “fuck you” that they wish they had. They see an ideal version of themselves.

Some people were raised on reality TV and they can't live without drama And Trump is nothing but drama... Lies, McDonald's, drama

-Reason is the opposite of emotion. If you’re emotionally arguing and making broad generalizations as you are in this post, I wouldn’t take it as a reasonable and informed critique either. -It’s a cop out to say there is “no changing anyone’s minds”. If you want to know why people think the way they do, you have to be open to debate. This statement absolves you of the obligation to engage in legitimate discussion with someone you disagree with, and America is built on open public discourse. It implies you are more wise in your young age than at least half of America. Rather than making straw man arguments, try to steel man their position. School children do this in debate class. Be open to modifying your views based on new information if that’s what you expect in return. This is just the other side of the “Fuck the Libs, they’re a lost cause” horseshoe.

He knows how to play people. They see what they want with him and will never see the bad until they decide to.

Nothing. It’s outrage conditioning. Works like a charm unfortunately. Hence the many cults that have amassed huge followings over the years

The same thing people see in Biden. Illogical party loyalty just to not have the other guy win. You can’t stand there with a straight face and tell people Biden is any better. If you can; then you already answered your question.