UNDERSTANDING TRUMP SUPPORTERS IS A DIFFICULT TASK

…Trump supporters during the 2016 campaign

Many Trump supporters now admit that Trump is a bigot.

An op-ed writer for a mid-west newspaper recently wrote a column mourning whatever it is that drives the ~40% Trump voting base.  A fair number of mid-western readers then dug in their heels to give their unwavering support for virtually everything Trump does.

Many of those respondents expressed serious concern about US jobs, terrorism and the economy.  Many of them also said they voted for Trump because they believed he was an independent thinker who could tear down the partisan walls in Washington and get things done for the good of the nation.

Mostly though, they wanted the op-ed author to know that Trump supporters are not a monolithic group.  However, as was noted, most of the responses began with a version of:  “Although I am white…..”

However, these writers did identify themselves as doctors, bus drivers, veterans, churchgoing Christians, teachers, a chemical plant worker, a pediatric dentist, Republicans, independents and even as Hillary’s “deplorables”.

Most of them also did not like being lumped in with ignorant bigots who have no moral code. In addition, apparently not all Trump supporters, they insist, get their views from Fox News and Sean Hannity.  They say they are "hardworking, informed Americans who believe the economic advantages of having Trump in office outweigh any of his social disadvantages".

In addition, according to these respondents, not everyone who supports Trump thinks most Mexicans who cross the border are drug dealers and rapists. Some supporters stated that they would also never engage in the kind of “locker room banter” that reduces women to sex objects as Trump stated in the ACCESS HOLLYWOOD video.

Many of them didn’t see Trump's “very fine people on both sides” of that violent riot in Charlottesville, Va., which was caused by the removal of a Confederate statute. They also saw white supremacists on one side, and opponents of racism on the other.

Many Trump supporters insist that the negative depictions of them are not who they are. But it was refreshing that they could not deny that, that it is who Trump is.

If Trump supporters wonder why 60% of the country does not understand them, it is because of all those mixed messages such as the following:

“I supported (still support) Trump because the Dems had years to put this nation back on track, but basically did nothing but divide America,” one man stated. “It was obvious that (Barack) Obama had no agenda for the working class. He had no agenda for immigration. His legacy is Trump.”

Here was the mid-west author’s response to these Trump supporters: “Now that you see Trump is not only a politician, but also a divisive demagogue, why do you continue to support him? Yes, Trump does have an agenda for immigration. It’s to keep nonwhites and non-Christians from entering this country. And what about his tariffs? How are they working out for the working class?”

Another man had admitted that he made a mistake in voting for Trump, but he believes everyone, including the media, should respect the office of the president.  (Even if President Trump doesn't?)

This voter’s response was: “While I reluctantly voted for Donald Trump, I am NOT a ‘supporter’ of President Trump. I am beyond frustrated to think that in this country, the best we could do for our highest office was a man who demonstrated his unworthiness BEFORE he even entered the race.  However, it is incumbent upon ‘WE THE PEOPLE’ to accept the unfortunate result and come together.”

Is that supposed to mean that a man who lost the American popular vote by just under 3 million votes should just be endured for at least 4 years with no arguments or concern…?

This would have been my personal response: ”It is unclear why you voted for someone you now consider unworthy of the office.  However, the idea that we should stand behind a president who makes poor and ignorant decisions is beyond my understanding.  From slavery to the Holocaust, history has shown all Americans the dire consequences of closing our eyes to these types of injustices.”  

This loyalty to Trump also reveals some other devasting results.  More and more of Trump voters are no longer ashamed to identify themselves as Trump supporters. That indicates that Trump’s unpredictable antics and his divisive politics have become overall “normalized” among a large number of Trump supporters.

It is not the role of the journalists, or anyone else, to tell someone whom to vote for.  But the media does have a responsibility to point out inconsistencies and outright lies, whether they come from White House surrogates or straight from the president’s mouth, which has now occurred from Trump over 7,000 times in just two years.

In addition, Trump, Fox News and all Trump supporters need to understand that the media is not the enemy. The free press is the nation’s last hope when democracy is under fire like it is today under Donald Trump.

Trump supporters liked to talk about their then burgeoning 401(k)s and the few extra dollars in bonuses they got in their paycheck.  But the effects of Trump’s administration are starting to show that the positive changes that started under President Obama, are now starting to head in the other direction under Trump.  As of this last week, the stock market has had its worst month since 1931.  (FYI: That was the middle of the Great Depression. )

When it comes to President Trump’s supporters, how much insensitivity, pain and downright inhumanity from their president are they willing to accept?  If Trump supporters are not all bigots, as they often are portrayed, what does it say about anyone who supports a president who is?

Trump supporters are solidly in the minority.  Why should it be the obligation of the rest of us to try to figure out what makes them tick?  For the sake of harmony, why don’t the honest and decent Trump supporters call the president out when he lies or says or does something obviously wrong?  At least it would appear that they are actually awake.

Trump supporters aren’t the only group in America who are disillusioned and worried about their futures.  Ask African-Americans, Latinos, Muslims, gay people, transgender people and impoverished Americans how hopeful they feel under Trump’s leadership.

Raising these questions does not open a new wound. It merely extracts poison from a wound that is so deep in this country that we have to ask, is it becoming too late for a cure?

What is going on is a serious wound that is festering under Donald J. Trump.  

One that will never go away unless, or until, we decide as a nation to undergo the painful surgery of removing it completely.

Copyright G. Ater 2018