Why is it that so many white Americans seem to be mesmerized by Trump's spell?

[UCmeNdc]

A German friend asked me this and I had no answer for him.

Why does it seem like so many white Americans are willing to forsake all logical thinking and follow Donald Trump down any old rabbit hole he leads the United States into?

To my friend and many other Europeans, they are asking the question, "How can the Average American be so dumb". They see Trump as a slick liar not to be trusted. How come so many Americans do not see the same thing in Trump's actions.


I have no answers.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

1. Racism.

[jpak]

2. Yup

"He says what I can only think"

[CottonBear]

3. Ding, ring, ding! You have the correct answer. N/T

[LuvLoogie]

4. This. and Greed

He champions their white privilege. Shits on all the right people

[SammyWinstonJack]

35. Greed is good and one day my ship will come in. LOL!

Never mind that will never happen for the average American, because of Republicans.

[stillcool]

9. they make it obvious every day.

[RKP5637]

19. Yep, Exactly!!! n/t

[Rebl2]

38. Exactly

my thought.

[hibbing]

41. First post, best answer n/t

[DownriverDem]

47. For sure

They fear that the country is not going to be majority white. How many folks even know that the majority of white voters have not voted for the Dem since 1964? I'm white and I just couldn't believe it.

[PufPuf23]

50. Correct answer. nt

[spudspud]

62. You win! /nt

[plimsoll]

76. Got it in one.

[JDC]

96. Yep

[LymphocyteLover]

101. Yep. That's all I can figure.

It's so fucked up and depressing.

[certainot]

111. nope, that's just one factor. there are always racists.

the answer is talk radio - 1500 unchallenged coordinated radio stations fed now by putin besides the MIC think tanks, and making racism more acceptable is just one of it’s functions the last 30 years.

sam nunberg says he listened to 1000s of hours of talk radio in 2014 - for trump. anyone who knows tallk radio knows it's where he gets it all from. his base is all ditoheads and it's all coordinated through limbbaugh , whos been fed by putin for at least 12 years

the worst thing is americans keep blaming symptoms that dedmocracy was designed to fix - like money, racism, deregulation, voter suppression, etc - all the shit limbaugh has been leading the way on for 30 years - and only possible because the left anad dems ignore it

we don’t poll for it and even let 87 universities endorse it

the biggest political mistake in history

[Tumbulu]

119. Yes- that is the answer!

And nobody believes it, why?!!!!!!

[certainot]

130. our 'leaders' live in cities and blue areas and are just stupid about it i guess

they're listening to music while the cons use it to create made-to-order constituencies to undermine democracy

[UCmeNdc]

122. You are 100% correct.

There is nothing organized within the US to fight Trumpism.

[certainot]

132. every advertiser and university that supports republiican talk radio is responsible for

thousands of covid deaths as those stations in unison follow limbaugh's lead in pushing the republican party to open the country too early while not supporting workers and ignoring the science

[soldierant]

114. Racism is the answer, yes, but that raises another question -

why are so many Americans so uncomfortable in their own skin that racism seems like an answer to anything - anything at all?

(And I also agree the hatred extemds to gays and women, And I don't get that either.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

115. Because the country itself is founded on white supremacy.

[uponit7771]

131. +1, Donald Trump validates any sense of their superiority

[Mike Nelson]

5. I think...

... they were uncomfortable with a Black family living in the White House, Gay people getting married, and a Female President was the last straw... they are a minority, of course, but they play dirty.

[Botany]

6. Trump has made it OK to say the word n****r again and never forget that Reagan got rid of the ...

... fairness doctrine 2.5 generations ago and people have been bathed in misinformation that has
been packaged and fed to them.

One of my late father's colleagues told me that Trump has a 25% hard core base.

[cilla4progress]

102. 25%

sounds about right to me.

America has always had a reactionary strain.

[Botany]

117. That 25% is gone and we shouldn't spend one second or one dime chasing their votes.

n/t

[msongs]

7. fundy religion nt

[Bettie]

8. I'm related to a lot of these people

I live among them in a little red town in Iowa.

They love that he has given them permission to be utter assholes all the time. They love that they get to be as openly and blatantly racist as they want to, that they don't have to pretend to be decent people anymore. Apparently, that was exhausting.

They hate and fear people who aren't exactly like them, especially if the differences are visible, like skin color.

[The Magistrate]

29. You Have Nailed It, Ma'am

He is a mirror for them, they see themselves reflected in the cheap thug. He gives them back for their worship the feeling that everything they know they ought to be ashamed of is instead something to be proud of, and put on proud display --- after all, isn't that what he does? And he says just the sort of things they've always said themselves at the kitchen table, down at the diner with pals, people like them, the real Americans....


"How weak must you be to look at Trump and see a strong man?"

[Different Drummer]

31. "...they don't have to pretend to be decent people anymore."

I'd say this summarizes Trump's appeal for most people who support him. Of course, many of the Trump supporters I know weren't decent people before he became POTUS. Trump just legitimizes their views.

[zentrum]

98. Yup. He legitimizes.

[Dlpger61]

70. Why

You mentioned that they fear people.

What are they afraid of? And who has convinced them to be afraid? They have privileges that the people they fear will never have.

[Bettie]

85. They are White Evangelicals

they all think they are under attack, that by others gaining they are losing.

What they really fear, I realized a few years ago, is loss of exclusivity.

They want a world that doesn't exist, that never has, but they somehow decided that it does and they exclusively rule that world.

This is what is wrong with all the Karens and Beckys. They expect the world to revolve around them and who they hate.

[barbtries]

10. 20, 30 years

of right wing media. they're brainwashed. add to that the USA's deep rooted racism and trump is A-OKAY, he's their kinda guy.

I think we're sick, as a nation. We're abused. We're sociopathic. We're shaped by media and advertising. Then there's Reagan and the dumbing down of america, and evangelicals. Critical thinking is discouraged.

It's more than one reason, but if I had to give a one word answer it would be: Republicans.

[RKP5637]

22. THIS "We're sick, as a nation. We're abused. We're sociopathic. We're shaped by media

and advertising.

[Skittles]

11. Trump thinks he is better than everyone else

he appeals to people who think they are better than other people, you know, THOSE people

[Mme. Defarge]

12. Pride

is a significant factor, in my opinion. Some people can’t admit they were wrong.

[unblock]

13. the one adjective we get about your friend is "german" and they can't figure it out?

really? like there's no precedent for a slick liar to get large minority support based on violent, racist rhetoric and policies?

[luvtheGWN]

49. Well, there's this:

Following WWII, German students learned all about Hitler, Goebbels, Himmler et al, and how they proceeded to destroy millions of lives and their own country. The leaders of the Third Reich were rightfully villainized, and young Germans were warned never to let it happen again.

I'm not at all sure that all Americans were taught about slavery and how it was a dehumanizing, very BAD thing. Otherwise, would southerners continue to fly the confederate flag and idolize Robert E. Lee, and protest against taking that flag and the statues down?

[plimsoll]

80. No, they were taught about

States Rights
The Lost Cause
The Nobility of Robert E Lee.
That Grant was a callous butcher.
on and on and on and on.

Until even folks in the north have bought into the propaganda.

[JI7]

126. Yup. Just look at how civil war being about states rights and not slavery

became so mainstream.

[cilla4progress]

105. Excellent point.

Couldn't have that here. Be ashamed of slavery? Naahhh...

[drmeow]

133. at yet, despite that

White nationalism is also on the rise in Germany.

Racism is hard to eradicate. It takes constant work, at least now. Most is nurture but there is some nature tendencies and some have more of those natural tendencies than others. Fox was planted in very fertile ground and the first amendment made it very hard to stop it.

I find it to be a horrifying thought but there are times when I feel like America needs to get its ass kicked like Germany did and, like Germany, have the people who defeat us and are horrified by our racism and unequal wealth distribution oversee the rewriting of our Constitution before we will truly change. I don't think another civil war will do it but at the rate we are going I'm afraid we might find out.

[MatthewG.]

14. Greed, racial identity, religious fundamentalism, stupidity.

Every Trump supporter i’ve spoken with fits one of four categories:

1) Affluent cynics who care about nothing except getting their taxes cut. These are often well-educated people who’s entire politics are “I vote my wallet, first, second, and last.”

2) White identity types. “Why is it racist to ask for an NAAWP? Why is it racist for me to want a White History month? Why is it racist for me to love my White ancestry? Mean liberals are always calling me racist! Waaaaaah!!”

3) Religious fundamentalists : These are the people who claim to represent traditional Godly morality, except when Trump pays porn stars for sex.

4) Stupid people : I mean really stupid people. Not necessarily low IQ, per se - although there’s probably a correlation with that - but willfully stupid people who believe that Bill Gates invented Coronavirus in a lab and that Trump is our only hope against the Bankers/Illuminati/Secret Fluoride Conspiracy.

[Botany]

16. "Bill Gates invented Coronavirus in a lab"

They don't really believe that do they?

[MatthewG.]

18. Unfortunately, some do.

I know someone who believes just this, unfortunately.

[Botany]

26. In Nov. of 2012 I was told that now that Obama won a second term he was going to use the U.N. ...

... to bring in Hamas or Hezbollah fighters so he could steal a third term. I had to work around the
man so all I could say was, "I didn't know that."

[mainer]

128. My brother in law does

There are sites and videos alleging Bill Gates invented the virus so he could profit off his vaccine. We just stopped talking to him.

[Botany]

129. No point in telling him that Bill Gates is already one of the richest people in the world and ...

... he would be the richest person in America if he and Warren Buffett had decided to
give away most of their money. If Bill wanted to he could make million + $s per day
just on his investments, microsoft, and the cash he has on hand.

I smell Vlad Putin and his social media troll bots behind the Bill Gates wants to make money
on a C-19 vaccine ... he lives to sew discontent in the western world.

[Blue_true]

40. I have a neighbor who fits #4 to a T.

She is an exceptionally bright person, but she is up to her forehead in conspiracy bullshit. Any casual conversation with her can go off into conspiracy la-la land if I don't stop it from. I often shake my head wondering how a person that bright can believe such obviously stupid shit that is easily debunked - it's like she doesn't even try to rationalize what is true and what isn't.

[MatthewG.]

46. Its unfortunate...

Its unfortunate, but these kinds of lunatic beliefs have some real sway in American politics. Trump cultivates these types with occasional token gestures, like appearing on Alex Jones’ show.

In my opinion, a lot of the appeal of these beliefs is similar to that of fringe disciplines like numerology - they give believers comforting illusions of insight and secret knowledge.

[Blue_true]

52. Very good thought on the "appeal" to them.

I never considered the point that you made, but having seen that type, your theory makes a lot of sense.

[beachbumbob]

15. this white american saw trump for the con man he was 30 years ago

[Cicada]

17. Bigotry toward foreigners, upper class liberals sells

George Wallace was not only racist but resented the pointy headed intellectuals who looked down on the racists. The Republican Party has mined racial resentment for decades. When LBJ sold out the racists the Republicans scooped them up with the “southern strategy.” They resent minorities who get welfare without working, who moved to the front of the line for govt benefits solely because of their race. That is what they believe. The 47% who don’t pay any taxes but get government benefits are “those people” resented by Republicans. When Trump said the Mexicans bring crime, steal our jobs it was music to their bigoted ears. This year Trump will offer to protect us not from the darkies from the south but the darkies from the East. Trump says that the yellow darkies are stealing our jobs and now they’re infecting us with disease. His supporters love that story, they buy it all the way. And they resent us for looking down at them for their bigotry.

[DBoon]

20. Products of disfunctional families

If you grow up with a violent authoritarian father you regard these traits as a sign of "leadership"

[agingdem]

21. Because trump voices their hate out loud

because whites that support him are mostly middle to low income...and if it wasn't for blacks, hispanics, immigrants, muslims, jews they too could be as "rich" as trump...everyone needs someone or something to hate and trump took white hate out of the shadows and into the White House...

[SoonerPride]

23. Because they are evil

And he is the Antichrist

They worship evil and he embodies all 7 deadly sins

I used to excuse them as low information voters or gullible

I have moved past that.

They are evil. Full stop.

[dawg day]

24. "The average American" is opposed to Trump

Last edited Sat May 9, 2020, 05:38 PM - Edit history (1)

If we go by the majority.

As long as we can avoid thinking of "the average American" as a white man who sees himself almost entirely as "a white man" (rather than "a person" or "an American&quot , we can feel better about us.

I keep thinking that there are two answers to "why do they like him"-
1. This is what they think they'd be like if they were rich like him-- they'd dump their wife and marry a "model", and they'd own a trashy-decorated apartment, and they'd brag a lot.

and/or
2. Trump gives them permission to hate and doesn't expect anything else of them-- as long as they hate whoever he wants them to hate, they can do anything they want to... they don't have to be good, they don't have to be rich, they don't have to pay their bills, they don't have to be productive. They can just hate, and they're a success.

[Drahthaardogs]

25. Because many people are angry, jealous, and fearful

He channels that

[LonePirate]

27. He appeals to the anti-tax wealthy & to the uneducated who need to blame others for their failures

[Lock him up.]

28. Four words: Faux Noi$e

Hate Radio

[BigmanPigman]

83. That is the main reason

and we are helpless to stop it unless the Fairness Doctrine is looked at again. Why haven't our reps stopped Fux when the Dems had the majority (2009)?

[Paladin]

30. Years and years of brain-dead prepping from Fox, Limbaugh, et al.

trump is the culmination of decades of sick right-wing programming. I think we laughed at it for years, when we should have been fighting it.....

[Tumbulu]

120. Yes, absolutley

Should have been fighting it.

[sop]

32. They're scared to death of the changing demographics in America. They see an America no longer

predominantly white, european and christian, where they are no longer in the majority, and more importantly, in control. They see other races, creeds and nationalities coming to America and doing much better educationally and economically than them. Deep down they understand it's inevitable, and they're angry. Trump speaks to those fears, and incites hatred and resentment.

[Drunken Irishman]

33. A German friend asked you that? Ask him the same question about a former German leader.

That should explain it better than anyone ever could.

[UCmeNdc]

48. I think they see the fascist tendency within Trump better than Americans do.

[luvtheGWN]

51. Agreed.

[Yavin4]

34. They are mesmerized by him because they are him.

They see the same things that we do. A stupid, ignorant, racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, lying asshole, and they see themselves. They believe that being a White American entitles them to all of the good things life has to offer, but it's the Liberals who insist on giving non-White people access to those same things. It's the Liberals that are preventing most White people from getting what Trump has.

He is they, and they are he.

[moose65]

43. I think it's more than racism

Although there’s plenty of that! It seems to me that they love that he’s a total asshole and he pisses off the libtards. That seems to be their primary motivation. They know Trump is an arrogant jerk with a foul mouth, and they don’t care. They love his bullying attitude, even when he’s signing laws that will hurt them. It is beyond belief how they think. 🙄

[Yavin4]

44. He is exactly who they are. They mirror each other. n/t

[moose65]

107. Yes!

I have gotten into some discussions in the comments on articles from HuffPost, and the so-called Christians sooner or later resort to the “you’re going to hell” line of thought. Every. Single. Time. They seem to relish the thought of inflicting eternal damnation on people. 🙄

[safeinOhio]

113. Just like him, they are victims.

He is their victim leader.

[Yavin4]

116. Yep. They know exactly what they're getting. n/t

[JI7]

123. But it's all connected. It still comes down to common bigoted views

[patphil]

36. I guess that German guy flunked German history.

[UCmeNdc]

45. Well I think he sees German history being repeated in today's United States

The Europeans all thought Americans did not believe in fascism. Now they are amazed at the change within the country.

[C Moon]

37. It's kind of surprising this is coming from someone from Germany.

All they have to do is look at Hitler.

[SergeStorms]

39. White male here...

from New York and he's repulsed me since the first I laid eyes on him. Can't stand him, can't stand his voice, the asshole has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Why American rubes (and I do believe most of his followers are rubes) like him is beyond me. I have no answers for you, sorry.

[Martin Eden]

42. Brainwashed by Fux News and religious charlatans

And some are just plain deplorable.

[hot2na]

65. There are many reasons but I think you identified the most important

Fox news, OANN, Rush Limbaugh , Breitbart and all the rest of the Trump propaganda machine. Trump supporters immerse themselves in in the disinformation put out by these sources. Trump constantly signals that everything else is fake news etc.

The media has to go after fox news and Trump propaganda inc. It is absolutely destroying this country.

[Catman33]

75. Hillary Was Right

ON

[Martin Eden]

91. There surely is a basket full of them

Trump has emboldened them.

[Sloumeau]

53. Wait, a German could not understand why so many White people in America were

mesmerized by Donald Trump--the guy who acts like Hitler and worships every authoritarian in the world--who is also the guy who used to keep a book of Hitler's speeches on his nightstand? Seriously?

It's more than racism. It's more than sexism. It's more than Fascism. It is Donald Trump doing everything he could to emulate Hitler. Donald Trump is literally modeling Hitler's behavior, as well as the behavior of every other authoritarian leader that ever existed.

[bucolic_frolic]

54. White snobbery and anger give them the illusion of superiority

They think their shit don't stink and live by what they see on TV

[atreides1]

55. Well

Trump promised them that they would be in charge...and that America would return to the time of no protection for anyone who didn't look like them or believed in their Thor vision of Jesus...

[Dustlawyer]

56. They have been programmed by RW media for years!

Many are racists for sure, but many more just told daily how Obam/Democrats/Pelosi/Soros... are hurting the country on purpose.

They have literally become cult members.

[BlueLucy]

57. Populism

[Chainfire]

58. Trump's followers

Consider Trump to be "one of them."

That is someone who makes up for being ignorant by being belligerent.

[qazplm135]

59. Trump gives permission

to any and every prejudice and opinion they have, and he triggers the libs while doing so.

It's a 2 fer.

[PufPuf23]

60. A big overlap with racism, Trump also panders to the biases and anti-social behavior

of conservative Christians.

In a more egalitarian future world, all religious groups would lose tax advantages except in true and documented cases of charity (not proselytizing, getting involved in politics, or grifting).

[doc03]

61. Myself I have not talked to one Trump supporter yet for 2 minutes until they

start talking race. They complain that every commercial on TV has to have a black person. They complain that every TV show has to have
a gay couple on it. Somehow it seems Hillary gets the blame for what Bill did.

[ancianita]

63. The spell of genetic determinism and genetic superiority. They've been trained into the readings

and history of those who wrote those ideas, and those who tried to implement them socially and politically. We know those historical names.

Also, read this.


It explains the racist sickness that came with the European class system that "thinned the herd," and sent its racist beliefs over to the Americas with all those immigrants who yearned to breathe free. It's no accident that European moneyed elites donated money to the Confederate cause during our civil war.

Racism isn't something America invented, but Americans have had more than enough time to rid themselves of this sick system of power inherited from Europe. LBJ put that nexis into a sound bite.

Europe's hands aren't clean when it comes to racism. And America, infected by Europe's racist systems and beliefs, transmitted that across generations. These killers think they're validated by some legacy, and never tried to live up to the American promise of equality of all before the law.

Europeans who ask how Americans can be so dumb disengenously fail to remember their own hand in sending "not its best people" to the U.S. for at least 200 years.

[bluestarone]

64. Because he's the HITLER his base has been waiting for

ALL of them are creepy fucking assholes! PLUS the religious end of times scum!

[ProfessorGAC]

66. A Twist On The Racist Angle

Those saying racism are correct. But, taking a personally deeper dive I posit this.
Decades of failed republican policies have led to a shrinking & increasingly lower middle class.
The standard of living for working Americans has eroded so that people in their 50s & 60s see that the level at which their parents lived, and retired, and still did fine, is a tougher achievement.
People younger see grandparents who had just one income & lived like mom & dad with 2.
They increasingly saw the american dream as more ephemeral and didn't have the analytical skills (education experiments?) to deduce it was those "pro-business" policies they themselves voted for were the issue.
So, the visceral reaction became to blame the fringes who were "stealing their future".
So, along comes a tough talking dilettante who expresses the " someone else's fault" ethos.
They've been looking for scapegoats, and they found a political messenger that liberated their latent racism, xenophobia, without having to question their own prior notions.
Now, they've exposed themselves. There's no going back.
So, they pretty much have to double down, or be an openly apologetic sucker. It's easier to double down!

[warmfeet]

104. Getting closer.

[Fla Dem]

67. Trump is the willing puppet of all their hate.

Several reasons, they don't like immigrants messing up the good old USA.
They don't care for Black or Brown Folk
They claim to be Pro Life, but don't care how many citizens die from Covis-19.
Wonder if that's because the majority are Black and Brown. Oh and the elderly have already had a full life, unless of course it's them or their Grandma or Grandpa or Mother or father. But hey Pro Life!!
They don't like paying taxes when all that money goes to the Black folk who don't work and collect SNAP. Even though there are more White people on government programs than Black people.

So they see Trump as the man who will eradicate all the evils in the USA. He says out loud what they say behind closed doors. However, more and more of them have become embolden with Trump in office.

[NRaleighLiberal]

68. they've been brainwashed into the cult

they must all have the bug (it's certainly not a feature) that left them vulnerable.

[aggiesal]

69. I know to old adage; When you introduce Hitler in any discussion, you've lost the argument ...

But, to answer the question,
"The same way that Germans followed Hitler."

Would have been my response.

Seriously, I don't know what they call it, but they talk to the average American
that clicks their primal psyche.
The Nazi's did it, blame the people you hate and they will follow the message.
Pendejo45 read Mein Kampt, and uses it as a training manual.

[kacekwl]

71. As an old white guy myself I've got the answer.

They are so freaking scared of the others whatever other color they may be because of the damn liberal commies have become way too uppity and think they are better than us real Amurikins . ( They know it's true in their case ) And they think because trump (who is also inferior ) will save their poor Lilly white asses. I lived in Chicago during White Flight and know these folks well. My folks were the ONLY family who stayed.

[McCamy Taylor]

72. A certain class of white losers craves their old white privilege

However, most American whites are not enamored with Trump. Those who have taken advantage of their white privilege to become successful see him for the buffoon he is.

Remember, white privilege allows everyone to steal the labor of another. You don't have to be a factory owner or capitalist to profit under Jim Crow if you are white.

[TruckFump]

73. Bigots of every kind and ilk.

They hate everyone except other white Repukes. POC, Dems, Liberals, Gays, Jews, etc., any non-white joggers or walkers. They live in FEAR, the fear that they are now the minority. They fear they will get done to them what they did to minorities for hundreds of years. What they don’t understand is that the groups they hate are not of their ilk.

[IronLionZion]

74. A German friend should know the answer lies in their own history

Nazis gained support from one group of people by scapegoating another group for their problems and declaring them to be foreigners no matter how many generations had been living in Germany. They made WASPy looking Germans feel better about stepping on the heads of others. The Jewish people are the famous scapegoat but they also went after the disabled, Roma, other minorities, and political dissidents.

It's the standard playbook for many authoritarian regimes around the world.

[ancianita]

103. +1

[MerryBlooms]

121. Exactly.

[Doreen]

77. It's not the white people who confuse me. We basically know the answer to that.

It's the people of color, women, homosexuals, the poor, and those who are not extreme fundamental evangelistic who support him ( still ) that confuse me beyond belief.

[IronLionZion]

109. tax cuts and pro business

The economic issues are compelling to certain individuals enough to ignore any impact they would feel from the bigotry and racism. They feel the risk to them personally is low so they turn a blind eye to it happening to others like them. Comedians have joked that these folks will be in therapy later.

[Doreen]

118. That is sad to turn a "blind eye" on your own well being.

If you look at it in the comedian"s eyes the economy will get a little boost for how many will need therapy.

[JI7]

127. It's not confusing. They are bigots also

usually the people if color are anti gay or anti women. the gays and usually its gay men are racist and anti women.

[callous taoboy]

78. My bro. is about to throw away his marriage for Trump.

My SIL has about had it with the conspiracy theories, which I told her used to be diagnosed as paranoid / delusional disorder. My brother will never do better than my SIL, a truly great person.

[AnnieBW]

79. He hates the same people

That they hate.

[Orrex]

81. As noted many times before, they are a cult of idiot racist fuckheads

They worship an idiot racist fuckhead.

And the lurkers here from the various conservative circle-jerk forums online are also idiot racist fuckheads, every last one of them.


No further answer is needed.

[pansypoo53219]

82. conservativism mind thought is faith based thinking + logic does not COMPARE

to thier faith! GODDAMMIT! i swear, cost savings from free birth control DOES NOT MATTER to my conservative epal. she is not stupid, but i swear. their god is brain damage. faith based thinking. they believe the propaganda. trump is doing good on this covid. REALLY.
boggles.

[Warpy]

84. Why are you asking DU?

Try Conservative Cave or one of the many evangelical boards. Ask them.

I have no clue, although I've picked up a lot of tips and tricks they teach public speakers plus the preacher's cadence from time to time. We're not suckers for any of this stuff, but they are. It would be interesting to know exactly why, although when you try to pin them down, they tend to ditto out of context and then reboot.

[Marrah_Goodman]

86. Racism, selfishness and a good helping of cruelty

These people love violence, violent speech, the tough guy act and bullying.

[Hotler]

134. I agree. Racism and selfishness are the building blocks of the repug party. nt

[Buckeye_Democrat]

87. It's been fomenting for YEARS by right-wing media.

It's like how hatred of the Jews didn't just appear with Hitler and the Nazis. They were scapegoated by some people in German media for many years before Hitler gained power.

I still remember the first time that I heard Rush Limbaugh in the 80's. Some coworkers (at a factory) were listening to him, and it was obvious that they enjoyed the EMOTION of his show, not so much the details.

I'm guessing that the bullshit eventually filtered into their brains too.

[NoRoadUntravelled]

88. It's a great question with no answer.

You seek to apply sane logic to circumstances which are neither sane nor logical.

[peggysue2]

89. Racial animus and scapegoating

There's rage mixed with fear that Donald Trump provokes with his own racial animus and scapegoating propaganda.

Both Trump and his supporters/believers are grievance addicts, always blaming others (The Other) for lost opportunities, prosperity, etc. The racist underpinnings are given a green light by Trump, a sense that He understands the plight of diminishing opportunity in rural, small town America, that He feels the pain and discontent.

Only He can fix it, the American carnage.

Which, of course, is a joke because the man feels nothing beyond that which feeds his own ego and lines his pocket. It's been a scam from the start. The reality TV businessman who dragged around multiple bankruptcies, routinely stiffed ordinary workmen and perpetrated fraud up the ying-yang. Money laundering, anyone?

Then there is the fringe, the nihilists that want nothing more than to burn the house down, remake the country in their own image (think Steve Bannon and his cohorts). They've used the moronic, greedy Trump for their own purposes. And we have foreign influencers that delight in the fact that the US been has relegated to the sidelines, that we're eating our own and have become the laughingstock of the world.

It's a toxic mix, orchestrated by a bunch of odious enablers and grifters.

That being said, I'm not surprised by the Europeans questioning our sanity as a country. Which is why Donald Trump and Trumpism must be soundly defeated, drowned in the deep blue sea.

Never forget, never forgive.

On an optimistic note, I believe that the majority of Americans do see Trump for what he truly is: an utterly corrupt, petty, vindictive failure.

[JCMach1]

90. It's not racial in the sense it's confirmation bias

He completely punches all the buttons for his fascist, racist, theocratic, authoritarian base

[Buckeye_Democrat]

92. Here's an old German perspective too.

My much-older brother used to work under a PhD physicist from Germany back in the 70's and 80's. The physicist was an old man named Fritz, who was a young man during WW2.

He told my brother, more than once, that the USA was heading down the same fascist path as Germany. (My brother considered Fritz to be a genius, but secretly scoffed at THAT idea.) The reason? He thought the USA was far too militaristic, and that's what he blamed for damaging the collective minds of Germans leading up to the Nazis.

[marieo1]

93. Disgusting piece of humanity

I think they have been here all along and they've never had the guts to display it so openly till we have one of them in the Whitehouse.

[chwaliszewski]

94. There's also a religious side to it, too.

There are some of his supporters that truly feel in their 'heart of hearts' that Trump was appointed by God. That, my friends, is a level of stupidity that cannot be reasoned with.

[meadowlander]

95. Their parents and the education system failed them.

Their parents failed to instill empathy and intellectual curiosity in them and the education system failed to teach them critical thinking skills and basic civics.

Then they were brainwashed by Fox news.

[zentrum]

97. Racism. Same folks

….who would have mounted the Civil War.

Look at our statistics on who fills our for-profit prisons. It's not just the up-front Trump supporters. We are bathed in racist assumptions daily. Very broken country.

[malaise]

99. Won't be for much longer

They are slowly turning against him.

[Javaman]

100. Only stupid people want the easy answers

He gives them easy answers.

The average American isn’t all that bright, and has been getting stupider as our education system is destroyed

[WVreaper]

106. Two letters

ME

[DallasNE]

108. I Don't Give Trump Credit For Being A Slick Liar

When his lips are moving he is lying. A slick liar sometimes tells the truth so when they lie they are somewhat believable. With Trump he is NEVER believable. That is an important difference.

I have no answer for why so many people swallow every morsel of his bullshit.

[denvine]

110. Complete selfishness, greed and racism!

[warmfeet]

112. They are desperate to regain perceived former glory.

The fact that former glory never existed, is irrelevant.

They have a narrative about themselves, fed by current propagandists, that says they deserve better than what they have.

The other is to blame, they are not to blame. The propagandists tell them this and they are more than happy to believe this narrative.

They are fucking authoritarians. They lap up the easy answers that exonerate them and their families.

If we do not fight back, as hard as we can, well......... Fill in your own blanks. I have done so, many times, in my own mind.

I have never been a moderate, or a middle of the road type of person. When it comes to life vs. death - I choose life. Life is not moderate, nor middle of the road.

[Jamastiene]

124. Instilled bigotry, raised on bigotry, adopted bigotry in adulthood

A lot of white Americans, especially white males, are raised to believe that every bad thing that happens to them in life is the fault of either a woman, black people, Jewish people, gays, etc.

[JI7]

125. it's not a spell. it's common views and feelings about "those people"

[Squidly]

135. Many have covered my initial reaction...

...that question coming from a German of all people, but the real question is how can ANY person of COLOR be for this asshole?

[UCmeNdc]

136. I would love to know if someone within the Trump administration support people are paying people of

color to show up and fake support for Trump. I mean Trump belives in buying people off. Why not fake supporters????

[Squidly]

139. Often wondered that myself

But have been seeing a lot of Latinos For Trump signs around lately...could be paid off as well or just signs made with no real supporters...haha

[pampango]

137. When you sense that the country was 'yours' - with a 'smattering' or 'others' that you 'should

consider' - and now it seems that those 'others' may be taking over 'your country' (now in in the near future).

I think that Hitler (and many others) have played the "We had IT. Now we lost It. It's THEIR fault. Voter for me 'card'." Donald is not the first. He is using a 'tried and true' electoral strategy.

[ElementaryPenguin]

138. He's a racist who is concerned about the rising number of people of color in America - just as

So many of them are!!

[Skittles]

140. I'd say racism is the driving force

Trump gives them permission for their hatred to be righteous.

[liberalmediaaddict]

141. Racism and arrogance

They're basically just like Trump. They are fueled by racism but don't believe they are racist. They are ignorant but they think they are smart.
They like him because he is their mirror image.