Since the 2016 election, I have been wondering why in the world so many acquaintances voted for Donald Trump. Initially I gave such voters a pass thinking they were dyed in the wool Republicans who simply could not vote for a Democrat and probably believed that once in office Trump would come around and get serious about governing. Obviously, many Republicans and independents could not vote for Hillary Clinton who was seen as a political hack by many.<\/p>\n
As the Trump presidency unfolded, however, I became increasingly alarmed as the same people continued to support Trump in spite of evidence of his contempt for the rule of law and the Constitution, his frightening ignorance of international relations, and his irrational behavior in general.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s attitude toward the Covid pandemic strikes me as downright evil. His partisan and irrational approach denying its severity resulted in thousands of needless American deaths. How can we forget his looney recommendation to ingest insecticide as a remedy? Even after his administration had initiated the life-saving vaccines, he continued to sow doubt about them and discouraged taking proper precautions.<\/p>\n
The January 6 attack on the Capital of course was undeniable proof that Trump was unfit to be president. We all saw it play out on television in real time as more than 2000 rioters assaulted the Capital, looting and destroying while Trump did nothing. Subsequent evidence – interviews, testimony, and trials – have implicated the former president as being largely responsible for the actions that day.<\/p>\n
We all witnessed the Trump presidency and its ugly aftermath including the attempt to corrupt the 2020 election results and the continuing denial of Biden\u2019s victory. With this in mind, I have frequently asked Trump voters whether they have buyer\u2019s remorse. Given what\u2019s happened, do they regret their votes in 2016 and\/or 2020?<\/p>\n
As of now, I have not had one acquaintance tell me that they regret supporting Donald Trump. When I pose the \u201cremorse\u201d question, they usually just look at me rather blankly and launch into a litany of awful things about the Democrats. They almost always characterize Biden as a \u201cclown,\u201d someone they hate as they spew Republican talking points. They rail about the Bidens, the border mess, the nefarious role of the media, and the corrupt DOJ and FBI. And so it goes. However awful Democrats might be, does it really give us an excuse to vote for an incompetent and malevolent candidate?<\/p>\n
I guess I expected that many Trump voters would come around and acknowledge that he has proven to be unfit for the presidency and behaved badly while in office. But they don\u2019t seem able to utter such words, to say what is evident to so many, what is undeniable. It hurts me personally that good and decent people with whom I share many values can\u2019t admit the truth about Trump: he is an American Caligula. Why don\u2019t they own up to the his atrocities and give their allegiance to a presentable Republican who shares their conservative politics?<\/p>\n
Why?<\/p>\n
These people make up the swing votes that got Trump elected in the first place and are a threat to do so again in 2024. With a hard-core base of 35 to 40% Trump really can\u2019t get elected without this voting bloc who supported him in the last two presidential elections. Their continuing support gives Trump a shot at winning the electoral college for a second time.<\/p>\n
What makes otherwise rational people vote for an amoral, pathological liar? Do they really vote simply out of hatred for Democrats, or are they willing to sell out their country for short-term personal gains? They knew who Trump was, why didn\u2019t they just sit out the election rather than vote for such a man?<\/p>\n
Why?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Since the 2016 election, I have been wondering why in the world so many acquaintances voted for Donald Trump. Initially I gave such voters a pass thinking they were dyed in the wool Republicans who simply could not vote for a Democrat and probably believed that once in office Trump would come around and get…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-by-robert-fischer"],"yoast_head":"\n