A lot of people (including me) have voted for Trump because the alternative--machine Democrats with very left-wing ideas--is worse. Even now.
1) Trump had a few good ideas, most importantly energy freedom/security. Also blocking Iran's nuclear program and ballistic missiles, even though that program wasn't well-enough thought through. 2) Mean or offensive tweets are better than bad votes. 3) Trump and Republicans are always split on their ideas and don't get much "done." Democrats vote like a machine--talk moderate, vote hardline.
My question is, given what you know today, do you regret your vote? I cannot come up with a short list of Trump's good intentions over self advancement, where for example he gave something up. Separate from whataboutism, isolated, are any of Trump present initiatives good intentions for the best of the country? Are any initiatives today, on the table, pure good intensions?
No. I wish Trump acted differently than he does but I think the Democrats would have been a worse alternative--and still would be. Their ideas don't work and they are fanatical about them. Talk moderate, act hardline. I live in MN so I see it constantly. Amy Klobuchar moderate? Ilhan Omar? Tim Walz? Peggy Flanagan? Keith Ellison? Hardly.
Patti - just a comment, whataboutism seems a distraction, both sides can be condemned for different reasons. I lived in MN for 20 years, understand they are not moderate. My focus is on how one can still support Trump given what for me is recent unforgivable sins against the country. I isolate that from the other side as I too have serious complaints. If the conclusion is, the other side is worse, then that is the basis, and not one of true support. Then, moving on, the question is, what Trump initiative underway today is praiseworthy, and which as deemed unacceptable. I am truly curious and value your response.
I appreciate that, Glenn. I am with Thomas Sowell when he said "There are no solutions, only tradeoffs." So with Trump my question to myself is, what's the alternative? I'm not a Republican--I've always been an independent but voted for Republicans as opposition to Democrats with ideas I think are either bad or won't work.
The alternative to me in 2016, 2020 and 2024 was much worse than Trump. Partly, because as I said, his bluster doesn't for the most part turn into catastrophic action, which is the case with the Democrats. Personal corruption is distasteful (though nothing new to American politics) but I'm much more worried about the left's systematic efforts to fundamentally change our constitution, free enterprise system, rule of law etc. Trump's actions there are not significant.
I think key takeaway from this excellent article is “Stop the madness.” This is how. Don’t miss the point. Excellent piece and a hopeful take on the possible future of our country.
The smugnorant contempt of Team Blue is nothing new. I watched it up-close and personal during my high school/college years during the '80s and '90s in Eugene, OR. Unfortunately, it proved to be a preview of things to come.
Absolutely. It is utterly idiotic to blame the Trump voter for the excesses of Trump. And pushing those voters further away (especially given the fact that the majority of the electorate voted for Trump) is amazingly short-sighted.
But there also another angle to seeing Trump supporters as human: YOU may learn something and YOU may change your views and YOU may finally recognize - what many normies recognized long ago - that American "liberalism" has been hijacked by pompus, catastrophizing, sententious, divisive narcissists.
And perhaps that's the critical piece: not only is it true that many have no desire to "be kind" because they weren't kind to begin with, the last thing many of these folks want to have happen is to have their parochial world view challenged. It will be hard for them to come to grips with the idea that many of the people who they despise may have a point worth recognizing.
Alternatively, if these so-called liberals double down on bad policy by embracing the authoritarianism of the DSA, Woke 2.0, and managed decline, it will be harder and harder for reconciliation to occur. Because make no mistake, Trump's failings do not imply that Trump supporters are ready to accept The Word of Woke and many don't believe that the West is inherently evil and therefore must decline. So if you want Trump supporters to vote for your party then it's probably best to push your party to meet Trump supporters where they are.
You are correct that this begins by seeing Trump supporters as human. But it also means recognizing the failings of "liberalism" that made Trump supporters Trump supporters in the first place.
THAT my friends is the far bigger ask than merely asking our own to "be kind."
After the 2016 election David Wong wrote how Trump voters, mostly outside cities, view them
selves: “The good guys are simple folk from the countryside while the bad guys are decadent
assholes who live in the city and wear stupid clothes.” He uses examples from Star Wars, The
Hunger Games, and Braveheart. {Wong, David. 2016. “How Half of America Lost Its F**king Mind.” Cracked, October 12. http://www.cracked .com/blog/6-reasons-trumps-rise-that-no-one-talks-about/.} No one wants to be disrespected; no one wants to be viewed as “deplorable.” The politics of resentment and an attitude of superiority does no good.
Not just Trump, but also Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the first leftist philosopher.
He viewed cities as creating a status competition and a status anxiety that was fundamentally unhealthy. By contrast, rural living resulted in people making life choices based on reasons other than status, such as companionship, friendship, and community.
Ironically the left got rid of the one good part of Rousseau and kept his authoritarianism, most notably that Rousseau redefined freedom as "submission to the general will" and that those who refused to submit should be "forced to be free."
As an evangelical MAGA conservative who lives in a blue town in a blue state and who has a blue PMC career, I've been at the receiving end of leftist hatred for quite some time and went through distinct phases:
- Phase 0: pre-Trump. Christians were scorned and hated, particularly as the New Atheism ramped up, but it was bearable.
- Phase 1: Trump term 1. Leftists - probably wisely - gave conservatives an out. You were allowed to be conservative as long as you were a Never Trump conservative. During Obama's presidency you could feel the left grow in power and it scared me. I was weak and took the Never Trump "get out of conservative jail free" card.
- Phase 2: Biden. Then it become clear that the left had gone completely insane and I couldn't have anything to do with them. But I was utterly terrified of facing their hatred and even though I changed my allegiance, I didn't speak up.
- Phase 3: Trump term 2. The left has shown me what kind of people they are. I see you.
I agree. It would be one thing if the Democrats had a spotless reputation for integrity and helping working class folk. Insulting potential converts would still be self defeating, but the condemnation would be from an effective and respected source.
Instead it's from the same people who lied to our faces about Biden's obvious decline and descent into senescence and then tried to pass off the least articulate and authentic candidate in my nearly 60 years of life as a "defender of democracy." No thank you.
Lauding one's own morality, even when one lives a clean life is always a risky move. Doing so while alienating much of the nation with lies and deception is not just risky, it's self defeating, but that's the current Democratic leadership for us.
I expect the Democrats to have a fine mid-term election and take back both the House and Senate. I also expect them to blow the race for POTUS in 2028 by nominating a smug centrist half the country will hate.
Sigh. I hope they're at lest reading Ruy's and his colleagues' essays. That way they'll at least have a grasp of why they can win the mid-terms, which are a protest vote against one party control under Trump, but lose the next election when both sides will field new candidates.
Mind you, I hope the Democrats nominate a normal guy who can speak clearly to regular people, like senator Gallegos (D-AZ), or someone who can win in contested or red territory like governor Beshear, but I rather doubt that's the way insiders like Ken Martin, Schumer or Jeffries will see it. We'll probably get some corrupt retread like Newscom or useless symbolic candidate like Buttigieg.
I'm old enough to remember it took 12 years to reform the party from 1980 until Clinton's victory (barely, in a three way race) in 1992. Much as I hate to write it, the present seems awfully similar to those days, with aged and out of touch leadership, platforms the majority of the populace despises, and rampant corruption.
So yeah, casting stones from our glass house seems extraordinarily foolish. Ms. Etelson is quite correct about that.
Yup. As Arlie Hochschild pointed out in her deeply researched "Stolen Pride," when the mainstream media or political opponents sharply criticize Trumo.or his supporters—who already feel culturally and economically left behind or looked down upon—it backfires targeting the critics. Humiliating attacks often fuel Trump.support because he aggressively fights back against the "shamers." By standing up to elite condemnation, he acts as a proxy for his followers, transforming their collective sense of humiliation into defiant pride.
Thanks for your essay. As a liberal and a Democrat, the trend of my party towards illiberal tribalism both saddens and alarms me. I suspect that one of the drivers is seeking for approval within your small friend group, and one of the easiest ways to gain approval/avoid condemnation is to mock/scorn outsiders.
I think you could argue that Obama Clinton Biden at all have things citizens hate about them if they did not vote for that politician. I guess my observation is the media and institutions never let the other side conservatives Republicans attack their people this much. When it's liberals the threat of cancellation is still real and abused
I voted for Trump in 2024 because I felt that I had no choice given the hapless Harris was not only a crony nominee who had covered for Biden but was wrong on practically every issue that was important to me. I literally believed that many of our democratic institutions would not survive if Harris won a four year term and Congress flipped Democratic.
Since I live in the northeast and work in NYC, you can imagine how often I was either cancelled or my views ridiculed. Since I did not fit into the ‘Trump voter stereotype “ , people found it hard to comprehend how my views on energy policy, border security, freedom from mandatory COVID jabs , horror at school closings for Covid and perhaps most of all horror on how teens were allowed and even encouraged by professionals to mutilate themselves in the name of gender fluidity.
The condescension of the cultural and educational elites ( almost exclusively Dems) towards their fellow citizens will be difficult to overcome, since they truly believe themselves to be the betters of everyone else.
People keep talking about THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST should be the ones in charge , totally missing the irony of Halbersrtam in using that as his title for his learned treatise on who were the intellectual elite that bogged us down for so long in the Vietnam War .
Agree with ideals, but the fact liberals do think MAGA and Trump supporters/voters are inferior, and no essay will change that dynamic, not in this or the next generation. Main point for me is separate the enablers and leaders from the voters, while not inferior, corrupt with self serving goals and behaviors. My ongoing dream is a short conversation to talk to powerful enablers and only ask, "How do you sleep at night?".
As a liberal Democrat who voted for Trump I found a useful way to look at things was to imagine that any issue or policy that you feel strongly about, you were actually misinformed about. I always figure what if the other folks actually have a better idea.
Another mind game I use is when I hear a friend ranting about some issue or another and I know that they don't even have possession of many of the facts on both sides, I just let it go. Are they still nice folks? More than likely. Do they use an extremely biased news source? Also more than likely. Do I make any difference by trying to give them something else to think about not likely.
One thing I won't do is listen passively as a fellow community member is derided for their politics. I'll bring up a good thing they do, and most everyone in a small town has a good side. Most people are not political junkies, maybe they are the better off for it.
Excellent thoughts. Some of the vitriol no doubt stems from a lack of exposure. Rural area voters have exposure to cities and suburbs, many urban and suburban dwellers have little to no exposure to rural life.
It is rather amazing how "uneducated" has become an acceptable slur for Dems to utilize when discussing Trump voters. As if intelligence is not required to run a small trucking company, fix the fridge, produce food, fuel, a sofa or any of the other multitude of things that make modern life possible.
Recently an Arkansas Dem Senate candidate brazenly noted she would gladly trade 5 Americans for 1 hardworking migrant. That she felt comfortable spouting her thoughts, let alone so close to an election, speaks to the apparent Dem premise Americans without college degrees are interchangeable with the rest of the world's non educated population. That not a single Dem appears to have condemned her comment, likely speaks to how widely Dems hold her views. Most are are simply smart enough not to enunciate the thought.
One would like to assume the distain is simply misguided and not purposeful, but shoving unpopular policies down the throats of the masses is far easier if the masses, lacking a college degree, have been conditioned to view themselves as less intelligent and ethical, than their supposedly intellectually and morally superiors.
Dems have spent the last decade viewing Trump and his voters as the cause of all that ails the world. That belief is now likely to be juiced by midterm wins. Those victories will only reinforce the notion Dems are justified in seeking vast retribution, before they seek to undo every Trump policy ever implemented, successful or not.
It is hard not recall that was the Biden playbook, that ultimately resulted in Trump 2.0. Then there is the proverb about those seeking revenge, beginning their journey by first digging two graves.
A lot of people (including me) have voted for Trump because the alternative--machine Democrats with very left-wing ideas--is worse. Even now.
1) Trump had a few good ideas, most importantly energy freedom/security. Also blocking Iran's nuclear program and ballistic missiles, even though that program wasn't well-enough thought through. 2) Mean or offensive tweets are better than bad votes. 3) Trump and Republicans are always split on their ideas and don't get much "done." Democrats vote like a machine--talk moderate, vote hardline.
Dems: Trump voters are a MAGA cult
Also Dems: Fetterman, Manchin, Sinema must go because they won't vote the party line.
And the Democrats claim to be a big tent party...
Really?
My question is, given what you know today, do you regret your vote? I cannot come up with a short list of Trump's good intentions over self advancement, where for example he gave something up. Separate from whataboutism, isolated, are any of Trump present initiatives good intentions for the best of the country? Are any initiatives today, on the table, pure good intensions?
No. I wish Trump acted differently than he does but I think the Democrats would have been a worse alternative--and still would be. Their ideas don't work and they are fanatical about them. Talk moderate, act hardline. I live in MN so I see it constantly. Amy Klobuchar moderate? Ilhan Omar? Tim Walz? Peggy Flanagan? Keith Ellison? Hardly.
Patti - just a comment, whataboutism seems a distraction, both sides can be condemned for different reasons. I lived in MN for 20 years, understand they are not moderate. My focus is on how one can still support Trump given what for me is recent unforgivable sins against the country. I isolate that from the other side as I too have serious complaints. If the conclusion is, the other side is worse, then that is the basis, and not one of true support. Then, moving on, the question is, what Trump initiative underway today is praiseworthy, and which as deemed unacceptable. I am truly curious and value your response.
I appreciate that, Glenn. I am with Thomas Sowell when he said "There are no solutions, only tradeoffs." So with Trump my question to myself is, what's the alternative? I'm not a Republican--I've always been an independent but voted for Republicans as opposition to Democrats with ideas I think are either bad or won't work.
The alternative to me in 2016, 2020 and 2024 was much worse than Trump. Partly, because as I said, his bluster doesn't for the most part turn into catastrophic action, which is the case with the Democrats. Personal corruption is distasteful (though nothing new to American politics) but I'm much more worried about the left's systematic efforts to fundamentally change our constitution, free enterprise system, rule of law etc. Trump's actions there are not significant.
I think key takeaway from this excellent article is “Stop the madness.” This is how. Don’t miss the point. Excellent piece and a hopeful take on the possible future of our country.
The smugnorant contempt of Team Blue is nothing new. I watched it up-close and personal during my high school/college years during the '80s and '90s in Eugene, OR. Unfortunately, it proved to be a preview of things to come.
"smugnorant contempt" is brilliant terminology. And sadly, all too accurate.
Absolutely. It is utterly idiotic to blame the Trump voter for the excesses of Trump. And pushing those voters further away (especially given the fact that the majority of the electorate voted for Trump) is amazingly short-sighted.
But there also another angle to seeing Trump supporters as human: YOU may learn something and YOU may change your views and YOU may finally recognize - what many normies recognized long ago - that American "liberalism" has been hijacked by pompus, catastrophizing, sententious, divisive narcissists.
And perhaps that's the critical piece: not only is it true that many have no desire to "be kind" because they weren't kind to begin with, the last thing many of these folks want to have happen is to have their parochial world view challenged. It will be hard for them to come to grips with the idea that many of the people who they despise may have a point worth recognizing.
Alternatively, if these so-called liberals double down on bad policy by embracing the authoritarianism of the DSA, Woke 2.0, and managed decline, it will be harder and harder for reconciliation to occur. Because make no mistake, Trump's failings do not imply that Trump supporters are ready to accept The Word of Woke and many don't believe that the West is inherently evil and therefore must decline. So if you want Trump supporters to vote for your party then it's probably best to push your party to meet Trump supporters where they are.
You are correct that this begins by seeing Trump supporters as human. But it also means recognizing the failings of "liberalism" that made Trump supporters Trump supporters in the first place.
THAT my friends is the far bigger ask than merely asking our own to "be kind."
After the 2016 election David Wong wrote how Trump voters, mostly outside cities, view them
selves: “The good guys are simple folk from the countryside while the bad guys are decadent
assholes who live in the city and wear stupid clothes.” He uses examples from Star Wars, The
Hunger Games, and Braveheart. {Wong, David. 2016. “How Half of America Lost Its F**king Mind.” Cracked, October 12. http://www.cracked .com/blog/6-reasons-trumps-rise-that-no-one-talks-about/.} No one wants to be disrespected; no one wants to be viewed as “deplorable.” The politics of resentment and an attitude of superiority does no good.
Not just Trump, but also Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the first leftist philosopher.
He viewed cities as creating a status competition and a status anxiety that was fundamentally unhealthy. By contrast, rural living resulted in people making life choices based on reasons other than status, such as companionship, friendship, and community.
Ironically the left got rid of the one good part of Rousseau and kept his authoritarianism, most notably that Rousseau redefined freedom as "submission to the general will" and that those who refused to submit should be "forced to be free."
As an evangelical MAGA conservative who lives in a blue town in a blue state and who has a blue PMC career, I've been at the receiving end of leftist hatred for quite some time and went through distinct phases:
- Phase 0: pre-Trump. Christians were scorned and hated, particularly as the New Atheism ramped up, but it was bearable.
- Phase 1: Trump term 1. Leftists - probably wisely - gave conservatives an out. You were allowed to be conservative as long as you were a Never Trump conservative. During Obama's presidency you could feel the left grow in power and it scared me. I was weak and took the Never Trump "get out of conservative jail free" card.
- Phase 2: Biden. Then it become clear that the left had gone completely insane and I couldn't have anything to do with them. But I was utterly terrified of facing their hatred and even though I changed my allegiance, I didn't speak up.
- Phase 3: Trump term 2. The left has shown me what kind of people they are. I see you.
I agree. It would be one thing if the Democrats had a spotless reputation for integrity and helping working class folk. Insulting potential converts would still be self defeating, but the condemnation would be from an effective and respected source.
Instead it's from the same people who lied to our faces about Biden's obvious decline and descent into senescence and then tried to pass off the least articulate and authentic candidate in my nearly 60 years of life as a "defender of democracy." No thank you.
Lauding one's own morality, even when one lives a clean life is always a risky move. Doing so while alienating much of the nation with lies and deception is not just risky, it's self defeating, but that's the current Democratic leadership for us.
I expect the Democrats to have a fine mid-term election and take back both the House and Senate. I also expect them to blow the race for POTUS in 2028 by nominating a smug centrist half the country will hate.
Sigh. I hope they're at lest reading Ruy's and his colleagues' essays. That way they'll at least have a grasp of why they can win the mid-terms, which are a protest vote against one party control under Trump, but lose the next election when both sides will field new candidates.
Mind you, I hope the Democrats nominate a normal guy who can speak clearly to regular people, like senator Gallegos (D-AZ), or someone who can win in contested or red territory like governor Beshear, but I rather doubt that's the way insiders like Ken Martin, Schumer or Jeffries will see it. We'll probably get some corrupt retread like Newscom or useless symbolic candidate like Buttigieg.
I'm old enough to remember it took 12 years to reform the party from 1980 until Clinton's victory (barely, in a three way race) in 1992. Much as I hate to write it, the present seems awfully similar to those days, with aged and out of touch leadership, platforms the majority of the populace despises, and rampant corruption.
So yeah, casting stones from our glass house seems extraordinarily foolish. Ms. Etelson is quite correct about that.
Yup. As Arlie Hochschild pointed out in her deeply researched "Stolen Pride," when the mainstream media or political opponents sharply criticize Trumo.or his supporters—who already feel culturally and economically left behind or looked down upon—it backfires targeting the critics. Humiliating attacks often fuel Trump.support because he aggressively fights back against the "shamers." By standing up to elite condemnation, he acts as a proxy for his followers, transforming their collective sense of humiliation into defiant pride.
Thanks for your essay. As a liberal and a Democrat, the trend of my party towards illiberal tribalism both saddens and alarms me. I suspect that one of the drivers is seeking for approval within your small friend group, and one of the easiest ways to gain approval/avoid condemnation is to mock/scorn outsiders.
I think you could argue that Obama Clinton Biden at all have things citizens hate about them if they did not vote for that politician. I guess my observation is the media and institutions never let the other side conservatives Republicans attack their people this much. When it's liberals the threat of cancellation is still real and abused
I voted for Trump in 2024 because I felt that I had no choice given the hapless Harris was not only a crony nominee who had covered for Biden but was wrong on practically every issue that was important to me. I literally believed that many of our democratic institutions would not survive if Harris won a four year term and Congress flipped Democratic.
Since I live in the northeast and work in NYC, you can imagine how often I was either cancelled or my views ridiculed. Since I did not fit into the ‘Trump voter stereotype “ , people found it hard to comprehend how my views on energy policy, border security, freedom from mandatory COVID jabs , horror at school closings for Covid and perhaps most of all horror on how teens were allowed and even encouraged by professionals to mutilate themselves in the name of gender fluidity.
The condescension of the cultural and educational elites ( almost exclusively Dems) towards their fellow citizens will be difficult to overcome, since they truly believe themselves to be the betters of everyone else.
People keep talking about THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST should be the ones in charge , totally missing the irony of Halbersrtam in using that as his title for his learned treatise on who were the intellectual elite that bogged us down for so long in the Vietnam War .
Agree with ideals, but the fact liberals do think MAGA and Trump supporters/voters are inferior, and no essay will change that dynamic, not in this or the next generation. Main point for me is separate the enablers and leaders from the voters, while not inferior, corrupt with self serving goals and behaviors. My ongoing dream is a short conversation to talk to powerful enablers and only ask, "How do you sleep at night?".
As a liberal Democrat who voted for Trump I found a useful way to look at things was to imagine that any issue or policy that you feel strongly about, you were actually misinformed about. I always figure what if the other folks actually have a better idea.
Another mind game I use is when I hear a friend ranting about some issue or another and I know that they don't even have possession of many of the facts on both sides, I just let it go. Are they still nice folks? More than likely. Do they use an extremely biased news source? Also more than likely. Do I make any difference by trying to give them something else to think about not likely.
One thing I won't do is listen passively as a fellow community member is derided for their politics. I'll bring up a good thing they do, and most everyone in a small town has a good side. Most people are not political junkies, maybe they are the better off for it.
Thank you for this article, I will share with our local Facebook pot-stirrer. We have interesting conversations...
Excellent thoughts. Some of the vitriol no doubt stems from a lack of exposure. Rural area voters have exposure to cities and suburbs, many urban and suburban dwellers have little to no exposure to rural life.
It is rather amazing how "uneducated" has become an acceptable slur for Dems to utilize when discussing Trump voters. As if intelligence is not required to run a small trucking company, fix the fridge, produce food, fuel, a sofa or any of the other multitude of things that make modern life possible.
Recently an Arkansas Dem Senate candidate brazenly noted she would gladly trade 5 Americans for 1 hardworking migrant. That she felt comfortable spouting her thoughts, let alone so close to an election, speaks to the apparent Dem premise Americans without college degrees are interchangeable with the rest of the world's non educated population. That not a single Dem appears to have condemned her comment, likely speaks to how widely Dems hold her views. Most are are simply smart enough not to enunciate the thought.
One would like to assume the distain is simply misguided and not purposeful, but shoving unpopular policies down the throats of the masses is far easier if the masses, lacking a college degree, have been conditioned to view themselves as less intelligent and ethical, than their supposedly intellectually and morally superiors.
Dems have spent the last decade viewing Trump and his voters as the cause of all that ails the world. That belief is now likely to be juiced by midterm wins. Those victories will only reinforce the notion Dems are justified in seeking vast retribution, before they seek to undo every Trump policy ever implemented, successful or not.
It is hard not recall that was the Biden playbook, that ultimately resulted in Trump 2.0. Then there is the proverb about those seeking revenge, beginning their journey by first digging two graves.
I don’t know what to think of this article. But thanks for writing it.