How can people still trust Twitler McCrazyPants?

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

The guy has lied thousands of times while in office. Literally. A few people might think he's lying about things he isn't, but the larger problem is all the people who hang on every word. He's "The Chosen One." Only he can save us. These Qanon conspiracy theories have Trump saving hundreds of children every day from the Satanic pedophile rings of Democrats and Hollywood celebrities who order children to sex traffic in Wayfair furniture. Wayfair furniture!

Obviously, the majority of the base are not Qanon conspiracy theorists, but the majority are still doing repugnant and irrational things based on his craziness. They're not wearing masks. Some of them are comparing orders to wear masks to Nazi Germany. Nazi Germany! And those conservatives are more common than the Qaren variety.

There are some polls on trust of Trump and others and this one is fairly representative:

Majorities of Republicans and Republican leaners say they don't trust Fauci or the CDC, 53 percent and 52 percent respectively.

As for Trump, 69 percent of Republican and Republican leaners say they trust his comments, while 29 percent don't.

Let me repeat that. A majority of Republicans does not trust the CDC. The CDC. The government entity reporting to Trump that is science-based and is directing the American public to do safe things. A majority does not trust them.

Meanwhile, 69% of Republicans and Republican leaners trust Trump. Think about that though. If you take out the independents who lean toward Republican, the rest is even more partisan....probably around 80% of Republicans trust Trump. 80%.

The Republican Noise Machine is still very strong. You can even look at some threads around here and see distractions that inevitably favor Trump in some way. Authors engaging in the noise machine that further enables Trump either by distracting on relatively insignificant issues or by attacking the left. A person can easily get lost and lose focus.

It's probably important now to not get involved in distractions and keep hammering away, repeating the science on critical issues that effect thousands of lives.

 

[Patooka]

I'd say a lot of it has to do with misplaced pride. Refusing to trust in Trump means that they were wrong in the first place and admitting being wrong is a huge cardinal sin. It's far easier to focus on minutiae on petty meaningless details and employ whataboutism arguments than it is to employ some self-reflection when it comes to politics. I sympathize completely I really do. Doesn't change the fact it's a very unhealthy way to think when it comes to casting ones vote. I don't have a solution for it but I'd be amazed if the answer didn't have a pride component.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

The guy is walking around like he is Lazarus... having fallen victim to the disease he was downplaying the entire time and has led to the deaths of nearly a quarter million Americans. And his followers love him.

It's a cult. It is nothing less than a cult. Trump has that high school alpha bully persona that some people are drawn to. The people are the Watchtower are wondering, 'how the heck does he get away with being wrong all the time and to cheers'!

 

[ideologyhunter]

And with that orange soot on his face, to boot -- looking like he went on the Muppets and blew Ernie. Someone stick a needle in my foot so I know I'm awake!

 

[prideandfall]

It's probably important now to not get involved in distractions and keep hammering away, repeating the science on critical issues that effect thousands of lives.

yes, i'm sure if you scream at a brick wall long enough it will eventually concede to your argument and get out of the way.
keep tilting at those windmills, sooner or later they're going to crack.

you're making the same basic mistake so many people make: you think that trump's support is some kind of a ruse or a trick, the result of a manipulation or some kind of fundamental flaw that is making people who don't actually think this way believe a thing that they wouldn't believe if only they were properly exposed to the truth - you act like a trump supporter is just one clever youtube video away from disavowing the republicans, when this is simply not the case and is a grievous error in how liberals approach political opposition.

80% of republicans trust trump because trump is the end game of conservatism as an ideology in general, and the US political machine which fosters conservatism specifically. what he does and how he talks is the model for conservatism behavior, so you're never going to convince them to not like trump by throwing his actions in their face. that's like trying to convince a gay guy not to be gay by showing him gay porn and then going "lookit this! it's so eewwww! how can you be gay when this is what gays are doing!?"

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

It's probably important now to not get involved in distractions and keep hammering away, repeating the science on critical issues that effect thousands of lives.

yes, i'm sure if you scream at a brick wall long enough it will eventually concede to your argument and get out of the way.
keep tilting at those windmills, sooner or later they're going to crack.

you're making the same basic mistake so many people make: you think that trump's support is some kind of a ruse or a trick, the result of a manipulation or some kind of fundamental flaw that is making people who don't actually think this way believe a thing that they wouldn't believe if only they were properly exposed to the truth - you act like a trump supporter is just one clever youtube video away from disavowing the republicans, when this is simply not the case and is a grievous error in how liberals approach political opposition.

Well, the Dems have been hitting on Health Care since the '16 incident. So they clearly got the message. 2016 certainly disproved the concept that Republicans voters had any sense of principles that meant more than appoint SCOTUS Justices.

80% of republicans trust trump because trump is the end game of conservatism as an ideology in general, and the US political machine which fosters conservatism specifically. what he does and how he talks is the model for conservatism behavior, so you're never going to convince them to not like trump by throwing his actions in their face. that's like trying to convince a gay guy not to be gay by showing him gay porn and then going "lookit this! it's so eewwww! how can you be gay when this is what gays are doing!?"

I disagree. Probably 50% of Republicans trust (want to blow) Trump. The other half trust McConnell.

 

[southernhybrid]

There are actually a lot of different types of Trump supporters. There are the evangelicals, the wealthy who only care about how little taxes they are required to pay and there are some men who see Trump as very powerful and manly.

Here's a link that I read today about Hispanic men who support Trump.


https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/14/us/politics/trump-macho-appeal.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage

They packed into the room to cheer their heroes.

The crowd of more than 100 hollered enthusiastically at Henry Cejudo, a local hero and Olympic gold medalist, the son of undocumented immigrants from Mexico who had gone on to become a mixed martial arts superstar.

But they were really there to celebrate President Trump.

Wearing red Make America Great Again hats, several men held giant American flags and stood in front of several campaign signs: “Latinos for Trump,” “Cops for Trump” and another imploring them to text “WOKE” to get the latest information on the campaign.

In the words of Eric Trump, the president’s son and the headliner of the event, the battle is simple. It’s right versus wrong, he said, to a loud round of cheers.

“They are trying to cancel our voice, guys.”

Men are the core of President Trump’s base. In polling, gender gaps exist in nearly every demographic: among white voters, among senior citizens, among voters without a college degree, men are far more likely than women to support his re-election. And little of that support has shifted in the days since Mr. Trump announced he had tested positive for the coronavirus. Polls suggest that this presidential election could result in the largest gender gap since the passage of the 19th Amendment a century ago.

I agree that Trump acts like a cult leader and many of his supporters are victims of his cult. I doubt they even realize who often he lies and deceives, especially if they either don't pay attention to the actual news or if their only source of news in far right pundits, like Fos, Limbaugh, etc.

My wealthy brother in law, how is a dentist, doesn't really pay attention to the news. When asked why he supports Trump, the answer is always the same. "He put more money in my pocket". He's always cared about money above all else, and I'm sure there are many Republicans who share that same outlook.

Still, it's hard to understand why any decent, intelligent person supports this man. I know a nurse, who I worked with briefly who adores Trump. She's a white evangelical. I've never discussed politics with her, but on those rare occasions when I take a peak at FB, there she is praising Trump and/or putting down Biden. She is voting agains her own interests, and I don't get it. She is imo, a victim of the cult. She loves Fox News and probably believes everything her favorite pundits say. She depends on SS and Medicare and probably doesn't realize how much Trump would love to damage those programs.

I also read somewhere that a test was given to rate how much a person supported an autocratic leader. A large percentage of Republicans sacred highly on the things that equate for support of authoritarianism, while less than 30% of Democrats scored high in that area. We're living in weird, uncertain times and it's very hard to fully understand why this has happened. And, let's be honest. It's not just happening in the US. It's happening in some European countries to some extent as well as some SA countries like Brazil.

Anyway, if women were in charge, things would be much better, of that I am sure.

 

[starwater]

The trumpsters don't care about his character. As long as he does the policies they like and putting conservatives judges in, they don't care what kind of person he is.

 

[laughing dog]

There are Trump supporters who hate/fear what they believe Democrats will do. Who Trump is or what he actually does is immaterial to the members of that tribe.

 

[Jarhyn]

There are Trump supporters who hate/fear what they believe Democrats will do. Who Trump is or what he actually does is immaterial to the members of that tribe.

They've been told the blood libel that democrats will invade their homes and push their pregnant wives down stairs, or whatever. Once you can believe that kind of shit about ANY large group of people, you are already lost

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

There are Trump supporters who hate/fear what they believe Democrats will do. Who Trump is or what he actually does is immaterial to the members of that tribe.

Definitely the fear factor. Goes well with xenophobia, paranoia, us vs them, reactionism, etc. There's not a whole lot of proactive legislation and policy, just your standard "be afraid, be very afraid." It isn't trust, just fear.

 

[ZiprHead]

There are Trump supporters who hate/fear what they believe Democrats will do. Who Trump is or what he actually does is immaterial to the members of that tribe.

Definitely the fear factor. Goes well with xenophobia, paranoia, us vs them, reactionism, etc. There's not a whole lot of proactive legislation and policy, just your standard "be afraid, be very afraid." It isn't trust, just fear.

There's a certain amount of fear coming from both sides of the aisle, but only the Republicans have made fear their entire platform. No policies expressed, no goals other than MAGA generalities, nothing but fear. It works for the hard core righties, we all know that deep down they are all afraid of everything not quite familiar to them our outside their own little groups. That doesn't work so well on swing voters.

I just heard predictions yesterday that this will look like Reagan vs Mondale or Clinton vs Dole.

 

[Jarhyn]

There are Trump supporters who hate/fear what they believe Democrats will do. Who Trump is or what he actually does is immaterial to the members of that tribe.

Definitely the fear factor. Goes well with xenophobia, paranoia, us vs them, reactionism, etc. There's not a whole lot of proactive legislation and policy, just your standard "be afraid, be very afraid." It isn't trust, just fear.

There's a certain amount of fear coming from both sides of the aisle, but only the Republicans have made fear their entire platform. No policies expressed, no goals other than MAGA generalities, nothing but fear. It works for the hard core righties, we all know that deep down they are all afraid of everything not quite familiar to them our outside their own little groups. That doesn't work so well on swing voters.

I just heard predictions yesterday that this will look like Reagan vs Mondale or Clinton vs Dole.

My personal thought here: it doesn't look like jack shit. Quit obsessing about how things look and demand instead that people do the things that must be done to MAKE it look the way you WANT it to look.

Vote.

 

[ideologyhunter]

Think how tragic the phrasing of the OP title actually is...still trust...when, pre-2016, Trump had been taking his Birther bullshit show all over the country for five solid years. Any honest Republican who could reasonably parse political speech knew Trump was a liar, and a dedicated, unblushing liar, from that alone. Obviously, a large % of his base can't do the parsing, because they are willing converts to his "Mine is the only reality" cult. They will never get it. They have willfully removed themselves from reality.

 

[Elixir]

....with that orange soot on his face, to boot -- looking like he went on the Muppets and blew Ernie

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

I'd say a lot of it has to do with misplaced pride. Refusing to trust in Trump means that they were wrong in the first place and admitting being wrong is a huge cardinal sin. It's far easier to focus on minutiae on petty meaningless details and employ whataboutism arguments than it is to employ some self-reflection when it comes to politics. I sympathize completely I really do. Doesn't change the fact it's a very unhealthy way to think when it comes to casting ones vote. I don't have a solution for it but I'd be amazed if the answer didn't have a pride component.

Perhaps we should start telling people "It's okay to be wrong once in a while. We will accept you."

 

[Patooka]

I'd say a lot of it has to do with misplaced pride. Refusing to trust in Trump means that they were wrong in the first place and admitting being wrong is a huge cardinal sin. It's far easier to focus on minutiae on petty meaningless details and employ whataboutism arguments than it is to employ some self-reflection when it comes to politics. I sympathize completely I really do. Doesn't change the fact it's a very unhealthy way to think when it comes to casting ones vote. I don't have a solution for it but I'd be amazed if the answer didn't have a pride component.

Perhaps we should start telling people "It's okay to be wrong once in a while. We will accept you."

Agreed, but I'm enough of a cynical misanthropic cunt to believe that would never take off.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

I'd say a lot of it has to do with misplaced pride. Refusing to trust in Trump means that they were wrong in the first place and admitting being wrong is a huge cardinal sin. It's far easier to focus on minutiae on petty meaningless details and employ whataboutism arguments than it is to employ some self-reflection when it comes to politics. I sympathize completely I really do. Doesn't change the fact it's a very unhealthy way to think when it comes to casting ones vote. I don't have a solution for it but I'd be amazed if the answer didn't have a pride component.

Perhaps we should start telling people "It's okay to be wrong once in a while. We will accept you."

Agreed, but I'm enough of a cynical misanthropic cunt to believe that would never take off.

Well, you can always say it sarcastically, then. If it works by some odd coincidence, you can also take credit.

 

[Jarhyn]

I'd say a lot of it has to do with misplaced pride. Refusing to trust in Trump means that they were wrong in the first place and admitting being wrong is a huge cardinal sin. It's far easier to focus on minutiae on petty meaningless details and employ whataboutism arguments than it is to employ some self-reflection when it comes to politics. I sympathize completely I really do. Doesn't change the fact it's a very unhealthy way to think when it comes to casting ones vote. I don't have a solution for it but I'd be amazed if the answer didn't have a pride component.

This is why I practice regularly at admitting when I am wrong. The more I do it, the less pain I feel.

 

[prideandfall]

Obviously, a large % of his base can't do the parsing, because they are willing converts to his "Mine is the only reality" cult. They will never get it. They have willfully removed themselves from reality.

i don't want to beat a dead horse with my own pet political theory, but this is more of the same "it's not their fault, they've been duped, it's all a veil, this is an elaborate ruse" mentality in the OP that is staggeringly wrong.
IMO it's folks who espouse views like the one quoted above who truly "don't get it" - you need to justify their behavior by saying they've removed themselves from reality, when the fact is that if you just look at 'trumpism' on its face, that is what they value and what they aspire to and idolize.

stop trying to make this about some grand hocus pocus because it presents this utterly false notion that someday if we treat them right and educate them and implement the right policies we can cure their sickness and get them to come around.
this is wrong, and it's a dangerous way of treating a segment of the population that actively wants to destroy the very concept of social government.