# A friend tells me he voted twice for Trump **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [September 10, 2024, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087 "2024-09-10T21:20:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/41 "2024-09-11T16:43:38Z")
It’s not easy, but the sister I knew is gone. She was always a fearful person, afraid of cities and uncomfortable around people different than her. She kind of has embraced that fear and found a space where one doesn’t conquer one’s fears, but scream them from the rooftops. It’s been said many times during Trump’s presidency, but I’ll repeat it here: if you ever wondered what you would have done in Germany during Hitler’s rise to power, whatever you’re doing now is what you would have been doing then. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/42 "2024-09-11T16:56:49Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > _“One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.”_ > > ― Carl Sagan This is the basics of it. No one wants to admit that they where conned. Especially if they where conned by an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/43 "2024-09-11T17:49:41Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > A willingness to support Trump goes well outside the boundaries of politics. A Trump-centered worldview reflects not political variance but a difference in _morals._ I’ll break bread with those with different morals than myself. > [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > There is only one thing that inclines me to consider corresponding with him again. He mentioned in passing that he is in possession of a paper purporting to prove the Riemann Hypothesis that he has been unable to find an error. Trump has approximately 50:50 odds of victory. If he wins, I’ll be dusting off my copy of Timothy Snyder’s _On Tyranny_, starting with [this article sized version](https://inthesetimes.com/article/20-lessons-from-the-20th-century-on-how-to-survive-in-trumps-america). On this message board I’ve concluded that mockery - a form of social distancing - can move the needle ever so slightly _provided the target has some investment in your opinion_. I think liberals need to develop declarative statements that engage with conservatives better. “You are immoral”, is not one of them. “Fox News molds its coverage to reassure and consequently screws up its facts.”: well maybe. I’m not a great wordsmith. I trust your once-friend’s vote is beyond recovery. But Fox News’ whole shtick involves insinuations about liberals. Kevin Drum: > as anyone who’s watched Fox knows, its fundamental message is rage at what liberals are doing to our country. Over the years the specific message has changed with the times—from terrorism to open borders to Benghazi to Christian cake bakers to critical race theory—but it’s always about what liberal politicians are doing to cripple America, usually with a large dose of thinly veiled racism to give it emotional heft. If you listen to this on a daily basis, is it any wonder that your trust in government would plummet? Moving the ball back to the land of, “Fundamental disagreements about the role of government in our country”, (or better yet, “Managing government with a healthy respect for empirical reality”) is a very heavy lift. I’m not saying that you should never break off with a friend or acquaintance. But saying that your morality demands that you break off your friendship does little to counter Fox News’ agenda: indeed it reinforces it. ---
**Author:** ![We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/We_re_wolves_not_werewolves)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/44 "2024-09-11T18:01:08Z")
> [@mozchron](#): > > I cut every person in my friend circle and my family who voted for trump out of my life permanently. I have not regretted it for a moment. that sounds horrifically rigid and unproductive. Instead of trying to understand why someone did something and try to help them see the issues with it, you simply cut them off without recourse. With that kind of binary mentality, somehow I suspect they probably haven’t terribly regretted your decision either. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/45 "2024-09-11T18:08:50Z")
> [@We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](#): > > Instead of trying to understand why someone did something and try to help them see the issues with it, {…} One can’t help but wonder what the results of an SDMB poll might look like, asking who has tried that particular approach with their MAGA friends and relatives, and with what degree of success. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/46 "2024-09-11T18:24:15Z")
I would second this. The common denominator I see in nearly all Trump voters that I know is a raging desire for **justice**. Now, their desire may be warped (tilting at nonexistent windmills or a blatant double standard when _their_ side is unjust), but it’s there. To the ears of many Trumpers, telling them to stop supporting Trump comes across as, “You need to stop pushing for justice, and start being OK with injustice.” That would never persuade anyone. ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/47 "2024-09-11T18:28:55Z")
I’m cool with it and i don’t give a shit what they feel. You do you of course. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/48 "2024-09-11T19:01:54Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Do you think this guy _really_ developed a proof of the Reimann Hypothesis, or is this just more of the kind of bullshititude that goes along with right wing conspiranoia and narcissism? No, he doesn’t claim he developed a proof of RH. Rather that he was asked to look at a paper submitted to a journal (likely the Canadian J. Math.) by an editor who happens to be at his University (Calgary) and, unlike past such cases where he was able to find an immediate error, this time he couldn’t and is searching for referees who would be closer to the methods than he. Perfectly reasonable. And, as it happens, one of my colleagues would be perfect. That colleague was involved in the Fermat LT paper. But I am reluctant to get involved in further correspondence with my “friend”. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/49 "2024-09-11T19:04:14Z")
NM … on reading the whole thread instead of jumping in with a response, I see my points have already been well made by others. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/50 "2024-09-11T19:06:52Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > A few decades ago, I engaged _constantly_ with conservatives about politics, but those were the halcyon days when we basically agreed about the facts, but had differing values that led us each to different opinions about the best way forward. > > Because of RW media … I can almost never find that kind of conservative anymore. And it’s a given that they’ve been excommunicated from the Republican party in any case. I’ve also had the experience of conservatives responding to verifiable facts–e.g., ‘the deficit went down every year under Obama, and went up every year under Trump’–with content-free namecalling and Gish galloping. What does anyone gain being around people like that? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/51 "2024-09-11T19:12:37Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > I have a friend. If this person has voted twice to support a rapist and believes that the rules don’t apply, then in my opinion your statement should be “I _had_ a friend”. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/52 "2024-09-11T20:04:48Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > And, as it happens, one of my colleagues would be perfect. That colleague was involved in the Fermat LT paper. If you decide he’s not a friend any longer, then he is automatically downgraded to ex-colleague. Any reason why you can’t connect an ex-colleague with a colleague to review the paper? Why does him being a friend matter for a professional situation? Or just ask your colleague what they want. Dollars to doughballs the paper is bunk so it probably doesn’t matter either way. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/53 "2024-09-11T20:16:14Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Well, sure, but nothing is going to sway her niece from her views, so her choices are to love her in spite of it or to cut her out of her life. Snip snip for me. ---
**Author:** ![We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/We_re_wolves_not_werewolves)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/54 "2024-09-11T20:23:23Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > One can’t help but wonder what the results of an SDMB poll might look like, asking who has tried that particular approach with their MAGA friends and relatives, and with what degree of success. I guess let me put it another way. Who is more worthy of disdain, a person who voted for Trump because Fox News told them to or a person who votes for Harris because Taylor Swift told them to? Neither really has an clue what they are doing but I wouldn’t say one is a “worse” person than the other. I can agree that a person voting for Trump is making a bad choice, and yeah, maybe they _are_ an amoral and vile person. But also possible, maybe they aren’t really a horrific person, maybe they are just incredibly misguided and listened to the wrong person. The position on this board that any person that has voted for Trump, without any other context or any other consideration of that person, AUTOMATICALLY makes that person an outcast who should be summarily excised from your life forever is really bananas. People are not one dimensional, one issue entities. Who someone votes for should be just one more data point you use in making an evaluation of that person. WHY they voted for that person should be another. But neither, by themself, should be sufficient reason to casually discard a friend or family member. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/55 "2024-09-11T20:34:20Z")
> [@We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](#): > > a person who votes for Harris because Taylor Swift told them to? Actually, Swift didn’t tell anyone to vote for Harris. She said that after seeing the debate, SHE will vote for Harris, and encouraged her followers to do their own research. I thought her commentary was excellent: > Like many of you, I watched the debate tonight. If you haven’t already, now is a great time to do your research on the issues at hand and the stances these candidates take on the topics that matter to you the most. As a voter, I make sure to watch and read everything I can about their proposed policies and plans for this country ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/56 "2024-09-11T20:37:05Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > One can’t help but wonder what the results of an SDMB poll might look like, asking who has tried that particular approach with their MAGA friends and relatives, and with what degree of success One data point: no effect. My idiot brother in law is an armed “border patriot” that hates “Obamacare” but only has insurance through ACA.\* After years of trying, we have cut him out completely. And when he dies (he’s in poor health) and his wife calls to report it, I’ll hang up on her. With my wife’s full blessing. \*I know, right? ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/57 "2024-09-11T20:38:52Z")
> [@CaveMike](#): > > Dollars to doughballs the paper is bunk so it probably doesn’t matter either way. That is definitely true. There have been other nearly convincing attempts. And remember, Wiles’s first proof of the FLT had a big gap (which my colleague made a suggestion that eventually worked, although it was a long haul). ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/58 "2024-09-11T20:41:15Z")
Does Taylor Swift lie to, demagogue, mislead, and misinform _her_ fans, or does she advise them to do their own research? I see a false equivalence here. It’s a virtual impossibility to avoid them since around mid-to-late 2015. ETA: @CairoCarol : Yeah. That 🙂 ETA2: > [@We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](#): > > Who someone votes for should be just one more data point you use in making an evaluation of that person. This was always true … in the Before Times. These times … aren’t those. Stand arm-in-arm with evil and people may call you out for it (or even turn their backs on you). It happens. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/59 "2024-09-11T20:42:59Z")
I thought I was the only person with a BIL that I loathed. An abusive drunk, he finally got sober, but his mental abuse of his family continued his entire life. His comments about minorities and Democrats kept me away from my sister’s house on holidays, and his son and I quietly rejoiced when the fucker died. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087/60 "2024-09-11T20:45:22Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > She said that after seeing the debate, SHE will vote for Harris Not to nitpick, but there is zero chance that Swift wasn’t already full onboard the Harris train before the debate. I don’t believe that she was in any way not fully already had her mind made up before the debate began. It’s not like Swift was an undecided on-the-fence voter and Harris’ performance made her decide on Kamala. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-friend-tells-me-he-voted-twice-for-trump/1007087.md?page=4)