# A simple question for Trump supporters **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 3, 2019, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simple-question-for-trump-supporters/841213 "2019-10-03T17:21:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 20
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simple-question-for-trump-supporters/841213/381 "2019-10-12T00:08:43Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > So, Trumpeters, how can you support [this unhinged bigotry](https://www.yahoo.com/news/cair-condemns-trump-minnesota-rally-anti-somali-refugee-speech-175906521.html) and [this imitation on stage of people having sex](https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-appears-bizarre-impression-fbi-182103178.html). ‘You don’t understand, we had to vote for Trump, Hillary is just so evil.’ CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simple-question-for-trump-supporters/841213/382 "2019-10-12T01:49:53Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > So, Trumpeters, how can you support [this unhinged bigotry](https://www.yahoo.com/news/cair-condemns-trump-minnesota-rally-anti-somali-refugee-speech-175906521.html) and [this imitation on stage of people having sex](https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-appears-bizarre-impression-fbi-182103178.html). I really don’t need to see a re-enactment of Trump’s evening with Stormy Daniels. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simple-question-for-trump-supporters/841213/383 "2019-10-12T02:05:31Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > So, Trumpeters, how can you support [this unhinged bigotry](https://www.yahoo.com/news/cair-condemns-trump-minnesota-rally-anti-somali-refugee-speech-175906521.html) and [this imitation on stage of people having sex](https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-appears-bizarre-impression-fbi-182103178.html). Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States. This is the guy who was mad that Adam Schiff misquoted him, right? ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simple-question-for-trump-supporters/841213/384 "2019-10-12T02:13:57Z")
And “christians” fall over themselves to support this vile, evil piece of shit. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simple-question-for-trump-supporters/841213/385 "2019-10-12T02:14:54Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > This is the guy who was mad that Adam Schiff misquoted him, right? To be fair, Schiff was a lying sack of shit and I don’t blame Trump for being angry at him. But still, in general fuck Trump. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simple-question-for-trump-supporters/841213/386 "2019-10-12T03:04:36Z")
Schiff made it very clear he was paraphrasing. He didn’t do anything dishonest at all. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simple-question-for-trump-supporters/841213/387 "2019-10-12T03:21:27Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Schiff made it very clear he was paraphrasing. He didn’t do anything dishonest at all. Yeah, no, he’s a liar. He claimed to have had no contact with the whistleblower before the complaint was filed, we now know that’s a lie. > **[Schiff falsely said he had not heard from the whistleblower](https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2019/oct/04/adam-schiff/adam-schiffs-false-claim-we-have-not-spoken-direct/)** > > Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said in September that the House Intelligence Committee had not communicated with the whistl Not to mention even Pelosi thought that Schiff was using “the president’s own words” and not making it up, even arguing when Stephanopoulos insisted that Schiff’s words were an “interpretation” and not literal. Either he wasn’t making it clear or she’s an idiot. I give Pelosi more credit than that, I think she thought he was being accurate and defended him before realizing it wasn’t. Schiff has pulled this before, when he claimed he had a “smoking gun” that proved Trump’s collusion. He completely made that up. He’s like the politician version of a shock jock. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simple-question-for-trump-supporters/841213/388 "2019-10-12T03:44:24Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > He’s like the politician version of a shock jock. Almost as bad as being the presidential version of Alex Jones? ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simple-question-for-trump-supporters/841213/389 "2019-10-12T04:45:44Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > Almost as bad as being the presidential version of Alex Jones? Oh no. He’s not **that** bad. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simple-question-for-trump-supporters/841213/390 "2019-10-12T04:52:32Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Kearson: Why do you think Ms. Clinton is unelectable? Did you fail math? Hillary is zero for 1. Zero for 2 if we count 2008. Yes, she had to fight huge headwinds from the Kremlin-GOP lie machine, but all Ds will suffer that handicap. I hope you’re not thinking of the popular vote. The baseball team with more runs wins even if the other team has more hits. Call me a linguistic prescriptivist if you must insult me, but, unlike some Dopers, I use the term “win the election” to mean _win the election._ ---
**Author:** ![HeweyLogan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heweylogan/32/547_2.png) [@HeweyLogan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeweyLogan)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simple-question-for-trump-supporters/841213/391 "2019-10-12T17:01:14Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Kearson: Why do you think Ms. Clinton is unelectable? Did you fail math? FYI Miller, not picking on you or wanting to hijack the thread here, I’m curious about the Ms versus Mrs over here [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=883551](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=883551) FYI ---
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simple-question-for-trump-supporters/841213/392 "2019-10-12T17:05:59Z")
> [@Kearsen1](#): > > Of course you opposed him, he ran on a Republican ticket. You have zero control over that. What you did have the slightest bit of control over was how popular someone unelectable was going to be in the General vs how popular they were in the Primary. That’s not necessarily true. I live in Illinois, which has open primaries. Since it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that the Democratic candidates I favored were going to win the primary, I voted in the Republican primary specifically to vote against Trump. Obviously, it did no good, but I did exert my “slightest bit of control” to try to prevent his presidency. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simple-question-for-trump-supporters/841213/393 "2019-10-12T18:02:53Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Hillary is zero for 1. Zero for 2 if we count 2008. Yes, she had to fight huge headwinds from the Kremlin-GOP lie machine, but all Ds will suffer that handicap. > > I hope you’re not thinking of the popular vote. The baseball team with more runs wins even if the other team has more hits. Call me a linguistic prescriptivist if you must insult me, but, unlike some Dopers, I use the term “win the election” to mean _win the election._ None of which means she is “unelectable.” Only [one person who ran for President in history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_candidates_by_number_of_votes_received) received more votes than she did and she did so with proven interference from a foreign nation. To say that such a person is “unelectable” is silly and your “evidence” does not support that conclusion. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simple-question-for-trump-supporters/841213/394 "2019-10-12T19:42:55Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Holy shit, that is vile. :mad: It’s not just Trump that’s vile; it’s his supporters who knowingly and willingly endorse this vitriol and racism. They knowingly, with eyes wide open, endorse tearing the country apart along racial and cultural lines. Again, they have a choice to abandon the party, or accept the labels that accurately apply to them. But they can’t be both anymore: they can’t support the highest form of evil and at the same time claim to be voting for the lesser of it. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simple-question-for-trump-supporters/841213/395 "2019-10-12T19:55:34Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > It’s not just Trump that’s vile; it’s his supporters who knowingly and willingly endorse this vitriol and racism. They knowingly, with eyes wide open, endorse tearing the country apart along racial and cultural lines. > > Again, they have a choice to abandon the party, or accept the labels that accurately apply to them. But they can’t be both anymore: they can’t support the highest form of evil and at the same time claim to be voting for the lesser of it. Trump is bigoted, corrupt, ignorant, inept, callous, a pathological liar and a buffoon lacking even a hint of self-awareness contributing to his being a constant laughing stock. But Trump is not the highest form of evil. Trump has never achieved anything above mere mediocrity, at best. ---
**Author:** ![Annoyed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f04885/32.png) [@Annoyed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annoyed)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2019, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simple-question-for-trump-supporters/841213/396 "2019-10-13T00:50:43Z")
> [@Kearsen1](#): > > Exactly Wrong. Blame lies with both sides since had they put forth a person (possibly any person seen as having a higher moral standing, and a bit charismatic) like Obama, they would have been elected. Instead they went with someone who had seniority (sure she was popular with the Dems but she wasn’t getting anyone to cross aisles or rush out to vote) with loads of baggage. > > What do I know, maybe the turnout will end up different this time. If Trump wins again with his dismal popularity and approval ratings, who we blaming? This guy gets it ^ > [@QuickSilver](#): > > Trump is bigoted, corrupt, ignorant, inept, callous, a pathological liar and a buffoon lacking even a hint of self-awareness contributing to his being a constant laughing stock. But Trump is not the highest form of evil. Trump has never achieved anything above mere mediocrity, at best. He achieved the most powerful position on the planet, his political coffers are flush with cash, and appears to be a very strong contender in doing it again, even though your political party has decided to double down on the same political idiocy that loses them elections. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2019, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simple-question-for-trump-supporters/841213/397 "2019-10-13T01:25:45Z")
> [@Annoyed](#): > > He achieved the most powerful position on the planet, his political coffers are flush with cash, and appears to be a very strong contender in doing it again, even though your political party has decided to double down on the same political idiocy that loses them elections. Nah, Doubling on down on Nixon’s abuses of power is the idiocy. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2019, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simple-question-for-trump-supporters/841213/398 "2019-10-13T01:52:12Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > I don’t get why you’re throwing the word “retroactively” in there. If someone said, before voting for Trump — and then, _while_ voting for Trump — that they were only doing this because they figured he was The Lesser Of Two Evils, then I don’t see that it’d be ‘retroactive’ for them to _keep on saying it_ two or three years later. > > Isn’t that _always_ the case for a Lesser Of Two Evils choice? Because two or three years later youve had a chance to see his evilness in governance on display. > [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > But that’s always the case, isn’t it? If you ask me how I voted in ‘00 or ‘04 or ‘08 or ‘12, my answer is the same as it is for ‘16: “I voted for the one I thought would do a less bad job.” That’s _always_ an assertion; I only ever get to see what happened with the one we ended up getting, and I never actually get to see what the alternative would’ve done. > > That’s been true when the candidate I voted for won; it’s also been true when the candidate I voted for lost; but, in the end, it’s all I’ve ever been able to point at, when people ask me why I voted the way I did: “compared to the alternative,” I say, even though I of course have to admit that, well, no, when you get right down to it I don’t _really_ know how the alternative would’ve spent those four years. > > But _how is that relevant?_ I still have to decide between the alternatives, and I still choose the one I believe will be The Lesser Of Two Evils, and even though I only ever get to find out how bad one of them turns out to be, that doesn’t necessarily make me wrong. (It doesn’t necessarily make me _right,_ either; it’s got nothing to do with whether I happened to be right or wrong.) So Trump still remains this “Lesser of Two Evils” to you _today_? And you’d cast your vote for him again if the 2016 election were held tomorrow and you had all the knowledge about him and his behavior you have today? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2019, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simple-question-for-trump-supporters/841213/399 "2019-10-13T02:23:18Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Hillary is zero for 1. Zero for 2 if we count 2008. Yes, she had to fight huge headwinds from the Kremlin-GOP lie machine, but all Ds will suffer that handicap. > > I hope you’re not thinking of the popular vote. The baseball team with more runs wins even if the other team has more hits. Call me a linguistic prescriptivist if you must insult me, but, unlike some Dopers, I use the term “win the election” to mean _win the election._ First off, the popular vote is not analogous to hits. As the system is designed there is not even a federal constitutional requirement for it. Next, being electable is measurable by the popular vote. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2019, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simple-question-for-trump-supporters/841213/400 "2019-10-13T03:00:54Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > So Trump still remains this “Lesser of Two Evils” to you _today_? And you’d cast your vote for him again if the 2016 election were held tomorrow and you had all the knowledge about him and his behavior you have today? Me? I voted for Hillary Clinton; my hands are _clean,_ hey nonny nonny. But if anyone asks me why I voted for Clinton, I’d probably have to say the equivalent of what a Trump voter would: that, back then, I thought the alternative was worse. And, coming back to the point above: like a Trump voter, I’d have to admit that, no, all these years later I don’t technically _know_ whether things would’ve gone better or worse under Clinton; I’ve only gotten to see what’s happened, I can’t actually be sure which one would’ve been The Lesser Of Two Evils. But that odd minor point doesn’t trouble me; it didn’t stop me from making that choice then, based on what evidence I had, and it doesn’t stop me from still thinking that way now — and, like a Trump voter, I can even phrase it as “hey, if you’d like to put it like this: the reason I voted for _this_ candidate is because the _other_ candidate seemed so much worse.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simple-question-for-trump-supporters/841213.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-simple-question-for-trump-supporters/841213.md?page=21)