# Has the left figured out why Trump won the election? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 30, 2018, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-left-figured-out-why-trump-won-the-election/818827 "2018-07-30T19:32:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-left-figured-out-why-trump-won-the-election/818827/61 "2018-07-31T04:30:39Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > I doubt it. > > It was put to me thus: “I lost my job and all the Democrats think about is who can use which bathroom.” Democrats dealt with the “bathroom issue” in short order as one of many, many actions during the Obama adminisrtation. The _Republicans_ are the ones who talked and talked about it. (And they _still_ are talking about it.) ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-left-figured-out-why-trump-won-the-election/818827/62 "2018-07-31T04:56:36Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > Democrats dealt with the “bathroom issue” in short order as one of many, many actions during the Obama adminisrtation. The _Republicans_ are the ones who talked and talked about it. (And they _still_ are talking about it.) Exactly this. ---
**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:** [July 31, 2018, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-left-figured-out-why-trump-won-the-election/818827/63 "2018-07-31T06:17:29Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Campaigns are complicated, and there’s never a single clear and simple answer for why a very close election goes the way it did. I agree that there are myriad reasons why millions of people voted as they did. But in a big-picture sense, I think a lot of Americans have become scared of the future. It didn’t used to be that way. We used to embrace new things. We wanted to be the first country to build airplanes, make movies, launch satellites, and a thousand other things. At some point we lost that. I would say that a lot of voters see the future (global warming, renewable energy, multiculturalism, banning plastic bags, etc.) as something to be scared of, not as a source of opportunities to be embraced. We once led the world because we mined more coal than anyone. The future will belong to the country that figures out how to make the best solar cells and batteries, or driverless cars, or the next revolution in entertainment, or some new thing that’s not even on our radar yet. But some voters think the way to lead the world is to mine more coal, and Trump told them they were right. ---
**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:** [July 31, 2018, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-left-figured-out-why-trump-won-the-election/818827/64 "2018-07-31T06:26:52Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > Democrats dealt with the “bathroom issue” in short order as one of many, many actions during the Obama adminisrtation. The _Republicans_ are the ones who talked and talked about it. (And they _still_ are talking about it.) At a certain point, perception is reality. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-left-figured-out-why-trump-won-the-election/818827/65 "2018-07-31T07:21:22Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > I doubt it. > > It was put to me thus: “I lost my job and all the Democrats think about is who can use which bathroom.” As others have pointed out, this is completely insane. There was exactly one party harping on the issue of trans people in bathrooms - the republican party. And yet… :rolleyes: > [@Velocity](#): > > At a certain point, perception is reality. Yeah. No kidding. A big part of why Trump won boils down to “voters were lied to and fell for obvious cons”. The Republican party is really, _really_ good at this. Trump himself is quite possibly the most dishonest politician in living memory. If you were paying attention to the mainstream media, you probably figured that out. If you watched Fox News… Less so. The power of perception over reality is hammered most horribly home by [polls that found that people thought Trump was more trustworthy than Clinton](http://time.com/4554576/donald-trump-trustworthy-hillary-clinton/). This is a phenomenally _stupid_ result, akin to a poll showing that women feel safer around Bill Cosby than Terry Crews, but Trump did, in fact, win on trustworthiness, despite running one of the most fundamentally dishonest campaigns ever. And don’t get me started on “[We’re gonna put a lot of coal miners out of business](https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/9/15/16306158/hillary-clinton-hall-of-mirrors)” - people took a quote from a larger speech about helping coal country find new jobs in an evolving economy, and used it to try to prove that Clinton wanted to kill coal country. _And it worked_. And it’s really fucking hard to budge that base. The conservative alternative media has formed a gigantic echo chamber where they are the only trustworthy people. Then they lie their asses off day after day, and who’s gonna call them on it? CNN? Politifact? They don’t give a shit - their viewers don’t trust anyone who would. This is a fundamental problem in American democracy, and so far nobody has a good solution. How do you deal with one side having, essentially, a dedicated propaganda network? ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-left-figured-out-why-trump-won-the-election/818827/66 "2018-07-31T07:49:44Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > \ Someone else will be President in a few years. \ Yes. As I have often said, the American experiment (not sure what else to call it), will continue on for a long time. The idea of the United States is larger than any single US president. I say the same about other western governments: Canada, Australia, the UK, France, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, and others. Why? Because their existence is greater than their politics and policies. They all stand for certain things, and while we may disagree on the details, all are examples of places that afford their citizens very liberal rights and freedoms, and allow citizens the right to choose their own government from a list of choices. Such liberal rights and freedoms as we all enjoy today did not exist in the USSR, Albania, or in today’s North Korea. Their idea was (is) different from ours. Our “western” idea is working. We–our countries, that is–all stand for freedom. Our existence stands for more than current politics and policy, and it will continue long after we’ve voted out our current premiers, prime ministers, or presidents. I doubt very much that any citizen of a modern western country would vote for a dictator (and no matter how much Donald Trump wants to be one, he is prevented by the US Constitution from being one). The United States will carry on, after Mr. Trump’s presidency, because the idea of a “United States of America” is bigger than Mr. Trump. The US will carry on being a champion of liberty and freedom. Because its existence is greater than its politics and policies. As will Canada, the UK, Australia, the UK, and so on. Because their existence is greater than their politics and policies. In the end, it not the person who’s in charge at any given time; it’s the country and what it has stood for through history. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-left-figured-out-why-trump-won-the-election/818827/67 "2018-07-31T07:49:49Z")
I won’t say it’s the sole reason Trump won but he definitely had a hand from the media he hates so much. During the campaign they hung on his every word because they knew that within a few sentences he was going to say something asinine and/or offensive and they couldn’t look away. They still can’t. ---
**Author:** ![JB99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@JB99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JB99)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-left-figured-out-why-trump-won-the-election/818827/68 "2018-07-31T12:26:12Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > Let’s stay away from Russia topic, as there is zero evidence of collusion and absolutely no evidence that one vote was tapered with on the voting machines. So nice of you to poison the well on your own thread right off the bat. But you did answer your own question: The Republican voters are absolutely disconnected from reality and unable - or unwilling - to comprehend factual information or draw inferences. What a joke. ---
**Author:** ![JB99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@JB99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JB99)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-left-figured-out-why-trump-won-the-election/818827/69 "2018-07-31T12:30:13Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > There are a shitload of reasons. And there have been literally thousands of opinion pieces written on the topic, including almost certainly thousands of posts on this messageboard on the topic. Why on earth would you think this thread is gonna resolve the question, or even break new ground? He’s just looking for a new venue to spout the same garbage we’ve been hearing for almost two years now. Take even a short look at OP’s history and it’s clear he doesn’t actually care about anything we say, nor does he plan on ACTUALLY addressing any of our ACTUAL grievances. Anyone who starts a thread with “no evidence of collusion” is clearly not interested in a good-faith discussion. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_lining](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@Silver\_lining](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_lining)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-left-figured-out-why-trump-won-the-election/818827/70 "2018-07-31T13:01:33Z")
> [@JB99](#): > > So nice of you to poison the well on your own thread right off the bat. > > But you did answer your own question: The Republican voters are absolutely disconnected from reality and unable - or unwilling - to comprehend factual information or draw inferences. > > What a joke. Bawhahaha. Um, no. I guess if you can’t figure out why you lost, winning in 2020 won’t be easy. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-left-figured-out-why-trump-won-the-election/818827/71 "2018-07-31T13:09:17Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > Bawhahaha. Um, no. I guess if you can’t figure out why you lost, winning in 2020 won’t be easy. I’ve already explained the few thousand additional Mexican votes we needed. We’re gonna get that shit right next time, believe you me, if I have to drive a fuckin bus myself. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_lining](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@Silver\_lining](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_lining)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-left-figured-out-why-trump-won-the-election/818827/72 "2018-07-31T13:09:47Z")
> [@dgrdfd](#): > > This is exactly why Trump won. Trump and his campaign made outlandish statements that are a 100 on the lying scale and Democrats tried to debate the minutia as if this was a normal campaign. Trump, his campaign, and OP don’t believe the shit they spew. They just throw so much shit out there that people go “well hell if even 20% of what he says is true” meanwhile their opponents get bogged down refuting lie after lie after lie. If you begin to debate the lies you’ve already lost. This is why the SDMB allowing this shit in the forum or CNN providing a voice to them in the interest of fairness is so damn dangerous. It gives them credibility. > > It’s the same style tactic that Hitler and the Nazis used in The a big Lie. Well, the Nazi’s,Castro, Mao Zedong,Stalin,and other dangerous socialist movements are leftish in nature. Record debt, a decline in the labor rate, a bad health care bill which the former President deceived many in terms of which doctor. you can you andthe cost while passing, a questionable Iran deal, and other issues are hardly fantasy, Dgrdfd I think you did hit on one point. Democrats did poorly in debating the issues! Which brings me to what exactly are they running on besides being anti Trump? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-left-figured-out-why-trump-won-the-election/818827/73 "2018-07-31T13:22:26Z")
You do realize that the socialists were the first people the Nazis sent to the camps, right? And the Democrats were fine with keeping the bathroom situation exactly as it had been ever since the introduction of gendered bathrooms. It’s the Republicans who insisted on changing things. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-left-figured-out-why-trump-won-the-election/818827/74 "2018-07-31T13:27:48Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > Well, the Nazi’s,Castro, Mao Zedong,Stalin,and other dangerous socialist movements are leftish in nature. > > Record debt, a decline in the labor rate, a bad health care bill which the former President deceived many in terms of which doctor. you can you andthe cost while passing, a questionable Iran deal, and other issues are hardly fantasy, Dgrdfd > > I think you did hit on one point. Democrats did poorly in debating the issues! Which brings me to what exactly are they running on besides being anti Trump? Is this your big reveal of why Dems lost? That Hitler was a liberal? Laaaame. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-left-figured-out-why-trump-won-the-election/818827/75 "2018-07-31T13:37:47Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > Let’s stay away from Russia topic, as there is zero evidence of collusion and absolutely no evidence that one vote was tapered with on the voting machines. > > I’m asking has the left come to grips with the reality as to why Trump won. If we can stay on topic I’d like to read their responses, as I think the think tank types and politicians in office / running for office still do not understand all the reasons why. Trump won because the Democrats nominated Hillary. More specifically: They nominated a woman who thought she should win because she was a woman and a lot of people were getting really sick of identity politics (apparently racism was cool tho). Trump campaigned in swing states while Hillary campaigned (fundraised) in California and New York. Trump blamed stuff on illegal aliens. Hillary blamed stuff on white people. Turns out white people can vote (75% of voters are white) and illegal aliens cannot. Trump was arguably pro-life-ish. Hillary wanted to keep partial birth abortions legal. Trump was arguably pro-gun. Hillary wanted to reinstate the assault weapons ban. Trump seemed like an honest liar while Hillary seemed secretive and Nixonesque. There were no good choices during the last general election. I wish Biden had run. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-left-figured-out-why-trump-won-the-election/818827/76 "2018-07-31T13:39:29Z")
Nazis were leftist. Oh god, I’m dyin’. Good ol’ Silver Lining, always good for a laugh in the morning. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-left-figured-out-why-trump-won-the-election/818827/77 "2018-07-31T13:41:32Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > Hillary blamed stuff on white people. Often on this MB I, as a liberal, take others to task for veering too much in this direction, but I didn’t hear anything like that from her. > [@](#): > > There were no good choices during the last general election. There may not have been a good choice, but there was a _clear_ choice. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-left-figured-out-why-trump-won-the-election/818827/78 "2018-07-31T13:48:16Z")
I forgot to mention earlier that a lot of Americans have built up deep resentments against other Americans. A lot of these resentments are directed against the wrong people or are completely unjustified, but telling these Americans that their feelings are legitimate _and_ voting for Trump will hurt and/or infuriate the Americans they resent is very compelling. They got to use their vote as a _weapon_ instead of just a choice. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-left-figured-out-why-trump-won-the-election/818827/79 "2018-07-31T14:24:59Z")
Who cares why? Lefties should take solace in the fact that Trump could never have been elected, or even nominated, by the Democrats. The more interesting question is whether or not conservatives can ever be taken seriously again after betraying nearly every principle they claimed to have. The emperor is a despicable buffoon; it’s his supporters who are stark naked. ---
**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:** [July 31, 2018, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-left-figured-out-why-trump-won-the-election/818827/80 "2018-07-31T14:43:15Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > Let’s stay away from Russia topic, as there is zero evidence of collusion and absolutely no evidence that one vote was tapered with on the voting machines. > > I’m asking has the left come to grips with the reality as to why Trump won. If we can stay on topic I’d like to read their responses, as I think the think tank types and politicians in office / running for office still do not understand all the reasons why. Let’s NOT stay away from “Russia topic”, unless you have hard evidence to show that they had nothing to do with it. What evidence do you have that they didn’t influence the elections? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-left-figured-out-why-trump-won-the-election/818827.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-left-figured-out-why-trump-won-the-election/818827.md?page=5)