# How can anyone vote for Trump in 2020? No. But Seriously **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 19, 2020, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-anyone-vote-for-trump-in-2020-no-but-seriously/918506 "2020-08-19T18:09:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**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:** [August 20, 2020, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-anyone-vote-for-trump-in-2020-no-but-seriously/918506/101 "2020-08-20T18:53:44Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > In two years, Trump reduced Black unemployment, Hispanic unemployment, and female unemployment more than his predecessor did in eight years. Aside from sitting on his ass in the White House, what, specifically, did Trump do to achieve these wonderful numbers? ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-anyone-vote-for-trump-in-2020-no-but-seriously/918506/102 "2020-08-20T18:55:21Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Yeah, I thought it was obvious I was listing the reasons Trump’s voters would vote for him. I said nothing about whether I believed in those reasons myself (and I’d hope a brief look at my posting history would answer that question). I don’t usually check posting history to infer intent of a declarative statement, and I don’t think most people do. Nor should they be expected to. But I’ll make a mental note of your username for the future. > [@Leaper](#): > > For example, I said that Trump showed the world who’s boss because that’s exactly what his base thinks he’s done. None of them think he’s corrupt or stupid or doing a bad job. If they did, they’d be a lot less likely to vote for him. In this case it might have helped if I read the last 2 sentences, but I often don’t finish reading posts, especially if the opening doesn’t seem promising. If you want to distance yourself from what you’re saying, use scare quotes or some kind of hearsay marker “They think blah blah blah”. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-anyone-vote-for-trump-in-2020-no-but-seriously/918506/103 "2020-08-20T19:04:31Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I know lots of people saying, “Goddammit, DON’T make me vote for Trump!”. They know who he is, but they fear what the Democrats will do with unchecked power. The thing that actually bugs these people is being associated with a president who is ignorant, cruel, feckless, and absolutely self-centered. They like Trump and his policies, they just don’t like being seen wearing the team jersey. Too bad. There’s no coming back from this for any of them. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-anyone-vote-for-trump-in-2020-no-but-seriously/918506/104 "2020-08-20T19:04:57Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I know lots of people saying, “Goddammit, DON’T make me vote for Trump!”. They know who he is, but they fear what the Democrats will do with unchecked power. Yeah, no. What they are looking for is an excuse to vote for Trump. They get a twofer, get to “trigger” the libs by saying that it is their fault, and they get Trump as their president. ---
**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:** [August 20, 2020, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-anyone-vote-for-trump-in-2020-no-but-seriously/918506/105 "2020-08-20T19:14:10Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Who you should be focused on are the people who already know Trump is an ass, and really want to vote for someone else, but are turned off by the unrestrained antics of the Democrat’s ‘base’ and by their apparent move of the Democrats to the far left. These people seem to exist primarily in your imagination. They don’t show up in the polling. At all. Polling on May 25. The day George Floyd was killed. [![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ABLVV864iXf-0hkCOSzb08TqREq7wZdsaJ0RT3sAxnCEcBhVWgeXdBFzs0g9ZR_662GvNShiFaCoEXy_fiBHMIGgNGSrUlAj7FsuV9Kxj4nLb_dvNteayQQ=w600-h315-p-k "New item by K S") ](https://photos.app.goo.gl/2cDBwctFVVEKRT9f8) Compare to today (Aug 20). [![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ABLVV86dajPRT9D4o2cqHQQaz __3lKo-oPISPZiAmUiWwy5cKZ2AFGqeBEHKdaEU9YUZ-2t__ QyxjyYudh5SLnRqi-pHC8xJftKJIPYYMGSYj3AkR0G-hSM=w600-h315-p-k "New item by K S") ](https://photos.app.goo.gl/nKqqi1vSwNuu7YX1A) You have made up a wonderfully believable story about how the protests are driving swingable voters from Biden and to Trump, but when I want Canadian penned speculative fiction, I’ll read Margaret Atwood. Your story does not match what is actually happening in the US in reality. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-anyone-vote-for-trump-in-2020-no-but-seriously/918506/106 "2020-08-20T19:27:48Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Nobody loathes Tump more than I. And he stabbed gun owners in the back and the NRA rolled over and played dead over it. > > But that is nothing compared to what will happen if Biden is POTUS and the Democrats gain both sides of Congress. They’re not going to fuck around like they did when Obama was in office. > > Plus there will probably be at least 1 SCOTUS appointment in the next 4 years. Eventually they are going to take a hard core Second Amendment case. > > As a gun owner and gun dealership owner what choice do I have? Maybe accept reasonable limitations on your hobby that kills 30 thousand people a year? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-anyone-vote-for-trump-in-2020-no-but-seriously/918506/107 "2020-08-20T19:30:43Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > Maybe accept _reasonable_ limitations on your hobby that kills 30 thousand people a year? I have the impression that, in his view, “reasonable” and “limitations” are mutually exclusive concepts (insofar as they pertain to firearm ownership). Just as in reality, “harmless” and “Republican officeholder” are mutually exclusive. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-anyone-vote-for-trump-in-2020-no-but-seriously/918506/108 "2020-08-20T19:39:33Z")
30 thousand people is a small price to pay to have slightly less paperwork, and the endorphin hit the fantasy that you’d stand up against a fascist government takeover gives you. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-anyone-vote-for-trump-in-2020-no-but-seriously/918506/109 "2020-08-20T19:41:30Z")
While voting for the fascist takeover no less. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-anyone-vote-for-trump-in-2020-no-but-seriously/918506/110 "2020-08-20T19:41:53Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > you’d stand up against a fascist government takeover They’re rather slow to react, doncha think? ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-anyone-vote-for-trump-in-2020-no-but-seriously/918506/111 "2020-08-20T19:44:39Z")
Their fantasies involve heroic action in slow motion, so it’s gonna take awhile. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-anyone-vote-for-trump-in-2020-no-but-seriously/918506/112 "2020-08-20T19:58:40Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > If it baffles you, it’s because you’re missing the context of what he said. This context doesn’t lessen my bafflement at all. _Everyone_ is a potential school shooter. If someone is an actual suspect in a violent felony case, then arrest them. Arrest is due process, and there’s no firearms in jail. None of this is controversial. If they _aren’t_ a suspect, however, and the government confiscates their firearms just because someone had a bad feeling about the person, that’s a blatant 2A violation. I don’t understand how people who start militias over _potential_ suppressor or magazine capacity restrictions can just handwave this away. Also, Democrats haven’t banned anything since 1994, but Trump banned bump stocks just last year. There’s got to be some real cognitive dissonance happening for Trump voting gun supporters. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-anyone-vote-for-trump-in-2020-no-but-seriously/918506/113 "2020-08-20T20:40:11Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > people who already know Trump is an ass, and really want to vote for someone else, but are turned off by the unrestrained antics of the Democrat’s ‘base’ and by their apparent move of the Democrats to the far left. > [@Lance\_Turbo](#): > > These people seem to exist primarily in your imagination. > They don’t show up in the polling. > (illustrated with graphs showing Biden’s lead growing after the George Floyd killing) There’s another way to interpret those graphs: Those people DO exist…but they don’t show up in the polling. Some Trump supporters are lying to the pollsters. They still exist, but after George Floyd, we won’t see them in the polls.( until Nov 3.) After the G.Floyd murder, the BLM movement has reached a status of being totally sacred, and untouchable…, Many people are afraid that they will be fired from their job if they criticize BLM. Some white collar professionals (people with resumes on linkedin) legitimately fear that they will not only be fired but also blacklisted from every getting another job, if they ever hint that they support Trump, and disagree with BLM’s tactics. (Cite: today’s scandal at Goodyear Tires. Wear a MAGA hat, or put a Trump bumper sticker on your car=get fired.) So some people realize that admitting on the phone that they will vote for Trump is as dangerous as telling a stranger on the phone your bank info. The pollster called you because they already have a lot of personal info on you, and you fit their demographic sample . You are not anonymous, and your answers to their poll might leak out one day. My wild-ass guess is that maybe 2% percent of Trump voters are aware of the need to keep quiet, or lie about supporting Biden. Biden’s increase in the polls since the Floyd killing (shown in the graphs of post number 105) is barely 3%–so it’s an insignificant change. Prepare for 4 more years of Trump. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-anyone-vote-for-trump-in-2020-no-but-seriously/918506/114 "2020-08-20T20:44:52Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Also, Democrats haven’t banned anything since 1994, but Trump banned bump stocks just last year. There’s got to be some real cognitive dissonance happening for Trump voting gun supporters. You can only have cognitive dissonance if you have a functioning cognitive apparatus that holds substantial opinions. If your entire ideology is a system of situational ethics that deals mainly with dominating others, any behavior can be dismissed as a temporary tactical move. “Oh, he had to ban bump stocks to get the Democrats off his back, but when he wins a second term and appoints more judges, that will change.” ---
**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:** [August 20, 2020, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-anyone-vote-for-trump-in-2020-no-but-seriously/918506/115 "2020-08-20T20:46:40Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > There’s another way to interpret those graphs: There are many ways to interpret those graphs. Including your paranoid, conspiracy theory, obviously incorrect way. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-anyone-vote-for-trump-in-2020-no-but-seriously/918506/116 "2020-08-20T20:50:04Z")
So, are you saying that Trump supporters are delusional paranoid liars? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-anyone-vote-for-trump-in-2020-no-but-seriously/918506/117 "2020-08-20T21:07:43Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Those people DO exist…but they don’t show up in the polling. > Some Trump supporters are lying to the pollsters FiveThirtyEight [did a piece](https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/shy-voters-probably-arent-why-the-polls-missed-trump/) in 2016 on why secret Trump supporters probably don’t exist in any significant quantity and also had a [recent podcast](https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/politics-podcast-there-arent-secret-trump-voters/) on the subject. The quick version is that Trump outperformed the polls more in red states than blue states. That’s opposite what you’d expect if people are feeling social pressure to lie about Trump support. [![](https://fivethirtyeight.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/enten-shytrump-11.png?w=575) ](https://fivethirtyeight.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/enten-shytrump-11.png?w=575) ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-anyone-vote-for-trump-in-2020-no-but-seriously/918506/118 "2020-08-20T22:07:37Z")
We are talking about people afraid of cancel culture and hiding their vote appropriately. Cancel culture didn’t really exist as a major thing in 2016, so any analysis of 2016 voting is irrelevant to what’s happening today with ‘shy voters’. I don’t know if I buy into the ‘shy Trump voter’ theory, but looking back at an old election does not help clarify what’s going on now. I suspect we won’t know until the election. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-anyone-vote-for-trump-in-2020-no-but-seriously/918506/119 "2020-08-20T22:18:33Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Cancel culture didn’t really exist as a major thing in 2016, so any analysis of 2016 voting is irrelevant to what’s happening today with ‘shy voters’. The podcast is from last month. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a transcript so I can’t easily summarize it except to say that they still don’t think secret Trump voters exist. Trump voters don’t seem to be shy about their beliefs. They don’t seem to have any awareness of how others view them at all, or even the capability of discerning how others view the world. So, in the spirit of “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence”, I’d say we can reject the theory that these people exist in any significant numbers, until proven otherwise. ---
**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:** [August 20, 2020, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-anyone-vote-for-trump-in-2020-no-but-seriously/918506/120 "2020-08-20T22:20:40Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I don’t know if I buy into the ‘shy Trump voter’ theory, but looking back at an old election does not help clarify what’s going on now. The ‘shy Trump voter’ theory, which was actually the ‘Trump voters are delusional and paranoid’ theory, was advanced to counter the ‘Sam\_Stone has no idea what is going on in the US’ theory. Take your pick. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-anyone-vote-for-trump-in-2020-no-but-seriously/918506.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-anyone-vote-for-trump-in-2020-no-but-seriously/918506.md?page=7)