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Someone in my Nextdoor community has posted a similar OP. I’ve been watching it blow up, but haven’t bothered to post. I just don’t feel I can explain it well enough for someone to get it, if they don’t already.
I like this thread 
“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man’s oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.”
–John Kenneth Galbraith
Part of Trump’s appeal is just exactly this: he’s the guy that says that there’s nothing wrong with your basest instincts and urges. He’s the guy that says that it’s all about you, and that there’s no shame in not giving one single, solitary shit about anybody else.
He’s the guy that encourages you to go on a coke-fueled bender and cheat on your spouse, ignoring that you left your dog at home, alone, all the while.
He’s the guy who glorifies mistreatment of minorities and members of vulnerable populations.
He’s the guy that says, “Make ‘Fuck Everybody Else But You’ Great Again.”
And he’s the guy who swears up and down, day and night, that it’s your birthright, and not at all your fault, because … minorities. Other. Foreigners. Scapegoat.
He’s the living embodiment of “Lord of The Flies.” He’s the Id. He’s Jack.
Which has tremendous appeal … to the worst who live among us.
Conservatives used to believe in individual liberties and limited government. Only in the 1960’s … when [wait for it] black people were about to get equal rights … did the Southern Baptist, so-called “social conservatives” FLEE the Democratic party FOR the waiting arms of the Republicans.
That “Southern Strategy” was an amazing deal with the devil, in that the Republicans picked up millions of the least informed, least logical, least thoughtful, most dogmatic and cognitively rigid voters in the country, and went AGAINST the values that Conservatives had held until that point.
Today’s GOP are doubling down on that, using a “bring out the gimp” strategy, and unearthing the kind of people who are reminiscent of “Deliverance” (in tandem with gerrymandering and voter suppression) in order to gain and maintain power.
It’s disgusting.
I hate him because he wears a wig and makeup, but not lipstick. Who does that?
Excellent post! 
I’ve always kept my answer as to why I dislike Trump short and sweet.
This wealthy man ran a con designed to swindle elderly and economically desperate people out their life-savings. He did, in fact, swindle a lot of those people out of their hard-earned money and meager retirement savings. Not only that, but he encouraged them to borrow even more money so he could steal it from them.
This con, Trump University, was not some branding deal that he put his name on. He was the creator of the enterprise and over 80% of the profits went to him. Now maybe you don’t feel as strongly about protecting the elderly and vulnerable from scams as I do, but I feel very strongly about this and therefore will never support or vote for Trump. Do you have a grandmother?
Today’s Republican Party has been fully hijacked by the Dixiecrats. They still accept their dues and orders from Big Business on money issues, but on Social Issues they’re the party that the Dixiecrats always wanted.
As I was discussing with a coworker earlier, it is amazing how his followers deliberately choose to set aside any critical thinking abilities.
I forgot about that show. I hate him for that too.
I know some people that voted for Trump. Especially in 2016 most were anti-HRC votes. At least one of them, just didn’t vote in 2020. He disliked both candidates too much.
But a few had no critical thinking abilities to set aside and voted for him and his style appealed to them more.
I was surprised by how well Trump did in NJ, I know he lost, but this is a state where it was hard to avoid Trump being Trump long before he was a candidate for President. No matter how little you liked HRC, Trump was so much worse in all ways. Despite all this he still got 41% of the vote to HRC’s 55%. He won my county which is depressing and really triumph in our county for seniors. Ocean County.
I like the NY results where it was 59% HRC to only 36% Trump. Mass was similar.
DC really got it right. 91% HRC and 4% Trump. West Virginia the worst. 68% Trump to 26% HRC.
I hope this isn’t too off-topic, but the Democrats nominated the one person who could possibly lose to Trump.
We should stick to Trump bashing or defending in this thread. Even my post is going off topic. Straight out just talking about HRC is too far off.
I think the reason I’m so angry at him/about him is because he’s some kind of perfect storm of being extremely selfish and self-aggrandizing, willfully ignorant of the role and prestige of the Presidency and the US government, is all too willing to ignore any and every custom, law, or anything else that is in place if it doesn’t suit his personal goals, and is willing to enable the worst parts of American society for his own benefit. And on top of that, nearly everything he says is an outright lie.
He basically wrecked the prestige of the Presidency, wrecked American foreign policy, stirred up discord, doubt and confusion, enabled the racist, hateful, and ignorant segment of American society and gave them a place at the table, and basically did so with a constant stream of untrue bullshit streaming from his mouth.
Any one of the things he did would have been abhorrent in a President. Constant lying? That would have been a massive scandal had a previous President had such a loose relationship with the truth. Outright racism? Huge scandal anytime since about Kennedy, I’d say. Making fun of a dead Army officer? Right up until his Presidency, that would have been huge. Colluding with foreign powers to interfere with elections? Same. Probably would have got a Cold War President impeached succesfully. Paid off a porn star? Incited a riot and insurrection? Tried to subvert an election? And so on… except Trump did them ALL. He did SO many awful things that it became normal and expected.
I can’t forgive that. And I’m not forgiving his enablers either- they could have reined him in, but it wasn’t politically expedient, so they let him wreck stuff left and right because it was good for themselves personally and their party, and fuck the country as a whole.
I came in here to mention that he actually threw rolls of paper towels at people whose lives were totally upended and whose homes were lost. What an asshole.
Also, no pets in the White House for four years.
“Never trust a man who dislikes dogs - but always trust a dog when he dislikes a man.”
I don’t understand how anyone could not understand the intensity of the hatred for Trump.
I can understand how someone might not share that intense hatred. I don’t sympathize with those feelings, and I castigate or pity those who hold them, but I understand why some people feel that way, mainly racism or greed. I understand racism, and I understand greed. I also understand mental illness.
I also understand hatred of other politicians, some of which I buy into, most of which I don’t. But Trump is the only politician for whom I understand the intensity of hatred he elicits. He goes out of his way to offend people, and he declares his offenses openly, so why should it be in the least unclear why people hate him so intensely? He encourages it.
When he was on The Apprentice, he was a bully and enjoyed bringing out and rewarding the worst in people. And the more you were a simpering sycophant the better he liked you although he owed you no loyalty. When he was elected I gave him a pass saying that “Mr. Trump” was a character he played on TV for ratings.
Come to find out that wasn’t a character.
Trump colluded with a foreign government in the 2016 election and he attempted (incompetently) to overthrow the government after losing the 2020 election.
You can be loyal to America or you can be loyal to Donald Trump. I choose America.
I’d have my eyes examined if I thought it was blue.
McConnell, Cruz, et al. don’t count?