# My friend has gone over the edge into Trumpdom **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 22, 2019, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-has-gone-over-the-edge-into-trumpdom/842123 "2019-10-22T07:11:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Annoyed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f04885/32.png) [@Annoyed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annoyed)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-has-gone-over-the-edge-into-trumpdom/842123/21 "2019-10-22T14:02:44Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Dear **Annoyed** : > > The word you are searching for is “disdain”. You know, kind of what just about everyone feels for you. Zero fucks. Not here to make friends. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-has-gone-over-the-edge-into-trumpdom/842123/22 "2019-10-22T14:03:38Z")
> [@Annoyed](#): > > Zero fucks. Not here to make friends. Well, you are a rousing success at that, at least. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-has-gone-over-the-edge-into-trumpdom/842123/23 "2019-10-22T14:11:05Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Good baiting. 8/10 from the Czech judge. His entire oeuvre on this messageboard has been nothing but master baiting. But yeah - [Russian trolls](https://edition.cnn.com/2019/10/21/tech/russia-instagram-accounts-2020-election/index.html). ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-has-gone-over-the-edge-into-trumpdom/842123/24 "2019-10-22T14:14:02Z")
I’m with the OP; there are people I know who are big Trumpers who ought to know better, but who have apparently outed themselves as considerably less intelligent or considerably more assholish than I ever imagined. Which is perplexing, because in general I’d say they’re not stupid, ignorant, evil, racist, or anything like that. But for some reason, they’ve been doubling down on Trump and the GOP for the last few years. It frustrates me. I want to grab them by the shoulders and say “WTF? You’re smarter than this. You’re \*better \*than this, and I knew your parents and they didn’t raise you this way.” About all I can think of is that they’re getting really wrong/confused messages from their churches / the media that conflate this stuff with their particular flavor of Christianity, and they are viewing this not as a secular matter of right and wrong, but rather as some kind of issue involving Christian persecution/freedom, and/or being led to believe that somehow, this is the sanctioned Christian political path. I can imagine a train of thought that winds up with them deciding that despite their personal unease with it, that if it’s the “right” Christian thing to do/defending the faith somehow, then it’s what they must do, even though it might feel wrong to them. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-has-gone-over-the-edge-into-trumpdom/842123/25 "2019-10-22T14:15:27Z")
> [@Asylum](#): > > Does Annoyed bring anything to this board with his posts? Who? ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-has-gone-over-the-edge-into-trumpdom/842123/26 "2019-10-22T14:22:07Z")
I think the way to deal with Trump loyalists is to subtly mention cases where Trump fucked them over without them realizing it. I’ve a friend who loves Harleys, and I mentioned to him they’re getting more expensive because of Trump’s tariffs. I didn’t push any more than that and left him stewing. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-has-gone-over-the-edge-into-trumpdom/842123/27 "2019-10-22T14:26:38Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > Now I would love to think that she is just trolling me And quite successfully, too. ☹ I wish there was a good correlation between having an advanced education and being smart/possessing critical thinking skills, but sadly there is not. There are Trumpites for all sorts of reasons, including sending a fuck-you to the rest of society. Avoiding this woman should have a positive effect on one’s mental health. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-has-gone-over-the-edge-into-trumpdom/842123/28 "2019-10-22T14:33:04Z")
You can be smart in one area and even have a doctorate and be as dumb in other areas as a sack of hammers. Case in point- Ben Carson. I think there is no cure for people who have fallen into The Orange Cult, short of embalming fluid. Happens all the time. Guys get retired, they get time on their hands, start watching Fox or listening to Limbaugh or Savage, then their brains start to rot and before you know it, their critical analysis capabilities are lost forever. ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-has-gone-over-the-edge-into-trumpdom/842123/29 "2019-10-22T14:44:07Z")
> [@Annoyed](#): > > Zero fucks. Not here to make friends. Why are you here? ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-has-gone-over-the-edge-into-trumpdom/842123/30 "2019-10-22T14:45:22Z")
> [@Asylum](#): > > Does Annoyed bring anything to this board with his posts? Fertilizer? ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-has-gone-over-the-edge-into-trumpdom/842123/31 "2019-10-22T14:54:09Z")
**Annoyed** and **octopus** , so I take it you both are basically on board with QAnon, and feel that support for and belief in QAnon’s theories about the current political landscape is reasonable? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-has-gone-over-the-edge-into-trumpdom/842123/32 "2019-10-22T15:08:29Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > **Psychobunny** : If that woman annoys you so much, why do you still allow her to be a part of your life? Why do you get so riled up about a person you can just walk away from? From my reading of the post, it seems she’s part of his friends group. In all cases where he interacts with her, it’s always in a group with other people he knows. It would seem to me that avoiding her would require avoiding those other people, too. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-has-gone-over-the-edge-into-trumpdom/842123/33 "2019-10-22T15:13:37Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > **Annoyed** and **octopus** , so I take it you both are basically on board with QAnon, and feel that support for and belief in QAnon’s theories about the current political landscape is reasonable? Like many Trumpsters, their only “philosophy” in life is “if it makes the Libtards mad, I will do it.” That’s all. The president is the chief troll and sets the tone. The president can give the finger to an American Astronaut, and they think it’s great. Just imagine that a large proportion of the country has been converted into spoiled 8 year old little bully shitheads, and that’s what we’re dealing with. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-has-gone-over-the-edge-into-trumpdom/842123/34 "2019-10-22T15:17:50Z")
> [@Asylum](#): > > Does Annoyed bring anything to this board with his posts? Whoa! Let’s not make that a criterion on which a poster is judged or I’ll be fucked. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-has-gone-over-the-edge-into-trumpdom/842123/35 "2019-10-22T15:31:22Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Like many Trumpsters, their only “philosophy” in life is “if it makes the Libtards mad, I will do it.” > > That’s all. The president is the chief troll and sets the tone. The president can give the finger to an American Astronaut, and they think it’s great. > > Just imagine that a large proportion of the country has been converted into spoiled 8 year old little bully shitheads, and that’s what we’re dealing with. I don’t think they were converted, I think you have to be one already before that magic sprinkle of trumpdust opens your mind door into a world you’d always dreamed was there but couldn’t find the key. We didn’t know how many of them there were, before. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-has-gone-over-the-edge-into-trumpdom/842123/36 "2019-10-22T15:41:22Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > **Annoyed** and **octopus** , so I take it you both are basically on board with QAnon, and feel that support for and belief in QAnon’s theories about the current political landscape is reasonable? I have heard of QAnon but I am too lazy to read anything about it. Is it about deep state stuff? I do believe many institutions are fundamentally self serving. ---
**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 22, 2019, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-has-gone-over-the-edge-into-trumpdom/842123/37 "2019-10-22T15:51:25Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > I have heard of QAnon but I am too lazy to read anything about it. Is it about deep state stuff? I do believe many institutions are fundamentally self serving. Do you think Trump is working a secret plan hand-in-hand with Robert Mueller to expose the cabal of pedophilic Satanists, including the Clintons and the Obamas, who are trying to execute a coup-d’etat to remove Trump from power? If not, then maybe QAnon is not for you. ---
**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:** [October 22, 2019, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-has-gone-over-the-edge-into-trumpdom/842123/38 "2019-10-22T16:14:50Z")
> [@Annoyed](#): > > Jesus christ OP you are so fucking dumb and hysterical. I think you’ve mistaken a mirror for your computer monitor again. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-has-gone-over-the-edge-into-trumpdom/842123/39 "2019-10-22T16:26:25Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > \ > > WHAT THE #%^&$\*% DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING? YOU ARE A SUPPOSEDLY INTELLIGENT WOMAN AND YOU CAN SUPPORT WHATEVER CANDIDATE YOU WANT BUT CAN YOU REALLY NOT SEE THAT YOU ARE TAKING INSTRUCTIONS FROM RUSSIAN TROLLS TO POST THESE MEMES ON YOUR FACEBOOK??!!! WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO UNDERMINE OUR DEMOCRACY? DO YOU HATE AMERICA THAT MUCH? THE WORLD IS GOING TO HELL. WE HAVE ABANDONED OUR ALLIES. WE WILL NEVER EVER REGAIN THE RESPECT OF THE WORLD WE HAD BEFORE THIS PRESIDENCY. OUR COUNTRY IS LESS SAFE WITHOUT ALLIES WE CAN DEPEND ON. SHOOTERS ARE RUNNING WILD IN THIS COUNTRY, KILLING PEOPLE BECAUSE OF THEIR COLOR OR FAITH OR SEXUAL ORIENTATION. THE GOVERNMENT DOESN’T EVEN PRETEND TO NOT BE CORRUPT. THE NEW MOTTO OF THE DAY IS “GET OVER IT!” MEANWHILE TRUMP IS RAISING RECORD AMOUNTS OF CAMPAIGN DONATIONS FROM MORONS LIKE YOU. CAN YOU REALLY NOT SEE HOW UNHINGED AND UNSTABLE HE IS? ARE YOU JUST HAPPY TO MAKE THE LIBTARDS LIKE ME CRAZY? CONGRATULATIONS, YOU HAVE FINALLY SENT ME COMPLETELY OVER THE EDGE! Given your profession, you probably already know this. And I get that you were venting. Hell, I could have written your vent myself a time or two. Trumpism isn’t about brains or intellect. It’s about grievance and a sense of personal failure. That’s the common thread Trumpists have running through them. It’s that they identify with Trump himself: A man given every advantage, yet inside, he believes he is an utter failure in life. And Trump gives them an out: “It’s not your fault. It’s fill-in-the-blank’s fault.” The ultimate Whataboutism. Trump’s go-to strategy: “I’m not the puppet!! _You’re_ the puppet!!” Trump is someone who has given his followers the false explanation they’ve yearned for, that every failure they have suffered is because something was done _to_ them. They never have to examine their own personal contribution to whatever dynamic brought them to their failure. Trumpism is insecurity and failure writ large. Sadly, many people within our society feel this way, regardless of their social status, education or personal wealth. Sure, there are some pure sociopaths among them who care only for what Trump has done for their bottom line, but I believe the majority fall into the Cult of Perpetual Grievance bucket. Your (sort of) friend is looking for quick, easy solutions to her life’s concerns. Trump has given her the easiest one of all: Blame someone – anyone – else, in every instance. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2019, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-has-gone-over-the-edge-into-trumpdom/842123/40 "2019-10-22T16:32:03Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Do you think Trump is working a secret plan hand-in-hand with Robert Mueller to expose the cabal of pedophilic Satanists, including the Clintons and the Obamas, who are trying to execute a coup-d’etat to remove Trump from power? If not, then maybe QAnon is not for you. Huh. Sometimes I am woefully uninformed. Somebody was making some snarky comment at work the other day about QAnon and the context was confusing me. Because I assumed they were talking about some variant of [Al-Anon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Anon/Alateen) :). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-has-gone-over-the-edge-into-trumpdom/842123.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-has-gone-over-the-edge-into-trumpdom/842123.md?page=3)