# Seven profiles in Trump Supporters **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 13, 2016, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-profiles-in-trump-supporters/768393 "2016-10-13T05:55:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2016, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-profiles-in-trump-supporters/768393/21 "2016-10-14T02:17:14Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > 1. Gun owners who fear that Hillary Clinton will do everything in her power- chiefly appointing anti-gun justices to the Supreme Court- to delegitimize the possession of firearms and work towards making the Second Amendment a dead letter as far as individual gun ownership goes. > > You may think gun rights an insane position, and supporting Trump as the only alternative to Hillary monstrous, but gun owners’ antipathy to Hillary is rational given their position. :dubious: You would think that some of those gun owners would be sufficiently embarrassed about the failure of their hysterical predictions of similar assaults on the Second Amendment by Obama, both in 2008 and 2012, that they’d be willing to give the hysterical-prediction schtick a rest. Realistically, Hillary Clinton is no more likely to “make the Second Amendment a dead letter as far as individual gun ownership goes” than Obama did. ---
**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:** [October 14, 2016, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-profiles-in-trump-supporters/768393/22 "2016-10-14T02:47:47Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Personally, I couldn’t name the capitol of more than two states. If I ever need to know the name of a capitol, I’ll look it up. I’m more interested in knowing the broad strokes of history or whatever else, than rote memorization of trivia. I could name a few leaders of countries, but I’ll admit that I’d recognize a far greater number than I can think of out of thin air. > > Different peoples’ minds work in different ways. An ability to remember trivia in the same way as others isn’t a particularly good metric on how smart they are. That the media ran wide with Aleppo rather than reporting his positions on issues was a pretty clear hatchet job on him. They could have easily presented him as the realistic alternative to Trump, but instead dismissed him out of hand, because Trump and the battle of worsts was a better story. Aleppo isn’t exactly a liberal heartbreak out of nowhere . It’s one of the oldest cities in the world, and also host to arguably one of the world’s bitterest civil wars. Knowing that Aleppo is shredding a hundred people a day is different from knowing that Montpelier is the capitol of Vermont. If he doesn’t know what Aleppo is, why should I care who he is? I used to be a card-carrying Libertarian and was glad to use them as my third-party alternative when other partisans came up short. Nowadays… not so much. C’mon goobers, all you need to do is be fluent in the language of small-government. You should be aware of foreign entanglements if for no other cause than to avoid them. You should be aware of how enemies are using your opponents to their own ends. ---
**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:** [October 14, 2016, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-profiles-in-trump-supporters/768393/23 "2016-10-14T02:57:45Z")
> [@PaperBlob](#): > > #9. My former neighbors, who are hard core fundamentalist Christians. To them Hillary is the devil, because she is ungodly, pro-choice and against LGBT discrimination, and will appoint Supreme Court justices accordingly. For them, it’s all about the Supreme Court. Trump’s behavior and black soul don’t matter to them as long as he appoints super-conservative justices to the Court, which he has promised to do. This is logic I can respect, because it’s true for me too, except that I want the Court to be the opposite of what they want. Quoted for truth. If we want to sandbag SCOTUS according to our own views, then let’s admit that. I hereby admit, on my own behalf, that this is why I have always supported Hillary. Don’t lurk behind some paper-then veneer of States’ Rights or something that sounds like Libertarianism. ---
**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:** [October 14, 2016, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-profiles-in-trump-supporters/768393/24 "2016-10-14T03:21:23Z")
Disclaimer: I can’t stand Trump, and if I were in the U.S. I would be voting for anyone but him. That said, this is yet another tiresome, “What’s the matter with Kansas” type post where a bunch of liberals get together and ‘fairly’ describe every Republican they know as a sexist, misogynistic ass or as a nice but uneducated buffoon. I know some people who are voting for Trump, and none of them fit the descriptions above. Here are some REAL arguments for Trump: 1. Both Hillary and Trump are awful, but if Hillary is elected she will have the media covering for her and possibly a Senate who will rubber stamp anything she does. She’s corrupt and will sell out the country, and get away with it. Trump, on the other hand, would be a President hated by both parties and the media, and therefore would be neutered right out of the gate. If both choices are terrible, go with the one who will have the most checks on his or her behavior. 2. Electing Trump would be a thumb in the eye of the media who have clearly been deep in the tank for Hillary, and would send a message to the establishment that they can no longer get away with ignoring their constituents while scratching the backs of the powerful. I believe this is what motivated a lot of Bernie Sanders people as well. 3. Hillary will elect liberal justices to the Supreme Court, which will become yet another partisan arm of the Democratic party. Trump won’t. There are some other motivations as well that have nothing to do with accepting Trump as anything other than a sleazebag. But Democrats should be very familiar with the concept of forgiving egregious behavior when it comes from ‘their’ candidate. Bill Clinton certainly got away with much worse than what Trump has done. But again: Trump sucks. Worst.Election.Ever. ---
**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:** [October 14, 2016, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-profiles-in-trump-supporters/768393/25 "2016-10-14T03:32:08Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > That said, this is yet another tiresome, “What’s the matter with Kansas” type post where a bunch of liberals get together and ‘fairly’ describe every Republican they know as a sexist, misogynistic ass or as a nice but uneducated buffoon. You’re wrong. I started the OP by describing 7 real-life Trump supporters. There’s nothing about trying to describe “every republican”, nor castigating anyone’s level of education. If you find it so tiresome, go take a nap. Life is too short to skip naps in favor of participating in tedious political threads. ---
**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 14, 2016, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-profiles-in-trump-supporters/768393/26 "2016-10-14T03:47:03Z")
**Sam Stone** , for #1 and #2: > **[Harvard Study Confirms The Media Tore Down Clinton, Built Up Trump And Sanders...](https://www.good.is/articles/hillary-clinton-negative-press)** > > Yep, Clinton got a bum rap in the press. But she’s on an upward swing > [@](#): > > It’s no secret that, from the moment she announced her candidacy back in April 2015, Hillary Clinton has been bludgeoned by negative media coverage. The email server; the Wall Street speaking fees; the attacks from both Trump and Sanders. I’ve debated with people who legitimately fear she will be imprisoned before the election. Some, despite the venomous dismissal of my rolling eyes, have called her a murderer. Others: an old woman, a plutocrat, a crook, abused by her husband, no backbone to speak of. But if you’ve suspected that there’s a reason people are saying these things—perhaps parroting disproportionately negative stories they’ve consumed in the media over the past year-and-a-half—it turns out you’re right. > > A new report released this week by Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy found Clinton has received far more negative coverage than any other candidate in the race thus far. To that one has to add and mention the close to 2 billion dollars of free publicity Trump got early. I can grant you that just recently the tables have been turned and it is Trump turn in the grill. But this has been the result of many more bad things found about Trump now. And as it was reported, a lot of the fallout is happening because Trump did not bother to be prepared for the attacks that everybody else would had been prepared for. As for your #3 item: The Republicans had control of that branch of government[for 45 years](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/after-45-years-of-conservative-rulings-heres-what-a-liberal-supreme-court-would-do/2016/02/19/efa63ad4-d589-11e5-b195-2e29a4e13425_story.html?utm_term=.a9b5dd5d3306), I think that what would happen is that it will be just a fair result and a deserved break from decisions that have many times delayed change, prevented change or even sent back years of progress. ---
**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:** [October 14, 2016, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-profiles-in-trump-supporters/768393/27 "2016-10-14T03:57:31Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > And as it was reported, a lot of the fallout is happening because Trump did not bother to be prepared for the attacks that everybody else would had been prepared for. This is something that blows my mind. Trump is formerly the architect of what is arguably one of the most successful urban legends of all time (birtherism) and is now running for the highest office in the land. And apparently he never once thought “Let me think about every time I ever talked about ‘pussy’ or nailing some model just because I could. Any competent opponent would call this out from the get-go.” ---
**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:** [October 14, 2016, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-profiles-in-trump-supporters/768393/28 "2016-10-14T04:08:55Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > 😕 “Draft _and **pass** _”? I’m not sure you understand how legislation works. > > In any case, Hillary Clinton as Chair of the Task Force on National Health Care Reform was no more and no less “unelected” than, e.g., National Security Advisor Sandy Berger, another Bill Clinton appointee who strongly influenced Clinton administration policies. > > In fact, most of the policy advisors in a Presidential administration are unelected and not subject to Senate confirmation. The vast majority of **all** legislation is drafted (not passed) by unelected advisors. Hillary Clinton arguably received way more electoral scrutiny, as the high-profile spouse of a Presidential candidate, than most other unelected policy advisors do. > > So while you may have legitimately objected to her policies, I don’t see why the mere fact of her being “unelected” is the part that stuck in your craw. Ironically, I have little objection to her policies. The part that stuck in my craw is that she got influence and an actual position of responsibility simply because she was married to Bill. At the time, that’s what buged me and still does. In present times this bothers me much less because I’ve been able to see her political behavior as an agent separate from Bill, and as a necessary phenomenon compared to her opponents. I’m supporting her for POTUS and I’m glad she will get inside information from Bill, but I will never be entirely comfortable with people gaining political power via marriage or family ties. (Sorry JEB!, and Chelsea too). ---
**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 14, 2016, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-profiles-in-trump-supporters/768393/29 "2016-10-14T04:09:43Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I know some people who are voting for Trump, and none of them fit the descriptions above. Here are some REAL arguments for Trump: > > 1. Both Hillary and Trump are awful, but if Hillary is elected she will have the media covering for her and possibly a Senate who will rubber stamp anything she does. She’s corrupt and will sell out the country, and get away with it. Trump, on the other hand, would be a President hated by both parties and the media, and therefore would be neutered right out of the gate. If both choices are terrible, go with the one who will have the most checks on his or her behavior. Oh, it’s easy to expect Trump to be ineffectual - practically useless as a president, in fact - but if the basis for electing Trump is unreasoning hatred of Hillary Clinton… that’s not an argument, just a rationalization. Who do the Trump supporters you know think Clinton will sell out the country _to?_ > [@](#): > > 1. Electing Trump would be a thumb in the eye of the media who have clearly been deep in the tank for Hillary, and would send a message to the establishment that they can no longer get away with ignoring their constituents while scratching the backs of the powerful. I believe this is what motivated a lot of Bernie Sanders people as well. Well, he’s an idea - vote out members of the establishment who one believes are ignoring their constituents, including state and congressional officials. If the Trump supporters you know don’t like back-scratching and such of the powerful, they should look at Congress, where these big-money deals are actually made. The President, no matter who they are, can’t unilaterally award military contracts to a particular company or decide to build a dam in a particular district, or keep open a military base in a particular state. If the complaint is about how government money is spent and pork distributed, the issue is with congress, not the president. > [@](#): > > 1. Hillary will elect liberal justices to the Supreme Court, which will become yet another partisan arm of the Democratic party. Trump won’t. Certainly, Trump won’t “elect” (the word is “appoint”) liberal justices. I suppose this alone is a reasonable concern for conservative Americans. The first two are based on faulty premises. I get that some Trump supporters might _believe_ these premises are valid, though. That’s not really praise. > [@](#): > > There are some other motivations as well that have nothing to do with accepting Trump as anything other than a sleazebag. But Democrats should be very familiar with the concept of forgiving egregious behavior when it comes from ‘their’ candidate. Bill Clinton certainly got away with much worse than what Trump has done. > > But again: Trump sucks. Worst.Election.Ever. Heck, I’m happy to argue that Trump’s personal behaviour is completely irrelevant. My concern is that he has absolutely no experience in public service or the military and wants to start out in the highest, most stressful office (and has toyed with the idea since 1988). He will not be able to sue his way or “deal” his way out of major issues as President, and shows little or no coherent understanding of foreign policy. I get that voting for Trump is a big “FUCK YOU” to all the woes that some Americans feel betide them, but choosing a president (indeed, voting in general) isn’t really the place for grand showy gestures of defiance, unless you truly are prepared to burn the system down and rebuild. Your friends, if as described, are probably indeed uneducated buffoons. They might also be short-sighted nihilists. At the very least, they’re letting the grand contest for President blind them to the more important, if banal, actions of congress. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2016, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-profiles-in-trump-supporters/768393/30 "2016-10-14T04:25:27Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > 1. Electing Trump would be a thumb in the eye of the media who have clearly been deep in the tank for Hillary, and would send a message to the establishment that they can no longer get away with ignoring their constituents while scratching the backs of the powerful. [Repeating myself](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=19699297&postcount=2138) from a concurrent thread: > [@Kimstu](#): > > > [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > > > It feels to me like the entire political class, the highbrow press, the tv media and just about every form of media has lain in wait for exactly the right moment […] > > General query: At what point are conservatives finally going to start admitting that **they** are part of the “political class”, the “highbrow press”, the “tv media”, and all the other “forms of media” as well? > > We’ve got Fox News, we’ve got conservative talk radio, we’ve got Breitbart, we’ve got the Tea Party, we’ve got the corridors of power chock-full of influential conservatives, many of whom still support Trump. > > But when a conservative politician steps on his own dick and starts garnering a bunch of well-earned contempt and criticism, many conservatives still try to play that tired old card about being the unsophisticated down-home underdogs who are getting ganged up on by the Machiavellian “insider” elites. > > You’re not fooling anybody anymore, folks. This posturing about “the media” and “the establishment” being biased toward Hillary, while ignoring the large and highly influential segment of “the media” and “the establishment” that are biased toward Trump, is getting stupider by the minute. FFS, you’ve got the guy who up to July was **running** all of Fox News actively coaching Trump on his campaign, and you’re still whining about “the media” being too pro-Clinton? Oh, you poor little oppressed underdogs, you. :rolleyes: ---
**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 14, 2016, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-profiles-in-trump-supporters/768393/31 "2016-10-14T04:26:29Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Ironically, I have little objection to her policies. The part that stuck in my craw is that she got influence and an actual position of responsibility simply because she was married to Bill. I suggest that’s due in large part because in 1993 it was a lot more difficult to look up a public figure’s background, but a casual modern skip to wikipedia suggests she was almost certainly OVERqualified to chair a health care reform task force. She’d already done similar work at the state level in Arkansas. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2016, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-profiles-in-trump-supporters/768393/32 "2016-10-14T04:46:44Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Ironically, I have little objection to her policies. The part that stuck in my craw is that she got influence and an actual position of responsibility simply because she was married to Bill. 😕 I’m wondering if you may have the causality backwards here. Do you really think that if Bill Clinton had been married to, oh, say, a quarter-century-younger Slovenian fashion model instead of to a qualified attorney and law professor with decades of experience in public service, he would still have made his wife Chair of the Task Force on National Health Care Reform? Bill Clinton during his campaign made no secret of his position that the voters would be getting “two for the price of one” if they elected him, and that he and Hillary were a policy team. This suggests that Hillary Clinton didn’t “get influence and an actual position of responsibility” just as a perk of being First Lady. On the contrary, she got to be First Lady largely because she had “influence and an actual position of responsibility” in the political career that she and her husband shared. I don’t see why she should be expected to abdicate that influence and responsibility once her husband became POTUS. [QUOTE=HMS Irruncible] I’m supporting her for POTUS and I’m glad she will get inside information from Bill, but I will never be entirely comfortable with people gaining political power via marriage or family ties. (Sorry JEB!, and Chelsea too). [/QUOTE] While I agree with many of the objections to political dynasties, given that they’ve existed in this country at least since the days of John Quincy Adams, I think it’s unrealistic to expect them to disappear. I also think that what with women’s rights and higher education and all, the political “power couple” phenomenon is probably here to stay. It doesn’t make sense to me to want a competent political advisor relegated to some kind of zero-responsibility lockbox just because they happen to be the spouse of an elected official. Especially when the spouses have consistently been transparent about the fact that they are a team on policy issues. ---
**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:** [October 14, 2016, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-profiles-in-trump-supporters/768393/33 "2016-10-14T05:20:50Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > 😕 I’m wondering if you may have the causality backwards here. Do you really think that if Bill Clinton had been married to, oh, say, a quarter-century-younger Slovenian fashion model instead of to a qualified attorney and law professor with decades of experience in public service, he would still have made his wife Chair of the Task Force on National Health Care Reform? I was politically naive at the time, and it’s totally possible that I got this whole cause/effect thing backward. It’s possible that the whole Clinton phenomenon is rooted out of Hillary and not Bill. I have no issue with Hillary nor definitely not Michelle Obama. I just feel like it’s a big red flag to political democracy when I see immediate family being appointed to key political positions. Where does it all stop? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2016, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-profiles-in-trump-supporters/768393/34 "2016-10-14T05:28:41Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > I just feel like it’s a big red flag to political democracy when I see immediate family being appointed to key political positions. Where does it all stop? Well, if it’s any comfort, I’m not sure “Task Force Chair” actually counts as such a “key” political position: not like Cabinet secretary or House speaker or something like that. But if we want to rein in the political-dynasty phenomenon, ISTM that we’re going to have to face up to the need for public financing of elections. Under a private campaign funding system where you need to be either independently wealthy or a well-known public figure or well connected to wealthy donors, or some combination of the above, the person who’s closely related to somebody who’s already got the exposure and name recognition of a high elected official is always going to have a significant advantage. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2016, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-profiles-in-trump-supporters/768393/35 "2016-10-14T05:39:25Z")
If you hear some of Bill’s recent speeches/interviews, he pretty much says that the whole Clinton phenomenon is rooted in Hillary. I think it’s obvious when you think about it, I just never thought about it before. Sure, he’s definitely the better frontperson, but it’s pretty easy to see her being the real brains behind the scene. ---
**Author:** ![LonghornDave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@LonghornDave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonghornDave)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2016, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-profiles-in-trump-supporters/768393/36 "2016-10-14T13:56:56Z")
Here’s an excellent article (from Cracked of all places) talking about Trump supporters. [How Half Of America Lost Its F\*\*king Mind](http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-reasons-trumps-rise-that-no-one-talks-about/) > [@](#): > > The rural folk with the Trump signs in their yards say their way of life is dying, and you smirk and say what they really mean is that blacks and gays are finally getting equal rights and they hate it. But I’m telling you, they say their way of life is dying because their way of life is dying. It’s not their imagination. No movie about the future portrays it as being full of traditional families, hunters, and coal mines. Well, except for Hunger Games, and that was depicted as an apocalypse. > > So yes, they vote for the guy promising to put things back the way they were, the guy who’d be a wake-up call to the blue islands. They voted for the brick through the window. > > It was a vote of desperation. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2016, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-profiles-in-trump-supporters/768393/37 "2016-10-14T14:59:27Z")
> [@LonghornDave](#): > > Here’s an excellent article (from Cracked of all places) talking about Trump supporters. > > [How Half Of America Lost Its F\*\*king Mind](http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-reasons-trumps-rise-that-no-one-talks-about/) Although that article is kind of weird in its constant insistence on urban/coastal areas being “islands” or otherwise detached/elite enclaves. Actually, as the article does admit early on and then ignores for the rest of the discussion, significantly more than half of the population, both elite and non-elite, lives in those so-called “islands”. Population-wise, it’s rural America that consists of the islands and tiny atolls in a scattered archipelago bounded by large population continents. The article also completely ignores the role of conservative white panic over the issue of the demographic shift of the US to a majority-nonwhite nation. A lot of self-described non-racists, who up to a decade or so ago proclaimed that they “didn’t see color”, are now freaking right off their rockers at the prospect of white people in the US being outnumbered. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2016, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-profiles-in-trump-supporters/768393/38 "2016-10-14T16:08:17Z")
That _Cracked_ article also doesn’t address the people on my semi-affluent suburban street who have Trump signs in their yards. These aren’t rural working types whose small town has dried up around them, they’re economically successful conservatives whose loyalty their party, and the hatred of Hilary that goes along with it, overwhelms what should otherwise be an obvious decision. The article was good in helping me understand that one segment, but it doesn’t even attempt to address the people that I actually run across who support Trump. I keep waiting for the four people on my street to finally be humiliated enough to remove the signs, but so far they’re still up. It’s interesting to me that one person who lives on my street is our Republican representative in the Texas legislature, but even she doesn’t have a Trump sign. ---
**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:** [October 14, 2016, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-profiles-in-trump-supporters/768393/39 "2016-10-14T17:37:42Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Personally, I couldn’t name the capitol of more than two states. If I ever need to know the name of a capitol, I’ll look it up. I’m more interested in knowing the broad strokes of history or whatever else, than rote memorization of trivia. I’ll be candid with you and admit that I’m not sure if Aleppo is the capital or just a major city in Syria\*. What I do know that it’s at the center of a brutal civil war that has been running for 5 years and has had huge international consequences. For Johnson to ask “What is Aleppo” shows that he doesn’t follow the news. It is not OK for the President of the US to be this unfamiliar with current events. - looked it up, it is indeed the capital ---
**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 14, 2016, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-profiles-in-trump-supporters/768393/40 "2016-10-14T17:51:41Z")
I had no idea about Aleppo until the Johnson thing. I’d heard about Syria, but no specific locations. What got me is that I think a Presidential candidate should know it, and that, even if he didn’t, he should have been able to talk about it afterwards, having known the situation but not the specific name. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-profiles-in-trump-supporters/768393.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-profiles-in-trump-supporters/768393.md?page=3)