# Stop telling us to “listen” to Trump voters. We have heard enough **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 19, 2020, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-telling-us-to-listen-to-trump-voters-we-have-heard-enough/925978 "2020-11-19T16:52:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2020, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-telling-us-to-listen-to-trump-voters-we-have-heard-enough/925978/61 "2020-11-22T15:54:50Z")
> [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](#): > > Sure. You want one? Don’t ignore their communities. What is it that you believe you’ve cited with these links? To me, you’ve proven the same damn thing in the Latino community that’s been shown to be true for all Trump supporters. You’ve shown that ignorance is pervasive. Democrats did not make deep inroads into the Trump cult. They motivated greater support from those who don’t want to see the country destroyed by fear, ignorance and authoritarianism. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2020, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-telling-us-to-listen-to-trump-voters-we-have-heard-enough/925978/62 "2020-11-22T16:05:18Z")
The question is, how do you engage with people so consumed by their bigotry, selfishness and fear that they refuse to listen to the science on COVID and climate change? People who refuse to accept even the smallest inconvenience for their fellow man. How do you engage with evil? ---
**Author:** ![agzem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a8b319/32.png) [@agzem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/agzem)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2020, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-telling-us-to-listen-to-trump-voters-we-have-heard-enough/925978/63 "2020-11-22T16:06:25Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > What the fuck do you think I was referring to? You do know that has been debunked, right? Read the article. ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2020, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-telling-us-to-listen-to-trump-voters-we-have-heard-enough/925978/64 "2020-11-22T16:06:46Z")
If you’re ever curious in the future why I don’t respond to your never-ending questions, remind yourself how many of the links you actually click on when they’re given. This is pure bad faith time-wasting. ---
**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:** [November 22, 2020, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-telling-us-to-listen-to-trump-voters-we-have-heard-enough/925978/65 "2020-11-22T16:11:02Z")
> [@agzem](#): > > You do know that has been debunked, right? Read the article. You mean like you didn’t? > **This in no way means that Doering’s account is untrue.** But it provides, at minimum, some important context that was completely absent from the CNN interview and from all the media amplification that followed. Little or no effort was made to assess the _scope_ of the problem that Doering so memorably described. How many Covid-19 patients in South Dakota are really so blinkered by disinformation that they’re enraged at their caregivers and, in their final moments on earth, still dispute what’s happening? No one bothered to find out. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2020, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-telling-us-to-listen-to-trump-voters-we-have-heard-enough/925978/66 "2020-11-22T16:19:38Z")
I read them. They don’t say anything new or revealing. Latinos are not a monolithic voting block, many are evangelical and very socially conservative to the point of being bigots. Cuban and Venezuelan immigrants are irrationally bipolar in their fear of socialism while voting to support an authoritarian wannabe strongman. What is substantively different between them and the average white trump supporter who fears socialism and embraces a corrupt (broke) oligarch while ostensibly supporting freedom, law and order? ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2020, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-telling-us-to-listen-to-trump-voters-we-have-heard-enough/925978/67 "2020-11-22T16:40:27Z")
> [@agzem](#): > > You do know that has been debunked, right? Read the article. In my wife’s extended family, a father and his two daughters are Trump supporters. He’s a doting father and his daughters are very close to their dad. They all believed the pandemic is a “democrat hoax”. They all contracted Covid. One of the daughters is a nurse taking care of elderly patients. She infected her dad while being asymptomatic herself. He died of it several months ago. So they’ve got that to live with for the rest of their lives. You’d think that’s where the story would end. But no. Last month she eagerly attended a Trump rally. Not quite a flat out denial of Covid while dying of it. But not far from it, and no less willfully stupid, would you agree? ---
**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:** [November 22, 2020, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-telling-us-to-listen-to-trump-voters-we-have-heard-enough/925978/68 "2020-11-22T16:52:08Z")
As someone pointed out upthread, if Trump voters were simply Baby Boomer white supremacists and that was all they’d ever be, then they could be ignored - just let them die out with age. But Trumpism wasn’t, and isn’t, limited to just that. Trump **increased** his vote share among black and Hispanic voters. And that was _despite_ Trump’s incompetence and narcissism. If a competent authoritarian runs in 2024, he could increase that share even more yet. ---
**Author:** ![paulmarkj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9e8a1a/32.png) [@paulmarkj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paulmarkj)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2020, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-telling-us-to-listen-to-trump-voters-we-have-heard-enough/925978/69 "2020-11-22T17:30:21Z")
I agree. I am fed up with ‘populist’ supporters keep saying “you don’t understand”. That’s just an excuse for not explaining (or more likely, they don’t have an answer). ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2020, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-telling-us-to-listen-to-trump-voters-we-have-heard-enough/925978/70 "2020-11-22T17:37:22Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Umm, we won. Not _all_ the elections, but the Big One. Which is a whole problem in and of itself. Too much focus on “the Big One” and meanwhile the statehouses stay red and the Senate/Congress ends up hanging by a thread in the best of cases. But tht’s for a different thread. > [@QuickSilver](#): > > Latinos are not a monolithic voting block, many are evangelical and very socially conservative to the point of being bigots. Cuban and Venezuelan immigrants are irrationally bipolar in their fear of socialism while voting to support an authoritarian wannabe strongman. What is substantively different between them and the average white trump supporter who fears socialism and embraces a corrupt (broke) oligarch while ostensibly supporting freedom, law and order? Ah, but to _them_, as long as the authoritarian strongman is “anti-socialist” in their eyes, _they’re totally fine with that._ It’s a worldview under which “liberty” is money in their pocket, church on Sunday where their son learns he’d better not be queer, people knowing their place, and the way their parents and grandparents lived before these changes happened in the last few decades was the good and right way. Freedom to change the political structure to change society? Acceptance of those with different values? _“What for? The way the world is, is the way the world is.”_ ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2020, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-telling-us-to-listen-to-trump-voters-we-have-heard-enough/925978/71 "2020-11-22T17:54:29Z")
Bah. Newsome attended one dinner, in the outdoors setting, allowable under regs. However, when he got there it was more crowded that it should be, but he stayed. He apologized, said that was wrong. He wore masks in and out, and on all public appearances. Pelosi got a private appt to get her hair done, one on one, and yes, took off her mask for that, per request. Her beautician wore a mask. But it was a set up. The thing is the MAGA hat wearers are making a big deal out of a one time lapse , while the President walks thru a facility making health supplies, refusing to wear a mask, and openly tells people mask wearing is stupid and useless. Th ---
**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:** [November 22, 2020, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-telling-us-to-listen-to-trump-voters-we-have-heard-enough/925978/72 "2020-11-22T18:04:47Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The thing is the MAGA hat wearers are making a big deal out of a one time lapse , while the President walks thru a facility making health supplies, refusing to wear a mask, and openly tells people mask wearing is stupid and useless. - Lets not forget, that while being treated for COVID, he forced his Secret Service detail into a _hermetically sealed_ SUV just so he could drive around the block and wave at his acolytes. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2020, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-telling-us-to-listen-to-trump-voters-we-have-heard-enough/925978/73 "2020-11-22T18:07:28Z")
Yeah, most of them have covid now. ---
**Author:** ![agzem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a8b319/32.png) [@agzem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/agzem)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2020, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-telling-us-to-listen-to-trump-voters-we-have-heard-enough/925978/74 "2020-11-22T18:10:16Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > openly tells people mask wearing is stupid and useless. Citation needed for that claim ---
**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:** [November 22, 2020, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-telling-us-to-listen-to-trump-voters-we-have-heard-enough/925978/75 "2020-11-22T18:13:29Z")
> [@agzem](#): > > Citation needed for that claim The same way a citation is needed to back up the statement “Water is wet”. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2020, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-telling-us-to-listen-to-trump-voters-we-have-heard-enough/925978/76 "2020-11-22T18:15:52Z")
> **[In His Own Words, Trump on the Coronavirus and Masks (Published 2020)](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/02/us/politics/donald-trump-masks.html)** > > During the pandemic, the president has expressed confidence that the virus would quickly go away and skepticism over the effectiveness of face coverings. > **[Calculating possible fallout of Trump’s face mask remarks](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/10/possible-fallout-from-trumps-dismissal-of-face-masks/)** > > Looking at the public health effects, and perhaps mortality rate, from President Trump’s running dismissal of wearing face masks to minimize the spread of coronavirus. > **[Trump, downplaying virus, has mocked wearing masks for months](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-downplaying-virus-mocked-wearing-masks-months/story?id=73392694)** > > After months of downplaying the coronavirus and resisting wearing a mask, President Donald Trump wore one as he headed to the hospital Friday afternoon. _He has especially mocked wearing masks, continuing to do so despite promising he would – and against the advice of public health officials that everyone should wear them to save thousands of lives._ > **[Trump Has Not Been 'Clear' in Support of Masks - FactCheck.org](https://www.factcheck.org/2020/09/trump-has-not-been-clear-in-support-of-masks/)** > > Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar says President Trump has been "clear" in calling for the public to "wear face coverings when you can’t social distance." The official messaging from the White House has been clear. The president's... ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2020, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-telling-us-to-listen-to-trump-voters-we-have-heard-enough/925978/77 "2020-11-22T18:37:34Z")
> [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](#): > > This is pure bad faith time-wasting. You know what is pure bad faith time-wasting? Pretending you possess some novel insight into the minds of Trump voters when all you have to offer is the same hash that’s been rehashed for 4+ years now. There is nothing new under the sun. And complaining about people asking you questions which you refuse to answer is a transparent attempt at avoiding having to admit it. So if you’re done dispensing advice to those of us who oppose Trump, perhaps you can tell us what sage advice you have to offer to Trump supporters. What is it that you think they need to hear, if anything? ---
**Author:** ![agzem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a8b319/32.png) [@agzem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/agzem)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2020, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-telling-us-to-listen-to-trump-voters-we-have-heard-enough/925978/78 "2020-11-22T18:37:44Z")
I’m not seeing where Trump said that masks are **stupid** or **useless**. And it’s not unreasonable to expect a reporter to remove their mask while asking a question so the question can be understood. Note that it wasn’t until **June** that WHO started recommending that healthy people wear a mask. And here’s a picture of Trump wearing a mask so it doesn’t seem likely that he thinks it is useless or stupid: > **[Donald Trump wears a face mask during a visit to the Walter Reed military...](https://us.blastingnews.com/news/2020/07/donald-trump-wears-a-face-mask-during-a-visit-to-the-walter-reed-military-hospital-003171488.html)** > > US President Donald Trump was against donning a face mask but has finally reversed his decision during a visit to a military hospital ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2020, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-telling-us-to-listen-to-trump-voters-we-have-heard-enough/925978/79 "2020-11-22T18:43:34Z")
Trump had to be shamed into wearing it. He is on record saying he didn’t want to wear a mask because he didn’t want to give people the satisfaction of seeing him wear one and to think that they’d won. And speaking of shame, aren’t you embarrassed to be even trying to pass off this bullshit argument as something to be even remotely taken seriously? ---
**Author:** ![DeadTreasSecretaries](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deadtreassecretaries/32/4817_2.png) [@DeadTreasSecretaries](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadTreasSecretaries)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2020, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-telling-us-to-listen-to-trump-voters-we-have-heard-enough/925978/80 "2020-11-22T18:47:44Z")
Yeah, I keep hearing “listen to these communities” / “reach out to these communities” but clearly just having random liberals drive out to them and talk to people does nothing. If there’s something concrete you could do to show better empathy I’d be all ears. The truth is that Trump has convinced his supporters to blame scapegoats for their problems. After that point, no matter what happens with the scapegoats, the problems won’t go away, the real cause of the resentment won’t go away and the scapegoating won’t go away. I think the Dems need to improve their economic messaging to marginal voters, but I haven’t heard any explanation of what concrete things liberals or Democrats could do to reach out to Trump’s base. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-telling-us-to-listen-to-trump-voters-we-have-heard-enough/925978.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-telling-us-to-listen-to-trump-voters-we-have-heard-enough/925978.md?page=5)