It wouldn’t make sense if he committed a clearly articulated crime that the average American could recognize as a crime.
As far as I can tell, that’s what it will take.
So committing tax evasion with a fake charity and defrauding people with a fake university isn’t enough? I mean, penny stock shills are defrauding people with false claims about a worthless commodity. What is the difference between ripping people off with a fake product and, uh, ripping people off with a fake/worthless degree?
Sure that would be enough. Show me a criminal indictment and I will readily agree.
Is it possible for the average American to “recognize” something as a crime without an official decision already handed down from our justice system?
Maybe. But it’s not possible for the average Trump supporter to recognize it.
So, looking at the bolded part, there is nothing, nothing that Trump could do that would make you support him. It sounds to me like if he put good people on the bench, etc. etc., that would indicate a certain amount of decency and competence, but you have made up your mind about him and would not change.
Now do you see how his supporters feel? They won’t change their minds, either. Probably even if he started demonstrating decency and competence. (Well, possibly.)
I’m related to Trump supporters. I also know them on social media.
I promise you that Trump support is not a reasoned determination based on policy, facts, or evidence. If his voters assert that they are “informed”, then they are lapping up propaganda. Their support is not fact-based. If they do read news, they only read headlines when they see “news”, and they aren’t discerning in their sources. Their understanding of his accomplishments is superficial, at best.
Rather, people support Trump because he has adopted the tired trope of giving his supporters the scapegoats to explain away their lot in life, or made hollow promises that seem to be prioritizing their interests.
For example, many Trump supporters like Trump because he “supports real Americans” over immigrants from other countries. Whether he is actually doing anything substantive is immaterial, or answered with superficial platitudes (e.g. “He’s building a wall!” or “If only the Democrats would stop getting in his way…”). But “illegal immigrants” are an easy explanation for shitty jobs and perpetual financial woes, and somebody who seems to want to talk about it when nobody else will comes across as an advocate for their interests.
But he is seen as someone who is going to bring back “the good old days”: whites in power. White men in power. White Christian men in power. White hetero Christian men in power. They would happily vote any rich white man in and support him who runs on that.
Granted I can’t explain why non white non hetero non Christian non males vote for him.
How would you feel if you woke up and learned 25 million Chinese were going to immigrate to Mexico uninvited? Some would argue that the Chinese are hard working, industrious, honest, and noble people who would greatly enhance the flawed country of Mexico with their culture and diversity. There are hundreds of millions of extremely poor Chinese who only want better lives.
On the other hand, some Mexicans would resent the arrival of the Chinese. They would feel they were being “replaced.” Some might even call them invaders. Some would reject accommodating their ways of life. Some might even express racism toward them.
As much I love and admire the Chinese people, Mexico would be overwhelmed and forever be altered. To deny this is to deny the Chinese their basic humanity. I love Mexico the way it is. In my opinion, they produce the most beautiful women in the world. Am I racist for wanting to preserve Mexican culture and society? This is not a far fetched scenario as there are already accusations that China is trying colonize Africa.
Of course, I’m drawing an analogy that is considered a taboo. I assume you don’t value your heritage, culture, ancestors, or even race, but some of us do. Not because we hate others, but because we think all societies and peoples are unique and worth preserving.
You should tell us more about this Great Replacement and what it means for the future of the White Race.
Even though white men are Trumps base and 62% of white men voted for him, that means 38% of white men voted for someone else (31% Clinton, 6% third party).
So white men aren’t a monolith, if you pick 10 white male voters at random, about 6 voted for Trump and 4 did not. I’m a white male and I didn’t vote for him.
Having said that, its still Trumps base.
The only thing I can come up with is high levels of authoritarianism combined with fearing society change so that being a white christian male doesn’t carry the status and prestige it used to. White christian men are overrepresented in positions of power and influence (police, judges, politicians, business leaders, etc). White chrisitan men probably make up ~20% of America (white men make up 30%, and I’m assuming about 2/3 of them are christian), but the % of cops, politicians, judges, business leaders etc who are white christian men is far far higher than 20%.
Since status is finite and relative, some people are desperate to hold onto their sense of status and social identity of a society that puts them on top. To the point where they will happily overlook incompetence, treason, autocracy, criminality, corruption, sexual crimes, etc.
Its a sad world we live in.
Maybe there’s a way to bring in all those beautiful Mexican ladies, but keep the culture destroying men away?
When I’ve talked to most low tax conservatives, they enjoy and are dependent on government services just as much as anyone else. Medicare, medicaid, social security, police, military, infrastructure.
In their minds, government spending is wasteful when it goes to ‘undeserving’ people, which is usually code for people they consider themselves superior to. Non-whites, people in urban areas, single mothers, etc. If you ignore what conservatives say they believe in and just approach everything they do as if it is at root about promoting a white christian ethnostate, their behavior becomes much more consistent and easy to understand. They say they’re pro cop, but only when cops are attacking dangerous minorities. When cops attack Trump or the Bundy clan they hate the police. They say they are free trade, but when Trump promoted a trade war to protect the jobs of high school educated whites from rural areas they fully supported it. etc
They don’t understand that the vast majority of government spending is on programs we all enjoy and benefit from irregardless of our race and income (for the most part). Education, social security, health programs, infrastructure, etc.
What we don’t understand is the loyalty.
Trump has no loyalty to anyone. He would throw the GOP and rural whites under the bus in a heartbeat. But his voters love and adore him. They act like Trump is their savior, when Trump is just a sociopathic opportunist who enjoys the adulation and money of his position and has no loyalty to the people who got him there.
Trump is the personification of the antichrist. He really is the opposite of everything christ supposedly stood for. Trump is the 7 deadly sins come to life (envy, greed, gluttony, sloth, pride, anger, lust). I’m not a christian and I don’t believe in an antichrist but Trump fits the bill pretty damn well. And he is loved and adored by evangelical christians (which I guess isn’t surprising, the bible did say fake christians would worship the antichrist).
Every slander the right has used against Obama and the Clintons, Trump actually does those things and his base couldn’t care less.
Fake shame marriage? Check
Has a fake charity slush fund? Check
Sex offender? Check
Increases the deficit? Check
Destroyed Americas reputation? Check
Empowered ISIS? Check
Made our allies lose respect for us? Check
Works for Americas enemies? Check
Violates the constitution? Check
Ties to the criminal underworld? Check
Remorseless criminal? Check
Dangerously incompetent? Check
Can’t function w/o a teleprompter? Check
Wants to take people’s guns away? Check
Spends tons of time and money on vacations rather than working? Check
Stuff like that is what we can’t figure out. Why are these people so loyal to a criminal sociopath who would toss them in the garbage for five dollars? Why do his bae have 0 loyalty to national security, the constitution or rule of law, but they are 100% loyal to an obvious sociopath?
Why did they pretend that they cared about morality and criminality when a democrat was in charge, and now love Trump who actually does the things they pretended to care about when they accused the Obamas and Clintons of doing them?
Even if you’re a white nationalist (and white nationalism is pretty much the only thing holding the GOP base together at this point), why is white nationalism so important that you’re ok with child molestation, treason and incompetence?
And why do his base think he cares about them? We can’t figure these things out.
Suppose you’re a juror for a murder trial. The defendant admitted openly several times he did it. But he’s insisiting on a trial anyway. (The “I never said what I said.” defense.)
During the trial you find out that his politics and your politics coincide nicely.
Does this affect your decision to convict?
I certainly hope not. Think of the chaos this would cause in the court system. Lawyers will try to figure out the politics of potential jurors. (Which they don’t do now, right? Right? :mad:) If the jury seems favorable, politics-wise, they’ll try to get the defendants politics mentioned. If unfavorable, they’ll go the other way.
Okay, transparent analogy, right.
But the baffling thing is that the defendant, if found guilty, is replaced by someone with stronger politics who is far more capable. So, isn’t that something the whole GOP wants? Esp. since we’re >2 years in.
May I suggest that you try to understand why we were on the bandwagon in the first place? You might have a total change of mind.
May I suggest you explain it to us.
ETA: You know what… never mind. I didn’t say anything offensive or against board rules, but I’ve decided there was no point in asking the question I asked.
I understand why you were on the bandwagon… That’s why I specifically said people who are still on it.
I at least GET the appeal early on, though I don’t agree with it. I DON’T understand how he can break the law in our faces, and not received any punishment. How long is this going to last until we admit he’s not competent.
There… I answered you question.
November 2020.