# The Trump era - what's surprised you the most? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 17, 2018, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-era-whats-surprised-you-the-most/816246 "2018-06-17T03:38:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-era-whats-surprised-you-the-most/816246/141 "2018-06-21T01:48:37Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > … What does that say about the 43% who approve of this state of affairs? That they disagree with your opinions or have a different perspective / priorities? ---
**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:** [June 21, 2018, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-era-whats-surprised-you-the-most/816246/142 "2018-06-21T01:53:13Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > That they disagree with your opinions or have a different perspective / priorities? Yes, but then I do know that a mistake is a mistake even if millions of people agree with it. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-era-whats-surprised-you-the-most/816246/143 "2018-06-21T03:54:35Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > You use “we”, but your opinion is hardly universal. 43% of the country approves of the job he has done so far. 43%, coincidentally, was Hitler’s estimated approval rating in 1941. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-era-whats-surprised-you-the-most/816246/144 "2018-06-21T06:39:18Z")
> [@Evil\_Economist](#): > > 43%, coincidentally, was Hitler’s estimated approval rating in 1941. And Obama’s in 2014. ---
**Author:** ![Covfefe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ee7513/32.png) [@Covfefe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covfefe)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-era-whats-surprised-you-the-most/816246/145 "2018-06-21T08:53:09Z")
My biggest and maybe most demoralizing surprise is that in the wake of a neutral investigation as encompassing as Mueller’s existing, Trump continues to ostensibly get away with communicating so recklessly one year into it. ---
**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:** [June 21, 2018, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-era-whats-surprised-you-the-most/816246/146 "2018-06-21T10:28:24Z")
What continues to surprise me most is how many people, who I had thought were generally decent and well meaning Americans, who are willing to tolerate or even support things like praising white supremacists, purposefully and unnecessarily traumatizing children, praising and assisting a child molester, and much more. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-era-whats-surprised-you-the-most/816246/147 "2018-06-21T11:19:26Z")
it does not surprise me that he still gets 43% support. Both parties get 40% in elections almost without fail. Many people are so into their “team” they don’t really pay a lot of attention to what is actually going on . Probably the smartest thing Trump said was the line about killing someone in broad daylight and he would still get support. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-era-whats-surprised-you-the-most/816246/148 "2018-06-21T11:50:43Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > What continues to surprise me most is how many people, who I had thought were generally decent and well meaning Americans, who are willing to tolerate or even support things like praising white supremacists, purposefully and unnecessarily traumatizing children, praising and assisting a child molester, and much more. A tax break is not to be sneezed at. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-era-whats-surprised-you-the-most/816246/149 "2018-06-21T12:11:34Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > That they disagree with your opinions or have a different perspective / priorities? That’s obviously the case, but not what I asked. This is the standard “it’s all good as long as policies that I favor are being enacted” excuse. But what does it say when 43% of the population supports an evil self-serving lying incompetent buffoon, and does so slavishly and uncritically simply because their “different perspective/priority” is that nothing else matters as long as said buffoon pursues policies that they like? And what if those policies are rooted in the ugliest forms of populist nationalism and bigotry, and are hostile to America’s allies and friendly to its enemies? What if said buffoon routinely lies to the people – so often and so egregiously that truth and reality are suppressed into irrelevance, in a manner not seen in any modern democracy since World War II? Isn’t that how dictators come to power? Is it reassuring that Trump can’t resist [openly acknowledging his admiration of dictators](https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/15/politics/trump-north-korea-kim-jong-un/index.html) and would clearly just love to be one? The delight that Trump’s base was taking in the recent Gestapo-like abuses against immigrants and his willingness to cater to their hate was chilling and revealing. There’s a lot more going on here than conventional policy disagreements. ---
**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:** [June 21, 2018, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-era-whats-surprised-you-the-most/816246/150 "2018-06-21T15:08:56Z")
There’s a lot of incongruity in saying that “I expected the Trump presidency to be a dumpster fire, and now I’m shocked that it’s a dumpster fire.” ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-era-whats-surprised-you-the-most/816246/151 "2018-06-21T15:25:53Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > What continues to surprise me most is how many people, who I had thought were generally decent and well meaning Americans, who are willing to tolerate or even support things like praising white supremacists, purposefully and unnecessarily traumatizing children, praising and assisting a child molester, and much more. You’ve just repeated the mistake which resulted in Brexit and helped Clinton lose the election. To reverse the politics of your statement, just because a communist (say) voted for Obama and you voted for Obama, that doesn’t make you a communist nor does it make Obama a communist. The Left are far too bullying and judgemental. I remember a four-panel cartoon in which three panels were of three different Democrats castigating people for not being sufficiently on their side and in the fourth panel were the three Democrats: one asked why they lost and the other two said, “We got nothing.” ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-era-whats-surprised-you-the-most/816246/152 "2018-06-21T15:37:05Z")
Donald Trump encouraged his supporters to beat up political opponents. Trump supporters chant “lock her up” about Hillary Clinton. An actual torch-wielding mob turned up in Charlottesville. At another rally, a right-wing protestor drive a car into a crowd. Stephen Miller wants to establish a white ethno-state. Trump calls immigration an “infestation” and puts toddlers in a prison camp. And _the left_ is far too bullying and judgemental?! Seriously?! Fucking seriously?! ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-era-whats-surprised-you-the-most/816246/153 "2018-06-21T15:45:24Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > You’ve just repeated the mistake which resulted in Brexit and helped Clinton lose the election. To reverse the politics of your statement, just because a communist (say) voted for Obama and you voted for Obama, that doesn’t make you a communist nor does it make Obama a communist. The Left are far too bullying and judgemental. I remember a four-panel cartoon in which three panels were of three different Democrats castigating people for not being sufficiently on their side and in the fourth panel were the three Democrats: one asked why they lost and the other two said, “We got nothing.” The answer to your argument is the shortest one I’ve ever had to give: Trump has 43% support. So either these folks are unaware of all the malfeasance, mendacity, incompetence and criminality that’s characterized this administration, or they don’t care because their tax cuts are so much more important to them (or some other single issue, like kicking ass on immigration). So either they’re uninformed or unprincipled, and probably both. Which was kind of the point that was being made. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-era-whats-surprised-you-the-most/816246/154 "2018-06-21T16:06:20Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > You’ve just repeated the mistake which resulted in Brexit and helped Clinton lose the election. To reverse the politics of your statement, just because a communist (say) voted for Obama and you voted for Obama, that doesn’t make you a communist nor does it make Obama a communist. However, you can’t point to things that point to a direct relationship between Obama and communism that stands up to scrutiny. That can’t be said about Trump, and it is perfectly obvious that a significant number of Americans voted for him on the basis of his views on disparaging minorities. > [@](#): > > The Left are far too bullying and judgemental. Which sector of society do you find more likable? ---
**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:** [June 21, 2018, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-era-whats-surprised-you-the-most/816246/155 "2018-06-21T16:30:59Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > You’ve just repeated the mistake which resulted in Brexit and helped Clinton lose the election. To reverse the politics of your statement, just because a communist (say) voted for Obama and you voted for Obama, that doesn’t make you a communist nor does it make Obama a communist. The Left are far too bullying and judgemental. I remember a four-panel cartoon in which three panels were of three different Democrats castigating people for not being sufficiently on their side and in the fourth panel were the three Democrats: one asked why they lost and the other two said, “We got nothing.” I’m not sure what this has to do with what I said. I’m answering the OP’s question – I just stated facts, and my emotional reaction (surprise) to these facts. It’s a fact that, during his presidency, Trump praised white supremacists, put into place a policy that purposefully traumatizes migrant children for deterrent purposes, and praised and assisted a credibly accused child molester running for office, among many other immoral actions. And it’s a fact that ~40% of Americans, including many folks I had previously believed to be generally decent and well-meaning people, support him right now according to polling. Together, those facts surprise me, if less and less each day. And your broad-brushing of Democrats and “the Left” as a whole looks as “bullying and judgmental” as the straw-man arguments you deplore. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_lining](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@Silver\_lining](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_lining)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-era-whats-surprised-you-the-most/816246/156 "2018-06-21T17:40:40Z")
> [@Chad\_Sudan](#): > > It’s been eighteen months since Trump took office. > > We’ve seen the shattering of a lot of political norms. Many of these were predictable, given what we saw in the 2016 campaign - the tweets, the corruption, and so on. > > But many others have been unexpected. > > I never would have predicted all the staff dismissals at the White House. I especially thought that Steve Bannon, who got his million-to-one shot at real power, would make sure to hold onto it. > > Conversely, one thing I expected has not happened. I thought there was likely to be a major terrorist attack on the U.S., designed to provoke Trump into a new Middle East war. > > What developments have most surprised you? I would have to say his accomplishments in less than two years time. [ul] [li]Tax cuts for corporations and private citizens[/li] [li]A booming economy with historic low unemployment, thanks in part to deregulation and tax cuts.[/li] [li]A successfully nominated Supreme Court Justice[/li] [li]A historic peace meeting face to face with Kim Jong-un where both leaders signed a document to work towards de-nucelarization.[/li] [li]Illegal immigration down over 50% since he took office[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-era-whats-surprised-you-the-most/816246/157 "2018-06-21T17:56:22Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > There’s a lot of incongruity in saying that “I expected the Trump presidency to be a dumpster fire, and now I’m shocked that it’s a dumpster fire.” I think many expected a dumpster fire. What we got here is a full on forest fire. ---
**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:** [June 21, 2018, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-era-whats-surprised-you-the-most/816246/158 "2018-06-21T18:00:07Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > I would have to say his accomplishments in less than two years time. > > [ul] > [li]Tax cuts for corporations and private citizens[/li] > [li]A booming economy with historic low unemployment, thanks in part to deregulation and tax cuts.[/li] > [li]A successfully nominated Supreme Court Justice[/li] > [li]A historic peace meeting face to face with Kim Jong-un where both leaders signed a document to work towards de-nucelarization.[/li] > [li]Illegal immigration down over 50% since he took office[/li][/ul] This list is disingenuous at best. 1- The corporations did not need the tax cuts and indeed most said they would not use them to invest in their business. The only private citizens the made out are the elite ruling class, the working class got very little. 2- The economy was essentially an extension of the Obama recover, thanks in no way to deregulation and tax cuts. So now polluters can poison us all and make more money while doing it. Good show! 3- The Gorsuch seat was stolen 4- The US got nothing from the meeting, Kim got a big jump in his presence in the world while making vague promises that he has no intention of keeping. The US gave away some of the defense readiness of South Korea for a pocket full of mumbles, such are promises. 5- “Illegal” immigration is about where it was for the past several years, 2017 was an outlier. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-era-whats-surprised-you-the-most/816246/159 "2018-06-21T20:27:22Z")
I’m actually a little surprised at what hasn’t happened. No thermonuclear exchange in the first year. No open slaughter of ethnic minorities. For a fascist with messianic delusions, I’d expect more internecine violence and less clowning. Now Bolt-on is in a position do something about it, maybe we’ll drop some H-bombs on Iran. But back in January 2017, I was worried that Trump would turn on Russia (to prove he’s not a puppet) and launch the missiles. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-era-whats-surprised-you-the-most/816246/160 "2018-06-21T20:39:30Z")
(I almost didn’t post that, but **Silver lining** ’s list of mostly unsurprising things offended me. Some folks would be surprised to get a bill after hiring a plumber, apparently.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-era-whats-surprised-you-the-most/816246.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-era-whats-surprised-you-the-most/816246.md?page=9)