# This article is by far best explanation I've seen as to why Trump is dominating - **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 31, 2015, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449 "2015-08-31T00:03:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/41 "2015-08-31T17:00:45Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > “How dare the voters support Trump when we keep telling them he’s a joke and they shouldn’t take him seriously?” The media is quoting Trump. If that makes him look like a joke it’s because he is a joke. Does Trump have supporters? Sure he does. There are people who believe the moon landings are a hoax. There are people that vaccinations causes autism. There are people who believe the government blew up the World Trade Center. And there are people who think Donald Trump should be President. All this proves is that there are stupid people in the world. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/42 "2015-08-31T17:06:44Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > I’m talking about the political advocates working for the media outlets who keep saying that Trump can’t continue much longer, or that Trump’s campaign will fail, or that the latest statement by Trump (whether Trump actually said what the LSM is saying he said, or not) means the end of Trump’s campaign. Nonsense. People aren’t predicting Trump’s about to stop. The big question people are debating is whether he’ll run as an Independent in order to stay in the spotlight longer. ---
**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:** [August 31, 2015, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/43 "2015-08-31T17:12:05Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > It appears that the political advocates working for the media outlets have repeatedly been mistaken. How is that possible? :smack: As pointed before it is because in reality many in the media know how to squeeze the money out of a campaign. There was an even longer piece on the Ramos incident with Trump from the Young Turks that pointed at the mainstream media not looking at what Trump did bad, but just at what Ramos did wrong. The host of the Turks made the point that the media did only look as it was kowtowing to Trump, and the reason is simple, the narrative is set to squeeze the supporters of the current leader. Ramos upset the apple cart and so the talking heads only could say “what are you doing?” “do not upset the leader!” “bow down” Next stop? Carson if the polls keep up. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/44 "2015-08-31T17:27:11Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > When has the future inability to deliver on the promise ever stopped a politician from promising? Trump is this elections Hope and Change. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/45 "2015-08-31T17:29:41Z")
I have absolutely no use for Donald Trump, and I pretty much agree with every criticism of the man. But I see why he’s succeeding, and the explanation is pretty simple: NEITHER major political party is addressing issues that matter to wide segments of working class America. Indeed, both parties have treated dissent from certain pieties as off-limits. It should be self-evident that EVERY policy decision has winners AND losers, correct? And even when a decision GENERALLY benefits a nation, there are going to be people who suffer as a result of that decision, correct? NORMALLY, at least one of the major parties would address the concerns of those “losers,” those suffering people. But in recent years, those people’s concerns have not been addressed. They haven’t even been treated as legitimate. For example, even if NAFTA has been a net benefit to most Americans, the fact remains that there are many other Americans who’ve lost good jobs when their employers have moved operations to Mexico. It does no good to tell them that, on balance, things have gotten better. For THEM it’s been an unmitigated disaster. Swingline Staplers used to manufacture their products in my old neighborhood. Now, they make everything in Mexico. Can you NOT understand why the hundreds of people who used to work at Swingline are angry? They used to have high-paying, union jobs with benefits. Now, they’re scrambling to keep lower paying jobs without benefits. Is it so hard to sympathize with them? Donald Trump may be a jerk… strike that, he IS a jerk, but can you really not see why the guys who used to work at Swingline are cheering his message? Those workers were mostly straight-ticket Democrat voters, but the Democrats no longer have any interest in protecting blue-collar Americans. And the GOP elite, as exemplified by Jeb Bush, like them their cheap labor. So, where else are such voters to turn, if not to the jerk? The leadership of both parties is dismissing working class Americans’ concerns as racist paranoia. If mainstream politicians won’t address the issues these people care about, of COURSE they’ll go for the phony, BS-spouting demagogue with the bad hair! ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/46 "2015-08-31T17:53:42Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Those workers were mostly straight-ticket Democrat voters, but the Democrats no longer have any interest in protecting blue-collar Americans. And the GOP elite, as exemplified by Jeb Bush, like them their cheap labor. So, where else are such voters to turn, if not to the jerk? The leadership of both parties is dismissing working class Americans’ concerns as racist paranoia. If mainstream politicians won’t address the issues these people care about, of COURSE they’ll go for the phony, BS-spouting demagogue with the bad hair! It’s not even the question of “addressing the issues”. It’s gone past that. After decades and decades of politicians “addressing the issues” during the campaigns, then not doing anything about the issues after they are elected, people don’t trust one word that comes out of a politician’s mouth - even when/if they are “addressing” something. So they go with the gut. And the “gut” and experience tells them to dismiss professional politicians as inveterate liars and scoundrels. It is not a coincidence that the three leading candidates in Iowa right now - [Trump, Carson and Fiorina](http://www.monmouth.edu/assets/0/32212254770/32212254991/32212254992/32212254994/32212254995/30064771087/85775b52-ec99-4ad3-bbee-14826bdf86e5.pdf), together accounting for 56% of the polled Republicans, have not ever held a political office. I bet if someone with big name recognition, high charisma and no political experience was running on Democrat side, he’d be trouncing Hillary in polls right now. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/47 "2015-08-31T18:30:47Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Did you read the thread title? > > _ **This article is by far best explanation I’ve seen as to why Trump is dominating -** _ OK, so? > [@](#): > > I’m talking about the political advocates working for the media outlets who keep saying that Trump can’t continue much longer, or that Trump’s campaign will fail, or that the latest statement by Trump (whether Trump actually said what the LSM is saying he said, or not) means the end of Trump’s campaign. Could you maybe name two or three of these political advocates in reporters’ bylines (sorry - closest I could do to ‘wolves in sheeps’ clothing’), describe the nature of each one’s past political advocacy generally, and how their coverage of Trump fits into it? Because so far, there’s no way to tell if you’ve got a valid point, or whether you’re just spouting off nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/48 "2015-08-31T18:55:45Z")
> [@astro](#): > > **This article is by far best explanation I’ve seen as to why Trump is dominating -** These top it: [Donald Trump & white America’s anxiety: The political throes of a forgotten country](http://www.salon.com/2015/08/31/donald_trump_white_americas_anxiety_the_political_throes_of_a_forgotten_country/) > [@](#): > > Instead of comparing him to candidates like Cain (who was relatively unknown, had little media experience, and was unable to consistently raise enough money), it makes more sense to understand Trump as something new. Or new, rather, for the modern era. He’s a demagogic ethno-nationalist of the kind that’s succeeded before in American history, especially during times of great upheaval and dislocation. Think of him as our Huey Long, our George Wallace. > > Besides a genius for self-promotion, what Trump has in common with those two men is this: He appeals to a large swathe of Americans who have not only lived through massive social disruption — the Great Depression and the Civil Rights Movement, respectfully — but who have had their fundamental assumptions about Americanness, and therefore themselves, challenged in the process. When his fans speak of “taking” their country back, they are not being tongue-in-cheek. They are deathly serious. > > Although their complaints are often unsympathetic and their solutions are frequently barbarous, they are not exactly wrong. Republicans are, on the whole, older and whiter than Democrats. They’re also more religious, more discriminatory in their sexual mores (or at least their professed ones) and more likely to live in rural areas. For the vast majority of their lives, the American mainstream has been white, Christian and at least suburban, if not rural. > > But it’s been 50 years since President Johnson liberalized U.S. immigration law, and the younger generations (Millennials and Generation X, especially) are different. They’re less white, less religious and less rural. They’re more supportive of big government in the economy and small government in the bedroom, too. The country that Trump’s supporters grew up in really is evaporating. And they’re coming to find that many of their basic assumptions of what it means to be a “real American” are no longer allowed. > > Like Long and Wallace before him, what Trump offers these people is not only a return to a glorious past, but also a reassurance. Specifically, Trump’s vision of a nation purged of immigrants — both documented and otherwise — and cleansed of “political correctness” suggests to these voters that America-as-they-knew-it is not historically contingent. And that the transformation of the country was not an inevitability. He promises them, in effect, that they will not be so easily swept aside. [Donald Trump’s Nixonian populism: Making sense of his grab bag of nativism & welfare statism](http://www.salon.com/2015/08/31/donald_trumps_nixonian_populism_making_sense_of_his_grab_bag_of_nativism_welfare_statism/) > [@](#): > > But as I wrote in a sympathetic appraisal of Greenberg’s work in June: will that message about government serving only the rich truly resonate if it’s not served with a healthy side order of racism? Certainly Trump’s won’t be the campaign that lets us figure it out. Reading Bouie and Drutman appreciatively last week, I still believed his populist economic messaging was nowhere near as important as nativism and white grievance in explaining Trump’s appeal. His performance at this weekend’s National Association of Republican Assemblies – a Tea Party umbrella group – made that even clearer. > > Trump’s performance there was ebulliently Nixonian, complete with his now-standard appeal to the “silent majority” and a new pitch to restore “law and order,” a cornerstone of Nixon’s rise to the presidency. He promised to get rid of “gangs” — “We’re going to get rid of those gang members so fast your head will spin,” he promised with trademark Trump specificity. “One of the first things I’m going to do is get rid of those gang members.” > > Then he blasted the unrest in Baltimore, in the wake of the killing of Freddie Gray. > > “That first night in Baltimore, they allowed that city to be destroyed,” he said. “They set it back 35 years in one night because the police weren’t allowed to protect people. We need law and order!” Trump said “99.9 percent” of police are good. “You’re going to have some bad apples,” he said. “It’s disgusting and it’s horrible, but that’s such a tiny percentage. The problem is the good work doesn’t get shown on television.” > > \ > > Why talk about Baltimore, or even Jorge Ramos, to a Tea Party crowd? Wasn’t the Tea Party supposed to be about lower taxes and government spending? > > It should remind us that just the way journalists strain to see positive appeals or valid voter concerns behind Trump’s unsettling political rise, we did the same with the Tea Party – and resisted the extent to which it was mainly a reaction to the election of the first black president and the fear he’d give away their tax dollars to blacks and illegal aliens (oh, and get the government involved in mucking up their Medicare). > > \ > > So as we strain to tease out some legitimate political grievances in Trump’s appeal, we can’t lose sight of its real power: Letting angry white voters believe they can turn back the clock to a time when they made all the rules. [Donald Trump, Ben Carson, and the un-“PC”: What the rise of “politically incorrect” candidates says about conservatism](http://www.salon.com/2015/08/31/donald_trump_ben_carson_and_the_un_pc_what_the_rise_of_politically_incorrect_candidates_says_about_conservatism/) > [@](#): > > Given the longstanding conservative fixation on the evils of political correctness, one would assume that having not one, but two presidential frontrunners who radiate un-PC-ness would be a cause for celebration. For years now, Fox News programs and talk radio airwaves have been saturated with sneering reports about diversity measures on college campuses and school curricula that promote tolerance and the WAR ON CHRISTMAS. “Political correctness” has been built up by conservative pundits and activists as something approaching an existential threat to the conservative movement and the entire country. Now voters are acting on that concern and uniting behind the two candidates who best embody the anti-PC push. > > But not everyone is happy with the ugly reality of what a non-politically correct GOP frontrunner looks like. CNN contributor S.E. Cupp wrote a column last week trying to explain why Donald Trump’s popularity has endured, even as he’s gleefully insulted women, Mexicans, Asians, and pretty much everyone else. As Cupp sees it, Trump’s popularity is all liberals’ fault because they’ve forced all this political correctness on us, and now fed-up conservatives are seeking refuge in Trumpism: > > > [@](#): > > > > The new era of liberal political correctness — in which colleges designate “free speech zones,” words like “American” and “mother” are considered discriminatory, and children are suspended from school for firing make-believe weapons — has reached critical mass. If not for the loony sensitivities foisted upon us by the left, someone like Trump would be immediately dismissed as unprofessional and unserious, an incoherent blurter. Instead, he’s the equally extreme response to extreme correctness — if everything is offensive in Liberalville, then nothing will be offensive in Trumpland. > > This is a wild misdiagnosis of what’s keeping Trump afloat. Undoubtedly there’s a strong current of cultural resentment flowing through the Trump coalition, but it has less to do with hypersensitive academics than it does the perception that the America that Trump supporters once knew is being lost. As Andrew Rosenthal writes, the “political correctness” argument animating the Trump surge is “rooted in the culture of white outrage, which in turn is based on the idea that efforts to win equal rights for minorities, women, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans and others have somehow resulted in discrimination against white people.” Trump speaks to the poisonous sexism and casual racism of decades past when you could crack a joke about how Asians talk funny or dismiss a woman’s viewpoint as “hormonal” and be reasonably confident that no one would raise an eyebrow in protest. The Washington Monthly’s Ed Kilgore put it succinctly when he described Trump and Carson as “apostle[s] for the Church of the Day Before Yesterday, when America was never wrong and dissenters kept their mouths shut.” There’s yer “tangible American nationalism.” ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/49 "2015-08-31T19:17:38Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > You know, when the wheels fall off of Trump’s campaign and people start saying, “Well at least Sarah Palin had experience…” I’m going to laugh and laugh and laugh at all the reasons that will be given for why Trump was sabotaged rather than self-destructed. I’m trying to decide if the schadenfreude from Trump getting elected would be worth enduring Trump getting elected 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/50 "2015-08-31T19:19:45Z")
So… Republicans like Ben Carson because they’re racist? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/51 "2015-08-31T19:27:07Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > But I see why he’s succeeding, and the explanation is pretty simple: NEITHER major political party is addressing issues that matter to wide segments of working class America. Nonsense. Every politician of both parties has been addressing major issues. But here’s the thing about major issues: they’re big complicated problems that need big complicated solutions. And some people reject that. They want simple answers - and they’ll accept simple answers even if they’re wrong. So Trump comes along with a bunch of simple answers and there are fools that want to believe him. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/52 "2015-08-31T19:28:54Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > So… Republicans like Ben Carson because they’re racist? Get back to me when the Republicans actually elect Carson to office. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/53 "2015-08-31T20:23:58Z")
The good news is…Trump doesn’t have the stamina, energy to maintain his pitch for the long road that follows. Eventually Trump’s trumpet will go flat. And he will become a footnote. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/54 "2015-08-31T21:29:47Z")
The people who support Trump don’t actually support Trump’s positions. He’s ok with abortion, he is ok with tax increases, he’s ok with a single payer healthcare system. He’s from friggin’ New York City, for christsakes! A careful review of Trump will show that he is, at the least, a moderate, and possibly even a liberal! But he’s also a bully who has no qualms about saying rude things to people. And he has enough money to get away with it without ever needing to apologize. This, in my opinion, is why he has support. He appeals to people who (because of lack of education, opportunity, or personal legacy) have no power themselves. Their boss tells them what to do at work, their preachers tell them how to behave at home, news pundits tell them what to think about the world, and far more powerful people lead the social consciousness. In short, they feel powerless. Which makes them afraid. Afraid that foreigners will take away what little career they have. Afraid that the government will take away their guns. Afraid that gays will make them queer. And, while all of this is going on, they hear that other people (minorities) are deserving of “special” treatment (that is, respect and accommodation). Which makes them angry and resentful. So when a guy stands up and talks down to the powers that be, he reaches that inner desire to tell all of the “special” minorities to go fuck themselves. And tell the people in charge to shove it. And tell the politicians that they are idiots. They wish they could be that guy. They want to be powerful and important, and they want people to ask them about the important decisions of the day. Trump satisfies this angst…for now. But if Trump ever has to talk actual policy, and give actual details, they will drop him in droves as they realize that he doesn’t really have their back. He’s a businessman with an international reach who cares about the bottom line. And when that becomes apparent, they’ll realize that he is just another bigwig who is telling them to shut up and listen to orders. And they’ll go back to being pissed off at the world, frustrated with their impotence. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/55 "2015-08-31T21:29:55Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Trump built his career on people underestimating him. Well, that and his father’s hundreds of millions of dollars and New York real estate empire. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/56 "2015-08-31T21:58:43Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Nonsense. People aren’t predicting Trump’s about to stop. The big question people are debating is whether he’ll run as an Independent in order to stay in the spotlight longer. Sez you. The media outlets have been discussing when Trump’s campaign will end. They don’t understand how it could have lasted as long as it has. In reality, the media outlets don’t understand why so many of their viewers are ignoring the media outlets advocacy. Don’t they understand that the media outlets knows all? Choosing to ignore the advocacy of the media outlets can be a fatal attraction. They will not be ignored. 🙂 \*But questions are gathering around the unlikely GOP front-runner, despite his success in confounding pundits and his display of unforeseen political instincts that have forced the media to treat the bombastic reality show star they once viewed as a punch line as a genuine White House contender. **In particular: Just how long can The Donald keep this up?** Can a campaign prospering at the intersection of politics, celebrity and self-publicity with an incendiary social media strategy exploiting public disdain for establishment politicians sustain momentum through the six long months before the first nominating votes are cast?\* > **[Can Donald Trump turn poll numbers into votes? | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2015/08/12/politics/donald-trump-campaign-2016-elections/index.html)** > > He defined the “Art of the Deal.” Now he seems determined to redefine the art of politics. But no one has won the presidency playing the game like Donald Trump. ---
**Author:** ![camille](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/22d042/32.png) [@camille](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/camille)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/57 "2015-08-31T22:48:54Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Well, that and his father’s hundreds of millions of dollars and New York real estate empire. Plus the family’s political connections, mob connections, and the government bailouts that saved him from total ruin. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/58 "2015-08-31T23:03:35Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Nonsense. Every politician of both parties has been addressing major issues. But here’s the thing about major issues: they’re big complicated problems that need big complicated solutions. True. But sometimes complexity is used as a shield by politicians to avoid solving problems. One reason immigration problems cause a lot of anger is because the political class could do more but just doesn’t want to. They actively go out of their way to not enforce the law. In the drug war, the federal government expects state cooperation. With immigration, they want them to stay out of it. We have something like 5 laws passed mandating biometric entry/exit systems. They have yet to be implemented. Almost all Americans recognize that we can’t deport 12 million people and favor some sort of path to legalization. But we can prevent a new 12 million from entering, and we can deport the most undesirable of that 12 million(the felons and recent border crossers). > [@](#): > > And some people reject that. They want simple answers - and they’ll accept simple answers even if they’re wrong. So Trump comes along with a bunch of simple answers and there are fools that want to believe him. Because a simple answer delivered with conviction is better than gobbledygook meant to excuse inaction. The political class only wants one thing: amnesty. Everything else is just rube bait, to be pulled away like Lucy’s football. And it’s not as if liberals don’t rely on simplistic slogans. “We can end poverty! And we can do it just by giving people money!” Then there’s both parties constantly saying they want to “eradicate racism”, which is about as likely as eradicating rudeness and sarcasm. Racism is the perfect example of a complex problem that liberals treat as the simplest imaginable. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/59 "2015-08-31T23:37:05Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > The people who support Trump don’t actually support Trump’s positions. He’s ok with abortion, he is ok with tax increases, he’s ok with a single payer healthcare system. He’s from friggin’ New York City, for christsakes! A careful review of Trump will show that he is, at the least, a moderate, and possibly even a liberal! > > But he’s also a bully who has no qualms about saying rude things to people. And he has enough money to get away with it without ever needing to apologize. > > This, in my opinion, is why he has support. He appeals to people who (because of lack of education, opportunity, or personal legacy) have no power themselves. Their boss tells them what to do at work, their preachers tell them how to behave at home, news pundits tell them what to think about the world, and far more powerful people lead the social consciousness. > > In short, they feel powerless. Which makes them afraid. Afraid that foreigners will take away what little career they have. Afraid that the government will take away their guns. Afraid that gays will make them queer. > > And, while all of this is going on, they hear that other people (minorities) are deserving of “special” treatment (that is, respect and accommodation). Which makes them angry and resentful. > > So when a guy stands up and talks down to the powers that be, he reaches that inner desire to tell all of the “special” minorities to go fuck themselves. And tell the people in charge to shove it. And tell the politicians that they are idiots. > > They wish they could be that guy. They want to be powerful and important, and they want people to ask them about the important decisions of the day. Trump satisfies this angst…for now. > > But if Trump ever has to talk actual policy, and give actual details, they will drop him in droves as they realize that he doesn’t really have their back. He’s a businessman with an international reach who cares about the bottom line. And when that becomes apparent, they’ll realize that he is just another bigwig who is telling them to shut up and listen to orders. And they’ll go back to being pissed off at the world, frustrated with their impotence. I agree with all of this. Trump is like the mean kid in your fifth grade class. He talks back to the teacher, picks on other kids, and is a sore loser on the kickball diamond. But everyone eagerly awaits being invited to his sleepovers and birthday parties. Because he’s rich. And if you’re in his inner circle, that means he’ll stick up for you when you guys move into middle school–where the social hierarchy is sure to get all screwy. As long as you’ve got Mr. Rich Kid on your side, then you’ve got nothing to fear. Plus, he talks back to the teacher. That shit is hilarious! Also, Trump makes presidential politics seem so easy. Fuck the complexities of foreign diplomacy and global climate change. It’s all about IMMIGRATION. Let’s talk about how the brown people are taking all the jobs. We can’t understand the other stuff without listening to NPR…and what the hell would want to do that? But we see them brown people all the time. Let’s get 'em!! If I didn’t actually live in the US, I’d love for Donald Trump to win. Trainwrecks are always fun to watch. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/60 "2015-09-01T00:26:57Z")
LOL - Trump plays the Willie Horton card against Jeb Bush! > **[Donald Trump Unleashes Controversial New Attack Against Jeb Bush](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-jeb-bush-immigration_n_55e4af58e4b0b7a96339e1f6)** > > Trump takes a page from the infamous Willie Horton ad to smear Jeb Bush. > [@](#): > > Donald Trump released a video on Monday attacking fellow GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush for his comments about undocumented immigrant families, attempting to associate the former Florida governor with three undocumented men who have been charged with murder. > > The video implies that Bush supports policies that allow undocumented criminals – Trump seems to think many, if not most, unauthorized immigrants belong in this category – to remain in the United States. Trump’s attack features a clip of Bush from last year talking about people who come to the U.S. to provide for their children, but omits the context – that he was talking specifically about families. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449.md?page=4)