# Was it possible/plausible for a morally upright person to vote for President Trump in 2020?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-possible-plausible-for-a-morally-upright-person-to-vote-for-president-trump-in-2020/926099
**Category:** Great Debates
**Created:** [November 21, 2020, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-possible-plausible-for-a-morally-upright-person-to-vote-for-president-trump-in-2020/926099 "2020-11-21T04:23:22Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2020, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-possible-plausible-for-a-morally-upright-person-to-vote-for-president-trump-in-2020/926099/41 "2020-11-23T13:10:44Z")
I have to say that both of @Max_S’s threads come real close to trying to salami slice their way into normalizing Trump voters as “good people on both sides”.
I _believe_ that was not his intent; he meant it/them as a genuine question of philosophy. But sometimes when you’re in war for survival, considering the philosophical nuances of the enemy’s position amounts to finding ways to excuse the enemy’s motivation. Which then shades into sympathy, Stockholm syndrome, and all the rest. It is vitally important to _understand_ your enemy and what makes them tick. But it’s also vitally important to not lose sight of right and wrong. At least assuming your own side isn’t just cynically fighting for Wrong.
If Xi, Putin, and a successful US authoritarian are simultaneously in charge of their countries, I predict the onset of a totalitarian Dark Age lasting perhaps a thousand years. Funny enough, AGW may be what saves us (some time around 2250) from a longer-lasting Dark Age by destroying the economic underpinnings and leaving us with just a civil / economic Dark Age, not _1984_-style universal police state Dark Age. Cold comfort that.
As to Trump being an Authoritarian, he absolutely is psychologically. But he’s too handicapped by his shortcomings and the system he inherited in 2016 to be an _effective_ authoritarian. And in large part it seems he’s more interested in graft than in Police Power. He’s far more dangerous than a Groucho Marx or Keystone Cops dictator. Not for what he does, but for the ground he preps for the next guy. Imagine someone like **[Joe Arpaio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio)** but age 50 with a background in DEA or FBI or Special Forces.
Whoever that guy turns out to be, if Biden can’t reverse a lot of the hidden sabotage in the executive branch, in 2024 he’ll inherit some very, very well-greased skids. And 10x more so if somehow come Feb 2021 Trump is still in the WH.
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### Author:  [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2020, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-possible-plausible-for-a-morally-upright-person-to-vote-for-president-trump-in-2020/926099/42 "2020-11-24T02:14:44Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#):
>
> As to Trump being an Authoritarian, he absolutely is psychologically. But he’s too handicapped by his shortcomings and the system he inherited in 2016 to be an _effective_ authoritarian. And in large part it seems he’s more interested in graft than in Police Power. He’s far more dangerous than a Groucho Marx or Keystone Cops dictator.
Yeah, I think it’s clear he wants to be supreme leader. In addition to the other things mentioned, he also wants everyone he puts in positions of power around him (or just everyone) to be personally loyal to him.
I think he didn’t succeed in part because of incompetence and poor planning, and because he has a short attention span and inability to make a long range plan, work toward it, and follow through. He had authoritarian goals, but was easily distracted and manipulated in different directions.
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### Author:  [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)
#### Post date: [November 29, 2020, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-possible-plausible-for-a-morally-upright-person-to-vote-for-president-trump-in-2020/926099/43 "2020-11-29T00:28:27Z")
but thee Bible also says that “authorities are established by God” (romans 13:1), so that may be part of their moral code; also, many people voted for Trump because they feared/distrusted/disapproved of Dems
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