This is something I’ve been wondering for a while.
The left thinks that Trump is stupid. Does that necessarily mean that the right thinks that he’s intelligent?
The left thinks Trump is selfish. Does that necessarily mean the right think he’s compassionate or otherwise working to better the country?
The left thinks Trump is boorish and rouses contempt in others. Does that necessarily mean that the right thinks he’s charming and respected?
For some qualities I could name, such as racism and sexism, I think the answer is obvious. But what is your sense of the rest of the Trump stereotype? I’m curious as to just how far and deep the information and impression gap is.
To find out the answer to the OP question, google:
Obama dictator
Trump supporters, some of them, might wish their guy would act a little more presidential, but genuinely think the other team is worse,
To me, the attorney general calling Murdoch to muzzle Trump critic Andrew Napolitano is how the first term looks when you elect a president with the instincts of a dictator. Calling the mainstream news sources of your country, over and over, “the enemy of the people” marks you as a pure authoritarian.
Personally, I think Biden is tolerant, and Trump personifies intolerance. Ten more years of Trumpism and I doubt I will still be able to post like this. But I can’t prove that with numbers, and they can’t believe that of their teammate.
I guess I ignored the “personal qualities” thing in my last post.
Personally, I don’t vote for whomever is the best husband. Would it be wrong to project this onto Trump voters?
Of course, DJT has other bad qualities, like being a businessman who cheats suppliers.
Would I vote for Trump if he treated suppliers well, and it turned out that Biden cheated people who work on his house — but the two men are otherwise much as we know them today? I would vote for Biden with less enthusiasm, but I would still vote for him, and try to come up with justifications. Should Trumpists be different there?
Many Trumpists think he displays the necessary qualities of a leader: aggressive, happy to wield authority, only interested in what benefits “us” and utterly unconcerned about what “them” think of that. It’s a zero sum world and in that world, selfish takes and thoughtful gives. They like taking.
Of course the main error they’re making is confusing “Trump does things to benefit himself” with “Trump does things to benefit the USA”. The former is what really is happening, the latter is what they’re told / hear / believe is happening.
The right seems to have bought into the whole “greed is good” mantra; and that if we make it easier for millionaires to become billionaires everything will work out for the rest of us. They think that Trump is selfish, and that it’s a good thing.
This is my experience too. They have a narrative they have built for themselves that is unassailable by reality.
The observation that Trump is a poor man’s idea of a rich man, a weak man’s idea of a strong man, and a stupid man’s idea of a smart man isn’t entirely off the mark either, albeit a little on the glib side.
I used to think that Trump voters thought poorly of Trump as a person, but were willing to use him as a tool to get them the political outcomes they wanted (judges, etc.)
But then one day I read a post by a Trump voter, bemoaning (paraphrased): “After Trump is gone, where will we ever find someone as great a man that he was?”
So…uh, I guess they do like his personal qualities after all…
Republicans don’t care if their guy is a “good guy” anymore. They trotted out McCain and Romney, both, in their eyes, “good guys”, and lost.
They want their ideas forwarded. They want results. That’s all they care about. If it takes an adulterous jerk to pull that off, then that’s what it takes.
McCain was basically a good person. But Romney really wasn’t, only compared to Trump. W. was a fairly good person by political standards but the puppet for some really evil people led by Dick Cheney.
Romney’s the one that led Bain Capital to doing leveraged buyouts, as often as not breaking up nice companies to try and maximize resale.
As most of the fiscal big money interests in the Republican Party see nothing wrong with these vultures, I guess those people see him as a good guy.
Repeating myself from another thread, if Trump and his cronies grift the odd billion or ten and ignore the Hatch Act and emoluments clause during his term in office, his supporters will still see that as far less costly than surrendering to progressive policies.
I love mocking Don’s glaring personal shortcomings but they don’t budge the needle when you’re terrified of “socialism.”
This thread cracks my ass up. A bunch of Dopers discussing what Trump supporters think! It’s like that old Saturday Night Live skit about a bunch of middle-aged fat guys on a talk show called “Women’s Problems.”
Well, I’d been waiting and hoping for supporters to show up. I’d considered pointing them to this thread when I’ve found them (and I have), but that seemed a little overdone. So welcome. Feel free to put in your own two cents.
I notice that you don’t so much as suggest that anybody is wrong. I notice that you don’t disagree with anybody. I notice that you have nothing good to say about the man.
Myself, I think that Trump supporters recognize that Trump is an immoral piece of shit and love it, because he talks and acts like they would talk and act like if they thought they could get away with it. However they don’t recognize that he’s a moronic impotent incompetent. They think that all evidence of that is either fabricated or, if they see him demonstrating it by his own words and actions, it’s fifth-dimensional chess.