# What would make Trumps base supporters turn on him? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 28, 2018, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-make-trumps-base-supporters-turn-on-him/814963 "2018-05-28T13:19:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2018, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-make-trumps-base-supporters-turn-on-him/814963/141 "2018-06-26T21:41:28Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > There is a vast difference between _choosing_ to belong to a group and naturally _being_ in a group (by birth, way raised, etc.). A _vast_ difference. > > If you _choose_ to be someone who is thrilled that the most infamous crooked, numbskull businessman in America is President, you deserve the blowback you get. > > Your argument is notoriously specious. Exactly. > [@ftg](#): > > Your argument is notoriously specious. Exactly. ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-make-trumps-base-supporters-turn-on-him/814963/142 "2018-06-27T01:53:26Z")
> [@rbroome](#): > > I am glad CelticKnot posted this here. This has been going on for a long time-many years certainly-really decades. > > This projection of stereotypes has succeeded in dividing the nation more completely than it has in a long time. And Trump is adept at strengthening that projection precisely because he believes it helps him. And given that it enabled him to win the Presidency as his first public office, it looks like it does. Which isn’t the critical issue. > > BTW, do you know who the second most popular President at the 500 day mark is within his own party? Trump. Beaten only by Bush Jr because 500 days was soon after 911. Within his party, no democratic or republican President (again save Bush) has been as popular as Trump. And his popularity as a whole has remained steady throughout his term and he will soon join all the previous Presidents in popularity (the usual trend is for popularity to fall over time, it hasn’t for Trump). > > The critical issue is projecting stereotypes divides the country and entrenches the existing power structures. As long as the public on both sides allows themselves to be played, the existing political structures and their policies will continue. While that may be good for the factions, it is harming the country and the world. The problem I am concerned about is the projection. As long as democrats continue to treat fellow Americans with distain the divide will strengthen. As long as republicans continue to criticize democrats personally, the divide will strengthen. Both sides can and should argue about the policies, but when the discussion moves to personal attacks, or comments that are perceived to be personal attacks, the power structures win and the public loses. Part of the problem is that many believe that simply disagreeing with them is a personal attack, and so it must be forbidden. And if you are wondering who I mean, who riots when a speaker they don’t agree with schedules a speech? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-make-trumps-base-supporters-turn-on-him/814963/143 "2018-06-27T01:57:15Z")
Don’t leave us hanging! Who?!? ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-make-trumps-base-supporters-turn-on-him/814963/144 "2018-06-27T05:10:38Z")
Just some random musing on my part: It’s the trade war that will be the undoing of Trump, and it will be because he just didn’t understand his vulnerable spots. First, he correctly understands that the economy is strong, but fails to realize that it has little to do with him. Rather, it is the result of many years of Quantitative Easing. And while QE worked, it isn’t free. There is going to be a price to pay for it in the form of rising interest rates. Unfortunately for Trump, the time for that is starting now. And while that alone may not result in a recession, the lower and middle class tax cuts are going to be eaten up by the rising interest rates. But if things go well for Trump, this effect might be slight enough to not be noticed by his base. He’d probably get away with calling the tax cuts a success, even if it didn’t actually net his base anything. But the trade war, something of his own creation, will certainly expose that lie. On top of the interest rates due to QE, prices will rise due to tariffs, and it will be much more than the low levels of tax relief he gave the lower and middle class. There is going to be some pain, and soon. Rising interest rates plus price increases due to tariffs will lead to recession. Everyone knew that a correction/recession was coming, but didn’t know when. The trade war removes that uncertainty, which is actually nice if you are positioned for it. Trump’s base, of course, isn’t. But the biggest error is that while Trump thinks that the USA will be able to win a trade war eventually (which is probably true), he is on a clock that the other countries are not on. Trump has to win the trade war before November mid-term elections, and that just isn’t going to happen. It’s not going to happen because the countries he is fighting don’t have this clock and they know it. While it’s likely not their preferred option, China could let the trade war go on for five years (hey, Xi Jinping doesn’t have to worry about re-election). And Trump doesn’t have the ability to unilaterally call off the trade war he started. He may capitulate, only to find that China may want to keep tariffs that hurt the USA in place. Why would they want to do that? Well, if China thought that Russia actually did have some leverage over Trump, they might want negate that power imbalance by reducing Trump’s power. It would be a blow to the USA and Russia, and good for China. Probably a simplistic take on things, but I doubt that Trump put as much thought into it. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2018, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-make-trumps-base-supporters-turn-on-him/814963/145 "2018-07-05T12:51:39Z")
This doesn’t exactly belong here, but I didn’t want to start yet another thread. I’m liking the sound of this. My bolding. **[Conservative columnist: I want Democrats to take over Congress](http://thehill.com/homenews/news/395559-conservative-columnist-i-want-democrats-to-take-over-congress)** > [@](#): > > Conservative columnist Max Boot said he wants Democrats to retake control both houses of Congress during November’s midterm elections. > > Boot, a frequent critic of President Trump, wrote in The Washington Post on Wednesday that he was joining other prominent conservatives who have pledged to vote against the party. > > The GOP is now a “white-nationalist party with a conservative fringe,” Boot wrote. > > “If you’re part of that fringe, what should you do?” he asked. > > Boot said he is rooting for a Democratic takeover in both the House and Senate. > > **“Like postwar Germany and Japan, the Republican Party must be destroyed before it can be rebuilt,” Boot wrote.** > > He is convinced he made the right decision, noting how Trump’s zero tolerance immigration policy had previously separated more than 2,000 migrant children from their parents after illegally crossing the border. > > “While two-thirds of Americans disapproved of this state-sanctioned child abuse, forcing the president to back down, a majority of Republicans approved,” Boot wrote. > > “The entire Republican platform can now be reduced to three words: whatever Trump says,” he added. > … ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-make-trumps-base-supporters-turn-on-him/814963/146 "2018-07-08T00:27:35Z")
[Trump supporters won’t blame Trump if they their jobs.](https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/melinda-henneberger/article214349564.html) A nail manufacturing company in Poplar Bluff MO may have to close its doors due to the hardship imposed by Trump’s tariffs on imported steel. Locals say “He’s still our man!” So yeah, fucking up the economy so bad that you lose your job? That’s obviously not going to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-make-trumps-base-supporters-turn-on-him/814963/147 "2018-07-08T00:33:01Z")
The folks at Jonestown drank poison for their guy. I don’t see this as much different. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-make-trumps-base-supporters-turn-on-him/814963/148 "2018-07-08T02:01:03Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > The folks at Jonestown drank poison for their guy. I don’t see this as much different. Well said. I haven’t even bothered to engage my niece on FB whenever she posts some pro-tRump bullshit. Should I? I think I’d be wasting my time. She will go on and on about babies and kids and how terrible abortion is, but is not even slightly concerned about kids and babies in detention centers. She also shared a blurb from T. Roosevelt in which he said there was only room for immigrants if they became fully American and spoke only English. Yet she was raised bilingual since her mom’s from El Salvador, and her grandma still speaks mostly Spanish. “Disconnect” is only one of many words I can think of for this phenomenon. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-make-trumps-base-supporters-turn-on-him/814963/149 "2018-07-08T18:27:22Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > The folks at Jonestown drank poison for their guy. I don’t see this as much different. I read this initially as “Johnstown” and started shaking my damn head. Stupid Pennsylvanians! Sorry, all. ---
**Author:** ![survinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@survinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/survinga)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2018, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-make-trumps-base-supporters-turn-on-him/814963/150 "2018-07-09T04:21:30Z")
If he went “soft” on immigration, in the view of his base, I think he’d lose some of them. And we know he’s not going to go “soft” on immigration. Other than that, I don’t think he can do anything to hurt his standing with them. He’s a misogynist, likely a racist, plays to xenophobia, definitely a demagogue who likes to demonize minority groups, con artist, scam artist, serial liar…all of that is what his base wants. The more of that stuff he does, the more they like it, because they want to piss off liberals and the evil media. So, I think his base is essentially hunkered down, and in for the long haul with Trump. To get him out of office, the Dems need to turn out their base, and convince some independents who voted for Trump to join their side and get the demagogue out of office. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2018, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-make-trumps-base-supporters-turn-on-him/814963/151 "2018-07-09T06:15:06Z")
> [@gtyj](#): > > If he went “soft” on immigration, in the view of his base, I think he’d lose some of them. And we know he’s not going to go “soft” on immigration. > > Other than that, I don’t think he can do anything to hurt his standing with them. … If he were to pick a liberal for the SCOTUS, his base would abandon him in droves. ---
**Author:** ![survinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@survinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/survinga)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2018, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-make-trumps-base-supporters-turn-on-him/814963/152 "2018-07-09T12:48:16Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > If he were to pick a liberal for the SCOTUS, his base would abandon him in droves. True. I missed that one, and there would be an issue if he picked a liberal. I don’t think there’s any danger of that happening. He had a ready-made list for SCOTUS replacements before he even came to office, I think made by the Federalist Society, and he will pick from that list. None of the possibilities are remotely liberal. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-make-trumps-base-supporters-turn-on-him/814963/153 "2018-07-23T20:32:14Z")
They don’t have a watercooler here; it’s a kool-aid dispenser. \*\*Tariffs Trim a Factory’s Profit, but Loyalty to Trump Endures \*\* > **[Tariffs Trim a Factory’s Profit, but Loyalty to Trump Endures (Published 2018)](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/23/business/economy/trade-factory-trump.html)** > > An Ohio plant owner and his blue-collar workers alike voice support for President Trump’s tactics in the trade fight, even if it means sacrifice. > [@](#): > > COLUMBUS, Ohio — You might think that managers and workers at Banner Metals would be up in arms over the Trump administration’s trade policies. After all, tariffs on imported steel and aluminum have pushed raw-material prices up and margins down, forcing the company to delay plans to purchase a new $1 million cutting machine and hire two new employees to operate it. > > But the reaction at the plant is based on more than self-interest. “I’m not looking at what’s best for Banner right now,” said Bronson Jones, a part-owner of the company and its chief executive. “I’m looking at what’s best for the national economy. The U.S. has been taken advantage of for too long.” > > That proposition, tracing a volatile political fault line, is frequently encountered on the factory floor here, a few miles from this prosperous city’s gleaming downtown. > > Casey Jackson, a maintenance technician, said he would support the tariffs even if they cost him personally. “If it comes out of my paycheck, so be it,” he said. “You got to look at the big picture. That tiny bit of sacrifice we make will create jobs.” > > … > > Nevertheless, while Mr. Jones isn’t always comfortable with what the president may say or put on Twitter, he likes the overall strategy. > > “He’s going for the jugular, which is typical Trump style,” he said. “I’m not used to it, and it’s not a presidential style we are accustomed to. But he’s the only president who’s taken a significant stance on trade, and we need a brash approach.” > > … > > Mr. Sayre concurred — with one caveat. “I never cared much for the way Trump does it, but he’s doing O.K. as far as I’m concerned,” he said. What exactly doesn’t he like? “The way he bullies everybody and bends the truth,” Mr. Sayre said. > > Back on the factory floor, Mr. Jackson said he was comfortable with the president’s game plan. “It’s aggressive, it’s tough, and he won’t back down,” Mr. Jackson said. “Using trade as a bargaining chip will help someone else put food on the table.” > > James Ford, another hourly employee, who is a production supervisor, jumped into the conversation. “I like that Trump doesn’t sugarcoat anything,” he said. “People get offended very easily by somebody being direct.” > … _\_ ---
**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:** [July 23, 2018, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-make-trumps-base-supporters-turn-on-him/814963/154 "2018-07-23T21:08:12Z")
Trump’s base will never turn on him as long as the alternative is perceived as being worse. If there were someone better than Trump waiting in the wings (Pence is not Trump-like to some extent) then they would agitate for Trump to be gone, but as long as the alternative is a liberal and/or Democrat, then Trump’s better to them. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-make-trumps-base-supporters-turn-on-him/814963/155 "2018-07-23T21:38:10Z")
Again, I would like to note that since “Trump’s base” is largely defined as “those who support Trump”, the answer is “never”. If the definition is “racists, assholes, and conservatives of varying stripes”, then when a _competent_ “Trump” comes along, a large number of those will likely ditch the old DJT for the new DJT. Articles like the above posted by ThelmaLou don’t bother me. People don’t care about hypotheticals, they care about reality. The “hypothetical” of a new cutter and 2 employees is irrelevant as long as they keep _their_ jobs. When they lose their jobs and find out that their gov’t benefits have been cut or eliminated, then they will likely turn on him. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-make-trumps-base-supporters-turn-on-him/814963/156 "2019-05-22T01:22:40Z")
Something I read today made me want to ask this question, so I hunted down this old thread to ask it: Would thump’s evangelical supporters turn on him/dump him if positive proof came to light that he had paid for several abortions for his various lady friends? By “positive proof” I don’t mean articles in WaPo or the New York Times (i.e. fake news), but video testimony from doctors, nurses, the women themselves, invoices, canceled checks, credit card receipts, etc. Yes, people would question the validity of the evidence, but for the sake of argument, let’s say that the evidence is watertight and the evangelicals actually DO believe it. My question is, would that certain knowledge of his paying for abortions, cause them to turn against him, or would they make excuses, consider him excused from their beliefs, say stuff (again) like “God uses evil men to accomplish His own ends,” etc.? Would this be a case of “shooting someone on 5th Ave” and it would be okay with them? ---
**Author:** ![Skypist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skypist/32/169_2.png) [@Skypist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skypist)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-make-trumps-base-supporters-turn-on-him/814963/157 "2019-05-22T02:47:58Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Something I read today made me want to ask this question, so I hunted down this old thread to ask it: > > Would thump’s evangelical supporters turn on him/dump him if positive proof came to light that he had paid for several abortions for his various lady friends? > > By “positive proof” I don’t mean articles in WaPo or the New York Times (i.e. fake news), but video testimony from doctors, nurses, the women themselves, invoices, canceled checks, credit card receipts, etc. Yes, people would question the validity of the evidence, but for the sake of argument, let’s say that the evidence is watertight and the evangelicals actually DO believe it. > > My question is, would that certain knowledge of his paying for abortions, cause them to turn against him, or would they make excuses, consider him excused from their beliefs, say stuff (again) like “God uses evil men to accomplish His own ends,” etc.? > > Would this be a case of “shooting someone on 5th Ave” and it would be okay with them? I don’t think it would change their minds. They’d still say it was faked even if it didn’t come from WaPo or NYT. They’d say it was forged documents and actors from the deep state. Even if they believed it, they’d say he’s changed now (he’s obviously so mild mannered and family oriented these days /sarcasm). There doesn’t seem to be anything that would change their minds. If they lost their jobs en masse and/or the economy otherwise tanked in some way that was unavoidable to them and was obviously based on a policy tRump enacted, then yeah I think he’d be abandoned. But he’ll do everything he possibly can to keep that from happening and somehow it always works. The stock market starts to go down a little so he relaxes some economic sanctions against China and stocks shoot back up. Ford (I think it was) starts to lay off some workers but tRump calls them to complain and they seriously do what he tells them. Etc. I wonder what a major business would have done if a past president had called them to complain about layoffs? ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-make-trumps-base-supporters-turn-on-him/814963/158 "2019-05-22T02:50:44Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Something I read today made me want to ask this question, so I hunted down this old thread to ask it: > > Would thump’s evangelical supporters turn on him/dump him if positive proof came to light that he had paid for several abortions for his various lady friends? > > By “positive proof” I don’t mean articles in WaPo or the New York Times (i.e. fake news), but video testimony from doctors, nurses, the women themselves, invoices, canceled checks, credit card receipts, etc. Yes, people would question the validity of the evidence, but for the sake of argument, let’s say that the evidence is watertight and the evangelicals actually DO believe it. > > My question is, would that certain knowledge of his paying for abortions, cause them to turn against him, or would they make excuses, consider him excused from their beliefs, say stuff (again) like “God uses evil men to accomplish His own ends,” etc.? > > Would this be a case of “shooting someone on 5th Ave” and it would be okay with them? Of course not. As long as he is “sticking it to the Libs!” ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-make-trumps-base-supporters-turn-on-him/814963/159 "2019-05-22T02:56:40Z")
Hur hur. Librul heads explode. Hur hur hur. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-make-trumps-base-supporters-turn-on-him/814963/160 "2019-05-22T02:57:51Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Hur hur. Librul heads explode. Hur hur hur. It saddens me that 60 million people think this. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-make-trumps-base-supporters-turn-on-him/814963.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-make-trumps-base-supporters-turn-on-him/814963.md?page=9)