# Why do Republicans think a convicted felon, and a rapist should be President? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [July 11, 2024, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-republicans-think-a-convicted-felon-and-a-rapist-should-be-president/1004035 "2024-07-11T05:25:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2024, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-republicans-think-a-convicted-felon-and-a-rapist-should-be-president/1004035/41 "2024-07-11T20:52:08Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > I’ve also heard that its hubris to think that man could have any affect on the weather, since that is god’s domain. The unusual weather that the US has been having in the last few years is far more likely to be due to its tolerance of gays …so, that’s due to man, then? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2024, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-republicans-think-a-convicted-felon-and-a-rapist-should-be-president/1004035/42 "2024-07-12T01:31:06Z")
If we’d stop making baby jeebus cry so much everything would go much more nicely on Earth. At least for white male cishet raging fundamentalist wackjob xians it would. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2024, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-republicans-think-a-convicted-felon-and-a-rapist-should-be-president/1004035/43 "2024-07-12T10:17:47Z")
In a weird way, I kinda envy their fanatical adoration of the Great Pumpkin. It must be kinda nice to have that kind of rock-solid belief in your leaders and their plans for the future and ability to get it done. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2024, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-republicans-think-a-convicted-felon-and-a-rapist-should-be-president/1004035/44 "2024-07-12T18:32:38Z")
In what follows I assume the final ballots are really Biden and trump, and those are indeed the two living adequately mentally functioning actual candidates on voting day. Obviously to a very unusual degree that’s less guaranteed this year than in many, many election years by this time of the calendar. I’m setting all that uncertainty aside for discussion purposes. As said by many above … There are certainly the MAGAt who genuinely want what trump seemed / seems to deliver: entertainment and lib pwning and the fantasy of the USA flexing its mighty muscles for the cowed crowd of nations while ignoring their every pitiful pipsqueak entreaty. They love watching an Alpha strut his stuff. At their favorite watering hole, the local bully is the hero, the local cops are the villains. Even better when the local bully says you’re under his wing, rather than in his sights. But there’s a whole different psychology at work among the non-MAGA Rs. And that’s the crowd of voters I want to address now. The non-MAGA Rs. Back in the days when Bush II was in office and was widely considered the most outré possible President, I heard this refrain around here a lot. In fact I joined the chorus a few times myself. > I’d rather vote for a chimp with (D) behind his name than any possible R. There is no possible D who could be worse than the best possible R. Back then after some thought I cautioned the crowd (to little avail) to be careful what you loudly proclaim, because the D’s could some day come up with somebody so horrendously bad you’d be eating those words. I submit that a LOT of the so-called traditional Rs have painted themselves into that same spot. Be they the big business crowd, the high earner class, or just traditional traditionalists on social, foreign policy, debt vs gov’t size, law and order, or whatever their policy bugbear is. Without being raging racists, xenophobes, or xian Crusaders. Voting D was so unthinkable for so long that now when faced with truly the worst imaginable R, confronting having to think the unthinkable and vote for a relatively vanilla, if somewhat feeble, D is just too painful to contemplate. So they choose not to decide, just to go with their default and vote for Whoever (R) without really understanding that in 2024 Whoever is really djt and all that portends. Yes, _practically_ they know his name is the one on the ballot. Yes, _practically_ they know all the baleful shit he stands for with which they don’t greatly agree, and _practically_ they know how incoherent everything he’s ever promised or done actually is. But by electing not to engage with the decision on an _intellectual_ or _emotional_ level they console themselves with the implicit, almost subconscious thought that “I’m just voting for continuity with all the Rs who came before.” It’s just R-ness that I want, not trumpness. So I’m voting for [\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_] (R) where trump’s name happens to be printed in that space. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2024, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-republicans-think-a-convicted-felon-and-a-rapist-should-be-president/1004035/45 "2024-07-13T01:40:39Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > But by electing not to engage with the decision on an _intellectual_ or _emotional_ level they console themselves with the implicit, almost subconscious thought that “I’m just voting for continuity with all the Rs who came before.” It’s just R-ness that I want, not trumpness. So I’m voting for [\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_] (R) where trump’s name happens to be printed in that space. You’re not wrong. I heard Evangelical Christian argue that Trump was their Cyrus. For those who don’t know, Cyrus the Great of Persia has a special place in Jewish theology as an agent of God despite not being Jewish himself. When Cyrus conquered Babylon he freed the Jews, allowed them to return to Jurusalem if they wanted, and gave them money to rebuild their temples. This is one of the reasons we’ve seen so many Evangelicals argue that Trump was chosen by God. But then the Jews didn’t pick Cyrus. Evangelicals looked at Trump and said, “Yeah, that’s a man who represents my values.” ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2024, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-republicans-think-a-convicted-felon-and-a-rapist-should-be-president/1004035/46 "2024-07-13T01:42:16Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Evangelicals looked at Trump and said, “Yeah, that’s a man who represents my values.” And for far too many of them, he does. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2024, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-republicans-think-a-convicted-felon-and-a-rapist-should-be-president/1004035/47 "2024-07-13T02:07:33Z")
they believe that all charges against trump (past, present, and future) are politically motivated/contrived or both. ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2024, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-republicans-think-a-convicted-felon-and-a-rapist-should-be-president/1004035/48 "2024-07-13T09:02:35Z")
Mea culpa. Thanks for pointing that out. And thanks to mods for clarifying the title. Usually there’s a note when they change the title. I must have overlooked this change. ---
**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:** [July 13, 2024, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-republicans-think-a-convicted-felon-and-a-rapist-should-be-president/1004035/49 "2024-07-13T15:57:33Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > they believe that all charges against trump (past, present, and future) are politically motivated/contrived or both. To be fair, all of the charges made by Trump have been politically motivated/contrived or both. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2024, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-republicans-think-a-convicted-felon-and-a-rapist-should-be-president/1004035/50 "2024-07-13T16:16:11Z")
Most of them are simply pro-rape in my opinion; they think that women _should_ be raped whenever possible to “put them in their place”. So Trump and other Republicans being rapists is a positive to them, a source of pride and admiration; not a reason to oppose them. ---
**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 13, 2024, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-republicans-think-a-convicted-felon-and-a-rapist-should-be-president/1004035/51 "2024-07-13T16:28:06Z")
IMHO, almost no Republicans think of being a felon or a rapist as a **pro** , as if it’s somehow a good thing. If they could go into the settings and eliminate the felon or rapist label from Trump, of course they would. Rather, it’s that by this point, for Republicans to back down and ditch Trump would be perceived as a “win” for the libs. Republicans are extremely obsessed with the concept of owning one’s opponents and not getting owned oneself. So if they were to ditch Trump because the libs called for him to be replaced, that would be surrender to the libs, in their mindset. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2024, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-republicans-think-a-convicted-felon-and-a-rapist-should-be-president/1004035/52 "2024-07-13T16:44:31Z")
Because he has a good chance of winning. And then will almost certainly enact “favourable” policies such as tax reform, social conservatism, immigration, Supreme Court modification, Project 2025 and having businessman write policy. All the stuff in the thread title are details. Like keeping a republic. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2024, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-republicans-think-a-convicted-felon-and-a-rapist-should-be-president/1004035/53 "2024-07-13T19:41:09Z")
And this isn’t at all concerning. Gift link: “Unbowed by Jan. 6 Charges, Republicans Pursue Plans to Contest a Trump Defeat” _Mr. Trump’s allies are preparing to try to short-circuit the election system, if he does not win._ [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/13/us/politics/republican-election-campaign-2024.html?unlocked\_article\_code=1.600.QgKP.V1Z2E3pVA0SG&smid=url-share](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/13/us/politics/republican-election-campaign-2024.html?unlocked_article_code=1.600.QgKP.V1Z2E3pVA0SG&smid=url-share) ---
**Author:** ![Manlob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Manlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manlob)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2024, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-republicans-think-a-convicted-felon-and-a-rapist-should-be-president/1004035/54 "2024-07-13T19:42:08Z")
I am under the impression that most Trump voters do not consider him to be a legitimately convicted felon, due to these voters being influenced by all the media accounts describing the proceedings of those cases. Instead of trusting the jury votes, they are going by their own opinions that may have been influenced by TV lawyers and additional information the jury was not permitted to see. Even an NPR commentator said that Trump is not a convicted felon. That commentator claimed somebody is not convicted until the judge sentences the guilty party, although casual usage and standard English dictionaries say otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![survinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@survinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/survinga)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2024, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-republicans-think-a-convicted-felon-and-a-rapist-should-be-president/1004035/55 "2024-07-13T21:06:13Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The key here is faith. You find an authority figure and choose to follow them. You trust the authority figure to make choices for you and give you directions. You believe what the authority figure tells you and that the authority figure has your best interests at heart. You identify with the authority figure and feel that attacks on that authority figure as attacks on you personally. You’re describing the MAGA cult. A cult can’t be busted up without massive de-programming. So, of course they’re not bothered that their leader is a racist, felon, grifter, whatever…He’s their leader. And they’re staying with him to the end. ---
**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:** [July 14, 2024, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-republicans-think-a-convicted-felon-and-a-rapist-should-be-president/1004035/56 "2024-07-14T00:53:30Z")
deleted ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2024, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-republicans-think-a-convicted-felon-and-a-rapist-should-be-president/1004035/57 "2024-07-14T02:04:26Z")
Also, as the line goes: > Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect. Trump as part of the “in” group has the right to rape, torture, kill, steal and do anything else he feels like, while the government’s prime function is to crush anyone who dares to resist or complain. That _is_ the core value of the Right and has been for as long as the concept of “the Right” has existed. All that changes is what group gets to be in the privileged circle. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-republicans-think-a-convicted-felon-and-a-rapist-should-be-president/1004035.md?page=2)