# Would A Conservative and/or Trump Supporter Rationally Explain This? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 30, 2020, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-conservative-and-or-trump-supporter-rationally-explain-this/850702 "2020-03-30T21:26:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-conservative-and-or-trump-supporter-rationally-explain-this/850702/181 "2020-04-03T15:12:41Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Let’s see- > 1- I think it’s fair to say that Republicans are indeed the enemy of Hispanics. You’ve got a guy in the White House who on the day he announced his run talked about rapists and drug dealers and criminals coming over for Mexico, then campaigned on building a wall to keep brown people out. > > 2- Obama was obviously not talking about physical violence, it was in fighting rhetoric and lies from the other side with truth. > > 3- People do cling to their guns and religion. For some their guns are their religion. He put the truth in terms that are too harsh for some snowflakes. > > You win a degree from T\*\*\*p University. You can dispute the truth of those statements, but what is obvious is that they are divisive which was my point. I will put it next to my logic degree from the University of Science. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-conservative-and-or-trump-supporter-rationally-explain-this/850702/182 "2020-04-03T15:37:06Z")
> [@RMMM](#): > > I strongly disagree. I’m shocked. > [@RMMM](#): > > The value system of “liberals” tends to exaggerate the importance of equality, which is at best an amoral value, but is arguably incompatible with morality. They also actively promote values which seem clearly immoral, such as government dependence, diversity and identity politics (a form of racism), and promote conflict generally along all demographic divisions. I’m sorry if equal rights for minorities and women is such an oppressive idea to you. > [@RMMM](#): > > At the same time, they underrate values which are clearly morally necessary such as honesty, integrity, industriousness, even handedness, meritocracy, etc. Religious belief, reverence for enlightenment “classical liberalism,” human dignity, and liberty, are all very strongly identified with political conservatism, as is a strong duty to charity (which has been shown in studies to be higher among conservatives), and service to country and community. Kindly point out which of these values are embraced and demonstrated by the current standard bearers of the Republican party: Donald J. Trump and the GOP leadership. > [@RMMM](#): > > Most conservatives are very disturbed by the lack of a “moral compass” on the part of the left. For instance, all of the most murderous and genocidal political regimes/tyrants of the past century have been some form of socialism (Nazism, Stalinism, Maoism, Marxism-Leninism, etc.), accounting for hundreds of millions of deaths and unfathomable ecoonomic destruction and misery. The political left seems extraordinarily callous about the magnitude of the crimes or their responsibility in them. Hey, your forgot to remind everyone about how Democrats used to be pro-slavery! Nobody, except you and your pals, think Stalin, Mao and Lenin were anything but authoritarian despots. It’s a trite and predictable argument that you’re presenting in trying to twist facts. Not surprising. Not the least bit original. Try harder next time. > [@RMMM](#): > > It is my personal view, that precisely because of moral insensitivity, the political left has been in retreat domestically, as well as globally, for decades, and has no credible future. > > Again, this statement is very strongly at odds with most people’s views, myself included. Your opinions are wrong. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-conservative-and-or-trump-supporter-rationally-explain-this/850702/183 "2020-04-03T15:41:25Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > But if Trump does not tell them that its okay to be racist, how will racists know that it is okay to go out and commit hate crimes? It is not like racism or hate crimes existed before Trump became president. No, what are _you_ talking about?.. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-conservative-and-or-trump-supporter-rationally-explain-this/850702/184 "2020-04-03T16:49:23Z")
> [@RMMM](#): > > And that Trump has the most pro-Israel foreign policy of any recent president? I wouldn’t say Trump has a pro-Israel policy. He has pro-Bibi Netanyahu policy. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-conservative-and-or-trump-supporter-rationally-explain-this/850702/185 "2020-04-03T18:01:37Z")
Alessan: > [@](#): > > I wouldn’t say Trump has a pro-Israel policy. He has pro-Bibi Netanyahu policy. Do you think Benny Gantz or Avigdor Lieberman are opposed to any of the things Trump has done vis a vis Israel? They hate Netanyahu, but their politics (those that relate to what Trump does - not necessarily internal stuff, like drafting Haredim) aren’t substantially different from his. ---
**Author:** ![Wrenching\_Spanners](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecb155/32.png) [@Wrenching\_Spanners](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wrenching_Spanners)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-conservative-and-or-trump-supporter-rationally-explain-this/850702/186 "2020-04-03T18:24:14Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally Posted by RMMM > Most conservatives are very disturbed by the lack of a “moral compass” on the part of the left. For instance, all of the most murderous and genocidal political regimes/tyrants of the past century have been some form of socialism (Nazism, Stalinism, Maoism, Marxism-Leninism, etc.), accounting for hundreds of millions of deaths and unfathomable ecoonomic destruction and misery. The political left seems extraordinarily callous about the magnitude of the crimes or their responsibility in them. > [@QuickSilver](#): > > Nobody, except you and your pals, think Stalin, Mao and Lenin were anything but authoritarian despots. It’s a trite and predictable argument that you’re presenting in trying to twist facts. Not surprising. Not the least bit original. Try harder next time. I’m not sure that brutal leftist ideological thought has completely disappeared. > [@asahi](#): > > I would also add that a lot of Trump voters vote based on their feelings and their core attitudes. > \ > This is why I’ve said that it’s time for rural white America to experience the worst of COVID. They need to get a reality check \ - it’s time that they start paying that price now. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-conservative-and-or-trump-supporter-rationally-explain-this/850702/187 "2020-04-03T18:38:49Z")
> [@RMMM](#): > > Most conservatives are very disturbed by the lack of a “moral compass” on the part of the left. For instance, all of the most murderous and genocidal political regimes/tyrants of the past century have been some form of socialism (Nazism, Stalinism, Maoism, Marxism-Leninism, etc.), accounting for hundreds of millions of deaths and unfathomable ecoonomic destruction and misery. The political left seems extraordinarily callous about the magnitude of the crimes or their responsibility in them. > > It is my personal view, that precisely because of moral insensitivity, the political left has been in retreat domestically, as well as globally, for decades, and has no credible future. > > Again, this statement is very strongly at odds with most people’s views, myself included. So all these statements are verifiably false, but are consistent with conservative rhetoric espoused by media such as Fox News and Breitbart. American progressive liberalism, socialism, communism, Marxism, and Nazism (fascism) are very different philosophies, forms of government and economic frameworks. The most obvious example would be progressives pushing for equal rights for LGBT, women, minorities, and immigrants. That is in complete opposition to the fundamental tenets of Nazi fascism (racial purity). Not to mention that all the actual racists and neo-Nazis seem to embrace the Republican party. And yet, somehow the conservative media has warped people’s brains into embracing this doublethink that the people who embrace equal rites, protecting the environment, and placing limitations on corporate power are equivalent to Hitler, Stalin and Mao. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-conservative-and-or-trump-supporter-rationally-explain-this/850702/188 "2020-04-03T18:52:11Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > So all these statements are verifiably false, but are consistent with conservative rhetoric espoused by media such as Fox News and Breitbart. > > American progressive liberalism, socialism, communism, Marxism, and Nazism (fascism) are very different philosophies, forms of government and economic frameworks. > > The most obvious example would be progressives pushing for equal rights for LGBT, women, minorities, and immigrants. That is in complete opposition to the fundamental tenets of Nazi fascism (racial purity). Not to mention that all the actual racists and neo-Nazis seem to embrace the Republican party. And yet, somehow the conservative media has warped people’s brains into embracing this doublethink that the people who embrace equal rites, protecting the environment, and placing limitations on corporate power are equivalent to Hitler, Stalin and Mao. C’mon, they were the National Socialists! It says “socialist” right in the name! Take that, lefty! Similarly, I’m sure our new friend would agree that North Korea is quite the democracy, as was East Germany in its day. ---
**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:** [April 3, 2020, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-conservative-and-or-trump-supporter-rationally-explain-this/850702/189 "2020-04-03T19:03:40Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > You can dispute the truth of those statements, but what is obvious is that they are divisive which was my point. > > I will put it next to my logic degree from the University of Science. What science or university would teach a leader to lie about what a government agency does and instead of accepting that he is wrong, the administration decides that it is better to change the mission statement of the government agency to fit the lie? > > [@](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > JARED KUSHNER: “The notion of the federal stockpile was it’s supposed to be our stockpile. It’s not supposed to be states stockpiles that they then use.” > > Laura Bassett: > > The website for the federal stockpile literally says it’s for states to use when they need it Later: > [@](#): > > Oh my god… it took the government less than 24 hours to change the copy on its website about stockpiles to make it look like Kushner was right. Unbelievable. > [@](#): > > They’re trying to excuse their failure to provide states with enough emergency COVID equipment by saying it’s not their job to do so. The website clearly said it was their job, after Kushner said it wasn’t, so they changed the website to suggest states should have their own SPs. I have seen similar Orwellian changes made on agencies that have to deal with the issue of global warming and carbon emissions. That is Trump University “science”. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-conservative-and-or-trump-supporter-rationally-explain-this/850702/190 "2020-04-03T19:19:08Z")
> [@Wrenching\_Spanners](#): > > … Is it a mainstream Democrat position that “Trump supporters believe in a constructed false reality. They simply believe things that are made-up and imagined.”? > > If the liberal vs conservative argument in the US is so inflamed that the above statement is a typical liberal position, then it’s no wonder that US politics is so polarised… @ **Wrenching Spanners** — Do you believe the phone call to Ukraine’s President was an illicit solicitation? Do you believe Trump disbanded the pandemic response team? Do you believe Betsy DeVos and Rick Perry were unqualified for their Cabinet posts? Do you believe it was proper for N.Y. authorities to order the Trump Foundation shut down? Do you believe it was improper for Trump to meet with Putin without any other American present? Please take time time to answer these questions. Just five little Y or N symbols. Yes, I’m afraid that many rational Americans DO think that “Trump supporters believe in a constructed false reality.” Let’s start by testing that hypothesis with you. ---
**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:** [April 3, 2020, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-conservative-and-or-trump-supporter-rationally-explain-this/850702/191 "2020-04-03T19:53:54Z")
> [@Wrenching\_Spanners](#): > > I’m not sure that brutal leftist ideological thought has completely disappeared. BTW, that poster has been criticized many times before in this message board, what you are doing there is a [nutpick](https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Nutpicking). On the right side of things, very lousy pickings are not dismissed by the majority but instead put in positions of power. Like Kushner. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-conservative-and-or-trump-supporter-rationally-explain-this/850702/192 "2020-04-03T20:55:47Z")
My theory is that American politics is like a debate for high school class president between the valedictorian (Democrats) and the dumb popular jock (Republicans). The valedictorian makes a lot of great points and has a lot of really good ideas. The jock’s friends all think the valedictorian is a “nerd” and a “homo”. Much of the undecided middle will just vote for the guy who looks cool and drives a sports car his parents bought him because “who cares who wins anyway?” ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-conservative-and-or-trump-supporter-rationally-explain-this/850702/193 "2020-04-03T22:51:27Z")
> [@Wrenching\_Spanners](#): > > I’m not sure that brutal leftist ideological thought has completely disappeared. The difference is, Republicans actually pass discriminatory laws against minorities (LGBTQ, etc), women (abortion), Democrats (redistricting), while liberals like our friend asahi, though wrong, is actually not a threat in any way because plenty of fellow liberals will not actually endorse his ranting as a viable social policy. So I know it works to your advantage to make him out to be an existential threat, and rush out to stock up on guns and ammo because the liberals are comin’! It’s really just another example of irrational behavior we’ve been discussing in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![chargerrich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chargerrich/32/5399_2.png) [@chargerrich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chargerrich)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-conservative-and-or-trump-supporter-rationally-explain-this/850702/194 "2020-04-04T03:25:11Z")
The only parallel that i can relate to the bewildering Trump support would be the LaQuan McDonald case. As a very pro law enforcement person and therefore admittedly biased, I initially believed the CPD version of events - PURELY - because of my bias. However once we learned that a single officer with a violent history shot the man 16 times in 15 seconds after arriving on the scene just a minute before and then saw the video… bias or no bias the facts and lies were obvious. The CPD lied, period. Does that mean that i can no longer be pro law enforcement? Of course not, for every Jason Van Dyke scumbag officer, there are 1000 heroes… but to watch (to this day) there are legions of pro law enforcement people (my people?) who legitimately think that officer - who shot a man 16 times, half of them into his back, while he was on the ground, likely dead - was completely justified. I still do not have an answer as to why as the above scenario is - to me - a strong allegory to being a Trump supporter, yet i had clarity once the facts were clear. But it is THAT kind of thinking, that kind of blind loyalty and that kind of myopic vision that we are now watching on a national scale with Trump. And make no mistake, his is far far more dangerous than any single corrupt police officer. ---
**Author:** ![Shannon\_of](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Shannon\_of](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shannon_of)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-conservative-and-or-trump-supporter-rationally-explain-this/850702/195 "2020-04-04T04:30:02Z")
> [@Wrenching\_Spanners](#): > > Is mainstream political discourse in the US as polarised as the posts in this thread? If so, there’s your answer. If a prominent message from the left is that the views of the right are contemptible, then the right is going to be deaf to all messages from the left. So just like the left would prefer the rotting corpse of Hitler over Trump, the right would prefer literally any Republican over a leftist. I appreciate you, Wrenching Spanners, for your refreshing post. You kinda got it perfectly. Though admittedly a moron who voted for Trump, with little to say in my defense, I’m still distressed by the uncharitable discourse of this thread. The warm fuzzy values of inclusiveness, tolerance, open-mindedness, _etc._, championed by certain people on the Left, strangely vaporize (or “vaporise”, I suppose, to Wrenching Spanners) when it comes to me. Evidently, to have tolerance and respect for all human beings, of whatever origin or self-creation, stops short of people who voted for Trump. Perhaps it’s thought that people who voted for Trump are less than human. It would be a fun exercise to go back through this thread and insert my name after every fearful, hateful, gratuitously generalized opinion about Trump supporters, then stand back and look at how I, as a fellow American person, have been thoroughly insulted, degraded, ostracized, humiliated, judged, and condemned. Where is the inclusivity? Where is the tolerance and respect? Anyway, to answer the question that started this thread, I voted for Trump for the following reasons: 1. He was the Republican presidential candidate. 2. I dislike and distrust Hillary Clinton, as well as her platform. 3. I don’t think Trump is a monster, at all. He’s a sinful guy like you and me. That’s what I think. But what do I know, being an egregiously stupid right-wing voter? 4. I have several deeply rooted beliefs which, the last time I looked, I’m entitled to as an American, that are being systematically dug up, defamed, and put on trial, on a grand public scale, starting in kindergarten. 5. It looks like the Democrats keep trying to put people into groups. When did I stop being an individual and become part of a category? It is a chilling thing to consider that I’m condemned because of the box that _you_ put me into in the first place. _Moronically Yours_, Shannon of ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-conservative-and-or-trump-supporter-rationally-explain-this/850702/196 "2020-04-04T04:55:06Z")
Here is something new the GOP gets to eat- a shit sandwich- of their own making: > **[‘It's a sh-- sandwich': Republicans rage as Florida becomes a nightmare for...](https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2020/04/03/its-a-sh-sandwich-republicans-rage-as-florida-becomes-a-nightmare-for-trump-1271172)** > > Thousands are struggling just to apply for unemployment benefits. And looks like trump will now lose Florida, which means he loses the election. \*The staggering unemployment exploding on President Donald Trump’s watch would worry any incumbent running for reelection, but troubles in Florida are injecting an added dose of fear into a jittery GOP. Already anxious about Trump’s chances in the nation’s biggest swing state, Republicans now are dealing with thousands of unemployed workers unable to navigate the Florida system to apply for help. And the blowback is directed straight at Trump’s top allies in the state, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Rick Scott… The new online system was part of a series of changes designed to limit benefits. The ultimate goal — which it delivered on — was to lower unemployment taxes paid by Florida businesses. A 2011 analysis done by the Florida Legislature estimated that the changes pushed by Scott would save businesses more than $2.3 billion between 2011 and 2020. Now, as thousands of people try to get help, the system crashes or denies them access. Nearly 400,000 people have managed to file claims in the last two and half weeks. It’s not known how many have tried and failed. Most of those who do submit applications won’t qualify for aid, and the benefits that are paid out are among the most meager in the country — a maximum of $275 a week. “This is horrible for people. I don’t want to minimize that,” one DeSantis adviser told POLITICO. “But if we have to look past the crisis, it’s bad for the president and it’s bad for the governor.” “Everyone we talk to in that office when we ask them what happened tells us, ‘the system was designed to fail,’” the adviser said. “That’s not a problem when unemployment is 2.8 percent, but it’s a problem now. And no system we have can handle 25,000 people a day.”\* ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-conservative-and-or-trump-supporter-rationally-explain-this/850702/197 "2020-04-04T06:44:33Z")
I’m neither Republican nor Democrat. I’d strongly consider voting for a Republican other than Trump if there were any other GOP candidates. I have many friends and relatives who are die-hard Trump supporters. Almost all of them use Fox News as their primary news source. Here’s what they’ve told me about why they support Trump: • He’s really a good guy; it’s just that the MSM has vilified him. • He’s an embarrassment, but I know he won’t cave to Democratic demands. • He tells it like it is. • When liberals criticize Trump, they criticize me because I agree with him on the issues. I also have conservative friends who hate Donald Trump and feel that Trump has ruined the GOP. They want their party back. **I’d like to offer a little twist on the OP for Trump supporters**. Suppose there were another GOP candidate for president, one who firmly upholds the GOP platforms on all major political/social issues including abortion and the right to bear arms, but who behaves with dignity, isn’t sending thin-skinned or self-congratulatory tweets, is well-educated and knowledgeable, chooses excellent advisors and listens to them, and who has integrity. Would you vote for that candidate over Donald Trump in 2020? ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-conservative-and-or-trump-supporter-rationally-explain-this/850702/198 "2020-04-04T07:07:02Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > @ **Wrenching Spanners** — Do you believe the phone call to Ukraine’s President was an illicit solicitation? Do you believe Trump disbanded the pandemic response team? Do you believe Betsy DeVos and Rick Perry were unqualified for their Cabinet posts? Do you believe it was proper for N.Y. authorities to order the Trump Foundation shut down? Do you believe it was improper for Trump to meet with Putin without any other American present? > > Please take time time to answer these questions. Just five little Y or N symbols. Yes, I’m afraid that many rational Americans DO think that “Trump supporters believe in a constructed false reality.” Let’s start by testing that hypothesis with you. 😕 No response? The suggestion was made that the reputation that Trump supporters are uninformed bigots is undeserved; that they are aware of facts and competent to form opinions; that they are not simply gulled dolts dripping with ignorance. I gave Trump supporters a chance to demonstrate that claim. If \*\* Mr. Spanners\*\* cannot answer, how about the other Trump supporters in the thread? @ **Shannon of** — Would you be kind enough to answer these simple yes/no questions? ---
**Author:** ![Wrenching\_Spanners](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecb155/32.png) [@Wrenching\_Spanners](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wrenching_Spanners)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-conservative-and-or-trump-supporter-rationally-explain-this/850702/199 "2020-04-04T07:20:41Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > @ **Wrenching Spanners** — Do you believe the phone call to Ukraine’s President was an illicit solicitation? Do you believe Trump disbanded the pandemic response team? Do you believe Betsy DeVos and Rick Perry were unqualified for their Cabinet posts? Do you believe it was proper for N.Y. authorities to order the Trump Foundation shut down? Do you believe it was improper for Trump to meet with Putin without any other American present? > > Please take time time to answer these questions. Just five little Y or N symbols. Yes, I’m afraid that many rational Americans DO think that “Trump supporters believe in a constructed false reality.” Let’s start by testing that hypothesis with you. Sure, I’m happy to answer your questions, although I’m going to answer as I see fit. It’s a message board after all. _Do you believe the phone call to Ukraine’s President was an illicit solicitation?_ Yes, but not an impeachable one. _Do you believe Trump disbanded the pandemic response team?_ Yes _Do you believe Betsy DeVos and Rick Perry were unqualified for their Cabinet posts?_ No. A senior party operative and a former governor seem pretty standard candidates for mid-level cabinet posts. _Do you believe it was proper for N.Y. authorities to order the Trump Foundation shut down?_ Yes. _Do you believe it was improper for Trump to meet with Putin without any other American present?_ No. I also don’t believe that Putin is blackmailing Trump, or that Putin was the mastermind behind Trump’s election. So what’s your point? These are obviously actions associated with Trump that you disagree with. Some of my answers probably are different than yours. Does that mean that I “believe in a constructed false reality”? Or does it mean that I think differently than you, have different ideas than you, and make different choices than you because I have different priorities or a different viewpoint? ---
**Author:** ![Wrenching\_Spanners](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecb155/32.png) [@Wrenching\_Spanners](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wrenching_Spanners)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-conservative-and-or-trump-supporter-rationally-explain-this/850702/200 "2020-04-04T07:22:49Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > BTW, that poster has been criticized many times before in this message board, what you are doing there is a [nutpick](https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Nutpicking). Sometimes low hanging fruit is just asking to be picked. And sometimes low hanging nutty statements are just asking to be ridiculed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-conservative-and-or-trump-supporter-rationally-explain-this/850702.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-a-conservative-and-or-trump-supporter-rationally-explain-this/850702.md?page=11)