The
divide which exists in America is nothing new. It has always been
there. With the aid of 24 hour news networks, social media bubbles,
and a government which seems to have forgotten how to compromise,
that divide has been widening. Trump won the White House by playing
to that divide and going after the fringe elements of both the left and right. In this election being
a centrist on either side was frowned upon. For the first time in my
life I found myself with more in common with “Never Trump”
Centrist Republicans than I did with members of the far left. Despite
the fact that only 37% of American’s view Trump favorably he
managed to scrape together enough votes to defeat Clinton. Since that
defeat many public figures on both sides have said we cannot simply
classify Trump's supporters as racist, uneducated, misogynists. So
what is it Trump and his supporters really stand for?
One
of the many troubling things about Trump is his inability to layout
and commit to a clear agenda. From one day to the next it is
impossible to know exactly what Trump plans to do. In case you
haven't been able to keep up, this article from NBC does a
great job of laying out just how much he flip flopped during his campaign. If it is difficult to understand exactly what
Trump plans to do, it is even more difficult to understand the minds
of the people who voted for him.
As
the days tick away towards the impending Trumpocalypse it becomes
less and less clear what exactly his supports expect from a Trump
presidency. In a recent article by NPR Trump supporters seem not to care much about whether or not Trump actually comes through
with any of his campaign promises.
“At
rallies on Trump's campaign-funded victory lap of Iowa and other
battleground states that voted for him, supporters have been telling
NPR they're excited to see what the president-elect will do, even if
they're not exactly sure what that will be — and that's OK with
them. “
One
of the men interviewed by NPR, David Mortiz, did have a clear reason
for voting for Trump; he wants to see a conservative fill the empty
seat in the Supreme Court. He goes on to say,"A
lot of people project their own ideas on to him," he said. "They
feel like whatever their highest dream is, they project on to him and
say that he will make this happen. I tend to think that that's going
to create a lot of uneasiness in the people when he ends up being
just a regular human."
The
article goes on to interview other Trump supporters, whose responses support this
idea. I am blessed to know very few Trump supporters, but those I do
interact with on a daily basis support the idea that Trump's
supporters believe he will do what they believe he will do. Confusing? It should be. Now
that we are in a “post facts world”, what other proof do you need
than your own convictions? This does little to help us get to the
bottom of what it is the other side wants, and even less to help us understand them.
In
August the Atlantic published a collection of letters from Trump
supporters explaining their rational. They vary widely from one
person to the next. Unlike a politician we cannot see how Trump has
voted on issues in the past. He is whatever he says he is, and he
says a lot of things. Things which change from one moment to the
next, and are difficult to keep up with if you don't really want to.
It seems to boil down to “What does 'Make America Great Again' mean
to you?”.
The
responses to the Atlantic could fuel an entire years worth of this
podcast and blog, so I will sum things up briefly here. The main
reasons people seem to have voted for Trump are:
-They
are part of the disenfranchised middle class and believe Trump will
make their lives better by bringing back jobs and ending programs
they feel burden them.
-A
vote for Trump is a vote against the two party system.
-They
want to watch chaos unfold.
-He
is a negotiator and will make America appear more powerful globally,
while getting the politicians in Washington in line.
-He
will stop protest culture (Black Lives Matter).
-He
will end political correctness.
-He
will stop immigrants from taking American jobs.
Ignoring
all the issues here (we will explore all of them in detail in other
posts) these do seem to sum up what most of Trump's supporters want.
Interestingly a woman's right to choose and Islamophobia were not major issues in the
letters to the Atlantic. This is likely due to the Atlantic's
demographic, as there have been many incidents which support a fear
of Muslims and a woman's right to choose contributed
to Trump's support.
Despite devoting a day of my life to studying these people,
I am still not really sure what conclusion to draw from all of this. Other than the one I'd already come too in 2015. I do
not feel I have a better understanding of Trump's base in the way those who wish to unite us would like me to. As a member
of the middle class I can agree with the sentiment that things are
not great for us right now, but I disagree with Trump's supporters on the why of it
and what needs to be done to fix it. Pretending those of us against Trump can
move beyond the eruption of hate his campaign and election have
caused, can we really ever hope to understand one another? Perhaps
as a country we have been divided for so long that our ways of thinking
and reasoning are now no longer compatible. It is impossible for
people living in a “post facts” world to have a constructive
dialog with those of us who still live in a world where facts matter.
I
for one, will stick with the truth, because lies have a way of coming
back to bite you in the ass.
