Why Do People Like Trump?

I need to stop admitting that I know someone who wants to vote for Trump. I'm tired of explaining the reasons someone might have for not seeing that a vote for Trump is a vote for hate and a vote for economic policies that benefit the rich and further screw folks without money.

Seriously, how on earth did I become the "this is why people want an asshat for president" spokesperson? I should have kept my mouth shut! But I couldn't. There are so many people who see why Trump is a bad choice and also don't understand why Trump is appealing to others. So I end up discussing it, explaining the demographic he's going for, and doing everything in my power to not lose the internet war and compare him to Hitler and Nazi Germany's rise to power by heaping hatred on certain peoples rather than actually looking at crappy economic problems that are actually the root cause. Because we all know that once you use Hitler as your example, you lose because you are too stupid to come up with any other argument.

So here are the discussion points I've raised. Please let me know if you have other points I should add to the discussion. The reason I have been agreeing to these discussions is that too many people are dismissing Trump as impossible and not realizing why he is appealing to the audience who loves him.




1. He mimics the racist language that many Americans hold near and dear. He calls Mexicans druggists and rapists and derelicts. He blames them for the lack of jobs because they steal American jobs and then a sentence later calls them lazy and says they're pulling money out of the American system. Yes, it's wild back and forth swings (so are they taking American jobs from Americans or are they sitting around lazy)? But it's a horrible fact that many racist Americans really fall for. They have grown up with this hatred of other people, and hating other people is far easier than looking deeper into the problems in our country. So Trump easily grabs their votes with blatant racism.

2.  Trump incites fear. Fear that someone else will take our money. He is famous for his tv show appearances, and he is famous because his name is on a lot of big, fancy buildings. He pretends he made himself up from scratch all by himself, and he ignores the fact that he did it by declaring bankruptcy regularly. When he does have to admit it, folks without money who have been crapped on through the economic system can point to it and say that he can understand what's happened to them. They don't see the reality that Trump is actually pushing to continue low wages, to keep folks who don't have money down lower so that they end up with even less money. Why? Because it's not on Fox news. Fox news isn't talking about the reality of these situations. They just put the sensationalist information on their channel, and after decades of watching just Fox News and reading newspapers that have become more one-sided and controversial, folks don't get the opportunity to see more of what Trump is doing.

3.  People see Trump as being HONEST. He talks racist. He makes sexist comments. He speaks the language that the folks who vote for him have always wanted a politician to use because to them that is normal. That is what they see around them, what they think, and what they know. They don't want to see that it's racist and sexist because they don't think of themselves that way. It makes sense - who wants to think that they're racist when they've "got friends who are black" or that they're sexist when "they were always willing to babysit the kids," for example. When Trump trash talks, it's seen as honesty because Trump is speaking honestly - he is saying what he believes. He is loud and nasty about it. He is crude and disgusting about it. But he really is honest. At least in those instances. He is deceptive about his economic beliefs and ridiculously quiet about what his real plans are. By being honest and loud he just shouts out questions about what the reality would be if he was elected.

4.  He doesn't take back what he says. He said McCain was terrible at war BECAUSE HE GOT CAUGHT. That's right. He was a war hero because he was a prisoner of war, and thus, according to Trump, McCain is a failure. Many people I know would have once taken that as proof that Trump couldn't be the president because he, a lousy businessman who's never been to war, doesn't have respect for veterans. But no, that didn't happen. By his continual refusal to back down he keeps folks who like him because they are used to having to continually yell loudly for what they need and want.

5.  When Trump does need to apologize, he doesn't. For example, when he tweeted shit, the closest he came to backing down was blaming an intern. And that is incredibly telling. Push comes to shove, is Trump going to stand up and take a hit for his own mistakes? Or is he going to find someone else to blame? He'll find someone else to blame - just like he's blaming immigrants for the US problems.

6.  Trump is an asshole. He's loud. He's obnoxious. And he's willing, no thrilled, to be non-PC. And lots of white men and women are thrilled at the idea of not being politically correct. They feel like they've been attacked over the last decade. Instead of learning about new ideas, they've instead blamed feminists and hippies and uppity blacks and immigrants for making it "impossible to say something without getting in trouble." So Trump gets up there and talks trash and he is loved for it.

So what have I missed? What are the other reasons so many people want Trump as our next president?

EDIT 02/16/2016: I left out how so many Trump supporters feel disenfranchised. They have lost so much. Their solid working class and middle class lifestyles were pulled apart during mid 2000s when the economy went to hell. They see that politicians don't care about them. Trump feels to them like a real person who can fix things. They see a millionaire who says he is a successful businessman, and they want someone successful who knows money to "fix" the world.