I continually wonder why anyone would vote for Trump, baffled by how his supporters can ignore his crude comments about women, where grabbing them by the crotch is somehow considered locker-room-talk-acceptable, where women are simply aesthetically pleasing objects, should be punished for having an abortion, or are dogs, pigs, slobs, and disgusting animals. Where promises made and then broken about Trump releasing his tax records doesn’t upset any of them. Where he demands to know, three times in less than an hour interview, if the U.S. has nuclear weapons, why we don’t use them? (Apparently forgetting we DID in August 1945.) I was still searching Friday night when I happened to have a conversation with a newscaster at one of the radio stations where I work. My co-worker is a reporter for the news/talk station. We had a 15-minute window to discuss the current election and he talked about people he interviewed at a Trump rally last week in Sanford, Florida. What he told me confirmed what I had long suspicioned but had no concrete proof until these Trump supporters out-and-out admitted it.
People are supporting Trump because he is promising them that they can have their privileged positions back.
It doesn’t matter that he can’t deliver on any of it. He verbally soothes their ruffled feathers to let them know that they will once again have those lofty places on pedestals, and receive the preferential treatment they deserve. Just elect him and he will make sure they get it all back.
A white male and two females the reporter talked to identified themselves as evangelical Christians and they were thrilled that Trump has guaranteed them they will have their positions of power and privilege returned. It would make for a better world where biblical law was the law of the land, where other laws would be re-enacted to secure Christianity’s unassailable position above all other religions across the country, where stores closed according to biblical dictates; like no working on Sunday, where school-led prayers would be everyday occurrences, ten commandment monuments and plaques would be commonplace in government buildings, and the Supreme Court would automatically strike down laws that went against biblical teaching, like same-sex marriage and women holding a position of authority over men, like, say, president. (Guess who that was aimed at?).They did say Mormons, Moslems, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jews, and others would be free to worship, just out of sight, out of mind… where any Christian could not see them.(Although one woman did say she was not in favor of it because those people worshiped false gods) They were also sick of seeing caucasians pushed to the side. Trump would fix that.
Another man was a former factory worker. He had completed 10th grade but didn’t need college as he used to have a fairly good paying job on an assembly line in Michigan. He was angered about all the American jobs that were sent overseas and supported Trump because he would bring those jobs back. He was glad Trump would build a wall to keep all the Mexicans out. They were taking American jobs. The reporter asked him if his job was sent to Mexico…would it be returned by Trump…and did he want it back? The guy said his job was still in Michigan, but that his position has been automated. He had been replaced by a computerized machine. He was asked if he went back to get trained to work the machine. “Hell no,” the guy responded, “but we got to get our manufacturing jobs back. Those are American jobs!” What kind of pay would he want to do those old manufacturing jobs? He felt he was worth $25 to $30 an hour. The reporter didn’t mention that very same job in Mexico paid $8.50 an hour, nor was Jose coming here to take a job away.
Another group holding up anti-gay signs said they were fed up with seeing LGBTQ people get so many rights that they didn’t deserve. They claimed the Pulse shooting in Orlando gave these people national exposure and changed the way they were seen in society. The reporter asked, “Should they be discriminated against?” “Well, they shouldn’t have the same laws and rights we have. It’s not right.” one man was blunt enough to say. Trump will repeal all those liberal laws so that his supporters are once again allowed to be politically incorrect and treat others with disdainful behavior and unethical actions. Hell, they’ve earned the right.
Trump's supporters are quick to condemn Hillary Clinton in the most derogatory and threatening manner possible. It gives them a fallback position. But it is because, like with religion, Trump makes one empty promise after another and his followers don’t need even a hint of evidence that he’ll deliver; he’s the only candidate who is telling them they can have their pedestals back and return to a lofty position of looking down on everyone else like it was meant to be in their dreams.
What a privilege.
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