Millions of Democrats and independents view Trump’s four years in office as a disaster but for supporters it is his biggest asset

Millions of Democrats and independents view Trump’s four years in office as a disaster but for supporters it is his biggest asset

Wearing a shirt festooned with countless images of Donald Trump, Leverne Martin was looking cheerful for a man who had set off from Poplar Bluff, Missouri, at 9pm and driven through the night, arriving in Dubuque, Iowa, at 5.30am. When did he intend to sleep?

“As soon as President Trump is back in the White House,” the 55-year-old handyman replied without missing a beat. “If we don’t get him back in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, where he belongs, we’re in a mess, man. That’s why I’m voting for President Trump. That’s why I drove nine hours.”

On a grey, rainy day, Martin was near the head of a long and winding queue outside a cavernous conference centre overlooking the Mississippi River. Like so many fans in so many towns and cities over nearly a decade, an overwhelmingly white crowd had come to cheer on Trump, elected US president in 2016, beaten by Joe Biden in 2020 and clear frontrunner for the Republican nomination in 2024.

  • TechyDad@lemmy.world
    30·
    1 year ago

    Some are clueless and some are malicious.

    For the clueless ones, there’s a sunk cost fallacy in effect. Similar to how a person who falls for a Nigerian prince scam will keep sending money, these people will keep supporting Trump (and sending money). After all, stopping now would admit that they were scammed for so long. Better (in their mind) to send another campaign contribution because this will DEFINITELY be the one that makes Trump turn their lives around.

    For the malicious, they clearly see who Trump is and they like it. They want to be able to fly their Nazi flags while calling black people the N word and beating up anyone who is LGBTQ. They want women to be subjugated to men and for anyone who isn’t a straight, white, Christian male to be a second class citizen (or worse). When Trump threatens the lives of people, the malicious folks cheer him on because that’s how they want society to function - with them on top and everyone else kissing their toes in the hopes that it’ll help avoid a kick to the face.