Trump Explained, Well, Almost

For almost two years, I have tried to understand the enigma, which is Trump.  At first, it was easy to assume he was elected by the racist backlash from people who “suffered” under the rule of our first Black president.  While I truly believe some of his support can be traced directly to racism, I had difficulty believing that there could be that many racists still left in America.  It becomes clearer when you hear some of his supporters interviewed and find that racism has many levels.  Not all his supporters wave the Nazi or Confederate flags or wear Klan sheets while shouting their hatred for all things they perceive to not be pure white.  There are more subtle forms.

Trump waiting for his adulation

Racism still doesn’t fully explain Trump’s numbers.  I recently watched an interview with some West Virginia Democrats who voted for Trump.  While there was some possible hint of racism among them, I got the feeling that there was more to the phenomena that explain Trump.  I heard fear.  There was fear of losing jobs, fear of the unknown, fear of economic uncertainty, fear of crime, fear of a rising drug problem, and certainly, some fear in the loss of what was once an America dominated in numbers by “white people.”  These West Virginians somehow found a glimmer of hope in Trump’s message.

Adore me more

Trump is not a stupid man.  He may be a narcissistic sociopath, but he is not stupid.  He has studied his peers.  People like Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong-un, Hugo Chávez, Nicolás Maduro, and other dictators from the past, and he is in awe and envies the power they wielded.  He has managed to ignore the trappings of our democracy and has learned that he can approximate dictatorial control so long as he has strong support from his base.  Can a democratically elected dictator survive?

Trump and his idols

Trump is a musician.  He plays the base.  He plays his base just as if it were a musical instrument.  He feeds on their cheers.  He relishes their accolades.  He needs this reassurance as certainly as a vampire needs blood to survive.  He also avoids the truth just like a vampire avoids the sun.  Trump knows just what to say to fire up the crowd to prompt their cheers.  He has memorized the banter that works.  Delegate blame, to steal a term I first heard from Lou Grant of Mary Tyler Moore fame.  He points the finger of blame in all directions, any direction that doesn’t include His Holiness.  Blame the media, blame the Fake News, blame the Clintons, blame Obama, blame immigrants, blame Democrats, and blame our allies.  Any and all of these are the sources of all the ills in our society.  Stir up the fear, point the finger of blame, and promise a “Great America.”

I blame.....(media, fake news, Hillary, Clintons, Obama, 
our allies, immigrants), pick all that apply

I don’t think Trump is clever enough to be playing “rope-a-dope” by using simple phraseology and stumbling over the meaning of words.  I really think he is not smart in the traditional sense.  His limited vocabulary, however, serves his intended purpose well.  Much of his base overlooks his purported billionaire status and considers him one of them.  He certainly talks like them.

Democrats point to the hypocrisy of a “Christian-values” philanderer.  They obviously haven’t listened to much country music.  Cheating, drinking, flag waving, and dog loving are the staples of most country songs.  Trump checks two of the four boxes.  Think of how dangerous he would be if he could drink a beer and tolerate man’s best friend.  I don’t know that all Trump fans like country music but I would venture that, if at any of his rallies, he played some Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, Johnny Cash, Shania Twain, or George Strait, he would have the entire crowd on their feet and dancing in the aisles.  Democrats just don’t get the mindset of his supporters.

While non-college-educated white people from the “fly-over” states comprise a significant portion of his thirty to forty percent base, they don’t account for the totality of that base.  There are other factions that fill in the remainder of Trump’s posse.  You just won’t see them at his rallies.

Some of these are the college-educated folks who rank money over civility.  Some of these people reside in the rarified atmosphere of the upper one percent who really benefitted from the recent tax cuts.  These people cherish short-term profits over long-term stability or have convinced themselves that the current bull market has no end.  While the people who go to Trump rallies haven’t figured out that they were screwed in the recent tax-cut legislation, this latter group will take the money and run.

This group worships at the altar of the lord-god, MONEY.  All things in life run a distant second to wealth.  You can never be too wealthy.  Do anything; make any sacrifice, as long as it increases your net worth.  Just as a gambler needs to gamble and an alcoholic needs to drink, there are those addicted to wealth above all else.  There are a great many Trump fans among this group, as he seems to share their single-mindedness.

Another portion of the Trump support group, identify themselves as white evangelicals.  They will overlook Trump’s infidelity, his callous attitude regarding the poor, his lack of respect for the environment and God’s green earth, his misogynistic disrespect of women, and his loathing of non-white immigrants, so long as he supports their stance on abortion.  I doubt that Trump has ever performed an abortion but I would have no surprise if I found out he financed a few.

Trump with Evangelicals, Kool-Aid not shown

Trump understands how to be a bully.  Webster defines a bully as a person who uses strength or power to harm or intimidate those who are weaker.  We have all seen Trump shout down female reporters.  We have watched him disrespect world leaders by turning the conversation into something about him that has nothing to do with the other leader or leaders in the room.  Since Trump regularly blames the press and “foreigners” for our problems, his base identifies with his attitude.

Until such time as the Democrats understand the appeal of a “Donald Trump,” they will be destined to submit to his will.  He, and others like him, will prevail in upcoming elections until such time as the Democrats can find some common ground with at least a portion of his base.  I would say abandon the racists, they are a lost cause.  You might, however, find some support among the blue-collar folks that used to be the bedrock of the Democratic Party.  We need to find a way of really putting people back to work at meaningful jobs with a living wage.  Address the fears of this nation in a manner that provides real solutions and not the political feel-good rhetoric so common during campaign time.  Job training and massive infrastructure projects would be one possible direction, I'm sure there are others.