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| Trump Supporters |
I have always tried to understand the logic and reasoning of people who support Donald J. Trump. It would be easy to say that they are all racists and end the analogy with that one observation. That still wouldn’t explain those whose racial bias might not be readily apparent or people whose motivations might lie elsewhere.
I grew up in a cosmopolitan Miami. That resulted in having friends and acquaintances that were born in other countries, many from Spanish speaking lands to our south. Some within that group grew up knowing of the dictatorships of Fidel Castro, Augusto Pinochet, Gustavo Pinilla, Anastasio Somoza, Isabel Perón/Jorge Videla, João Goulart, and Hugo Chavez/Nicolas Maduro. Many fled their homelands of Cuba, Chile, Columbia, Nicaragua, Argentina, Brazil, and Venezuela to come to America to start a new life.
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| Famous Dictators of the Americas |
The dictators mentioned above had varying political backgrounds as socialists, fascists, communists, and anti-communists but they all had one thing in common; they were all dictators. Some were “duly-elected” dictators and claimed to represent democracies. Much like America’s contested elections, the people were not happy. The various political aspirations of these leaders are described by many of their subjects as being socialist. The real differences between communism, socialism, and fascism were but minor annoying details. To them, all were bad and terminology was unimportant; they were all socialists.
For the Cuban community which represents the majority of Latin influence in Miami, the American political watershed moment was the 1961 failed Bay of Pigs (Bahía de Cochinos) Invasion. President Kennedy was a Democrat in charge when the invasion finally happened. That invasion was perhaps the worst kept secret in Miami.
I was in a Spanish class in early 1961 prior to the April Bay of Pigs debacle, when a classmate, as part of a discussion, went to the pull-down map at the front of the room. He proceeded to explain how the invaders planned to land at Playa Girón, head north toward Colón, and cut Havana off from the eastern portion of the island.
That is exactly what they tried to do in April. The invasion plan was developed under Republican president Dwight D. Eisenhower and was to have air support to cover the troops landing from Guatemala and Nicaragua. After the CIA-supplied B-26 bombers attacked Cuban airstrips, President Kennedy decided to withhold further air support. That first airstrike had failed to destroy all of the small Cuban air force. The remaining planes were used against the invaders. The die was cast; Democrats would forever be branded responsible for the loss of their Cuban homeland. Kennedy was responsible for their loss and it had nothing to do with the fact that 1,400 rebel soldiers couldn't defeat Castro's standing army of 200,000. Cubans in Miami would forever register as Republicans; die-hard Republicans. While we normally associate Latinos with being more liberal, many who suffered under these dictators are likely to vote with conservatives.
The problem with this latter group is the equation of “socialism” with their previous experiences with the dictators who had been so labeled. I put “socialism” in quotes as it is regularly assumed by many to encompass communism and fascism. This is wrong of course but unlearning such labeling is difficult. Even socialism practiced under some of these leaders was in the extreme and not in line with American socialism.
What many don’t realize is that they all regularly use and benefit from American socialism and if those benefits were taken away, they would be shocked and upset. Without socialism they wouldn’t have the police force, a fire department, roads to drive on, food inspectors, a weather department, social security benefits when they get old and can no longer work. The list of societal benefits from “socialism” are endless. Convincing Miami Latinos that socialism is good for them would be near impossible. What should really get their attention however, is the dictatorial direction of our current president. His attempts to limit a free press, to stifle the right of free speech, to prohibit peaceful demonstration, to use the military to control his people, to circumvent the justice system with appointments and the corruption of the Attorney General’s office, are all tools of dictators. This president has sided with dictators like Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Kim Jong-un, over his own FBI, CIA, and State Department.
Many in Trump’s camp see him as their only barrier to a “socialism” they despise. On the other side of the aisle, many see Trump as the next Hitler. He is neither of these things. He is a wannabe dictator who has corrupted the very ideals of our democracy. He is an autocrat looking to make a fast buck at the expense of our freedoms. If the first amendment gets in his way, he will do what he wants and then use his corrupt Justice Department to justify whatever he does. The end result is that, while wanting to avoid the suffering historically endured under other dictators, many would encourage and support this dictator in disguise. That disguise is paper-thin and easy to see through if one just opens their eyes.
Outside the Latino community explanations are perhaps more diverse. The very wealthy or those with such aspirations will regularly support Donald Trump because he has made life simpler and more profitable. Greed “trumps” principals.
We also have the religious right who see Trump as the second coming. They can forgive his peccadillos and morally bankrupt behavior. They can forgive his attacks on immigrants, refugees, the homeless, racial and religious minorities, single parents, and struggling wage earners. Donald Trump, a thrice-married, womanizing, swindling, adulterous, profane, materialistic man who pays porn stars for sex, had previously only appealed to the fringe elements of Christianity.
Those would be the profiteering mega-church Christians with more earthly motivations. Trump is now, however, widely supported by even mainstream evangelicals. There are seven deadly sins listed in Christian theology. Those are pride, envy, gluttony, greed, lust, sloth, and wrath. Trump seems to have checked all the boxes. The religious right justifies their support of this sinner because he has supported their agenda. Forgiveness is “mighty Christian” of them, especially now that they are gaining traction for their objectives in the courts. They have made a deal with the devil.
To understand those who would support Donald Trump and his agenda, we have to look for ulterior motives. Those on the left see Trump for what he is but those on the right seem to tolerate his behavior for such gains as they deem worthy. They will sacrifice our democracy for their own financial rewards, for their anti-socialist beliefs, or for some religious conviction deemed by them as worthy of sacrifice. Our democracy is uncertain. We can only hope that enough people are outraged with what they have seen in the previous 46 months prior to November 3rd. It will take overwhelming numbers to overcome the inevitable voter suppression that will take place. In the recent failed Georgia primary elections, where largely Black communities suffered inoperable voting machines and intolerable long lines at polling places, we saw that White neighborhoods had short lines with plenty of working machines. This is but the most recent example of the lengths Republicans will go to influence an election. To them, all’s fair in love, war, and politics.
Recent GOP leaders who have come out in support of Biden bring us some hope. Even a few religious leaders have seen the error of their Trump support and have caused his numbers drop at the polls. His gross mishandling of our dual crises, the Covid-19 pandemic and our racial unrest, have highlighted just how incompetent and unfit Donald Trump is at his job. Forget making America great again, we need to save the very essence of our democracy. We do not need to reelect this authoritarian dictator based on some unfounded fear of socialism. We need a leader with a moral compass that still works. We need a leader who is not without empathy for this nation’s citizens. We need Joe Biden or any of thousands of other leaders who would do a much better job than this spray-tanned orange bag of corruption. As one former GOP supporter put it, I’ll vote for anyone with a pulse
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| Bay of Pigs Today |
The problem with this latter group is the equation of “socialism” with their previous experiences with the dictators who had been so labeled. I put “socialism” in quotes as it is regularly assumed by many to encompass communism and fascism. This is wrong of course but unlearning such labeling is difficult. Even socialism practiced under some of these leaders was in the extreme and not in line with American socialism.
What many don’t realize is that they all regularly use and benefit from American socialism and if those benefits were taken away, they would be shocked and upset. Without socialism they wouldn’t have the police force, a fire department, roads to drive on, food inspectors, a weather department, social security benefits when they get old and can no longer work. The list of societal benefits from “socialism” are endless. Convincing Miami Latinos that socialism is good for them would be near impossible. What should really get their attention however, is the dictatorial direction of our current president. His attempts to limit a free press, to stifle the right of free speech, to prohibit peaceful demonstration, to use the military to control his people, to circumvent the justice system with appointments and the corruption of the Attorney General’s office, are all tools of dictators. This president has sided with dictators like Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Kim Jong-un, over his own FBI, CIA, and State Department.
Many in Trump’s camp see him as their only barrier to a “socialism” they despise. On the other side of the aisle, many see Trump as the next Hitler. He is neither of these things. He is a wannabe dictator who has corrupted the very ideals of our democracy. He is an autocrat looking to make a fast buck at the expense of our freedoms. If the first amendment gets in his way, he will do what he wants and then use his corrupt Justice Department to justify whatever he does. The end result is that, while wanting to avoid the suffering historically endured under other dictators, many would encourage and support this dictator in disguise. That disguise is paper-thin and easy to see through if one just opens their eyes.
Outside the Latino community explanations are perhaps more diverse. The very wealthy or those with such aspirations will regularly support Donald Trump because he has made life simpler and more profitable. Greed “trumps” principals.
We also have the religious right who see Trump as the second coming. They can forgive his peccadillos and morally bankrupt behavior. They can forgive his attacks on immigrants, refugees, the homeless, racial and religious minorities, single parents, and struggling wage earners. Donald Trump, a thrice-married, womanizing, swindling, adulterous, profane, materialistic man who pays porn stars for sex, had previously only appealed to the fringe elements of Christianity.
Those would be the profiteering mega-church Christians with more earthly motivations. Trump is now, however, widely supported by even mainstream evangelicals. There are seven deadly sins listed in Christian theology. Those are pride, envy, gluttony, greed, lust, sloth, and wrath. Trump seems to have checked all the boxes. The religious right justifies their support of this sinner because he has supported their agenda. Forgiveness is “mighty Christian” of them, especially now that they are gaining traction for their objectives in the courts. They have made a deal with the devil.
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| Trump the Almighty |
To understand those who would support Donald Trump and his agenda, we have to look for ulterior motives. Those on the left see Trump for what he is but those on the right seem to tolerate his behavior for such gains as they deem worthy. They will sacrifice our democracy for their own financial rewards, for their anti-socialist beliefs, or for some religious conviction deemed by them as worthy of sacrifice. Our democracy is uncertain. We can only hope that enough people are outraged with what they have seen in the previous 46 months prior to November 3rd. It will take overwhelming numbers to overcome the inevitable voter suppression that will take place. In the recent failed Georgia primary elections, where largely Black communities suffered inoperable voting machines and intolerable long lines at polling places, we saw that White neighborhoods had short lines with plenty of working machines. This is but the most recent example of the lengths Republicans will go to influence an election. To them, all’s fair in love, war, and politics.
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| Even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious. |
Recent GOP leaders who have come out in support of Biden bring us some hope. Even a few religious leaders have seen the error of their Trump support and have caused his numbers drop at the polls. His gross mishandling of our dual crises, the Covid-19 pandemic and our racial unrest, have highlighted just how incompetent and unfit Donald Trump is at his job. Forget making America great again, we need to save the very essence of our democracy. We do not need to reelect this authoritarian dictator based on some unfounded fear of socialism. We need a leader with a moral compass that still works. We need a leader who is not without empathy for this nation’s citizens. We need Joe Biden or any of thousands of other leaders who would do a much better job than this spray-tanned orange bag of corruption. As one former GOP supporter put it, I’ll vote for anyone with a pulse
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