Believe it or Not, Trump's Voters Are Not All Idiots and Fascists
Trump’s elevation to a second term in the White House, by a rather comfortable margin, will shock a substantial number of American voters, who simply cannot understand how a man recently convicted of multiple felonies, a man whose supporters stormed the Capitol in 2020, could be endorsed by a majority of their fellow citizens. For many, it will be like waking up in a country they never knew.
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It is easy to find posts on X viewed by millions of people expressing despondency at Trump’s victory and not so thinly veiled contempt for his voters - which, it is worth recalling, make up a majority of the American people. I thought I’d share a few here, just in case you thought I was making this up. “Never underestimate the power of large groups of stupid people.” “My belief that the majority of people are inherently good has been shattered.” “Kamala ran a beautiful campaign…She just happened to run in a nation that is addicted to nihilism, cruelty and division.”
I don’t particularly like Trump. I don’t consider him an exemplary person or a person I think my children should emulate. I like some of his policies, and I dislike others. But frankly, I think those who dismiss half of their fellow citizens as nitwits, fascists, “nihilists,” or dupes because they came out and voted for Trump, have lost the plot.
When a candidate you personally find intolerable, deplorable, or morally depraved gets elected by a substantial majority of your fellow citizens, your gut reaction may be to seek refuge in simplistic explanations, like: “They’re too dumb to realise what they’re doing.” Or “they must all be so angry that they can’t see the wood from the trees.” Or “These people must have no moral compass.”
And maybe some people “on the other side” are morally deplorable, or blinded by anger, or dumbed-down by propaganda. But if you wake up one morning to learn that half of your fellow citizens have voted in a way that you cannot stomach, then it might be time for you to do some soul-searching, and ask yourself, why half of the country sees things so very differently to you.
While it might be somehow consoling to think that I am much better and smarter than half of my fellow citizens, it is also a rather self-indulgent and self-serving way to look at the world. If you look hard enough, you can probably discover reasons for voting for Trump other than fascism, stupidity or sheer malice.
For example, as Republican commentator Scott Jennings pointed out, Trump voters are not generally “Nazis,” and many are just working to make ends meet, and looking to Trump to help address their concerns over a languishing economy, lax border policies, and rising crime and insecurity. Others feel that the Biden-Harris camp treated their way of life and worldview with condescension - and Biden’s infelicitous reference to Trump’s supporters as “trash” surely did not help.
Those tempted to dismiss Trump voters as idiots or fascists may need to stretch their imagination and they may need get out there and mix with “the other side” to learn what is really going on. Those who view Trump voters as enemies of democracy and progress would do well to consider what possible reason someone might have to vote for Trump, other than hatred toward minorities or a desire to subvert democracy or rule of law.
Come to think of it, they might even ask some Trump voters themselves why they voted for Trump, and not for Harris. And they might be surprised by the answers they get.
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