I was basically raised Republican, spent some time as a libertarian, and gradually came around to a Democrat-leaning independent viewpoint. I understand why someone would have voted for Mitt Romney. I understand why someone would have voted for John McCain. I seriously considered voting for John McCain, and the main reason I didn't was his choice of VP.
But Trump eludes me. The man is basically what you get when the worst kind of used car salesman is born into money. I cannot understand how anyone can look at him and say, yes, that man should be leading this country. Not because he disagrees with what I, a Democrat-leaning independent believe, but because he clearly has no actual beliefs, principles, or policies of his own, and for nearly every position he has ever espoused, he has also espoused the opposite, sometimes within the same sentence.
I can understand why a person would believe that we should have less gun control. I can't understand why that person would then vote for Donald Trump, who said that the police should search people on the street and confiscate their guns.
- Clinton took the midwestern 'blue firewall' for granted
- Russia
- Comey
- Sexism
- Voter suppression, especially amongst African-Americans
- Really wrong candidate for a strongly populism-tinged election cycle
120,000 votes total across three states would've flipped the election, and we'd be having a totally different conversation right now.
n.b. I voted for Clinton in the primaries and general.
Of course, this is nothing compared to 2000, where the number was a mere 269.
They support Trump because they admire him, plain and simple. He's a blowhard who's blustered his way into becoming President of the United States.
A regular working-class guy knows he's no Obama, or Lincoln, or Ronald Reagan. But he looks at Trump and thinks to himself, 'If THAT guy can make it, then so can I.' To them, Trump is literally the American Dream of upward mobility incarnate.
He may have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but he doesn't have class. He acts like the boorish nouveau riche who upends all the upper crust's social and political conventions. The more elites (regardless of party) are offended and publish long screeds about how he will destroy the Republic, the more the base love him.
Who do you trust more -- coastal and city elites who think your religion is hogwash, your values are garbage, your biggest problems are that you're ignorant, racist, and white?
A Republican Party that says they're for you, and then turns around and nakedly passes legislation that will gut your communities and keep shipping jobs off shore?
Or an untried, loud-mouth demagogue who promises everything to you, but at least he's not part of the same system that's been screwing you over for the past 30 years?
When you feel your back's against the wall and you've nothing to lose, you roll the dice.
And I think you underestimate the pure hatred for Hillary Clinton. Far more voted against her than for him. When your life is miserable and your community is dying and a rich lady you've hated for decades tells you "America is already great" (this was actually her slogan!), well....
Imagine being a truck driver and watching this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YttscNOoAjA
Finally, at the end of the day your rank and file republicans are just going to go to the polls and check the box next to 'R' like they always do, no matter what. Religious republicans will say a prayer when they do it, poor ones will convince themselves he'll help them, moderate ones will convince themselves Hillary is worse. You'd sooner convert one of them than convince a lifelong fan to change their favorite sports team. Similar with democrats.