Why Trump ?

[The Great Zaganza]

The main question of this election is: how did Trump become the Republican nominee?

Instead of finding reasons why he should not be, I'm wondering what makes him such a credible candidate for so many Americans?


Here are some of my musings on the subject:

ENVY
plenty of people want what Trump seems to have: unlimited money, houses, a giant airplane and a couple of much younger, beautiful wives. While there might be much more objective criteria for success, in the eyes of many Trump has all one could ever want. People vote for Trump because they want to BE Trump - and by association with him they can feel like they are.

NOSTALGIA
As a skyscraper-builder, Trump represents the kind of billionaire (let's just say he is) who people can understand how he made his money (or think they do). There is something very American, very Rockefeller, very stable about building taller and taller towers.
This is in contrast to all the Fund managers, software developers or drug companies that seem to make billions overnight with things no one seems to understand and that can lose all their worth the next day. For many, trillions of debt and electronic money are just not real in any comprehensible sense. The value of a gigantic house on the other hand is tangible. Similarly, people want visible proof of the success of the USA, not statistics, indices or reports.

REJECTION OF COMPLEXITY
If you have problems, you don't want to be told that there is no easy solution. Many people feel not truly in control because it seems that the most important decisions determining their lives are made somewhere in a boardroom, by a state legislator, by Congress or even in international trade agreements. So they have no hope of regaining control to the extend they believe they should have.
The amount of self-help guides is a clear testament to our continued delusion that we can control everything after all, possibly very easily.
And Trump seems to be the epitome of success via simplicity: just reading his books or joining his University should make you capable of becoming as rich as him. Or vote for him and become powerful.


please explain to me why I'm totally wrong

 

[Crossbow]

The best thing that ever happened to Trump was the multitude of stupid, idiotic, lying Republicans who were too cowardly to call out Trump early on because they were so afraid that Trump would use his vast fortune to start his own political party and therefore split the Republican vote and thus cause the Republicans to lose the upcoming presidential election.

Instead, what happened is that Trump got the nomination and will therefore lose the upcoming presidential election and drag the Republican Party into the gutter.

It could not happen to a nicer bunch of guys.

 

[marplots]

Celebrity + branding = cognitive ease -> more votes.

 

[TubbaBlubba]

Honestly? Enough people watched Trump on TV and thought "Yeah, I agree with him, this guy should be president."

That's about it.

ETA: They might say that they want to "stir the pot" or just "like that he speaks his mind", but those are almost universally excuses; most of those people would hardly vote for a Democratic candidate who would "stir the pot" or "speak his mind". When Trump wants to ban Muslims, round up illegal immigrants, or when he spouts stereotypes about Jews, or when he talks about nuking ISIS, they agree with him and think those things are good and proper.

That's why they voted for him and are voting for him.

 

[Upchurch]

Celebrity + branding = cognitive ease -> more votes.

Honestly? Enough people watched Trump on TV and thought "Yeah, I agree with him, this guy should be president."

I've been saying that Trump is exactly equally presidentially qualified as Kim Kardashian. You could swap one for the other and have a candidate just as prepared to lead the country.

 

[Segnosaur]

The main question of this election is: how did Trump become the Republican nominee?

In addition to the reasons you suggested, another one might be vote splitting.

Trump is, to put it mildly, unique. On the other hand, Cruz, Kasich, and Rubio were relatively mainstream.

Anyone who wanted a lunatic candidate basically had limited options (especially in the later primaries). Anyone who wanted a relatively sane candidate had many options. So Trump benefited from vote-splitting.

 

[CapelDodger]

In addition to the reasons you suggested, another one might be vote splitting.

Trump is, to put it mildly, unique. On the other hand, Cruz, Kasich, and Rubio were relatively mainstream.

Anyone who wanted a lunatic candidate basically had limited options (especially in the later primaries). Anyone who wanted a relatively sane candidate had many options. So Trump benefited from vote-splitting.

I agree. Had there been a much smaller field at the beginning Trump would never have featured, and would not have become the story. Once he did become the story he was in his element.

 

[Ladewig]

I've been saying that Trump is exactly equally presidentially qualified as Kim Kardashian. You could swap one for the other and have a candidate just as prepared to lead the country.

I might want to split a hair here. Kim Kardashian would immediately recognize that she is in way over her and and would find some experts to talk to before even sending out a Tweet. Trump thinks he is a Renaissance¹ Genius and refuses all advice before speaking or acting. So in that sense, KKis more qualified.

On the other hand, if you were going to measure qualifications by general knowledge and information a president must understand, then yes, they are equal. They would get very similar scores (failing grades) on a ninth-grade civics exam.


1) although Trump doesn't understand the word Renaissance so he would more likely describe himself as "a genius who knows... Knows all the. Is skilled in every aspect of knowing. Every aspect. Believe me, every aspect."

 

[Ladewig]

The main question of this election is: how did Trump become the Republican nominee?

Instead of finding reasons why he should not be, I'm wondering what makes him such a credible candidate for so many Americans?


Here are some of my musings on the subject:

ENVY
plenty of people want what Trump seems to have: unlimited money, houses, a giant airplane and a couple of much younger, beautiful wives. While there might be much more objective criteria for success, in the eyes of many Trump has all one could ever want. People vote for Trump because they want to BE Trump - and by association with him they can feel like they are.

NOSTALGIA
As a skyscraper-builder, Trump represents the kind of billionaire (let's just say he is) who people can understand how he made his money (or think they do). There is something very American, very Rockefeller, very stable about building taller and taller towers.
This is in contrast to all the Fund managers, software developers or drug companies that seem to make billions overnight with things no one seems to understand and that can lose all their worth the next day. For many, trillions of debt and electronic money are just not real in any comprehensible sense. The value of a gigantic house on the other hand is tangible. Similarly, people want visible proof of the success of the USA, not statistics, indices or reports.

REJECTION OF COMPLEXITY
If you have problems, you don't want to be told that there is no easy solution. Many people feel not truly in control because it seems that the most important decisions determining their lives are made somewhere in a boardroom, by a state legislator, by Congress or even in international trade agreements. So they have no hope of regaining control to the extend they believe they should have.
The amount of self-help guides is a clear testament to our continued delusion that we can control everything after all, possibly very easily.
And Trump seems to be the epitome of success via simplicity: just reading his books or joining his University should make you capable of becoming as rich as him. Or vote for him and become powerful.


please explain to me why I'm totally wrong

That's easy.
The reason you are totally wrong is that you left BIGOTRY, SEXISM, and DISDAIN FOR POLITICAL CORRECTNESS off your list.
Disclaimer I am not asserting all or even most Trump supporters like him for his views on minorities and women. And unlike some posters on this board, I am not asserting that forum members who defend all or part of his platform are mysogynistic bigots. I am asserting that nationwide, the percentage is not negligiable.

Joking aside, I agree with OP.

 

[pgwenthold]

I've been saying that Trump is exactly equally presidentially qualified as Kim Kardashian. You could swap one for the other and have a candidate just as prepared to lead the country.

I've said the reason they picked Trump is because Simon Cowell is not eligible.

 

[Upchurch]

I might want to split a hair here. Kim Kardashian would immediately recognize that she is in way over her and and would find some experts to talk to before even sending out a Tweet.

I will fully admit to not being familiar enough with Kardashian to gauge her level of self-awareness.

 

[sir drinks-a-lot]

I've been saying that Trump is exactly equally presidentially qualified as Kim Kardashian. You could swap one for the other and have a candidate just as prepared to lead the country.

...and Hillary is as qualified as Bernie Madoff!

 

[logger]

Trump got the nomination because of his strong early stance on immigration. Many rural and rust belt people like his take on NAFTA and trade. Combine that with his outsider status and you have the reason.

His team figured this out early and now you're seeing his swing to the middle. It will certainly be a long shot if he wins it. But if Hillary loses it to him, it will be the greatest upset in American politics ever!

 

[TubbaBlubba]

I really see no need to explain people voting for Trump with anything other than the fact that they agree with his positions and think he'd make a great president. It's usually the case that a lot of people are shocked that anyone would support a fascist or fascistoid policies, but the fact of the matter is that they have historically enjoyed great popularity under certain conditions.

 

[Upchurch]

...and Hillary is as qualified as Bernie Madoff!

Clinton has decades of relevant experience. Trump ...er, was on TV for a while?

 

[Fudbucker]

I swear some of you have never met a rational Trump supporter. They exist, trust me. They don't necessarily like Trump, but they do a risk/reward assessment, like we all do, and they decide that the risk of Trump is worth the reward of tearing down the established political order, which they see as having totally sold out the American people.

When you look at the decay of the middle class over the last 30 years, the obscene concentrations of wealth that both parties have allowed to happen, the border policies that have created an exploited underclass that live in the shadows and work for sweatshop wages, the corrupt influence of money on politics...I understand how they feel. I think they have the risk/reward assessment backwards, but that doesn't make them idiots or bigots.

 

[Molinaro]

He's going to get rid of all them Mexicans.

 

[Regnad Kcin]

I swear some of you have never met a rational Trump supporter. They exist, trust me. They don't necessarily like Trump, but they do a risk/reward assessment, like we all do, and they decide that the risk of Trump is worth the reward of tearing down the established political order, which they see as having totally sold out the American people.

When you look at the decay of the middle class over the last 30 years, the obscene concentrations of wealth that both parties have allowed to happen, the border policies that have created an exploited underclass that live in the shadows and work for sweatshop wages, the corrupt influence of money on politics...I understand how they feel. I think they have the risk/reward assessment backwards, but that doesn't make them idiots or bigots.

Let's put Chance the gardener in charge of flying the airplane and conducting open heart surgery and teaching all the kids to read, rite and rith! Makes about as much sense, regardless of the pretzely mental contortions it requires to arrive at the decision.

 

[logger]

I really see no need to explain people voting for Trump with anything other than the fact that they agree with his positions and think he'd make a great president. It's usually the case that a lot of people are shocked that anyone would support a fascist or fascistoid policies, but the fact of the matter is that they have historically enjoyed great popularity under certain conditions.

It's hilarious to read that you think Trump is a fascist. That position is more suited to politicians on the left since they are willing to commingle business and government, Obamacare being your clue. Leftists claim Trump has no concrete positions, yet somehow he's already a fascist.

I suppose it would be worth knowing what fascistic policies you think he would create?

 

[Stacko]

I swear some of you have never met a rational Trump supporter. They exist, trust me. They don't necessarily like Trump, but they do a risk/reward assessment, like we all do, and they decide that the risk of Trump is worth the reward of tearing down the established political order, which they see as having totally sold out the American people.

When you look at the decay of the middle class over the last 30 years, the obscene concentrations of wealth that both parties have allowed to happen, the border policies that have created an exploited underclass that live in the shadows and work for sweatshop wages, the corrupt influence of money on politics...I understand how they feel. I think they have the risk/reward assessment backwards, but that doesn't make them idiots or bigots.

That's not what the data points to.

These are relatively well-off less-educated blue collar workers who see poorer blue collar whites who are suffering (as indicated by low mobility and poor health in the region) and view them as undeserving recipients of government aid. That’s less a story about personal anxiety and more one about class politics between the petit bourgeois and the proletariat.

But the basic point is the straightforward story of Trump supporters as poor whites abandoned by the loss of manufacturing to China is not the case. The story is, at least, much more complicated.