Look no further: Disappointed GOP-candidate explains what REALLY motivates Trump-voters.

[DetlefK]

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/rep-massies-theory-voters-who-voted-for-libertarians-and-then-trump-were-always-just-seeking-the-craziest-son-of-a-bitch-in-the-race

"I went to Iowa twice and came back with [Ron Paul]. I was with him at every event for the last three days in Iowa," Massie said. "From what I observed, not just in Iowa but also in Kentucky, up close with individuals, was that the people that voted for me in Kentucky, and the people who had voted for Rand Paul in Iowa several years before, were now voting for Trump. In fact, the people that voted for Rand in a primary in Kentucky were preferring Trump."

"All this time," Massie explained, "I thought they were voting for libertarian Republicans. But after some soul searching I realized when they voted for Rand and Ron and me in these primaries, they weren't voting for libertarian ideas — they were voting for the craziest son of a bitch in the race. And Donald Trump won best in class, as we had up until he came along."

Massie's observation that libertarian-minded voters, those who devoted passionate support to Sen. Paul and his father in previous cycles, are likely more attracted to "crazy" personalities than candidates with ideological purity bears important implications for the future of that movement. Do those voters, more than anything, crave change agents over philosophical disciples?

...

Massie chalks Trump's success in the general election up to his pledge to shake up Washington, saying, "He had the change mantle and Hillary didn't."

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The US is moving towards diversity. HRC promised more of that. "Better together."

And even though MAGA seems to allude the past, the slogan is actually about shaping the future by preventing where society is headed to right now.

"Change we can believe in" promised change by building something new.

"Make America Great Again" promised change by destroying what exists.

[Quemado]

1. Anger and fear are

IMO the two emotions that motivated Trump voters.

Some Trump voters were motivated by fear of how America is going to change in the not-so-distant future: less white, more tolerance of same-sex relationships, etc.

Some Trump voters were motivated by anger of what has happened in America: the loss of good-paying jobs, immigration, etc.

I voted for Hillary because I wasn't afraid of how America is changing. I am angry at the loss of good-paying jobs. I am not angry over the immigration issue. I voted for Hillary in part because I was certainly not going to vote for a con artist who promoted hate.

[IluvPitties]

14. Exactly!

[Perseus]

2. The author makes a comparison between Bernie Sanders & the trump

There is no comparison, Sanders promoted civility, positive changes for the country, unity, and other things that were meant to improve USA citizens daily life, trump promoted the opposite.

[weissmam]

3. Trump Voters

Racists and idiots , and the ones that weren't indiots are racist

[oasis]

9. +1

[vi5]

4. Wait, is this guy really surprised.....

..that the same people who voted for regressive racists (Ron and Rand Paul) previously......voted for a racist in 2016 (Trump)?

That's almost as funny as pretending there's any difference at all between their positions and Trumps.

What a character.

[Snake Plissken]

5. I run across quite a few Trump supporters in my business travels mainly White males

And there are two factors that drive almost all of them ... racism and greed. And these are educated professionals who for the most apart appear normal, and should never utter a racist or misogynistic comment outside the company of other White males such as myself.

Occasionally I run into the real nutters who are still convinced that Obama is secretly plotting to take their guns, and Democrats are only interested in gay people, undocumented residents, and killing babies, but for the most part, it's mainly racism and greed.

They claim they are against wasteful government spending, but what they really mean is they couldn't care less about government spending as long as none of it is helping anyone with dark skin.

[Va Lefty]

6. trump voters (at least 80% of them) are mean-spirited bitter people

they are unhappy with how their life turned out and now it's all about hurting people who are different than they are. People of color, LGBTs, liberals etc. That is my experience.

[3Hotdogs]

7. That's my cousin you're talking about. A miserable old bastard.

He owns a business, two rental houses, a vacation house in Vermont, goes to Aruba once or twice a year.

He voted for Trump.

[FailureToCommunicate]

10. And hate radio and FOX continually replenish their bile.

[Maggiemayhem]

15. yes Yes yes

Miserable and miserly and lonely. Total misfits. So jealous of the success of people who they feel are beneath them.I would say generally, Trump supporters do not have friends because they won’t shut the hell up about conspiracy theory and totally unverified bullshit. The only friends are the old guys in McDonalds drinking endless cups of coffee which they probably never see outside in the real world.When I meet one, I can’t wait wait to get out of their presence.

[Stuart G]

8. One word forgotten, anger, fear, and ...."hate"....

[PunkinPi]

11. Minor quibble, HRC's campaign slogan was "Stronger Together"...

which imo underscores (even more emphatically) the importance of diversity.

[The Wizard]

12. For years the GOP has appealed

to the worst fears and lowest instincts of the poorly educated and people easily swayed by elemental propaganda, doing it all in coded language like Nixon's "law and order" a euphemism for keeping minorities in their place. Reagan pushed "traditional values," code for keeping minorities in their place. Trump's secret code was Make America Great Again, code for keeping minorities in their place. But Trump took it out of code and put Republican bigotry front and center with his attack on immigrants of a darker hue and Islam. And the media loved it because the more insane he was / is, the better the ratings. Consequently, the Siberian Candidate got billions of dollars of contributions in kind from the corporate media who's responsibility as the Fourth Estate was / is, as prescribed by the First Amendment, to keep the public well informed so as to make wise decisions in the voting booth.
With the demise of the Fairness Doctrine came the advent of infotainment, or news for ratings. Consequently, we got a totally unqualified cheesy reality TV actor as President.
So while we feel entertained, the nation is headed toward second tier status.
Move over Ottomans, Romans, British and other failed empires, your about to get some company. The road to empire is paved with failed republics.

[CousinIT]

13. This still explains it best for me...(mostly, it's white-supremacy, racism, sexism)

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/989375059121901568.html