How could anyone be dumb enough to vote for Trump?

[Tennessee Hillbilly]

-- He's by far the weakest, most cowardly "president" in U.S. history.

-- He committed treason by secretly accepting help from Putin in the 2016 election.

-- He's a draft dodger who repeatedly threatens to take military action against other countries.

-- Everyday he tells blatant lies to the American people, while accusing the press of fake news.

Well this list could obviously be much longer, but this is enough to justify my question:

How could anyone be dumb enough to vote for Trump?

[Harker]

1. If you find out

please enlighten me.

[yardwork]

2. Racism.

[WestIndianArchie]

25. Bingo!

[LuvLoogie]

3. There are smart, intelligent people that support him, precisely, because he does these things.

He's not there because people are stupid. Stupid people vote for Democrats, too.

The motivations of those that still support trump have nothing to do with intelligence or lack there of.

[womanofthehills]

26. Please name one smart intelligent person we all know who supports Trump

They might have a PhD, but they still are racist and really stupid about stuff not related to their work. My PhD sort of friend can't understand why I care about the kids on the border. Jezzz...... If it's not about them, they don't care that much.

[Grasswire2]

4. Forty years of hate AM radio and FOX News.

That's the manure that has fertilized the "grievances" of that particular class.

My cousin is one. A retired cop and a really good family man. Successful financially, loved by his family. Kind, actually, to people in his life and orbit. But brainwashed by hate radio. Simply brainwashed.

[Funtatlaguy]

8. My brother and his son were stolen by them too.

[elleng]

11. You're probably correct,

propaganda plays a HUGE role in this country.

[FiveGoodMen]

12. Plus the Southern Baptist Church

[IADEMO2004]

34. I preach that to everyone. Hate radioIowa's steve king's election again and again and again.

and don't get me started on warrior princess joni ernst.

No capitalization for improper politicians.

[TDale313]

5. He hates the people they hate.

Frankly, many of his supporters don’t care how bad a job he does as long as they think he’s making life more miserable for those “others” (minorities, lgtb+, immigrants, liberals, women).

[Different Drummer]

7. Exactly what I was going to say.

Plus, they voted for him to "own the libs."

[customerserviceguy]

41. Yep

They know all of his shortcomings, and still love the fact that he pisses off the people they hate. He's their "pit bull".

[lpbk2713]

6. The Russians got him the votes that made the difference.

And HRC actually won by total vote count.

[treestar]

9. They pay no attention and so they don't even know about his lies and stupid comments

They are single issue abortion madpeoepole

They are xenophobic and scapegoat illegal immigrants

They pay no attention and so they think he is a billionaire businessman and fall for the businessman would make a good president crap

[Different Drummer]

10. They thought we needed a political outsider to come in and straighten things out.

If what we're seeing now is "straightened out", I hope to never see disarray!

[lpbk2713]

14. I think you're right.

I remember a lot of talk about voting in a "businessman" instead
of a career politician to streamline our government. Since he has
been in office everything he has touched has turned to shit.

[Ohiogal]

19. Agree 100% treestar

You nailed it.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

13. Right-wing authoritarian voters.

They overwhelmingly voted for Trump.

It's clear from 2016 exit polls that many of them didn't consider Trump fit for office, but they voted for him anyway.

https://www.cnn.com/election/2016/results/exit-polls

Is Clinton qualified to serve as president?
Yes - 52%
No - 47%

Is Trump qualified to serve as president?
Yes - 38%
No - 61%

Right-wing authoritarianism:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-wing_authoritarianism

Right-wing authoritarians want society and social interactions structured in ways that increase uniformity and minimize diversity. In order to achieve that, they tend to be in favour of social control, coercion and the use of group authority to place constraints on the behaviours of people such as political dissidents and ethnic minorities. These constraints might include restrictions on immigration, limits on free speech and association and laws regulating moral behaviour. It is the willingness to support or take action that leads to increased social uniformity that makes right-wing authoritarianism more than just a personal distaste for difference. Right-wing authoritarianism is characterized by obedience to authority, moral absolutism, racial and ethnic prejudice and intolerance and punitiveness towards dissidents and deviants. In parenting, right-wing authoritarians value children's obedience, neatness and good manners.

I'm VERY white (a couple shades above albino most of the time) and very clean-cut, so I've been privy to "private" conversations about race from people who are clearly RWA's. Most of them are more upset about people not obeying their cultural norms rather than the color of someone's skin, although a few of them have been full-blown racists. It's just that people with different skin colors from them tend to behave differently too. Even someone who "wears pants below their underwear" can get them worked up. It's a very odd way of thinking to me.

Edit: Fictional characters from "No Country for Old Men", but these kinds of people are more likely to vote for Trump:

[global1]

15. I Asked The Same Question Until I Talked To A Trumper The Other Day.....

His head was filled with conspiracy theories; hatred for Obama (he's a birther) and a very closed mind to any reasoning when discussing the criminal actions of Trump.

He's 33 y/o. Single. And immature.

I've lost faith in our youth. I'm 70y/o and was appalled by our conversation.

There was no talking to this guy. He wouldn't hear of any challenge to his hero Trump.

[Snackshack]

16. Hate...

It is one of several primal emotions that is very powerful and can easily sway a human to do things that are generally not in their best interests.

[Keth]

17. Well...

I was sitting at a local brew pub yesterday afternoon enjoying a house brewed IPA and pizza, when the guy next to me, out of the blue, stated he was tired of career politicians like Biden and Pelosi because they get nothing done. Of course, no mention of Moscow Mitch (I like whoever penned that). That's why he likes Trump. Trump is not a career politician, is giving us a good economy, and getting things done like the wall (??). I knew that getting into a political discussion with MAGA man would have no impact. So, I just said to him "I hate Trump. He lies all the time!" and left it at that. Then I went to the bathroom. When I got back, he was turned the other way on his barstool.

[Ohiogal]

20. Welcome to DU Keth

You really can't reason with stupid. Your response was a good one.

[customerserviceguy]

43. Welcome, Keth

from a fellow IPA and pizza lover!

[question everything]

18. Supreme Court!

Was always about the Supreme Court. I have been saying this since 2004.

And this is why, the Sanders supporters from 2016, who were miffed when Hillary won the nomination, and stayed home or voted for Trump or Stein, I hope they burn in hell (not that I believe in heavens or hell..)

And not just the supreme court. Really, while we were busy at "MeToo and Russia and Stormy, Trump nominated many to lower courts which, as we know, are often the first step to challenge abortion restrictions, voters suppression and other issues. All were confirmed.

Yeah, we can thank McGahn for that.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

21. Yep, that was a big part of it too.

https://www.cnn.com/election/2016/results/exit-polls

In your vote, were Supreme Court appointments:
The most important factor, 21% of all voters: Trump 56%, Clinton 41%
An important factor, 48% of all voters: Clinton 49%, Trump 46%
A minor factor, 14% of all voters: Clinton 49%, Trump 40%
Not a factor at all, 14% of all voters: Clinton 55%, Trump 37%

The votes from white evangelicals wasn't surprising either.

White born-again or evangelical Christian?
Yes, 26% of all voters: Trump 80%, Clinton 16%
No, 74% of all voters: Clinton 60%, Trump 34%

[Vinca]

22. I'm especially puzzled when I see the idiots with the "Veterans For Trumps" signs.

I hope they're actors paid to be there and not real veterans. Why would a vet support a guy who weaseled out of service because of bone spurs and then decreased the VA waiting list by nullifying 200,000 applications? A guy who snarkily said "his Vietnam" was fighting sexually transmitted diseases.

[rzemanfl]

23. Before I go wash socks, I feel a need to post about

the irony of your username and this post. So much for that stereotype.

[Tennessee Hillbilly]

24. So much for that stereotype

"the irony of your username and this post. So much for that stereotype."

There are plenty of progressives in Tennessee. I grew up in a "hillbilly" area, but we weren't nearly as ignorant as outsiders might think.

[GeorgeGist]

27. He appeals to stupid people ...

because he is stupid too.

[vlyons]

28. From the Buddhist perspective

People's minds are filled with dark delusions that keep them from becoming enlightened. It's what they tell themselves to stay attached to the delusion that their concept of ego-self is a self-existent solid thing. It seems that they fall into one of two camps. Those who greedily lust for money and the power to make money flow their way by any means. Those are the ones, who believe that money will buy them happiness. The other group seems consumed with anger envy and hatred that they aren't in the first group. And it's all somebody else's fault.

[Zambero]

29. How could anyone be dumb enough to be TRUMP?

Dear Leader is the big chicken. Equally dumb MAGA red hatters are the rotten eggs.

[Baltimike]

30. spite makes one stupid. nt

[HipChick]

31. Phd and white fear

That's my neighbor...24/7 FauX Watcher too....she believes the mexicans are coming to get her...(she's retired, so no job threat)
stays reading all the crime reports every day in the area...

[Mike Nelson]

32. His fans don't care...

… they like his White Supremacy.

[JI7]

33. white supremacy. the need to believe he is far better than Obama in every way

[Trumpocalypse]

35. 30 years of right wing media

Trump is just the symptom. They are the disease.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

44. That too.

On a related note, media in Germany expressed Jew-hatred for many years before Hitler rose to power. It's not like Hitler and the Nazis created it themselves.

[renate]

36. Anger

Racism of course, but the all-in angry kind of racism, not the embarrassed and almost-suppressed kind of racism that I had thought racism in America had become. I would never have imagined that even the most racist people in the country would literally go torches and pitchforks like they did in Charlottesville.

[Hortensis]

37. Many are voting a sick level of partisanship against us and liberalism,

which they've been trained to oppose as causing most of what's wrong with our nation.

Frankly, after all we've seen, how can any sensible, responsible person not realize what mindless hostility to the "other" does to those who've followed it into the nearest dark side?

[moondust]

38. Bigots 'n Pigs

White supremacist patriarchy and tax cuts/deregulation/lax white collar crime enforcement.

Oh...and some suckers with feeble critical thinking skills who fell for loads of bullshit.

[JesterCS]

39. Look how much "reality TV" shows we have

Americans are dumb sadly

[MicaelS]

40. Because he hurts the people they hate.

But not enough for some.

One deplorable stated..

"He's not hurting the right people enough."

[Skittles]

42. easy: racism, misogyny, and easily susceptable to really bad propaganda

fucking sheep