If I see another “study” attempting to describe the different motives of those who support Donald Trump, I will once again engage my (not-so-inner) potty-mouth.
The most recent example I’ve come across was a description of a study purporting to describe four different varieties of Trump voter. Here’s the crux of the study’s “scholarly” conclusion:
About 29 percent of 2024 Trump voters are what we call the “MAGA Hardliners.” These are the fiery core of Trump’s base, mostly composed of white Gen Xers and Baby Boomers, who are animated by the belief that God is on their side in America’s existential struggle between good and evil. Then there are the “Anti-Woke Conservatives” (21 percent): a more secular and affluent group of voters deeply frustrated by what they perceive as the takeover of schools, culture, and institutions by the progressive left. Another 30 percent are the “Mainline Republicans”: a more racially diverse group of middle-of-the-road conservatives who prioritize border security, a strong economy, and cultural stability. Finally, we have the “Reluctant Right” (20 percent). Members of this group, unlike the other three, are not necessarily part of Trump’s base; they voted for him, but have ambivalent feelings toward him. Only half identify as Republicans, and many picked Trump because he seemed “less bad” than the alternative.
Any reasonable look at those “differences” will note the common thread that unites them, the overwhelming grievance that allows them to ignore–or even cheer–Trump’s ignorance and venality, his increasing dementia, and his destruction of America’s constitution at home and influence abroad.
That common thread is a deep-seated racism.
Let’s look at all four of those categories. The first, the MAGA Hardliners, are described politely; they are rather clearly White “Christian” nationalists. Project 2025 mapped out their preferred society–a society where God has installed White males in positions of authority, where women are returned to the kitchen and bedroom, and people of color who are allowed to remain in the country are properly subservient.
“Anti-woke conservatives” are assigned to a second, presumably separate category. Everything we need to know about them is in the “anti-woke” descriptor. They are only different from the White “Christian” nationalists because they don’t attribute their racism to a god. They may be more educated and more secular, they may even be more circuitous when expressing their hatreds, but they are every bit as racist as the MAGA Hardliners.
Calling the third group “Mainline Republicans” is a slur on those who could formerly have been described that way– genuinely traditional “mainline” Republicans have mostly departed from today’s GOP, leaving the “mainline” moniker to those who were formerly on the fringe. They are, according to the description, concerned with “border security, a strong economy, and cultural stability.” Border security and “cultural stability” are the give-aways here: securing the border means “keep Black and Brown folks out of the U.S.” “Cultural stability” is code for keeping White Christian male status dominant.
And that fourth group–the voters who chose to give the nation’s nuclear codes to a clearly unfit buffoon who had been found guilty of multiple felonies and rape because he was the “lesser of two bad choices?” Come on! Kamala Harris was only a lesser choice to people who could not bring themselves to vote for a Black woman (a Black woman married to a Jew, no less!)
These aren’t different constituencies. At most, they’re different varieties of racists.
And credit where credit is due: the one promise Trump has kept is his promise to emulate the Nazis. He hasn’t brought down the price of eggs or other groceries, hasn’t kept America out of foreign military engagements, and certainly hasn’t made America great. He and Stephen Miller and the assortment of clowns, misfits and outright psychopaths he has assembled have pursued an unrelenting attack on DEI, on “wokeness,” on accurate history, and on anyone perceived as an enemy of the would-be King of (some) White folks.
Now, Trump’s administration has unleashed its very own Gestapo–directed at cities in Blue states that failed to vote for him. Actually, Trump has gone one better than Hitler– Gestapo thugs didn’t wear masks.
Sane-washing takes lots of forms. For far too long, the media has tried to portray insanity and corruption as just one set of political positions, while academics have attempted to “slice and dice” MAGA supporters into more and less reprehensible categories. Those efforts are another kind of mask–one that keeps us from seeing the extent of the fascism we face.
Purveyors of “making nice” need to cut the crap and face up to the very ugly evidence of where we are right now.
Thank you for your last paragraph!
I have read articles from The Guardian and AP that has so many versions of gaslighting, I now use them as a muckraker exampling yellow journalism. Quite frankly, that’s what it is. They are trying to normalize the events we see coming from the White House while nothing is normal and hasn’t been for a long time.
What this allows is the right-wing to venture further to the right into fascism while the left-wing follows. Both parties occupy the right-wing of the political spectrum. The CIA has worked diligently for the oligarchs to replace anything resembling leftists or socialists around the world. Keir Starmer was presented as a “progressive” from the labor movement. LOL
Once again, the underlying theme from the Davos crowd was fear. The oligarchy (kleptocrats) are worried that the people are starting to catch on and want to deoligarch the oligarchs (expropriation). When the people get there, which they should, this country has a chance to salvage itself. Cali and NY are models that are considered a decade ahead of the nation’s middle ground. However time is speeding up. In NY, we have a socialist mayor. In Cali, the state wants a ballot measure to tax the billionaires one time to replace what Trump took from the people.
Sadly for Hoosiers, we are always the last house on the block to make changes.
Absolutely on-point! This administration encourages the racists to be out of the closet. And boy, they are!
Being deaf, I see things that hearing people usually miss; facial expressions, especially eyes and body language. I have noticed a sudden strutting walk and a level of stronger self-assurance in our naked Emperor and Czar Homan regarding the deadly Minneapolis situation. It appears they know something we don’t know; makes me wonder what new Crap they have devised for us to cut through in the general ICE situation and the possible looming full military takeover in all states. Trump’s campaign frequently rallied around his putting the weight of most responsibilities on the State governments if elected but he is now overriding their powers using ICE and National Guard troops against the public. Does the sudden FBI investigation into the Georgia 2020 election results, and possibility of other state elections being investigated, have anything to do with new posturing of our mentally and morally questionable “leaders”? The Trump/Supreme Court “pillow talk” connection is keeping all of the Republican officials above all laws; the targeted First and Second Amendments, which are the foundation of the Constitution and this nation, are systematically being eliminated from all but those Republican officials…whatever description they fall under in the blog today.
I have forgotten which political issue was being discussed where the term “cognitive dissonance” was used but I immediately recognized the problems I am having with that issue. I have questioned my own sanity level at times due to the confusion caused by current lack of actual leadership, disguised by dictatorship, at all levels. Republicans have little or no question regarding their current lack of reasoning regarding why or who they support; it all adds up to a near total lack of democracy, Rule of Law and determination to destroy the Constitution of the UNITED Sates of America.
My current personal Cognitive Dissonance is regarding God, one of my granddaughters and the entire Democratic Party. No idea who or what I am praying to or why, my granddaughter now has full membership in my enemy party and the loss of loyalty of the Democratic party which gave the 2024 election to Trump and the loss of loyalty to me as one of their constituents. I know I have been unburdening myself here recently but who else or where else can I go with this Crap?
Bigots all!
Holocaust Remembrance Day went by with nary a mention from the Trumpists, and MLK’s birthday? Right!
Homan is full of the same crap as his predecessor, and Trump lost Georgia regardless of what the now crappy FBI says.
Well of course we can now see that it has always been racism. We slept through the past decades since MLK thinking that the country was past all that. It was easy for those of us living in blue cities where mixed neighborhoods and workplaces became normalized to not realize that to the rest of the country we were living in some kind of sin, one they did not want to join in on. The question now is what do we do about it?
Standing up to the armed terrorism of the government is no way as difficult as changing the hearts of family, friends, and neighbors who harbor hatred as a part of their identity. Any suggestions, folks?
The seeds for this mess were sown many long years ago. Our major institutions such as our universities and other institutions of education and learning were in jeopardy when they accepted money from the federal government, money which can be withdrawn at any time, and now is being withdrawn or threatened to be withdrawn. Exactly the same with every formerly respected journalism publication. If a benefit can be granted it can be withdrawn. FAFO at it finest. So now the leopard is coming for any and every face it can find to eat.
Theresa Bowers. Yes, I have a suggestion but it won’t be easy. Engage in calm conversation with the people who are driving you crazy. Listen to them carefully while they are spouting pure bullshit. Keep your emotions under tight control when they are deliberately pushing all your buttons. Think carefully before you speak. Approach them as carefully as you would a terrified, growling dog. Do not contradict them. Instead, take time to identify the illogical underpinnings of their positions, then GENTLY ask a question that is designed to reveal a flaw in their argument. This is the hardest part. It requires critical thinking to find a good question that is non-threatening but plants a seed of doubt in their mind. If you cannot be genuinely interested in what they think, pretend to be. Be willing to settle for agreeing to disagree. You are not going to succeed quickly or easily but you will certainly fail if you cannot respect their personhood even as you deplore their opinions.
“Critical thinking” has been dying for some time. It has been driven from our education system by focus on standardized tests and STEM emphasis. And who has time for it when we have social media, celebrityism and the SIC (sports industrial complex).
The racism came out and proud 20 years ago when Obama ran for President. It had been most circumspect before that, but there nevertheless, especially in Indiana where the KKK ruled and 250K men were members, likely a lot of grandfathers and greats in that number. I see it now in my own diverse neighborhood of starter homes. As soon as a family has more than 1 child, the house if sold and the family, usually white, moves out to the counties for “better schools” (code for white). They usually tell you that it is because they need “more room”. That is just another piece of crap to hide the fear and racism.
When you see a supposed pastor of an evangelical church in NC accost a group of Buddhist monks on a walk for peace, calling for vile names and condemning them to hell, it doesn’t take long to realize that there are a lot more like them right here at home. Cities have always been a threat to the WCN, too likely to allow the majority of white folks to recognize their diverse neighbors as fellow human beings.
Release the Epstein Files!
RESIST.
I keep asking myself WHERE are the voices of the main-line Christians? You know–those people who claim to follow their traditional Jesus, loving one another, caring for one another, welcoming strangers, etc. As odious as they are, the Christian nationalists are at least vocal. Where are the Catholics? The Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, etc, etc?
Sheila, I could feel your visceral and frustrated fury. (In my imagination, I visualise your fury meeting mine in a dimly-lit alleyway, grim-faced, giving each other a quick nod and handshake, on the way to creating separate mayhem somewhere.) Anyway, I also feel like I could hear epithets, swears and curses all throughout the piece, that were–perhaps prudently–left out. All the same, feeling them made me just a tiny bit happier. 🙂
Bravo to Sharon and her suggested strategy for winning over the MAGA relatives, neighbors and co-workers. Fighting back only makes things worse. Ghandi & MLK used non-violent probing questions and stories to get under their skin and into their heads instead. It takes patience and determination.
It’s interesting to me that FAUX News is having doubts about ICE’s presence in Minnesota.Suddenly they have remembered the $700,000,000. they paid for lying about voter fraud after the 2020 election?
Will they lose viewers if they broadcast the videos or will their viewers begin having doubts about the actions of a rogue government agency? Did they really take a lesson from Dominion? I seriously doubt that they would worry about a lawsuit from the Pretti family, since any judgement in that case would be pocket change.
I’m betting that the reasoning behind the change of heart was cultural. It’s okay to the MAGATS to kill a lesbian, or a brown immigrant, but not okay to kill a white man.
Pam, we Mainline Christians are asking the same questions that you are but with a different verb. While our leadership puts out press releases and we do deeds of mercy and stand up at demonstrations and public meetings to state our opinions, why is the media ignoring us? Are we too boring because we plead for peace and justice and equity in the public square? What’s the deal? Fox and One America (and now CBS too…) will NEVER report on our opinions of course…
I have a (slightly) different take on the situation. It travels on the same tracks as White Nationalism but it is the bumbling idiot cousin of White Nationalism.
There are far too many of our fellow citizens who did not realize what a vote for Trump meant. Some people are not getting what they thought they were getting. Yes. It is difficult to believe that. But I think it is true.
I remember growing up in the South in the 50s. Some people really believed that soap operas were documentaries – that they were true. They just do not think about things too much. These are the people that think because Trump had a TV show about business, he MUST have been a great businessman. These are the people that made snake oil a viable product in the 1920s and 1930s. These are the people that are putting their life savings into cryptocurrencies without even knowing what that is. These are the people that believe there is some magic wand out there called AI and it offers supernatural answers to real problems. There are a lot of stupid (and intellectually lazy) people. I don’t think that they think about things enough to even have an opinion on economics or immigration for that matter. And our pied-piper-president is all too happy to lead them off of the dock and into the river.
alls quiet in NoDak. seems the blight of ice isnt a issue. at least in the bar. then theres the discussion. mmmm, seems those who i talk with still hold the spin of right wing militia media. move aside,were coming thru. the typical with pro white man and down with your liberal views. my neighbors are avoiding me. a job i just applied for,distanced me when they found me,well,too informed. no job. the secondary issue here, my age. though i maintain a gov,mandated physical every year,for the privlege to remain in a poverty wage job of trucking, typical
suits over working class. ill be frank, im probably in better shape than a 50 YO.
they love to exploit my experience.i love talking to the younger employs about what life has become,and where thier job future may lay. this isnt a place (both today in trucking and NoDak)where you share your views,its a clock in shut up and work. now its publicized whether you wrote it or said it in some media. the growth of data centers will produce this,as probably every word and view here.
when changing jobs,overtime, you may find more and more trash stacked up on the door step. where does this end? where does google get a personal view of you? every tap,and every open site,and the people,you hang out with. im finding now,a third party so-called(trucking) consortium here in NoDak has made my name to perspective employers who run my resume thru them,(in trucking,this paper work/regs issue is emence, and trucking companies today hire a consortium to do their leg work. hense,there views also)this is where i just got hit,denied a job. because of my personal view,s. it took awhile to back channel the issue, it wasnt my insurance company,or drivng record(clean and clean) it was this third party consortium. via whatever background they found,or relied on. this is totally not a regulatory issue in trucking,none, its personal view by a third party consortium hired by the trucking company. id like to finish this with, a letter i recieved from my former employ,10 years worth, and a rock solid employer who didnt mince words when she ran this comany,(yes a woman,and ill stand on 47 years of over the road work, she was the best employer and trucking company i worked for) i stood out because i did more than was expected, people who i delivered to took time to tell her how nice it was that i could fill in while their crew attended to WTFs while i was unloading or just waiting around. now its being challenged by people and institutions that i do not care for,or a data world that tracks,folds,holds and distroys a career over trivial shit because,they can..
best wishes,
Pam Wright, we are finally beginning to see clergy coming to the party. There has been a whole line of pastors in their collars every day in Minneapolis. It’s taken a long time to get them motivated to take action en masse, but the killing has crossed the line, I think. Now that they are out there, I’m hoping they’ll join Reverend Barber for Moral Mondays, when the current crisis ends. Injustice isn’t limited to one policy.
Was the something Trump and Homan knew that put the pep in their step I mentioned in my earlier comments that the feds found a loophole allowing them to arrest journalists who attended protests? They don’t even have to be arrested while at a protest site. So far since yesterday they have arrested two career journalists, Lemon and Ford. When will they move to arresting journalists on air as they are reporting fact and showing videos to the public?
Trying talk to resolve our differences has been done; we have had TEN YEARS of talking facts and and proving their lies, we should have learned that our talk is cheap; we didn’t have the millionaires or billionaires to buy the lies and liars now ruling this nation and is being listened to globally with the far right winning the dialog competition. Even Trump stayed wake yesterday to hear each accolade heaped upon him…almost as if he knew what would be said and he wouldn’t be bored by it.
Yes – elect JD Ford to Congress. http://www.electjdford.com
One more opinion. There is a segment of Trump followers, (Tested the theory)
when asked questions (not political in general) like what you know about the federal reserve? admit that they are not interested in knowing any new information about anything.
Or no longer want to hear Anything even from MAGA. BECAUSE to hear or learn anything may force them to change their view.
Countering outright lies with facts and resisting Magas bait to rile you are ways to deal with the antagonizing of outsiders that Maga engages in. Looks like they take comfort in being on the “winning side” and enjoy the camaraderie of their group. The winning look, facade that they portray takes tremendous vigilant energy and mainly is perpetrated to cover all the corruption that the trump regime is engaged in. I hate to see other Americans conned by the hate, greed and stupidity of trump and Maga, but Republicans can’t expect Democrats to be their clean-up crew. Republicans need to deal with the fallout of their illegitimate ways to hold onto power.
Can’t say it better, Sheila, you’ve got it: “For far too long, the media has tried to portray insanity and corruption as just one set of political positions, while academics have attempted to “slice and dice” MAGA supporters into more and less reprehensible categories. Those efforts are another kind of mask–one that keeps us from seeing the extent of the fascism we face.” Maybe one thing to add, there is an element of wishful thinking (and bending over backwards to look eminently fair) that leads to soft-pedaling, i.e., making things better than they are. All that accomplishes is making them look better, not making them better.