Many will watch the following cadre of die-hard Trump supporters and say that these people are a lost cause. Listen intently, however. They are reachable if we choose to engage.
Trump supporters: Delusional? Yes. Reachable? Yes.
The easy answer is to say Progressives should not waste their time trying to get these die-hard Trump voters to see the light. I disagree completely.
When asked about the Russia Scandal it was clear that some were tying themselves into knots to create a rationale for what the Trump administration did with Russian agents. One particular supporter was not amused.
“Why would you ever trust Russia,” he asked. “I don’t. Why would you ever trust him?”
Another supporter showed that she was not buying the denials from the president.
“Well, I actually thought that when he met with Putin the other day,” she said. “I think they went in that room for two and a half hours and said ‘How are we going to figure this out.”
When asked if she thought Trump was holding Putin’s feet to the fire, she said no, they were buddies. ‘I won’t tell if you won’t tell.’
What is ironic here is that they are willing to accept collusion with Russia even as we know if any Democrat had done this they would be calling it treason.
It was evident these Trump supporters knew the issues. They, however, were tainted by the narrative of the media who informed them. They failed to understand that the low gas prices, good job reports, and the stock market are a function of policies still in effect from the previous administration. One Trump supporter was cognizant that many of the kinds of jobs are not the jobs that provide a sustainable middle-class life.
When the subject changed to health care, it was clear that they were apprehensive. Some of these supporters know Trumpcare as is, will be detrimental. One woman illustrated personal stories of families with health insurance. She was hesitant to say Obamacare even though it almost rolled off of her tongue. Others never believed he could fixed health care.
There is a reason why Trump says he could shoot someone and still not lose his core supporters. It is because these people are disenchanted with the established political parties that in their opinion failed them. Are many of them xenophobic racist sexist misogynists like Trump? Yes. But that did not stop many of them from voting for President Obama specifically because they thought it was in their interest. This Salon article is probative.
Sean Quinn, of the polling site FiveThirtyEight, respected for its obsessiveness and eerie prescience, recently posted a hair-raising story about a pair of Barack Obama supporters. Quinn seems ready to verify its source, but only after the election. At any rate, it goes like this: A man canvassing for Obama in western Pennsylvania asks a housewife which candidate she intends to vote for. She yells to her husband to find out. From the interior of the house, he calls back, “We’re voting for the nigger!” At which point the housewife turns to the canvasser and calmly repeats her husband’s declaration.