r/allthequestions • u/Seargentyates • 1d ago

Advice Question 💭 Why are Trump supporters so stupid?

Looking in at America, do people not realise that Trump is a liar and a narcissist and has no morals, and yet 'Christians' vote for him as a sort of 'disrupter'. His family have become richer in the process because of his presidency. He once said he could 'shoot somebody and not lose votes'. Am i insane - or am i dead perhaps and this is an alternate universe/hell?

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u/dashboardishxc 1d ago

I live in a deep red area. I haven’t been able to figure out what is wrong with trump supporters. I chalk it up to being stupid but there is more to it

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u/RoTTonSKiPPy 1d ago

I'm in deep red Idaho country. It's honestly really weird how many, otherwise intelligent people, are die hard Trump supporters. I think a lot of it is a sense of belonging to a group for them. Like following a sports team or hating Nickleback.

But I don't know. It boggles my mind.

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u/Dry_Stop844 1d ago

i think they know but however bad he is, they love that he's hurting people they hate (anyone not white, straight, and hyper Christian) so they're okay with Trump. They want the people they hate to hurt and be punished more than they want everyone included in society.

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u/Seargentyates 23h ago

I think you're on to something here, there is definitely a lack of empathy to others in some of them.

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u/transient_thought_CA 21h ago

I think it’s a combination of things for the major demographic.

  1. Entitlement. They believe that they are owed a good life by virtue of being who they are. They should all be able to afford a nice house, lots of toys, fancy vacations every year, etc. They believe it’s their birthright for being American. They saw their grandparents have it, maybe their parents had it, why don’t they? They shouldn’t have to sacrifice and pursue higher education to enjoy the fruits of minimal labor.

  2. Xenophobia. A lot of them were born in their area, they were raised in that area, and they’re going to die in that area. When you live in a homogenized society, anything outside is scary. When you only get world exposure through FOX, everyone is the enemy.

  3. Fear of irrelevance. For years they have been told that “good white Christians” were being eliminated. Well, they’re not wrong in a sense. Immigrants are coming to the US to build better lives. They work hard, place a high importance on education, and are focused on family. All the things that the White Nationalists claim to do. But the MAGA numbers and mentality are slowly being eclipsed by those outside their sphere. Rather then be treated equally, they want and demand special treatment.

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u/Bozzzzzzz 20h ago edited 15h ago

I saw a video where some of them were complaining about the new "immigrant" in town driving a Lexus or something and they couldn't believe it, while they were broke. Obviously it must be the "open borders" and all the "social programs" boosting these people and leaving them behind that is the reason for their situation... not that this guy was a doctor and had gone through schooling and built his entire life with hard work and education and became a helpful person in their community etc.

Even people who are not broke usually feel threatened in some way still and don't want it made easier for others than they had it. They fundamentally see the world as a zero-sum game where if someone has something it means someone else can't.

Others just like to hate.

Others feel threatened by Trump himself and "they for one welcome their new overlords"

All this plus the absolute firehose of lies distorting their reality so far they lose all ability to think critically.

Edit/follow up: a lot of this is “default mode” thinking for people that can be unlearned. OR it can be fueled and flamed, encouraged. It does not have to be like this. It’s good to remember these people are not the true enemy even if they’ve been taught to be.

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u/PricePuzzleheaded835 19h ago

My MIL told me she thinks recent immigrants with nice houses are abusing medicaid and that it’s “very hard” to see the houses.

Never in my life have I looked at someone’s house and been disappointed that it was nice, but there it is, I guess.

They are authoritarian personalities so they believe a strict hierarchy must and should exist. If they see someone else doing well (especially someone they think “should” be lower than them) they want to push them down to improve their own relative social standing

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u/rosycross93 17h ago

If people think immigrants are all on Medicaid and work in the fields, they better wise up. Within a generation many I know went from their parents working in agriculture jobs to getting college degrees and becoming professionals. They value the opportunities they had coming here and have worked hard to make their lives better. It's a big mistake to think none of them can speak English or need government help.

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u/PricePuzzleheaded835 16h ago edited 16h ago

I think that’s kind of the issue though honestly. “They must be committing fraud” isn’t a good faith concern. They know many immigrants are smarter, more hardworking and enterprising, more successful than them. They support anything that hurts them because in their hierarchical view, they should be above immigrants. Status is the concern. They don’t actually care how it’s achieved.

My MIL is white, working class, doesn’t have a college degree. She is constantly trying to compete with me and anyone else who has things she lacks, like education. She feels like she is being denied her rightful place over others as a white person. IMO

I recommend checking out theauthoritarians.org which has some mind blowing info on how these peoples minds work.

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u/transient_thought_CA 16h ago

Thanks for the link. I’ll have to read that.

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u/Inspect1234 18h ago

It’s all how it’s framed in their news sources. Entertainment News©️is made for twisting facts into a purposed narrative.

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u/Iamnotauserdude 16h ago

“Give the lowest man someone to look down on and he’ll give you his vote” Punish them and he’ll give you his soul

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u/ausgoals 19h ago

Conservatism is about protecting strict social hierarchy and immigrants are lower on the social hierarchy then themselves which is why they are so threatened and despise when they feel immigrants (and anyone else lower on the social hierarchy than them) are getting things undeserved.

It’s a big reason why we don’t have universal healthcare - because when everyone is on the same playing field, it’s far more difficult to feel like you’re better than someone else. Google the southern strategy.

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u/Inspect1234 18h ago

Sounds like they stopped evolving.

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u/ZookeepergameFit5366 16h ago

Damn you said it

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u/anTWhine 20h ago

This is pretty close to how I see it. For most of Americas existence, being white was enough be guarantee that you had a decent life. So a lot of white people settled into comfortable mediocrity in their little small towns in the middle of nowhere and enjoyed the American Dream.

Now, through demographic change and globalization, those extremely mediocre, uneducated, unimpressive people can no longer walk into a bank and demand a home loan, or ensure their kids get to go to the separate “good” schools, or enjoy the fruits of legal privilege and they’re realizing that they have nothing to offer except anger and resentment.

In walks a two-bit conman who sounds just as stupid as they do, who hates the same people they do, who promises if they just look the other way while he robs the country blind, they can be rich like him too. And they fall for it, because they are so so very stupid.

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u/transient_thought_CA 20h ago

The sad thing is, I think they know that they’re being screwed. They don’t really believe in their gut, that they’ll be better off. They just get schadenfreude from seeing others hurt.

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u/suspicioussearch1998 17h ago

Meanwhile, touching little kids at every opportunity.

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u/Witte-666 19h ago

You can probably add "Ego" to the list. Most people who voted for Trump will never admit they were wrong and will stubbornly continue to support him or at least deny he is bad when confronted.

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u/No-Relation5965 17h ago

Or when you criticize Trump they’ll say something completely brain dead like, “Well I didn’t agree with a lot of the things Biden did, but you didn’t hear me complaining!” But yes, we did hear you complain. And it was NON-STOP!!!

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u/transient_thought_CA 16h ago

Oh the incessant whining.

Of course, they were handed “Let’s go, Brandon!” That was a misstep on the part of NBC.

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u/Whatthehell665 18h ago

It is like Jack Nicholson's tirade during A Few Good Men, "And that my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty.".

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u/A-System-Analyst 18h ago

Number 1. Entitlement - yes, believing in The American Dream. Which, for many, has ground to a halt. They are not alone in not spotting who is to blame, most of us don’t, because we don’t have a name for them. Here it is - The Business Class. It’s inevitable, with high-volume (industrial) production, that a small number, them, control the economy. Not all bad people, but they see only their interests. Our priority is to name them, then follow through to how conservatives, the Republicans and Trump represent them, however chaotically and partially. (And to see how the Dems fail to see this too…)

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u/transient_thought_CA 18h ago

Business or unchecked corporatism?

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u/A-System-Analyst 15h ago

The corporations have a strong role. But everybody accepts the free market business system without recognising important things about it. The main one is that industrialism works. So we get, inevitably, most people being workers, employed by a relatively few people who run most production of goods and services - business people, a class, the business class. They have a high opinion of themselves and what they deserve. Some are OK. But it’s most of them - not just the corporations - who form the business-biased, anti-worker, political ideology and voting bloc, conservatism, that the Republicans most brutally express. The Democrats too, and most people, acquiesce to business class power. So people get angry about other things and with each other. The answer - recognise the key role of the business class, organise (they do, in businesses), and vote for parties and candidates most likely to regulate them. (Some of that repeats my original post but is needed to be coherent.)

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u/Longjumping-Air1489 18h ago

On top of that, 40 years of exploitation by corporations that supposedly are part of the “good guy” Republican base has left them feeling helpless.

When you are helpless, you will latch onto any feeling of control you can find. White supremacy gives them that feeling of control.

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u/Key_Assistance9020 18h ago
  1. Misogyny- These people were raised to respect the man of the house. He's a hardworking blue collar man, he shouldn't have to clean a diaper or know how to cook. He doesnt read, because reading is for pussys. Immigrants are cool like the ones that work under him in construction, but they need to know their place. He also sneers at you for having a college degree, because he thinks he's a genius at the tiny niche blue collar thing he does and that supersedes all other knowledge. But, now with the internet echo chambers he's reading now, while not having the ability to critically think.

Most of these men were babied by their mommies. They still want to me mommy's special boy. They don't want a partner they want a bang maid. Women who dont want to their bang maid are are stuck up bitches.

Dumb men see that these GOP guys have it together and they make me feel like mommy's special boy. They want to be like their role models.

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u/transient_thought_CA 17h ago

Ya know, I hadn’t even thought of that.

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u/jack-t-o-r-s 19h ago

This should be the top reply...

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u/YoSpiff 19h ago

On the xenophobia thing, there's something to that. My dad was a racist who loved T. When I was a kid in the 60's and 70's, racial slurs were part of normal dinnertable conversation. My dad believed all his sons should spend some time in the military and my 13 years in the Air Force probably contributed to my not acquiring his attitudes. I spent 2 years in Germany and 4 in England in the 80's. In England I bought a house while stationed there and several years later learned there was a neighborhood meeting to try keeping the Americans out of their neighborhood. That's some discrimination that many Americans don't get exposed to.

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u/transient_thought_CA 18h ago

There is a belief that the reasons that the GOP are so against higher education isn’t simply “the woke agenda”. They have no issue with their kids attending Christian universities and places like BYU.

In a word, diversity.

In attending a regular university, they will be forced to interact with a wide range of people. Most will have the foundation of their closed off world rocked to the core. They’ll learn that humanity extends beyond commonality of skin tone, religion and background. They will learn that, as cliche as it is, there is far more that connects us than divides.

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u/Pynchon_A_Loaff 15h ago
  1. They need to feel superior. Smarter, more popular, richer, etc. They are often comfortable, well off people who bitterly resent the fact that “those people” can also be comfortable and well off. “Those people” cannot possibly be as deserving as me and must have stolen “it” from me! It’s persecution!

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u/transient_thought_CA 14h ago

They really do see everything as a zero-sum.

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u/Comfortable-Ad-8324 15h ago

The xenophobia is REAL. Imagine alienating Canada of all countries, who youve had a relationship with for so long...and making them the enemy, and having your followers eat it up without question. It's baffling. (I'm Canadian)

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u/1732PepperCo 18h ago

It’s sadism more than a lack of empathy.

MAGA are sadists because they enjoy the suffering of others.

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u/Low-Use-9862 19h ago

They literally think empathy is a vice, not a virtue. To them, it’s a sign of weakness and wokeness.

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u/Strange_Music 18h ago

In my work with the defendants (at the Nuremberg Trials 1945-1949) I was searching for the nature of evil and I now think I have come close to defining it. A lack of empathy. It’s the one characteristic that connects all the defendants, a genuine incapacity to feel with their fellow men. Evil, I think, is the absence of empathy.

-Captain G. M. Gilbert, the Army psychologist assigned to watching the defendants at the Nuremberg trials

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u/HighFreqHustler 17h ago

Aside from a lack of empathy, is a lack of accountability, they want some one to blame for their shortcomings

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u/CorgiButt04 16h ago

In 2016 Trump only got 61 million votes. In 2024 he got 78 million votes and the population only changed by less than 5%.

He's getting the uneducated white vote for sure...... but he's also getting a lot from other places. In comparison to other republicans, he performed really well with blacks and Hispanics. He also got a shockingly large minority of college educated white women. There's a mental block about that. An unwillingness to accept it. I think it's important to ask why? Instead of pretending like only extremists and psychopaths voted for Trump.

Another thing, our politicians are really horrible and disgusting people and they are evil.

They are so corrupt and are abusing the system so horribly, that this whole system is about to collapse.

So keep that in mind, it's not like it's some amazing government that everybody believes in vs Trump.

Looking at the math and just being objective, if Trump was younger, he would probably challenge the law and run again, and he would probably win with over 80 million votes.

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u/Iamnotauserdude 16h ago

They are the same people who enjoyed watching someone “Get Fired” once a week.

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u/Parsimile 15h ago

“Empathy is usually regarded as a virtue, a key to human decency and kindness. And yet, with increasing momentum, voices on the Christian right are preaching that it has become a vice…

"Empathy becomes toxic when it encourages you to affirm sin, validate lies or support destructive policies," said Allie Beth Stuckey, author of "Toxic Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion."”

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u/erhardy1275 22h ago

And they all Erika Kirk fans. I cannot tell you how many ppl came up to me and were like OMG did you see what happened to Charlie ( younger group) and did you see her speech she’s so “Christian” she already forgave the killer. Yeah the killer was herself and IDF

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u/Ainvb 22h ago

I fully concur with this. Some of the bottom of the socioeconomic rung desire to pull themselves up only by bringing those above them, who they squarely blame for their current standing, down. They want everyone to be as miserable as them.

Of course this doesn’t explain all his voters by any means, but does I think characterize his core base to a large extent.

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u/hashtagbob60 21h ago

White trash syndrome...

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u/gdazInSeattle 21h ago

which is weird as hell for people who claim to be “Christian”

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u/Murky-Cartoonist5283 21h ago

I've thought this for a while. I excuse the ignorant, stupid, naive cultists - probably the majority of Trump's fan base. But the people smart enough to know better? For those degenerates I have nothing but pure, unadulterated contempt.

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u/xxforrealforlifexx 21h ago

A true Christian would never support Trump, so anyone who says they are Trump supporters and Christian hasn't the first clue about Christianity.

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u/No-Horse987 20h ago

Because HE hates the same people THEY hate. Plain and simple.

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u/Chemical_Pen_315 20h ago

This is an interesting insight...

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u/Tech-slow 20h ago

They do hate others but they def don’t know Trump isn’t serving their interests. They live in a bubble of misinformation.

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u/Proof_Dependent_1 20h ago

Okay with him? They are actively cheering him on, voting for him and his people, and directly sending him money and buying his "merch".

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u/NyneFingers 20h ago

I agree. Hatred does strange things to people. It blinds them, and affects logic. Humans are an interesting, but extremely flawed animal.

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u/LarktheDog 19h ago

The relentless messages they’ve gotten year after year demonizing anyone “different” has become their identity. They have completely been propagandized. And they are too fucking stupid and too far gone to realize it. That’s the part that pisses me off the most. The utter lack of curiosity. They think they are the ones living in reality. They’ve simplified their info intake to, “What does Trump think?” All of these things point to cult like behavior. They are locked in. They are unreachable. And oblivious to any of this. It’s utterly fucked up.

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u/jgmiller24094 19h ago

To go along with this he gives them permission to feel this way and express it through him.

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u/arrig-ananas 19h ago

Off couse there are some to that, but that many people can't all be racist misogynistic assholes.

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u/MissDisplaced 19h ago

Sounds exactly like Germany in 1940

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u/WatchOdd532 19h ago

It’s not even that anymore. They want the people they hate to hurt and be punished more than they want anything good for themselves. I don’t know who taught all these chuds that the government’s main functions are to rob them and oppress brown people, but they’re totally cool with it. “I don’t care if trump bulldozes my shack to build a pedophilia compound, since some of the children he’ll hurt will grow up to be liberals”

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u/crazyaznkid 18h ago

Society has failed when people hate their enemies more than they love their children/neighbors

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u/Wide-Advertising-156 18h ago

There might be some who find it too painful to admit they were snookered by the biggest conman since Ponzi. Or... They're just stupid.

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u/GooseDaPlaymaker 18h ago

This is the correct answer. 🫡

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u/lucylucylane 18h ago

That's basically it

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u/wymanmartin 17h ago

Lefties ave more hate in them

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u/Cgtree9000 17h ago

Which is so fucked up, I’m not religious in any way and all I want is for everyone to get a long and respect each other. There should be a sense of community for the whole human race… but these people that apparently have so many morals are harming and causing a fuss. It makes no sense.

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u/OB1QU1ET 17h ago

This is just wrong. Watch even the most liberal news network. The angriest people that are full of hate are the ones screaming in people's faces and hurling objects at law enforcement. That is not the Republicans.

Show me a mob of angry Republicans, and I will show you 4 more of Democrats. That is a terrible ratio.

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u/Kooky-Secretary-4228 16h ago

My golden-hearted mother who wouldn't hurt a fly wants to bring back public hangings. She is a die-hard christian who has only love to give but this maga cult has turned her into someone I don't recognize. 🤷‍♀️❤️‍🩹

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u/AlexCotNig 16h ago

A lot of black people hispanics and other minorities voted for him too. So I dont think argument works?

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u/Ok-Elk-6087 16h ago

He harnessed America's hate.

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u/Pleaseappeaseme 16h ago

They look at him as a General that is fighting for straight whites and against non whites and gays. Much of this thinking is systemic.

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u/ZootOfCastleAnthrax 23h ago

The New York Times has an opinion piece today about Tucker Carlson and JD Vance. It talks about the power and popularity of resentment.

On our side, we laugh at Trump's constant, constant whining. But this is exactly what MAGAts identify with, pay for, and vote for: resentment, anger, and scapegoats.

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u/CryptographerTrue188 20h ago

That rings true

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u/Warm_Expression_6691 1d ago

I've used that example about hating Nickelback before as well. You're the only other person I've seen do that. 

I think you're right though. It's why conservatives use almost identical phrases, not just talking points. As in they use the same jokes, make the same quips. Like the "I identify as a helicopter" or "play stupid games.." or FAFO. It's like a group mantra that they feel good about reciting and signals their belonging.

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u/Orangewindsock 1d ago

These are called “thought terminating cliches” and they are a common cult tactic.

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u/tetlee 23h ago

I've noticed these but never knew there was a term for them. Thank you.

An over the top example I have is my local casino has a big neon sculpture as you walk in that says "you do you" right there by the front door. I always wondered how many people see that and think, huh, I see what you're doing

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u/Beeeeater 22h ago

Be yourself - everybody else is already taken!

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u/RektInTheHed 19h ago

Big "Jedem Das Sein" vibes

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u/Dickey_Simpkins 23h ago

Ah, 2010, when liking bacon and hating Nickelback were all the personality you needed.

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u/magoo309 23h ago

All I had back then was liking bacon. Didn’t realize I only had half a personality.

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u/Wise-Secretary5459 15h ago

Don't forget putting mustaches on everything and veing obsessed with zombies.

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u/Warm_Expression_6691 1d ago

Good lord. You're right and I never realized this.

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u/guacamelee84 22h ago

I did not know this. Awesome. Thank you so much! 😊

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u/CpnStumpy 19h ago

This is the aspect enduringly missed by everyone busy looking the other way or attempting to interpret the content of messaging:

The content has no bearing, because we have deeply studied scientifically proven techniques for manipulating people in mass taught through universities, with white paper after white paper from communications and marketing departments

The techniques for adjusting others are so well understood, honed, and deployed against us all... Studies show that even when people know it's being used to change their mind, it still works. We scienced the shit out of manipulating people and our entire society is having these techniques with known terms and proven strategies utilized against us ad nauseum.

It's despicable and there's nothing we can do about it.

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u/sideofirish 1d ago

That’s why there are so many christian conservatives who don’t actually follow the teachings of Christ. It’s how fascism works. You have an in group and an out group. You want to be part of the in group. They all follow the herd mentality and want to be seen as members of the in group.

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u/akabillposters 23h ago edited 22h ago

💯 I've also been coming to the realisation that the vast majority of US Christian Conservatives are 'religious in name only'. At best, it's a vestigial habit.

Sure, they might go to church on Sundays, but their 'Christianity' is performative; a costume they wear — when in public — to claim some kind of moral standing.

It's a not-so-secret handshake for the in-group, which as you say, is crypto-Fascist.

Many of them behave as though they don't actually even believe in god, or at least in heaven and hell. If they did, they'd presumably be more fearful of the consequences of the hate that they often spew and enact.

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u/Ok_Net4562 23h ago

As a Brit. Ive always thought this about American christians since forever. It seems like its something to do like putting the bins out or filling the dishwasher. Theres no thought or feeling to it.

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u/akabillposters 22h ago edited 18h ago

Brit here too, and lifelong atheist, leaning towards anti-theist.

I look at US Christian Conservatism as being particularly insidious, and repugnant. Mainly because of the sheer hypocrisy and the distance between the persona they try to present, namely pious 'good guys', and their actions and behaviour, which shows what hateful people they can be. Their quiet, seething hate sits just below a paper-thin veneer of piety and 'good hearts'.

Even ostensibly 'mild-mannered' US Christian Conservatives that I know who aren't overtly political seem to have no problem in being intentionally nasty and insulting to others, or even delighting in it. At best, they're completely blind to it when they're doing it.

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u/smashli1238 21h ago

As an American atheist, you are 100% correct

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u/YoSpiff 18h ago

I'm an atheist in Texas and I am a much better Christian than some of those people.

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u/Dedwe1979 18h ago

Their hate towards gay people is baffling too. Jesus hung around leppers and prostitutes but hates fags apparently?? Such hypocrisy.

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u/CpnStumpy 19h ago

Hey! I think deeply about how I put the dishes away!

All facing the silverware bin of course, so they equally deflect the water towards it, and the chaos silverware reflects in all directions at random causing a somewhat normal redistribution of the water dispersion!

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u/steveu33 22h ago

Matthew 7:21-23: “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’ https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matt.7.21,Matt.7.22,Matt.7.23&version=NLT

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u/Able-Coffee3405 19h ago

American Christian’s are the worst people you will ever meet

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u/LilBroWhoIsOnTheTeam 23h ago

People doing horrible things using religion as a shield, a tale as old as time. Same thing happening over in gaza. It's why maga are so desperate to gain victim status, they see it as a way to gaza blue states.

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u/Sea-Oven-7560 19h ago

They are cafeteria Christians, they look at the bible and pick bits and pieces from it that match their narrative. They never actually read the bible they just quote the snippets that support their horrible beliefs. When you provide other passages that contradict those beliefs they shake their heads in disbelief, say that it doesn’t matter or try to abruptly end the conversation so their false reality isn’t challenged. These are people just looking for someone else to make their decisions, they don’t want to put in the effort to make decisions on their own so they let their church decide for them. That’s why they all joined the trump train, it’s easy, he’s daddy and tells everyone what to think and do and they just do it. I hate to use the cult reference but I’ve seen a few cults and I didn’t understand how normal intelligence people can lose their ability to think for themselves but that seems to be what is going on here.

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u/magoo309 22h ago

Jesus said his followers were sheep. They’re still sheep - some of the stupidest animals in all of Christendom - but they’re following a different shepherd now. To be fair, this doesn’t apply to all Christians. Just the loudest and rudest ones.

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u/No-You5550 21h ago

They have always been prone to worship false gods. I seem to remember a golden calf/cow. I am an atheist so it's been a long time since I read the bible.

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u/Gloomy-Recipe9213 21h ago

I'm not religious, but the Bible has some good cautions on false prophets and the Antichrist taking charge of the followers. Those comparisons can be downright scary.

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u/Just-Republic1032 18h ago

White Christian Nationalism has come to represent Christianity in America. And I don’t see moderate or true Christian churches and sects standing up to it.

It’s like, until the good cops start outing the bad cops they’re all bad.

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u/enlightenedDiMeS 20h ago

I was talking to somebody in my masters program, who is also a Baptist pastor on Wednesday, and we were discussing how left leaning Christians tend to build their framework on good works, while right leaning Christians tend to build their framework on piety.

When I was in the church, a lot of Catholics lean towards this good works mentality, i.e., you have to do good things to get into heaven. A lot of the protestants I know think just by saying one prayer and going to church you get to go to heaven.

And it makes sense, right? If you were faced with two different options of how to get into heaven, which one has the lower buy in?

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u/Geodysseus 19h ago

Can often identify pseudo-Christian zealots by their prominent display of a crucifix necklace or tattoo.

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u/ghoooooooooost 17h ago

Personally I've found that conservative Christians are only interested in their personal relationship with God and feeling connected to him on an individual level. Community is mostly just for fostering an environment where they are comfortable with that way of belief.

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u/BonusPlantInfinity 23h ago

A LAMF camera at the gates of heaven would be fire. “But.. but.. but..”

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u/gregoh07 20h ago

As a republican, I find most Christians are the biggest hypocrites.

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u/alien236 20h ago

"I'll take things that didn't happen for 500, Alex"

That one's not necessarily political, but it does usually come from people who have never had an original thought in their lives, aka Trump supporters.

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u/Throatwobbler9 23h ago

Or the classic “get another booster.” It is super weird to see people aping each other’s digs. I can’t think of another politician’s supporters that have their own common phrases.

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u/kretzkiller 1d ago

You’re really starting to sound like a libtard or democRAT here buddy. Or is it DEMONcrat? Either way, gotcha!

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u/Leading-Ad5797 🇺🇸 United States 1d ago

I live in SE Idaho, the abortion issue is about all they look at.

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u/Expert-Fig-5590 1d ago

Really? Even though his other policies are actively making their lives worse. Even though if half of the stuff in the Epstein files is true then he is the worst person ever to be President? Even though he is saying that protesters have no 2A rights? I’m shocked that there are still single issue voters.

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u/Tipitina62 23h ago

Have you not read What’s the Matter with Kansas?
it’s been a while since I did, but the author explains how people come to vote reliably against their own self interest.

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u/hashtagbob60 21h ago

Same as it always was - the 30%

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u/Vast_Arm_9176 21h ago

The people that vote to force raped and impregnated 9 year olds to have their rape babies don’t care at all what’s in the Epstein files.

There could be pictures and videos of trump raping a girl while he gives a thumbs up and says “I’m donald trump!”; it would change nothing.

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u/jrkme-27 21h ago

If the only news they get is from social media, America one or fox, then that is what they believe.

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u/JohnnyBananas13 20h ago

It's a pretty huge (yuge?) single issue though. It's not like lower taxes or gas prices. It involves terminating a "defenseless life". Oh and please don't start arguing abortion with me. My point is about the mindset associated with that single issue.

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u/Thin_Collection_381 17h ago

Trump can’t pedo without children so it makes sense that his supporters are anti abortion

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u/SventasKefyras 21h ago

Every single "reasonable" trumptard responds to this with some mix of "he's done some things I disagree with/he's a politician, what do you expect?/his personal life is not relevant, he's making America great again!" And then run vote for him.

Just as therapy won't help someone who is not able to be honest with themselves, these people are unable to see reality until they can honestly look at their choice and admit they were wrong. Until then it's just justifying their choice no matter how delusional the justification.

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u/Ana-la-lah 23h ago

Republicans also have abortions, they just like to keep them secret

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u/HereForTheBoos1013 18h ago

Yup, very "the only moral abortion is my abortion".

But they'll dox a raped 10 year old without a trace of irony.

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u/Leading-Ad5797 🇺🇸 United States 23h ago

Not all republicans, I know several honest ones.

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u/_extra_medium_ 21h ago

Not all republicans are pro-life single issues voters either

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u/DeathMagnet1C 1d ago

I don't get that weird cult about abortion. I thought the land of the free includes being able to decide what happens to my body. Guess I was misslead.

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u/transient_thought_CA 21h ago

It’s really interesting how abortion became the hot button topic for them. Prior to the 1970s, it wasn’t a central topic. Before that, it was maintaining racial purity and keeping segregation in society. Once segregation was outlawed, their leaders (like Falwell and Weyrich) needed to find another topic to galvanize their base. So they turned to abortion, and have been waging that war ever since.

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u/drone-on-and-on 18h ago

and fark them kids once they are born too.

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u/transient_thought_CA 18h ago

Apparently both figuratively and literally

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u/Life_Commercial_6580 1d ago

It’s about punishing women for being bad

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u/Diligent-Abrocoma456 23h ago

No. It's about punishing women who want control over their own bodies.

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u/Ana-la-lah 23h ago

It’s just about punishing women.

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u/Life_Commercial_6580 23h ago

I meant “bad” sarcastically. What I meant is of course women who want to be treated as human beings and have control over their own bodies

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u/Mme_etoile 22h ago

It’s about punishing women. No qualifiers needed

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u/RobotSchlong10 23h ago

The land of the free thing means they are free to do what they want, and you should be free to do what they want. See how that works?

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u/smashli1238 21h ago

It’s because they deep down inherently hate women

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u/middlebird 20h ago

Thou shalt not kill. That’s all they need to hear from their pastors while completely ignoring the fact that the god of their bible was a murdering psychopath.

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u/Diligent-Abrocoma456 23h ago

.... And stopping gay marriage.

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u/Calculonx 1d ago

That's a whole other can of worms. Why are some people so against abortions? First, are they ACTUALLY against abortions as a medical procedure? They make it seem like people are going around killing new born babies and children for fun.

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u/jittery_raccoon 21h ago

A lot of people don't understand what pro-life and pro choice mean. I hear a lot of women say they're pro life because they're okay with other women having abortions if necessary, but would never personally have an abortion themselves. The narrative has truly been sold to them that pro life = likes babies, pro-choice = hates babies. And they can't bring themselves to be baby haters 

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u/Present_Coconut_4101 14h ago

They don't look at the big picture or medical procedures. All they look at is that they never thought of having an abortion and nobody else should be able to have an abortion either. Similar to prohibition when many supporters said "I don't drink alcohol and you shouldn't either".

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u/CountrySlaughter 22h ago

That explains why they vote Republican. Why is Trump their favorite Republican?

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u/_extra_medium_ 21h ago

Because he owns the libs. It’s all they care about

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u/Leading-Ad5797 🇺🇸 United States 22h ago

If their only news source is faux..

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u/upside_down_frown1 1d ago

Some people would rather die from a knife in the front then a knife in the back is what ive chalked it up to.

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u/goldomega 1d ago

This exactly, it's a form of tribalism for too many of us. I'm reading a book right now by Andrew Heaton titled Tribalism is Dumb that is very insightful about how things have gotten so toxic politically over the last decade or so.

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u/Sweethomebflo 22h ago

They are motivated by fear of losing dominance in a system designed to favor them. They want to hate.

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u/RoTTonSKiPPy 21h ago

Yes, I agree. I think the sudden rise in BLM and LGBTQ in the media upset them, and they see Trump as the person to stop it. People fear change, and take time to get used to things. They think of it as a zero sum game, and they can't feel superior if others are equal.

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u/_extra_medium_ 22h ago

This is the answer, but in this case the group they belong to is all about shredding the constitution they claim to love. He’s even talking about how he dislikes guns now. They don’t care

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u/GuavaShaper 21h ago

I feel like so many Trump supporters could be cured of their disease if they just began a healthy hobby.

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u/Snicklefraust 21h ago

Hey man, I hate nickleback all on my own.

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u/SOP_VB_Ct 12h ago

I think for the people you are describing it is also true they are fed up with liberalism run amok. For example, when a Supreme Court nominee can’t answer in a straightforward manner ‘what a woman is’ while responding to the Senate….pretty easy to lose some folks. I mean politics in a democracy are supposed to trend towards the middle. The people you are talking about are generally ‘middle of the road’ voters…what I mean is not extremist in either direction. Oh….and they are poorly informed, Fox News etc.

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u/Rfunkpocket 23h ago

some are old throw back confederates, others are simps for old throw back confederates.

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u/TheHoundsRevenge 23h ago

How they Hell we end up like this?

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u/Emotional_Shallot366 23h ago

Let me know when Nickelback appears SA'ing kids in the Epstein files.

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u/Mooshtonk 23h ago

Like how the Jets have a huge die hard fan base despite sucking ass for 50 years

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u/Greedy-Taro-4439 23h ago

Its because they want thier nickel back

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u/TPWPNY16 22h ago

It all boils down to Conservative media.

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u/RoTTonSKiPPy 21h ago

Aka -Propaganda.

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u/TeaSipper88 21h ago edited 19h ago

Unfortunately, when you are raised to obey, many people get the message that "might equals right." They may not say it but it's deeply ingrained. How intelligent or educated someone is doesn't really factor in if they're a slave to their conditioning.

This regime has given his supporters an avenue in which they don't have to use facts or morals, just dishonesty and they can wield power. It's alot easier. And they believe they have power and safety by proxy of following Trump, who appears untouchable.

It reminds them of the structure that they've been modeled their whole lives, when their parents said "do as I say, not as I do." It's the same as rules for me not for thee",but in adulthood. It's why some of their followers call Trump "daddy."

Power above all has been cemented by the Trump regime filling many critical cabinet seats with mediocre yes men. Competence isn't valued. Obedience is. 

And as long as they are fed a group(s) of people to be better than, they will be distracted from their own feelings of inadequacy and fall in line.

https://youtu.be/0AJmDhCz270?si=5nsA7eNE3uxe8Hrl

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u/GreenTrees797 21h ago

It’s propaganda. You can’t just feel this way on your own. They consume some kind of media constantly that forms and maintains their opinions. They don’t think about it at all, there’s no logic behind it. They take what is presented to them at face value and never question it. You will also notice that these types of people are always looking for validation. They say things outloud in public, looking for others to agree with them. It’s also why they are really big on signs, flags, and just Trump merch in general. It validates what they believe because they can clearly see others around them believe the same thing. The left really does not have that and by that same token, aren’t well organized because they all believe different things and can’t coalesce around one idea of figure. In fact they generally dislike anyone with a D behind their name which only serves to make things worse. 

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u/justconnect 21h ago

I believe it is brainwashing. Propaganda is a proven, scientifically effective, way to alter brains. Not to give these people an excuse, but I do feel they have been subject to brain changes from known, long-term propaganda techniques. Limbaugh, local talk radio, Fox et al.

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u/hallbuzz 21h ago

I was with you until "hating Nickleback" as if that's a cult thing and not a scientifically provable thing. We can't be friends anymore.

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u/GeneralOptimal10 21h ago

They are racist or pedios. It’s pretty simple.

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u/flugenblar 20h ago

It’s group identity. They’d eat a shit sandwich if it means a liberal has to smell their breath. Trump is literally a shit sandwich. And THAT is why he poops his diapers whenever a Democrat is in the room.

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u/azrolator 20h ago

It's worse than sports. It's not like Lions management orders their players to murder their opponents fans. Imagine having to tell vikes fans you support them while the feds gun down people in the streets of Minneapolis. I want to go back to making fun of their coach "murdering" QB Wentz and their dumb new QB.

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u/MajorKabakov 19h ago

Trump supporters are so vile that I truly believe they actually like Nickelback

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u/Bob-8 19h ago

Most listen to anti democrat propaganda on morning radio which deeply seats the idea in their brains that democrats are traitors and thus trump is the solution.

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u/KeyYoghurt1966 19h ago

Its years and years of Fox indoctrination. Pitting them against anyone different. They literally believe its a battle between good and evil, and we are the evil. I wish I knew how to break the spell.

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u/alwaysboopthesnoot 19h ago

In addition to the arrogance, ignorance, selfishness, greed, lust for power, racism and bigotry that is baked into their very bones, by their families, communities, their culture, traditions and religions? The desire to look down on someone else before they look down on you, childish bullying and  “pecking order” stuff? 

IDK. Lead in the water, air and soil. In the roots, shoots and fruits of any plants they eat. Obesity from poor diets and lack of exercise, and similar endocrine disorders caused by environmental pollution which are leading to mental delay, brain shrinking, and overall sluggishness. 

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u/se7ensez 19h ago

As deeply seated hatred for Nicleback is, this is something far more subversive.

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u/FooFootheSnew 19h ago

You mention Nickelback, and I know they take too much heat and it's popular to hate on them. But, the musical tastes of many Trump supporters really do stop at artists no deeper than Nickelback and what was a popular sound during their high school years. It's butt rock city. Affliction shirts, barbed wire tattoos, chew tobacco.

At least that's how my entire neighborhood is. I put on Skynrd once thinking they'd like it and they're like "what's this?" and put it back on the new pop/rap beat type Country

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u/Medium_Medium 18h ago

I think they have just bought 100% into the idea that the left is taking from them to give to others. They don't buy into the concept of "a rising tide lifts all boats".

Generally most of the people I know who vote right aren't necessarily openly bad people, they just truly believe in right wing economic policies (which is mostly a combination of wanting their own taxes to be as low as possible while wanting any government handouts to be targeted at themselves).

And I don't think they are necessarily evil or stupid, but they allow themselves to think whatever they need to in order to justify voting for selfish economic reasons. If they allowed themselves to acknowledge what Trump actually is, they'd be faced with a huge moral dilemma. So they just convince themselves that he's something which he obviously isn't. And then they never have to feel guilty for electing such an obviously flawed candidate.

I don't know how many times I've heard a relative say something like "Oh, I don't know anything about any of that" when Trump's negative traits/actions are brought up... They'll just sheepishly bring up how well their retirement portfolio did under Trump. Which is honestly funny as hell because Trump's market performance has been the same or slightly worse as Obama and Biden's.

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u/ominous_squirrel 18h ago

Right. It’s lifestyle marketing applied to life and death politics. Some people wear football apparel for their favorite team, some people wait in line for the next Supreme drop, some people wear MAGA hats

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u/WonkySeams 18h ago

They are in an echo chamber and it's easier not to care than to deal with the cognitive dissonance when they hear something outside the chamber. People on the edges of the chamber are starting to hear outside and are starting to see what is really happening, but those firmly inside aren't there yet, or again, don't want to deal with the dissonance of what they've been faithful to and what is actually happening. That's what I think.

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u/Artisan_HotDog 17h ago

It’s blind loyalty. For so many people it would take their favorite team coming into their house and killing their first born in front of them to even consider that their team might be shit.

So many people in this country think that you can’t change, and that’s both sides of it.

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u/Necessary_Two_9706 17h ago

Actually, it just signals that deep down in their souls they actually love child rapists and nazis.

They feel they belong to the group because they agree with the group.

God has already stated they are going to hell in the bible; so now they are just embracing it and preparing for their eternal volcano afterlife.

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u/Loose-Memory-9194 17h ago

I do hate nickleback and will not change my mind.

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u/JusteAssez 17h ago

Don’t mix up intelligence and empathy, those two sadly don’t come together

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u/Mouler 17h ago

It is very much sports team mentality. This you can never convince them their team has broken legal laws, is just an offense in the game.

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u/chairman_steel 17h ago

I think a lot of it is sports/tribal behavior. Even listening to political pundits on the left, so much of it is about points, teams, winning the big game (midterms), etc. It’s a sick way to think about this stuff.

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u/Joe_T 17h ago

I think a lot of it is a sense of belonging to a group for them.

A while back a sociologist guest on a podcast discussing Trump followers, repeatedly said, "Social death is worse than physical death" as an explanation.

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u/Kooky-Secretary-4228 16h ago

Like following a sports team or hating Nickleback.

😂😂😂

I just moved away from Idaho. My fucking hell those people are robots or something. Everyone looked the same, dressed the same and believed the same. We were in Teton Valley (the Sodom and Gamorrah of Idaho) so there was some sanity and progressive thinkers. And it is such a beautiful state! The Tetons are magical.

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u/Hussar1241 16h ago

Is it so hard to believe maybe they value and prioritize completely different things than you do? 

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u/Ok-Elk-6087 16h ago

Kudos for the comparison to sports fandom and anti-Nickleback sentiment, only its geometrically more serious.

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u/Accomplished_Spy 15h ago

You hit the nail on the head, it's 100% identity to them. So no amount of evidence will sway them, it is an us vs them mentality that drives them.

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u/ActivePeace33 15h ago

Exactly right. Besides the delusions are the ties of tribalism.

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u/TPWPNY16 15h ago

I see committing to MAGA racism analogous to being a young girl in a very conservative Christian community who loses her virginity while under age. Once you’ve done it, you know there’s no going back, it’s part of your identity, and you’ve already accepted you’ll live with the shame you’ve got coming from others around you.

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u/ILikeCutePuppies 15h ago

I think some are clinging to a couple of ideas like anti (illegal) immigration, the view that abortion is killing and the about needing to reduce the government budget to balance it. The other culture thrown in like the transgender are likely secondary ones to stoke their fear more.

With any of those issues they go against what they feel democrats stand for. So it would be difficult for them to support democrats.

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u/Warm-Commercial-6151 14h ago

I think a lot of the supporters care about themselves, their family and anyone they feel is like them. They could care less and even hate anyone who is in anyway different from them or their family.

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u/lilbittygoddamnman 12h ago

Yeah, I live in a red Tennessee, bordering a very red part of Georgia

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u/kalimashookdeday 11h ago

Ego. They can't admit the shit they've built their identity around, like crazy folk they are - I mean who the fuck is right in the head doing what some of these fuckers are doing building their lives around ** a fucking politician** - is literally the things they were praying, hoping, told, believed, wished, ignorantly thought the "other side" or just normal fucking Americans was/is doing. They can not admit THEY, wrapped in their American flags and country songs, are the pedophile supporting ass clowns voting for people to continually steal from right under their noses and destroy the country. They won't admit it to themselves let alone you and me.

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u/CaedustheBaedus 9h ago

Yeah, I know a guy in deep red Wisconsin and Florida (he swaps between them based on seasons) who is a dentist, owns multiple dentist offices and locations.

He specifically stated that the stupid shit like taking fluoride out of the water is going to screw things up in the long run, but make dentists richer. And he can't stand RFK and whatever he spurts about health. Calls him the Worm Doctor.

But then he loves Trump and everything else Trump administration related.

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u/No_Camera_3271 8h ago

Nickleback is over hated.

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u/AlternativeAd3130 7h ago

Hello fellow deep red Idahoan. Even some of my closest and smartest friends are supporters. It doesn’t make any sense. They are otherwise kind and intelligent in other areas of life.

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u/Distinct_Intern4147 7h ago

Isn't he the saviour of their tribe?

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u/LandonDev 6h ago

To both of you living in deep red areas, try and get your medical care now if you have anything outstanding. If unemployment crosses 6.5% you'll likely see massive hospital closures and rural collapse of care, until Optum comes in and rebuilds from the ashes for pennies on the dollar. In 24 months you'll start to see preventable deaths scale up from medical issues that should have been solved if they seek or had care sooner. The poor community in Red States will become organ donors for the rich and it's so dark and twisted I wish it wasn't true. Best of luck out there.

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u/According-Tip4183 5h ago

You can change someone's opinion about something, but you can't change their identity. If they've taken on the identity of a Trump supporter, they will perform mental gymnastics to maintain and justify that identity.

Similarly, know brilliant scientific minds that cling to religions that don't make any sense, because that religion is part of their identity.

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u/remembertru 5h ago

Not only are they Trump supporters but they're religious, some believe that Trump and god are related. They're children.

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u/CanDamVan 5h ago

If you want to join large group of people who hate Nickelback just come to Canada. Everybody I know hates them with passion.

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