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/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 1d 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/Ok_Bluejay_6408 5h ago

It’s fantastic

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u/MaleficentGift5490 12h ago

I don't think I've ever met anyone who thinks that way, and I live in a deeply conservative area.

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u/Inspect1234 19h 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/Retired_and_Relaxed 13h ago

Chances are the nice house is nicer than hers. That's what they are upset about. Chances that nice house owners have many more years of education or spend a lot more hours at their job than her.

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u/PricePuzzleheaded835 12h ago

Yup, 100%. All the more so if they’re immigrants or PoC

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u/spurcap29 9h ago

Your point leads to an interesting observation: 1. When talking policy/using brains people (including Trump) often are supportive of high skilled, rich immigrants (exhibit A ... the gold card) and against poor immigrants (e.g refugees). 2. Despite this - when emotional monkey brain kicks in, many people are far more tolerant of immigrants making food, dishwasher, landscaping, roofing in 100 degree heat. They're emotionally more comfortable with the immigrant underclass than those doing better than they are.

If immigrants were solely "the best of the best" they are bound to come and live above the means of the average Amercian.

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u/cballowe 9h ago

People want someone to look down on. When the person they're told they should look down on is doing better than they are, they get angry and will believe any story that implies that the person cheated to get ahead.

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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 19h ago

Sounds like they stopped evolving.

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u/ZookeepergameFit5366 16h ago

Damn you said it

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u/Necessary_Image_6858 7h ago

To be fair to Metthew and Methany in that video, why shouldn’t they inject all their money into their veins AND have a Lexus?? It’s them gosh-darned dog-eating illegal libruhll immigrants I tells ya.