President Donald Trump

[Hornsby]

LOL. Actually, I've always held that had Hillary's organization not been rife with arrogance and entitlement, and Hillary herself campaigned in those states you referenced, she'd probably have won. And likely easily. My argument was always with the silly blame game ("It was Cohen's fault. It was the Russians. FoxSeanO'Reilly...you get the point) rather than just owning up and saying "My fellow Democrats, I apologize for never getting my sorry ass into Wisconsin. For some reason, despite Wisconsin having a GOP governor, and GOP House, and a GOP Senate, my polls showed the state in the bag and I didn't want to go there."

Or something similar, but less snarky.

I would have taken what you wrote, word for word, from her mouth...I think that would actually have been mild compared to what she SHOULD have said.

[B-Fly]

For the last part, I’ll give you the Amen! If I can ask an honest question to you and some others, who is it on this Board who is actually “supporting” Trump. I’m not seeing anyone blindly supporting him, much less supporting him.

In my brief time back, I'd say onejayhawk, but maybe I've just missed his more nuanced posts.

[Teenwolf]

For the last part, I’ll give you the Amen! If I can ask an honest question to you and some others, who is it on this Board who is actually “supporting” Trump. I’m not seeing anyone blindly supporting him, much less supporting him. I’ve seen some people who are attempting to provide a more moderated voice who probably agree with a significant amount of what you say but just not everything.

This is kind of the opposite of what I was saying about attacking slimy politicians, the media, etc., rather than trying to find the RJ poster with the views opposite of mine so we can go to war... I don't wanna go to war anymore.

Hammer revealed that he's an unapologetic Trump voter pretty recently on here. Seemed to go over fine for him. He added the perspective of the "Hillary is the devil" voting contingent, so that was neat. We can have engaging discussion, I'm just going to try my damnedest to keep it impersonal.

[Bernie Brewer]

In my brief time back, I'd say onejayhawk, but maybe I've just missed his more nuanced posts.

Lol. And, Touché. I guess he probably is the one.

[chancellor]

For the last part, I’ll give you the Amen! If I can ask an honest question to you and some others, who is it on this Board who is actually “supporting” Trump. I’m not seeing anyone blindly supporting him, much less supporting him. I’ve seen some people who are attempting to provide a more moderated voice who probably agree with a significant amount of what you say but just not everything.

Oh, I support him, though as I pointed out earlier in this or another thread, hardly blindly.

[Bernie Brewer]

This is kind of the opposite of what I was saying about attacking slimy politicians, the media, etc., rather than trying to find the RJ poster with the views opposite of mine so we can go to war... I don't wanna go to war anymore.

Hammer revealed that he's an unapologetic Trump voter pretty recently on here. Seemed to go over fine for him. He added the perspective of the "Hillary is the devil" voting contingent, so that was neat. We can have engaging discussion, I'm just going to try my damnedest to keep it impersonal.

Hey, they exist, Trump supporters. I can’t say I know many myself, at least not people who would virgorously support him, contrary to your assumption that my family and friends are. I’m in Illinois, it is a deep blue state. I grew up in Wisconsin, a purple-ish state that has a red local hue. But, there aren’t many strident supporters on this Board. Hammer hasn’t been vigorously and blindly defending Trump, although his one (maybe, his most recent, if he has posted more than once) post in this thread was pretty strong. And, I found nothing wrong with it. Any way, just asking. B-Fly may have hit the nail on the head as 1jay may be the most ardent supporter. I don’t mean to disparage anyone by this, just wanted to know.

[Bernie Brewer]

Oh, I support him, though as I pointed out earlier in this or another thread, hardly blindly.

I think of you as a GOPer realist, not a Trumper, as He, in a round about way, promotes causes with which you agree (many of which I agree), which are somewhat traditional GOO issues, but I suspect you also find his rhetoric and personality troubling, no?

[Hornsby]

It's a weird dynamic with Trump...he's got a SOLID base of roughly 35-40%, a base that will vote for him again and again given the chance. But I think that his toxic activities, and the people he surrounds himself with, have taken the rest of the GOP voter base away. Time and again in these special elections that pop up, the Democrats outperform the historical trends of the district. The other day, they easily flipped a district in NY that the GOP had held sine the 70's. And in AZ, while losing the race, they only lost by roughly 5-6% points in a district Trump carried by over 20. This leads the candidate to be torn between being a Trump acolyte and denying his stances...a tough like to walk.

I do agree with Bernie, I'd love to hear from Trump supporters just why they still support him...

[Bernie Brewer]

It's a weird dynamic with Trump...he's got a SOLID base of roughly 35-40%, a base that will vote for him again and again given the chance. But I think that his toxic activities, and the people he surrounds himself with, have taken the rest of the GOP voter base away. Time and again in these special elections that pop up, the Democrats outperform the historical trends of the district. The other day, they easily flipped a district in NY that the GOP had held sine the 70's. And in AZ, while losing the race, they only lost by roughly 5-6% points in a district Trump carried by over 20. This leads the candidate to be torn between being a Trump acolyte and denying his stances...a tough like to walk.

I do agree with Bernie, I'd love to hear from Trump supporters just why they still support him...

I suspect it’s because when you’re attacked and assailed by the very people you dispise, you tend to hunker down and fight harder. It’s an irrational response that belies the facts but you just don’t care. And, sadly this doesn’t end after Trump. I fear for the next several Presidents. This is the new norm and it sucks. Many of the GOPers who voted for Trump were never going to for Hillary. They were too angry at Obama and got out to vote. In a way Trump was a port in the storm. Again, one of the primary reasons he got elected, in my mind, wasn’t because people thought he was good, but because people thought he would be different. He has been that.

[B-Fly]

I suspect it’s because when you’re attacked and assailed by the very people you dispise, you tend to hunker down and fight harder. It’s an irrational response that belies the facts but you just don’t care. And, sadly this doesn’t end after Trump. I fear for the next several Presidents. This is the new norm and it sucks. Many of the GOPers who voted for Trump were never going to for Hillary. They were too angry at Obama and got out to vote. In a way Trump was a port in the storm. Again, one of the primary reasons he got elected, in my mind, wasn’t because people thought he was good, but because people thought he would be different. He has been that.

Yet Obama's popularity ratings remained high throughout the 2016 election cycle, so I'm curious about your thought that GOPers were never going to vote for Hillary because they were too angry at Obama. Do you think Trump could have beaten Obama in 2016 if Obama were constitutionally able (and willing) to seek a third term? I don't think so, and I think Hillary hate, driven in part by Hillary herself and her missteps (as both a campaigner and a public figure), in part by the decades of anti-Hillary tin foil hat nonsense, in part by Russian-led social media efforts, in part by Comey, all magnified by general misogyny, played a much larger role in the 2016 outcome than Obama hate. Assuming Obama's popularity was close to accurately polled, Trump's general election victory would seem to be less attributable to people seeking someone "different" (although that and the math of a deep GOP primary field with too many conventional Republicans splitting support may have driven his primary success), and more to Hillary herself and the public's reactions to her.

[Mithrandir]

I am not sure if this was touched on or in what manner, but part of Trump winning and his continued popularity is fueled by hatred and bigotry. Probably more than most might think or be willing to admit. I believe that the prevalence of hatred and bigotry in white America is still pretty strong.

Trump mocked a disabled reporter and that didn't hurt him one bit. That speaks volumes to me about the mindset of many Americans.

[dslaw]

I do agree with Bernie, I'd love to hear from Trump supporters just why they still support him...

Not me, but the guys in my office who have commented on Trump. While not total supporters of Trump due to all the teenage drama going on they love the border wall and they love the tax cuts.

[Hi.I'm.Mandy]

I am not sure if this was touched on or in what manner, but part of Trump winning and his continued popularity is fueled by hatred and bigotry. .

I hadn't heard this before...are you sure this isn't fake news ?

[Hornsby]

Not me, but the guys in my office who have commented on Trump. While not total supporters of Trump due to all the teenage drama going on they love the border wall and they love the tax cuts.

Are they execs? Or rank and file worker bees? Cuz the impact of the tax law is probably going to be very different for the 2 tiers of workers.

[Gregg]

I do agree with Bernie, I'd love to hear from Trump supporters just why they still support him...

I am a Trump supporter. Just like I would be a Hilary supporter if she had won. Also an Obama supporter and whoever the next President will be.

Our definitions of supporter may be much different.