Against the Grain II

There are three distinct types of Trump supporters

I have come to realize that what we have seen as the fanatical support of the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump, has many levels to it.  His presidency drew a proverbial line in the sand between supporters and non-supporters.  Interestingly enough, his supporters are not one size fits all.  There are at least three distinct characteristics of Trump’s supporters.

In an election that saw a record 153 million Americans cast their ballots for the highest office in the USA, 73 million voted to retain the services of Trump.  While all reputable sources have declared former vice president Joe Biden the winner, 48 percent of voters is a block that cannot be ignored when developing a plan to lead the country effectively.

The first type of supporters is traditional members of the GOP.  In their case, it doesn’t matter the name on the ticket, their support is for the member of the red party.  With the expansion of the divide between parties and the notion of bi-partisan leadership all but dwindled, these supporters vote along party lines as the motives of the Republican and Democratic parties have distended.

The second type of supporters is folks who want less taxes and less governmental integration into their daily lives.  These folks are not quite into all of the nuances of the Republican Party, but they want the freedom to run their own lives with limited governmental intervention.  Some of these folks also see leaders as strong individuals and not the collaborative type.  They desire someone who takes charge and moves forward in a determined manner.  Many attribute the increased Latino/Hispanic votes for the Trump campaign to their wanting of a strong leader without the appearance of Socialism.  It literally delivered the state of Florida to Trump.

Finally, the third type is often the first type of Trump supporter that comes to mind.  These are supporters who hide racist and fascist motives inside their support for the president.  Enabled by his actions, this type of follower agrees that unilateral support of Trump’s agenda is the only way to empower White Americans that were insulted by the very election of former President Barack Obama.  In some sense, they are more anti-Obama than pro-Trump.  These followers equate “Make America Great Again,” to putting White folks in the front and all others in a submissive role as it was in the founding years of the country… in their minds, that’s when America was great.

Unfortunately, powered by his approval by not disavowing their behavior, some of these groups became very dangerous to non-White citizens.  An explosion in hate groups attributed to Trump mirrors his 2016 campaign and presidency.  According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a group that tracks hate groups and enrollment, these groups have seen a 30-percent increase during the Trump era.  This is on top of the decline in these groups in the waning period of Obama’s presidency.

While often the concern is with the third type of Trump supporter, it cannot be ignored that the first two types do not necessarily subscribe to his rhetoric.  They may not necessarily endorse him as an individual, but yet they may.  They may not agree with his policies, but yet they may.  They may not agree with Twitter tirades, hesitancy to disavow hate groups or the perpetual motion that has been his record turnover in cabinet members over the last four years … but, yet they may.  But, they do not all have ill intent and are not all the same.