I was making a variety of food for a dinner party a few weeks ago. I decided to include Steak Crostini. I make mine with grilled ribeye, crème fraiche, horseradish, chopped fresh basil, just a whisper of cilantro, and a pinch of sea salt, all on top of lightly toasted French bread (I find it to be a bit softer than the more typical baguettes). However, among the group there were some dietary restrictions and a complex array of taste preferences. So, I turned the dish into Deconstructed Steak Crostini. I presented each of the finished ingredients in petit dishes atop of a decorated cutting board. Guests were able to include what they wanted and bypass what they did not. It was fun. Plus, it’s always cool to add the word “deconstructed” to a dish.
I was thinking back on this a few days after the election. It occurred to me that while I have read quite a bit on the subject, I have not ever come across an article where Trumpism was deconstructed. You hear the term “Trumpers” often to describe his constituents, and I confess, I have bandied that term about more than a few times myself. But that falsely implies that all of them can be summarized by one term, one stereotype, one agenda. But that simply is not the case. More than 70 million people voted for him. Clearly there must be at least a dozen or more different reasons, sometimes overlapping.
Nearly 70 million voted for Harris. Many of them are shocked, sad, angry, and even confused. I thought there might be some value in trying to deconstruct these Trump supporters into different categories of why they voted for him. Some overlap. And clearly, many will fall in more than one category. From there, we might be better prepared to address those issues and avoid another similar travesty of Democracy.
Before I get to the longer list of why I think folks did vote for Trump, let’s quickly deal with a few issues that did not impact his supporters. First, he is not a good person. Sure, you would always find a few characters at his rallies dressed in a dazzling array of red, white, and blue, who think Biden is the devil (not a metaphor) and that Trump is the second coming of Jesus. But that is not the prevailing feeling among Trump supporters. We have seen countless arguments, which I will address below, but none of our friends actually tried to persuade us based on his winning personality and kindness. Just the opposite, a very common comment was some version of “We aren’t voting for who we want to take to the prom.” Those on the right loved to echo this catchphrase with some amount of holier than thou self-righteousness, while those on the left struggled to explain to the right that they were missing the forest for the trees. One catchphrase deserves another.
The second, and only other issue I will suggest had nothing to do with voter’s decision-making was any of Trump’s empty promises. Anyone old enough to have hit 6th grade by his first year in office the last time, knows that he did not, in fact, get Mexico to pay to build a wall. And within 24 hours of getting the votes this time around, he and his staff are already back-pedaling the promises about changes to Social Security that they will never be successful in making. In fact, many in his inner circle have already acknowledged since the vote that they can now pull out Project 2025 and begin to work it, despite denying their allegiance to it last week. So, nobody voted for him because they believe him. 70 million people are not that stupid, right?
Oh, Darn. I lost some of you just then. But stay with me. I double dog dare you. This is my just my take. Trump is horrible. But in the following paragraphs I hold both Democrats and Republicans accountable for where we are today. I’m just an average guy with a curious mind. I have had a variety of jobs where After Action Reports and Lessons Learned proved useful. What I would really like to see is some Pew Research and/or a bipartisan think tank take this whole concept up a notch. And not just the problems, but the solutions as well. Here is my take, and while I may not be fully objective, again, I take Democrats and Liberals to task here as well. I am not sure the order matters. I put the sea salt out last with the Steak Crostini and that seemed to work well.
Republicans. Throughout history, there are millions of people, both Republican and Democrat, that will vote the party line at the local, state, and federal level, no matter what. Literally, no matter what. No platform, no achievement (we have record low unemployment right now), no logic, no social media, and no little signs half bent along the roadsides will impact these people. The topic is dead on arrival. It is a simple life I imagine, but not one I would want for my children. Oh, and there are millions upon millions in this category, again on both sides. I voted for Reagan, Bush, Bush, Hillary Clinton, Obama, Biden, and Harris. So I feel comfortable giving everyone who falls into this category a little bit of shit.
Critical Thinking. This overlaps with the first point. As a teacher, and now a professor, I see that critical thinking is a dying art. The odds that the best leader, innovator, candidate has been from the exact same party for every election at every level is both absurd and too astronomical to calculate. The non-critical thinkers will now push back and say, “I don’t vote for the person, I vote for the platform.” Those people forget a few lessons they should have learned in high school if not earlier. First, government has checks and balances. Far more problems have been caused by Congress than any President in history. Second, sometimes in life it is important to do what’s right and not blindly stamp your privilege. By the way, if you only read news that supports one political agenda, you are absolutely not a critical thinker.
Confirmation Bias. This is why nothing really matters. Damn, it hurt to type that. Once people got interested in Trump, they began seeking out only that information that confirms or strengthens their belief in him. He didn’t have anything to do with the attack on the Capitol. He hasn’t swindled people in business. He didn’t cheat on his wife. He isn’t friends with Putin. Okay, Jughead.
Misinformation/Disinformation. As a professional communicator and an emergency manager, this one stings. I published a separate column where I cited facts about Trump and Vance telling lies about assistance to survivors. Those lies led to people not getting assistance that could have helped them and their families. Unconscionable. But here is the scary part. This one really scares me. There are people who work for FEMA, work in emergency management, and live in those states, who are completely aware of the lies aimed to hurt them, and they still voted for him. Wow.
Misogynists. I said the order does not matter. But I should probably have listed this first. It might be the most heinous. Trump is the only president in history to lose to the only man he faced and won only when opposed by women candidates. Trump is a misogynist. But I blame the misogynist voters, men and women who voted for Trump for no other reason than the fact that they would not vote for a woman. I don’t know if we will ever get accurate data on how many people fall in this category. But with a heavy heart, I would not be surprised if it adds up to more than five million people. That alone would be the tipping point to a different outcome, a different history, a different America.
Abortion Rights. There is overlap here. But it gets more complicated when religion and deep seeded beliefs come into play. I will be clear. I stand with women’s rights. Their body. Their choice. But I also find it difficult to harshly judge someone who has been taught for 20, 30, 40 years or more in their church and through their worship that abortion is wrong. I disagree with them. They are misguided. But here is the real problem – Abortion has been an issue for all of my voting life. But it has been one issue among many, and we used to vote for the bigger picture. We have elected as a nation both for Republican and Democrat candidates. Now it is taking center stage and going in the wrong direction. The fanatics have joined and fueled and leveraged those with religious beliefs to the detriment of women. And here’s the kicker – Trump doesn’t give a shit either way.
Religion. Again, a bit of overlap, but also with some important distinctions. Predominantly, Protestants and Catholics align with Republicans. Unaffiliated, Atheists, and Agnostics align with Democrats. It didn’t always used to have such a clear divide. I blame this one on the Democrats. I am a Democrat. And I have been insulted and verbally attacked by other Democrats because I pray. It’s funny how Democrats preach tolerance, but don’t always practice it. Democrats need to understand that while there are a considerable number of hypocrites on the Right who attend church, but then treat others in horrible ways, there are also a huge number of us on the Left who believe in God and Jesus, attend church and also are vocal advocates for LTBTQIA+ rights.
Less Educated. The statistics make this clear. Trump continues to receive more votes than his opponents among those without any higher education. While he clearly favors the rich, I think his appeal is that his own personality comes off as uneducated. It is much more appealing to them than the increasingly elitist tone of the Democrats.
Latino Men. In 2020, we saw 59% for Biden, 36% For Trump. Now, in 2024, we see 54% for Trump, and only 44% for Harris. This was one of the most dramatic and impactful changes between the elections. A complete game changer. Could this be more misogyny? I honestly do not know. I will have to leave this one to the Latinos and think tanks to figure out. It changed the outcome.
Racist. We have seen so many examples, not only out of Trump’s mouth, but also from a sect of his followers. The KKK has supported him. Other racists have. And Trump has never denounced them. It is interesting to me and amazes me to some extent that while people will stick to their vote on abortion rights and border, they willingly overlook the fact that their candidate actively displays and encourages racist behavior against them.
Homophobic. This group would rather endorse a horrible human being than vote for a party or candidate that accepts different pronouns, different preferences. Trump empowers the racists, bigots and homophobes to come out of their own closets and be more bold about their prejudices and hatred. I blame more than Trump here. The Republican party in general pretends to have Religion on their side but do virtually nothing to push back against social evils like prejudice, racism, bigotry and the like. Don’t pretend to be Christian when you are not. At least be honest. Tell the world and all the people you treat with disdain that they are less important to you than winning, catering to bad people, and getting your way on other issues.
Border. Right or wrong, like it or not, this has been a huge issue for Conservatives and Republicans (not just Trump Supporters). And the Democrats have failed miserably at demonstrating any clear plan or even feigned interest in addressing this in a reasonable way. If you know that a large segment of society cares deeply about an issue, feels you are failing in that issue, and you do not boldy explain your position, defend your position, or change your position, you get what you deserve. And by the way, there are many people in this group who despise Trump. They just despise the Democrat handling of the border more.
Democrats Disconnected. It is ironic to me. I truly believe that generally Democrats care more about people, social issues, humanity, raising the minimum wage… and yet, they talk over and at people. They have moved further left. And in so doing, they have alienated the votes in the middle that could be swayed. If you believe in gay rights, but you oppose transgender athlete competing against women, you will be lambasted by a growing majority of Liberals. They don’t seem to realize that you are actually defending women, a good thing. It doesn’t matter that you support transgenderism and only disagree with the inequity in supports. If you are not touching the furthest left side of the wall, you are out of favor. How’s that working for you Democrats?
Anti-Woke Culture. First, the Left went woke. Then the Right went anti-woke. Now the middle is anti-woke. I used to love comedy. But too many Democrats won’t let us laugh at ourselves anymore. They now focus on micro aggressions instead of assuming positive intent. If someone writes a column that includes a description about an individual breaking a finger or one person calling another person fat, we first have to read a warning that the following piece may include topics that are triggering for some. Triggering? Calling someone fat is wrong. Triggering? It’s out of control and the majority of the country gets that. If the Liberals move any further in this direction, they may never win again.
Algorithms. I could have just as easy call this one social media. But I am convinced that the mass of society, to include many of the Trump supporters do not understand that algorithms exist and how they work. Social media is not this simple, random, free-flowing communication. Once you look up something about Trump, the algorithms within the social media will ensure you get more and more of it. It’s a slippery slope with no ladder back up. It feeds directly into the confirmation bias and lack of critical thinking. If you opened a new account under a different name tomorrow, what you would see in your feed would be drastically different.
Values. If you really want to be in the minority, be kind and respectful. These values are just not valued anymore the way they used to be. This decay of values, morals, and ethical behavior are the foundation of Trump’s success. His supports simply do not care who and what he is. Period.
Alpha and Omega. Using somewhat random numbers to make a point. We used to be 40% Left, 40% Right, and 20& in the middle. And even then, there were individual issues where a Left would support a Right policy and vice versa. I remember when Members of Congress would develop bills in a bipartisan way for the good of the nation. Now Left is fully Left. Right is fully Right. And the middle has dropped to 5%. It takes courage and critical thinking to evaluate each issue and each candidate on their own merits when you know you will get slammed by both sides.
Just Win, Baby. Al Davis, who used to own the then Oakland Raiders coined this motto. Nothing else matter. Anything else was trivial. Just win. There are so many Republicans, privately among friends and family, who rebuke Trump, but then publicly support him with a smile on their face. JD Vance is even on record rebuking Trump. What changed his mind? Winning.
Anarchy. There has been plenty of vitriol, and often well-deserved against politicians. So many people in society have simply decided to vote for the choice that will blow it all up. They fail to understand the consequences when he will try to blow it all up.
Non-voters. Some rough math. The population of the United States is about 330 million. The number who would be eligible to vote is around 240 million. The number who actually did vote is about 145 million. I wonder how the other 95 million feel. This is not a new problem. But it is becoming a more striking problem with all that is at stake. Mathematically, this category is actually making the biggest difference in shaping the future of our country. Apathy has elected Donald J. Trump as our next President.
I am sure I have missed some categories. Moreover, I am fully confident that not one single person who reads this will agree with everything I have said. Not one. And that’s fine. I’m just one guy. One set of opinions. Like I said, I would love to see some bipartisan professionals analyze all of this in greater detail.
As for any slights I mentioned in this column, if you are a Democrat or Republican, a Liberal or Conservative, I respect you. I do not respect Donald Trump. He is despicable. But that truth should differ from the rhetoric against the people who voted for him. It is one of the reasons I wrote this. If you voted for Trump because you are a Republican, you have deep-seeded beliefs in your religion, or you live near the border in fear… I disagree with you respectfully. If you voted for Trump because you are a racist, bigot, or homophobe, then no, I don’t like you. Those who blindly dislike people for voting for Trump and those who blindly claim they should not be disliked for Trump are both wrong. The reasons matter.
My guests really enjoyed the Steak Crostini, but the Cilantro was not very popular. It’s okay. I liked it. And it was deconstructed.
Stoneking Strategic Communications (SSC) 