Request - Why did you vote for Trump?

I ask this from a couple of different perspectives. I am not sure who or how many will answer, I don't frequent the political threads very often.

1. I do want to know the motivations behind filling out that oval. Was it a specific stance he supported? Was it a policy that Obama/Clinton would have supported that would have a direct impact on you? Was it disgust with mainstream/old school candidates? Please use your own words.

2. What is your stance on "the elephant in the room"? Namely, the rhetoric/comments from DT around women, minorities, etc? And the fact that some of his more vocal supporters hold some extreme views on these topics?

I do not wish to start an argument, nothing will be solved here and people will believe what they believe. I just would like to truly understand from educated people their rationale in regards to these things. This will probably quickly devolve into people posting (if anyone will) their answers and then others combating those opinions, but I would like to at least hear some answers.

I did see an article in the Freep or the News where they interviewed some folks around town and basically did the "Why Trump?" thing. A few of them were small business owners and cited UHC. A few others cited anti Clinton rhetoric. Just would like to have the conversation and gain some understanding. I've been thinking about politics over the past couple weeks combined more than I have in my entire life and it's making fucking crazy.

I think it's great. Really terrific.

There aren't any Trump voters on this board. Except Death row.

I voted Johnson. Almost everyone I know who voted for Trump either did so because of the ACA or the belief that Trump would be better for the economy and jobs.

I'll bite, WBH, because you're my boy. I'm not going to answer questions from obviously biased democrats who forget that they were the ones who were mad when we abolished slavery.

1. We have already had one Clinton in the office, and it was riddled with scandal almost the entire time. Hillary, regardless of what she said, does not support women's rights. She helped Bill hush the accusers, something that she accused Trump of doing. She voted Rep back when she started in politics, and voted against gay rights and any pro-African-American topics that came her way. And she wants to support all people?

The way she has completely avoided her email/server saga shows more than just some ignorant people going "Oh boy it's just a server." She hid things and obviously they were bad enough that she wanted to keep them from everyone else. How can we trust her not to do this with the even bigger American policies/secrets she'd be exposed to if she won?

Also, my father and grandfather were in the military. I saw no support for them from Hillary. That is absolutely disrespectful and complete bullshit. These entitled fucks that protest the streets because Hillary lost are the same people that spit on them when they come back from wars. My dad didn't fight for that.

2. I'm not fond of some of the things he has said. However, it's not like Hillary was some perfect candidate. She completely avoided answering questions about the server saga AND the Clinton Foundation scandal (which if it's all true, makes her one of the worst presidential candidates in history). Any time I saw her rallies on TV, she would just bash Trump, and made it like the election was a wrap. I didn't care for that, so that was another reason.

People gloss over all the shit Hillary has DONE in her time in politics, yet highlight everything Trump says. He hasn't done anything yet, and probably won't do much. You have morons on here starting threads simply to bait others into arguing and talking vaguely back at them. Those are the people I'm glad I'm not with in this thing.

Another reason I'm glad I didn't vote Clinton: They haven't come out to say to stop the protesting. They were so ready to embrace everyone and start anew as a better nation once they thought the election was a Dem win for sure, yet act more discriminatory and horrible than most Trump people ever have. It's disgusting behavior, and you even had someone on here (an older poster) supporting anti-Trump violence. Completely appalling.

Ok thank you for the response. To me that seems more like you are anti-HRC than you are pro Trump. Did any of his campaign resonate with you or did you kind of just feel like you needed to get behind one of the candidates and picked the lesser of two evils?

I didn't vote for him but my sister is one of those evangelical christians that people couldn't believe were Trump voters. She told me she was holding her nose and voting for him based solely on the Supreme Court nominations. She couldn't stomach the thought of a 7-2 liberal majority for 20-30 years. Both of her daughters were staunch Sanders supporters that did sort of the same thing in reverse, they held their nose and voted Hillary.

Do you plan to ask the same question of Hillary voters? Based on all the crap in her past she couldn't have been an easy choice for them.

Something I read this morning that was interesting and completely unbiased for this forum....and yes I follow "MAchinery Pete" on twitter.

More Optimism in Farm Country Since Election

Now keep in mind most of the attendees at these auctions would be farmer types that aren't going to be in the streets in LA or NYC demonstrating.

I bring you this only as an unbiased observer/reporter…there is a noticeably more positive attitude in farm country since last Tuesday’s presidential election.

I covered 2 large farm machinery auctions this week in western Minnesota, one we filmed for our Machinery Pete TV show. Very good crowds at these auctions. As I’ve done for 27 years now, I talk to folks at the sale. Mostly I listen. We talk about lots of things, whatever is top of mind for folks on that day, in that area. What stood out to me this past week about these conversations?

Even with stubbornly low commodity prices, folks just seemed more upbeat looking ahead into 2017.

You could argue that collectively we’re all just happy to have that campaign season and its negative tone behind us. But what I’ve seen and heard the past 10 days is more than that. Heads are up just a bit.

An old friend of mine from northeast Iowa, a guy who farms, who buys and sells used equipment, who runs a local hay auction, relayed this to me the other via a Facebook message: “The last two weeks since the election the attitude has done a 180 out here. Farmers smiling, feeling things are gonna turn and optimistic for the first time in a while.”

An auctioneer friend of mine from rural Minnesota relayed a story from an auction they had (not a machinery sale) Nov. 9th, the day after the election: “People at the sale were smiling. No one was saying who they voted for, but the attitude was noticeably upbeat.”

Funny how powerful it can be to feel like you were listened to.

Folks are hopeful about meaningful change. The constant gridlock in Washington had gotten old many long years ago. That’s not to say there aren’t certainly reservations about what lies ahead, all the unknowns, but again, the vibe I’m getting is just overall more positive.

I voted for Johnson for a number of reasons. He's batshit crazy but IMHO the least crazy of the three. It was the first time I ever voted Libertarian, but the more I listened the ideals of social inclusion and fiscal conservancy I realized that described what I believe in. It pulls away from the right's religious obsessions and the left's spending and vision of healthcare. It also finally starts to pull away from the role of the USA as the global policeman.

I'm not against the concept of Obamacare except that it isn't affordable and the bureaucrats have put too many constraints on provider's ability to actually practice medicine.

It also a vote against Trump's denial of global warning and against the democrats planning for 16 years to break the glass ceiling with the worst possible female candidate they could summon. If Hillary wasn't the former FLOTUS there's no way she'd have been in the senate or appointed SOS. We've had enough Clintons in the WH.

I didn't vote for president and I'm usually pretty straight Democrat. I didn't think Hillary was going to lose though and knowing what I know now, I would've voted for her. I didn't realize how angry America is and, I don't understand why. Had Hillary been more forthcoming about the email server and not reacted to it as poorly as she did i probably would've voted for her.
That being said I really thought people would realize that trump never had any substance. Now we're fucked.

I hate this line of thinking dr. Very false and built off media narratives to divide us. What does entitlement have to do with people demonstrating their first amendment? It's bullshit that protests or being involved in social issues is labeled as whiny or something. Scary thought process.

"These entitled fucks that protest the streets because Hillary lost are the same people that spit on them when they come back from wars. My dad didn't fight for that"

Death Roe wrote:I'll bite, WBH, because you're my boy. I'm not going to answer questions from obviously biased democrats who forget that they were the ones who were mad when we abolished slavery.

1. We have already had one Clinton in the office, and it was riddled with scandal almost the entire time. Hillary, regardless of what she said, does not support women's rights. She helped Bill hush the accusers, something that she accused Trump of doing. She voted Rep back when she started in politics, and voted against gay rights and any pro-African-American topics that came her way. And she wants to support all people?

The way she has completely avoided her email/server saga shows more than just some ignorant people going "Oh boy it's just a server." She hid things and obviously they were bad enough that she wanted to keep them from everyone else. How can we trust her not to do this with the even bigger American policies/secrets she'd be exposed to if she won?

Also, my father and grandfather were in the military. I saw no support for them from Hillary. That is absolutely disrespectful and complete bullshit. These entitled fucks that protest the streets because Hillary lost are the same people that spit on them when they come back from wars. My dad didn't fight for that.

2. I'm not fond of some of the things he has said. However, it's not like Hillary was some perfect candidate. She completely avoided answering questions about the server saga AND the Clinton Foundation scandal (which if it's all true, makes her one of the worst presidential candidates in history). Any time I saw her rallies on TV, she would just bash Trump, and made it like the election was a wrap. I didn't care for that, so that was another reason.

People gloss over all the shit Hillary has DONE in her time in politics, yet highlight everything Trump says. He hasn't done anything yet, and probably won't do much. You have morons on here starting threads simply to bait others into arguing and talking vaguely back at them. Those are the people I'm glad I'm not with in this thing.

Another reason I'm glad I didn't vote Clinton: They haven't come out to say to stop the protesting. They were so ready to embrace everyone and start anew as a better nation once they thought the election was a Dem win for sure, yet act more discriminatory and horrible than most Trump people ever have. It's disgusting behavior, and you even had someone on here (an older poster) supporting anti-Trump violence. Completely appalling.

If TL/DR it says "Never Hillary"

InTenSity wrote:I didn't vote for president and I'm usually pretty straight Democrat. I didn't think Hillary was going to lose though and knowing what I know now, I would've voted for her. I didn't realize how angry America is and, I don't understand why. Had Hillary been more forthcoming about the email server and not reacted to it as poorly as she did i probably would've voted for her.
That being said I really thought people would realize that trump never had any substance. Now we're fucked.

Surprised you didn't in such an important state as FL. IMO you really can't complain if you didn't vote.

NigelUno wrote:

Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:I hate this line of thinking dr. Very false and built off media narratives to divide us. What does entitlement have to do with people demonstrating their first amendment? It's bullshit that protests or being involved in social issues is labeled as whiny or something. Scary thought process.

"These entitled fucks that protest the streets because Hillary lost are the same people that spit on them when they come back from wars. My dad didn't fight for that"

He's beyond biased...which happens in politics.

And that Nigel - he's right down the middle.

CheesySpartan wrote:

InTenSity wrote:I didn't vote for president and I'm usually pretty straight Democrat. I didn't think Hillary was going to lose though and knowing what I know now, I would've voted for her. I didn't realize how angry America is and, I don't understand why. Had Hillary been more forthcoming about the email server and not reacted to it as poorly as she did i probably would've voted for her.
That being said I really thought people would realize that trump never had any substance. Now we're fucked.

Surprised you didn't in such an important state as FL. IMO you really can't complain if you didn't vote.

I voted, I just didn't vote for president.

https://hbr.org/2016/11/what-so-many-people-dont-get-about-the-u-s-working-class

Excellent read.

InTenSity wrote:

CheesySpartan wrote:

Surprised you didn't in such an important state as FL. IMO you really can't complain if you didn't vote.

I voted, I just didn't vote for president.

10-4. I considered that as well and voting for Johnson was basically the same thing

Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:I hate this line of thinking dr. Very false and built off media narratives to divide us. What does entitlement have to do with people demonstrating their first amendment? It's bullshit that protests or being involved in social issues is labeled as whiny or something. Scary thought process.

"These entitled fucks that protest the streets because Hillary lost are the same people that spit on them when they come back from wars. My dad didn't fight for that"

Sorry for giving my opinion. I'll make sure not to next time.

Nigel, fuck off.

Just having a discussion guy. No need to get all worked up. Just think for someone that has had family in the military would respect the right to stand up for what you believe in despite whether or not you agree with the cause.

steveschneider wrote:https://hbr.org/2016/11/what-so-many-people-dont-get-about-the-u-s-working-class

Excellent read.

Interesting stuff thanks for the link.

Here are some thoughts. I do appreciate the sincere opinions that people have shared.

I think somewhere in my brain when I started this thread I was looking for a couple of things. #1 I wanted to hear the logic behind a Trump vote from a real person. The only people that I know in real life who voted for Trump I don't think I could have a conversation with about this stuff. A couple of them are strongly anti-establishment/borderline conspiracy theorists and one is an outright racist who I have been friends with for my entire life. I would be lying if I said that I haven't started to ask myself questions about why over the past few years. It's complicated, but I digress.

#2 I think has been partially answered. I want to know if Trump supporters can acknowledge the angst that basically non Trump supporters feel and acknowledge that this thing is a bit different than your typical right/left election. Lots of "get over it" attitudes I'm picking up on. Maybe mostly on social media. I definitely think this is a different deal and I would like anyone on the other side (meaning anyone who disagrees) to dig deep and respond honestly.

Here is a personal anecdote. At the risk of stalker Turtleneck pulling this out on me 2 years down the line. My dad is Muslim. Legit. I'm half Lebanese. I don't think anyone could tell by looking at me. I'm not worried about my Dad. He's a fucking tank at 74 and probably throws more shade towards others than anyone could throw his way. I'm not really worried about his side of the family. They all live in Dearborn for chrissakes. But it does give me some perspective about how others might think.

Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:Just having a discussion guy. No need to get all worked up. Just think for someone that has had family in the military would respect the right to stand up for what you believe in despite whether or not you agree with the cause.

I agreed more with what Trump had to offer than Hillary. I kept thinking more about what Hilldawg has DONE politically more than what Trump has said.

If that makes me weak in your eyes, so be it. :shrug: Not mad, we just disagree.

I came out and said why I voted for him, and I'm sure some loony tune will come on here Monday and call me racist/sexist/homophobic/KKK member/baby eater/puppy kicker and laugh about it like he's not the discriminatory one.

My GF has a best friend that is gay, along with his boyfriend. They voted Hillary, and I told them I voted Trump, but never judged them differently, and they never did towards me.

My mom's best friend is gay, and voted for Trump. Is that a unicorn in this situation?

WhiteBoyHatcher wrote:Here are some thoughts. I do appreciate the sincere opinions that people have shared.

I think somewhere in my brain when I started this thread I was looking for a couple of things. #1 I wanted to hear the logic behind a Trump vote from a real person. The only people that I know in real life who voted for Trump I don't think I could have a conversation with about this stuff. A couple of them are strongly anti-establishment/borderline conspiracy theorists and one is an outright racist who I have been friends with for my entire life. I would be lying if I said that I haven't started to ask myself questions about why over the past few years. It's complicated, but I digress.

#2 I think has been partially answered. I want to know if Trump supporters can acknowledge the angst that basically non Trump supporters feel and acknowledge that this thing is a bit different than your typical right/left election. Lots of "get over it" attitudes I'm picking up on. Maybe mostly on social media. I definitely think this is a different deal and I would like anyone on the other side (meaning anyone who disagrees) to dig deep and respond honestly.

Here is a personal anecdote. At the risk of stalker Turtleneck pulling this out on me 2 years down the line. My dad is Muslim. Legit. I'm half Lebanese. I don't think anyone could tell by looking at me. I'm not worried about my Dad. He's a fucking tank at 74 and probably throws more shade towards others than anyone could throw his way. I'm not really worried about his side of the family. They all live in Dearborn for chrissakes. But it does give me some perspective about how others might think.

Here's a long read about the casual "racist" accusations.....this person seems to think they may have cost Hills votes. I wouldn't go that far but he makes the case.

I stick to my thesis from October 2015. There is no evidence that Donald Trump is more racist than any past Republican candidate (or any other 70 year old white guy, for that matter). All this stuff about how he’s “the candidate of the KKK” and “the vanguard of a new white supremacist movement” is made up. It’s a catastrophic distraction from the dozens of other undeniable problems with Trump that could have convinced voters to abandon him. That it came to dominate the election cycle should be considered a horrifying indictment of our political discourse, in the same way that it would be a horrifying indictment of our political discourse if the entire Republican campaign had been based around the theory that Hillary Clinton was a secret Satanist. Yes, calling Romney a racist was crying wolf. But you are still crying wolf.

I avoided pushing this point any more since last October because I didn’t want to look like I was supporting Trump, or accidentally convince anyone else to support Trump. But since we’re past the point where that matters anymore, I want to present my case.

YOU ARE STILL CRYING WOLF

Death Roe wrote:

My mom's best friend is gay, and voted for Trump. Is that a unicorn in this situation?

This, my friend, is a unicorn...


Milo Yiannopoulos



Anyways. Trump lost me from the beginning with his anti-immigration thing. Worry more about minimizing benefits for American citizens going to people that haven't gone through the process.

I did like the plain talking. I don't like politicians, in fact the idea of a politician irritates me at a visceral level. So having someone that didn't give a fuck what others thought was refreshing, even if it was sometimes off putting. Obviously the recordings were no good but I want to give him the benefit of the doubt that he was just talking shit with a group of friends. Either way, it was kinda creepy at even that level.

Having said that, I don't think a president has to be likable, or even moral to be a good leader. Who knows, Trump obviously has some qualities because say what you will about receiving $1mil or $14mil or whatever, it takes some sort of talent to turn that into what he did. I think Hillary has a similar talent and I mean that aside from the shadier sides of her dealings.

So it boils down to both just being people I don't personally care to vote for, but either of them could have ended up being great presidents. I just don't think that way. But they're both too troubling for me to consciously endorse as a candidate regardless of what they could have become, or will become in Trump's case.

I just don't agree Loose. I feel like that is looking past the obvious to grasp at straws. I agree that you can pick and choose actions and stances that many of these politicians on either side have made over their careers and make assumptions. But there is little denying that Trump made some very inflammatory remarks this year during his campaign for president that were, uhhh....not very progressive. And there is no denying that what seems to be a decent portion of his voting base has taken those sentiments and run with them and started to create a potentially toxic atmosphere for minorities. I think that's completely fair and I'm not really biased. I would like to ask if you think that is fair. Is this a media creation? Not really sure that it is. Some might say that this will blow over, and perhaps it will. But until it does, how do you assuage these sentiments towards the people that experience them? Or does one simply not care because it does not affect them personally?

WBH, not doubting you... but what sort of inflammatory remarks, specifically with regards to minorities?

I'm going to give Trump a shot.

I always said I'd give Hillary a shot if she won. Hell, I thought she would win easily. I didn't care that Hillary is a woman, I'm all for a female president. Like Chris Rock said on SNL, the Dems thought they'd win by just replacing a cool 40 y/o African American president with a 70 y/o white person.

I think not giving a president a chance to succeed in your eyes is a bad idea jeans. You may not like him/her, but you never know if you see yourself liking them years from now.

My mom harkened this to Reagan. People were nervous when he won, even though he served office previously. Well, they mostly loved him after he took office.

I will give him a shot for sure. I think it's refreshing to have a non-politician in office. Even though I think I disagree with a lot of their stances, I just wish it was Ron or Rand Paul. Shake the shit up. What scares me more is the social aspect of it. I think there's some potential for some really fucked up demographic shit to go down here. Hope not. And the foreign policy aspect, not gonna lie.

WhiteBoyHatcher wrote:I just don't agree Loose. I feel like that is looking past the obvious to grasp at straws. I agree that you can pick and choose actions and stances that many of these politicians on either side have made over their careers and make assumptions. But there is little denying that Trump made some very inflammatory remarks this year during his campaign for president that were, uhhh....not very progressive. And there is no denying that what seems to be a decent portion of his voting base has taken those sentiments and run with them and started to create a potentially toxic atmosphere for minorities. I think that's completely fair and I'm not really biased. I would like to ask if you think that is fair.  Is this a media creation? Not really sure that it is. Some might say that this will blow over, and perhaps it will. But until it does, how do you assuage these sentiments towards the people that experience them? Or does one simply not care because it does not affect them personally?

We can agree to disagree.

Part of what I look at is how people live their lives - especially prior to getting into politics.

Now the crude sexual stuff with women was out there - undeniable.  Some of it very real, some of it probably Trumpian bluff and bluster to Howard Stern.

But the racial stuff?  He seems to have not had any issues with blacks, Hispanics, gays, etc in the midst of many dealings with them.   I'm sure working in NYC and Atlantic City he ran into people from every "group" you want to identify.  Where are the horror stories?  Most of what I've seen as "proof" that he's this or that came after he started running.

IF the KKK endorses you does that make you a racist?   If so, before the next election I'm opening a KKK chapter just so I can endorse every politician I dislike.

If Trump is as bad with minorities as everyone claims... it's even more amazing what he's done to build his brand while being so exclusive to whites. If this is really the case I'd like to see what he could do on a political level. It's an interesting live study the next few years.

I'm increasingly drunk, need to stop posting in this thread now. But there's a super weird dynamic going on in this country now. my observation.

There's a large group of people who are super angry at white male people that are concerned about minorities and women.

Well 2 answers and no examples so I'll publish an old answer.....

So the operative theory that I'm arguing against is:

"From being a lifetime friend of blacks and minorities, from his mid50's to age 70 Donald Trump transformed into a raging racist"



That's what you people are saying. Think about it.

No Goose. That's not what I'm saying personally. I'm white. It's not going to affect me. You're white. It's not going to affect you. I'm not sure if he's racist or not. There are a lot of people who might not have the security of whiteness that you and I share that feel otherwise and they're upset. So fuck their stupid asses?