Trump’s Voters Deserve Demeaning

By FRANK LINGO

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and has written eloquently on human rights for many years.

But recently Kristof said Democrats shouldn’t demean Trump voters. Sorry, Nick, I disagree. My view is also at odds with former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, who said we should meet voters where they are.

No, thanks, I don’t want to go there. And I ain’t no elite limousine liberal – I work for a living, even in my old age. Kristof criticizes the Dem elites for demeaning the Trumpers over their grievance of being economically disadvantaged. But aren’t the majority of Trump voters White American men, the world’s most privileged socio-economic demographic?

Trump’s rise to fame is telling about how he gained his fanatical following. He first got popular with his hit TV show, “The Apprentice,” where he was an obnoxious boss. It was entertaining for some to watch a billionaire bully belittle folks.

Next, Trump launched his huge birther hoax, using Fox News and Twitter to claim he was about to uncover that Obama was not an American citizen. Trump didn’t originate it but he promoted that racist lie relentlessly. The lies about Obama had been spread by conspiracist 9/11 “truthers” during the 2008 campaign and then debunked. Trump’s insistent skill at skullduggery showed millions of racists he was on their side, the White side.

If we thought America moved beyond racism with Obama’s election, the 2010 mid-terms jerked us back to reality because Tea Party Republicans won control of Congress.

` That’s when Trump turned to discrediting Obama. Let’s underscore the meaning of the word trump. The Random House Dictionary defines it (after a card-game reference) as trump – verb. To devise deceitfully.

Devising deceitfully is Donald’s life work, but I bet even he was surprised at the devotion of his cult. In 2015, after four years of the Birther BS, Trump had a prefab base of voters as he ran for the presidency. His popularity derived mostly from bullying on “The Apprentice” and lying about Obama’s citizenship.

So, was that when Trump introduced plans to bring back manufacturing jobs for White Americans? Not really. He mostly attacked illegal immigrants, calling Mexicans rapists and murderers. He railed how he would build a wall and make Mexico pay for it.

Trump’s doubled-down racism caused his campaign to catch fire. He soon led all Republican candidates by 20 to 30 percentage points, and he swept the nomination. His Republican rivals knew exactly what kind of person he was. Senator Marco Rubio called him a con man and a fraud. Senator Lindsay Graham called him a kook. Senator Ted Cruz called Trump a pathological liar and said morality does not exist for him. Those things are true but almost all those rivals would eventually bow before him.

In the 2016 election, Trump offered some phantasmagorical plans for the economy, complete with grievance pandering that apparently appealed to his now colossal cult. These plans had no relation to reality but that wasn’t their purpose. The economic theories Trump told were tall tales harking back to days of yore, supposedly to make America great again. Such nostalgic lies lured traditional Republicans who weren’t really racist but wouldn’t vote for Democrats.

It worked. Now after a Trump presidency when he committed crimes by the dozens and avoided accountability, most of his voters are sticking with him. They believe the 2020 election was stolen, which was just another lie he made up. His voters don’t seem to mind that he incited a mob to attack the United States Congress, causing deaths to several people and injuries to at least 140 police officers.

Some think Trump handled the economy well, despite the Covid recession with millions of jobs lost. He caused it with his rabid ranting that prevented the CDC experts from guiding the nation to trust the vaccine. This dereliction of duty contributed to the deaths of over a million Americans.

How is it possible to show respect to Trump’s voters? Most of them believe any crazy lies he conjures up. Most of them know he’s racist and they like it. Most of them don’t mind that he’s promising to be a dictator.

This year Trump has quadrupled down on his racist rhetoric with Nazi phrases. He called his political opponents vermin. He said the immigrants are poisoning our blood and he’ll deport millions of them. His language is nakedly hateful toward people of color. In the face of such cruelty, no one with a conscience can claim the economy as an excuse to vote for him.

This election is not a debate about different styles of governing, like traditional Democratic and Republican policies. It’s about whether we have any decency in our society or any democracy at all.

Frank Lingo, based in Lawrence, Kansas, is a former columnist for the Kansas City Star and author of the novel “Earth Vote.” Email: lingofrank@gmail.com. See his website: Greenbeat.world

From The Progressive Populist, October 15, 2024

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