OPINION: 2020 Election Observations

OPINION: 2020 Election Observations

By Trevor K. McNeil

How Did This Happen?

It is a question that has been asked before. Though as we get closer to Election Day and things might still go either way, it is still a productive exercise to try and figure out how we got to where we are today. Particularly with so many Trump Voters, particularly in swing states, suffering industrial strength buyers guilt.

No Easy Answers

The answer seems obvious. All the Trump voters are backward, racist, sexist, idiots who don’t know what’s best for them. A ‘basket of deplorables’ as Madam Clinton once put it. This is a mistake. Not only is it reductionist and prejudiced, the very things most accuse Trump of being, it is also wrong. I don’t mean wrong in the modern sense of things that make people feel icky. I mean it in the far more basic, Aspie way of false as according to the evidence. There are simply too many people of various groups, including those whom Trump has attacked, supporting him for this to be the whole story.

Ears Plug, Eyes Closed

If anything, the less savory things Trump has said or done are incidental to his support. Not that what he did doesn’t matter. It does in terms of general morality but a lot of things are a matter of priorities and he has other aspects that outweighed his misconduct. At least in the minds of those who prioritize such things. One of the things a lot of critics overlook is his focus on jobs. Particularly in places like Michigan. A state in which things have been so bad for so long, the condition of cities like Flint have been referred to as ‘economic terrorism.’ A situation which makes it easier to understand Trump’s support despite his desire for a border wall or his opinions on where it is okay to touch female strangers. Even if they ‘let’ you.

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