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> They are ignorant, don't care, or duped.

That's what a lot of Trump voters believe about people who don't like him. He used to generally have good public opinion (prior to his ascendance in 2015). A lot of people believe that his bad press is primarily due to intentional smear campaigns and lawfare by the powers that be.

In that sense, for many people, a vote for Trump is like apes in /r/stonks buying and holding GME. It's less about what they want in a positive sense, and more about what they don't want: namely extreme leftism and the current ruling class in Washington, the media, billionaires, and everyone else who attended the WEF in Davos -- all the folks who care nothing for the average Joe.

He may not fix it, they may not even expect him to be able to, but voting for him is a way to have a voice. At least he really upsets all those powerful people! And he did get some stuff conservatives liked done in his first term.



They didn't want the rich guy, so they voted the rich guy in? I think you need to work on your argument.


It's not the riches per se that they take issue with. In fact, they admire and celebrate rich people who got there by hard work, luck, and good business (just like apes in /r/stonks celebrate how rich DFV got on GME options). What they take issue with is how certain powerful people use their riches and power in ways that benefit only themselves and hurt everyone else (who isn't rich) -- particularly the power establishment in Washington, New York, and Silicon Valley.

To give one specific example, private equity firms have been buying out small local businesses on a massive scale (like veterinary clinics), jacking up the prices, paying the workers less, and giving customers a worse experience.

That's not the sort of thing they perceive Trump to be doing with his riches and power. In fact, I don't see any way Trump is messing with the macroeconomy in his own business practices (do you know of any?).


Trump has a reputation for not paying his debts [1], and for stiffing the little people that have worked for him [2]

[1] https://www.ft.com/content/aa383026-ac12-4d39-b6ee-075c2a248...

[2] https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dozens-of-lawsuits-accuse-t...


That's not the macroeconomy.

That's not like Bill Gates buying up 275000 acres of farmland. That's not like World Economic Forum people in Davos scheming to eliminate ownership from common people across the world.

There's such a wide gulf between Trump and these sorts of people.

Besides, the examples you gave would come across as something a legacy media smear campaign dug up and misrepresented.


And what about the various court cases that require evidence? Are those made up too?


I didn't say the charges weren't true, or that they were made up.

Just that whatever he did as a businessman, it didn't threaten or negatively affect the entire US economy.




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