I should be frank by stating upfront that I find Donald Trump’s candidacy for president to be almost vulgar in its absurdity. The man is not presidential, as he and his numerous sexist, racist, and downright laughable tirades have made clear. In some ways, he deserves to be vilified for his cruel and ridiculous statements. But do his followers?
Division is common in politics today, as anyone can see with a simple scroll through a Facebook timeline. My friends on both sides of the aisle are sharing images that stereotype followers of a certain candidate. Bernie Sanders supporters are either entitled college kids who misunderstand simple economics or slobs who live in their parents’ basement; Donald Trump supporters are closet racists (as hilariously represented in this SNL sketch), backwards rednecks, or both. Passions are running high during this primary season, and listening to the other side has taken a back seat to simply attacking.
And, let’s be honest, it can be easy to attack Trump supporters. They back a man who has publicly boasted he could commit murder and not lose votes, who spouts hurtful anti-Muslim propaganda, who refused to deny the endorsement of a major KKK leader, who demands we build a wall to keep out “rapist” Mexicans and make Mexico pay for it. How could they believe in a man who says such absurd, vulgar things, unless they themselves believed in the same things?
There’s certainly a sizeable population of Trump voters who believe in his authoritarian, racist agenda, but there might be another reason for his popularity: his stance on trade.
A Guardian article was published recently that asserted that the real reason many of Trump’s supporters backed him was due to his firm stance that trade has negatively affected the American worker. The Republican Party has long been known as proponents of free trade, and many Americans are feeling cheated by its effects. Jobs are being outsourced and entire industries are being shipped overseas. While an introductory economics course will drill into students’ heads that negative effects, such as job loss, are dwarfed by the positive effects of trade, try telling that to a lifelong factory worker who has just been put out of work. I guarantee it won’t go over well. When Trump says things like, “I’m all for free trade, but it’s got to be fair. When Ford moves their massive plants to Mexico, we get nothing. I want them to stay in Michigan,” (source) he appears to stand up for these workers, to tell them that he hasn’t forgotten about them.
This theory gains even more traction when one looks at the fact that the candidate who frequently polls most strongly against Trump is Senator Bernie Sanders, who holds a similar view that America is being ripped off by bad trade deals. In an interview on October 6, 2015, Sanders stated, “I think if you look at the history of trade agreements, what you find, they are written by Wall Street. They are written by corporate America. . .They have been, in my view, a disaster for the American worker” (Source). Albeit with his own signature Sanders spin, he holds a very similar view to Trump on the dangers of international trade to American jobs.
I’m not denying that a portion, even a significant portion, of Trump’s backing is due to racist talking points. That is deplorable, and a man who says—or even pretends to believe, as some may argue—such things is not fit for the Oval Office. These talking points are not his only ones, though, and not the only reason that Trump is gaining so many voters so quickly. However, the fact that these supporters, even if they themselves are not racist, would be willing to look past such inflammatory and dangerous rhetoric might still cast a negative light on them.
All in all, I think it is difficult to characterize the voters of any candidate, and it is important to keep in mind that regardless of what happens in American politics this year, kindness can still be extended to all fellow Americans.
Image Credit: Business Insider, Town Hall