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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsGuardian: 'A cauldron of the baser instincts of humanity': inside Donald Trump's Nevada triumph
The Trump brand seems more than a little confused. Is he the populist hero giving voice to the blue-collar folks who feel lost in Barack Obamas America? Or is he the man with a private jet and an overpriced collection of handbags on sale in the lobby of his hotel? It certainly doesnt matter that, on his arrival before the opening of voting in Nevada on Tuesday a state he later wins with a resounding victory a group of activists from the Culinary Workers Union protest in front of the hotel over Trumps unwillingness to negotiate with employees who recently voted to unionize. Its all meaningless to Trump supporters, in no small part because they have banded together against a common enemy: the media.
Attending a Trump rally is a nervy thing for a journalist. Invariably, the Republican frontrunner will single out the cordoned-off media pen, pointing in our direction while declaring that we are mostly horrible people who are ruining the nation one word at a time. ... It is quite a feeling to be among a crowd of thousands who would gladly tear you to pieces, given the right circumstances. As Trump so callously tells one of the hecklers being escorted out of the rally, in the old days, he would have been taken out on a stretcher. The greying, overwhelmingly white audience might not actually be able to beat me up due to their age, but the spectre of menace is almost as potent as the real thing.
Ideology is almost beside the point with the people here in Nevada. Personality and temperament are what sway voters in this insane, apocalyptic election. Before Trumps mortal enemy the media declare him the winner of the caucus, I speak to Tario Mills, a 19-year-old woman covered in tattoos. She came to the victory speech with her father. This is her first election and she is a firmly committed Trump voter. She wants to go into politics as a profession, but is concerned that her tattoos may make that difficult. When Donald wants something, hes going to fight for it. I need someone whos going to fight for what I want too, she says. When I ask which issue she cares about the most, she says LGBT rights. I mention that Trumps not the most committed ally of the cause. Hillary shifted in support of it. Maybe he will, too. But what if he doesnt? Then he doesnt do it, you know. At this moment, I realise that there is a segment of the Trump base that doesnt care what he says. They just trust him to be tough, like a surly father figure from whom you crave approval in between swats from a leather belt. If I dont agree with what he does, Ill still love and support him.
If it doesnt matter what Trump believes, and if it doesnt matter that he lives in a gold and marble palace while his employees earn less than a living wage, then he might just be unstoppable.
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/24/a-cauldron-of-the-baser-instincts-of-humanity-inside-donald-trumps-nevada-triumph
"They just trust him to be tough, like a surly father figure from whom you crave approval in between swats from a leather belt. If I dont agree with what he does, Ill still love and support him. Seems to epitomize the conservative authoritarian mindset.
inanna
(3,547 posts)eissa
(4,238 posts)What a monster the right has created. And we are all to blame for tolerating the fear, hatefulness and downright paranoia many of them posses. The media has done a poor job of challenging the factless rhetoric of the GOP in a pathetic attempt to appear "objective." This crap has been foaming for years and we are now on the verge of allowing it to completely take over.
trotsky
(49,533 posts)In "Sideshow Bob Roberts," where Sideshow Bob runs for mayor, he says:
"Because you need me, Springfield. Your guilty conscience may force you to vote Democratic, but deep down inside, you secretly long for a cold-hearted Republican to lower taxes, brutalise criminals and rule you like a king!"
underpants
(182,829 posts)That pretty much sums it up.
underpants
(182,829 posts)malthaussen
(17,204 posts)IMO, he misses one point: the gold-plated bathtub helps Mr Trump with these people. It isn't just they want someone tough, they want someone who has "proved" to them that he has what it takes to be successful. Why they don't understand that he has gotten that gold-plated bathtub on the back of their labor is something that is congenitally puzzling to those who don't drink the authoritarian kool-aid. In short, they don't love him in spite of the gold-plated bathtub, they love him because of it.
-- Mal