Living in the midst of the Trump supporters the comments in the article are all too familiar. Most of the people in this region truly believe that Trump is going to restore the gilded past where coal was king, everyone spoke English, wars were fought on clearly delineated battlefields in foreign countries, college degrees were not required for a shot at economical success, and neighbors were homogenous in race, religion, and social preferences. They dont need to know his actual "plans," they are satisfied with his simple pledges. They continue to see the world as composed of distinct "tribes," easy to identify and react to when necessary. While navigating the internet, there is a lack of awareness of the connections between all things now. There is a failure to recognize the causal relations across this gigantic web, and believe that each strand stands alone. They don't acknowledge that when one strand is moved, all strands move in reaction. They so desperately believe in this malignant narcissist in the White House that they may never assign him blame for the painful results of his reckless ineptitude.
93
To summarize: "People who don't know stuff feel stuff and say stuff."
55
I haven't slept now for a week. In truth, for the first time in my 60 years, I feel honest bottomless depression and I am going to need serious therapy, which I may have been lucky about before but have previously never sough. I guess I had no understanding of the power of this man, this so-called President, playing his little Game of Thrones, and not just metaphorically seeking to put heads on spikes. And it's not just his verbal narcissistic lunacy, which I no longer find comical but outrageously insulting and endlessly embarrassing, but he's an outright oligarchical playground-bully of a madman!
74
Would any of you liberal, mostly urban readers trade lives with any of these people? For even a day?
Has it ever occurred to some that these people's lives have been very hard?
They have never been educated because they have no money or upward mobility. They know what they know. Life has not handed a whole lot to these individuals. Basic month to month survival is hardscrabble and challenging.
Those critical of their health or weight don't understand that 'these people' don't have access to nor could they afford Whole Foods. Nor do they have proper health care or maybe bare minimal. Tiring of the narrative of the stupid Trump people. They are humans too. And most got a raw deal in life. Chastising and dismissing them will get us no where. It's a class thing.
Rich white people hate poor, white people. And they know it too.
Has it ever occurred to some that these people's lives have been very hard?
They have never been educated because they have no money or upward mobility. They know what they know. Life has not handed a whole lot to these individuals. Basic month to month survival is hardscrabble and challenging.
Those critical of their health or weight don't understand that 'these people' don't have access to nor could they afford Whole Foods. Nor do they have proper health care or maybe bare minimal. Tiring of the narrative of the stupid Trump people. They are humans too. And most got a raw deal in life. Chastising and dismissing them will get us no where. It's a class thing.
Rich white people hate poor, white people. And they know it too.
24
Every one of these people is only interested in themselves and what Trump promises to them, personally. The woman who is upset that food safety laws required her to build a $40,000 maple syrup canning room doesn't seem at all interested in the safety of her syrup only in her profits. She is, of course, just like Trump in that respect. Never mind that her old, presumably unsafe canning room might have made her customers sick doesn't even enter her mind. And the woman who is thrilled that other women in far off countries won't have access to abortion advice will never know those other women and yet she wants them controlled to her way of thinking. Such extreme selfishness is shocking to me. What ever happened to caring about others?
110
Well, as long as you're making money and have absolutely no regulations, oops, except on abortion, I guess everything is hunky dory for the rest of us. Oh, wait, you don't care about the rest of us.
77
I agree that we need to hear from these folks in a year or so. Many of Trump's executive orders will not be executed for a variety of reasons.
However, many of these supporters will not easily change their opinions. They do not read the NYT or Washington Post or any rational news outlets. They will rationalize Trump's behaviors and stick to their misguided beliefs.
We may have to hope that the independents and some Democrats who just didn't "trust" HRC to regret their votes.
However, many of these supporters will not easily change their opinions. They do not read the NYT or Washington Post or any rational news outlets. They will rationalize Trump's behaviors and stick to their misguided beliefs.
We may have to hope that the independents and some Democrats who just didn't "trust" HRC to regret their votes.
35
These people voted for a loud-mouthed moron who bragged about sexually assaulting women, who defrauded thousands of people who attended his fake university, who hired contractors to work building his business and then refused to pay them.
They voted for a guy who doesn't read books. They voted for a man who can't speak a coherent sentence.
These people live in an alternative universe where brotherhood, being a good neighbor and caring about your community don't exist anymore.
They voted for a guy who doesn't read books. They voted for a man who can't speak a coherent sentence.
These people live in an alternative universe where brotherhood, being a good neighbor and caring about your community don't exist anymore.
75
It's time to separate the states into sovereign region-nations. Nothing lasts for ever. Look at the Roman empire. Let's face it, America never really worked. The liberal progressive ideals of the country have always been dogged - and now destroyed - by the right, which largely comes out of south and parts of the middle. Let's agree to disagree and go our separate ways finally. You determine your future, we'll determine ours. Good luck.
Why? Because I've had it with battling conservative attitudes like the ones detailed in this article. I'm tired of the ignorance, stupidity, lack of critical thinking, insensitivity, intolerance and inability to learn. I'm sick of the anti-science, turbo-religious nonsense. I'm sick of the newspeak and doublethink and lying. And I don't care if I sound like an "elite."
Let's designate three or four new nations and have a period of subsidized resettlement. A general division of the northeast, south, mid-west, and west coast would be a good place to start. Those who want Trump's and the right-wing dystopia can go have that those places that have that kind of majority. Call them "Trumpland" or "Ryanville" or "McConnellstan." I don't care anymore. Those nations can then call back and help resettle their diaspora from other parts of the country, back to their new homelands.
I want an exit from this New America, because this place makes me want to vomit.
Why? Because I've had it with battling conservative attitudes like the ones detailed in this article. I'm tired of the ignorance, stupidity, lack of critical thinking, insensitivity, intolerance and inability to learn. I'm sick of the anti-science, turbo-religious nonsense. I'm sick of the newspeak and doublethink and lying. And I don't care if I sound like an "elite."
Let's designate three or four new nations and have a period of subsidized resettlement. A general division of the northeast, south, mid-west, and west coast would be a good place to start. Those who want Trump's and the right-wing dystopia can go have that those places that have that kind of majority. Call them "Trumpland" or "Ryanville" or "McConnellstan." I don't care anymore. Those nations can then call back and help resettle their diaspora from other parts of the country, back to their new homelands.
I want an exit from this New America, because this place makes me want to vomit.
98
By picturing the hairdresser the New York Times is perpetuating the myth that only the white working class supported Trump, that the sophisticated urban elites, enlighten by their college degrees voted fro HRC. Well that's not the case, while much of the Trump vote came from hardworking Americans, more of it came from sophisticated educated Americans, professionals who have the understanding and common sense to know that something is fundamentally wrong with America, and that it had been led down the wrong path over the last decade. Thank you.
13
Rome is burning and these people interviewed are playing their collective fiddles. I agree with several readers who have commented on this article that the NY Times should follow up with these same individuals six months or a year from now to see if their support of Donald Trump has evaporated.
I would bet the farm that it will. A blind man could see that this man has no idea how to govern. Drain the swamp? He is in over his head.
I would bet the farm that it will. A blind man could see that this man has no idea how to govern. Drain the swamp? He is in over his head.
63
I have no idea why we keep giving these people a forum. They will stick with this really dangerous individual for as long as they can, just because they are so afraid to recognize that they made a horrible mistake by electing him and being told We told you so by the rest of the country.
So let's get settled for a very bumpy ride
So let's get settled for a very bumpy ride
27
Exquisitely distilled stupidity and a general lack of empathy runs rampant thru this article. The irony of the people interviewed taking advantage of federal government "programs" while complaining about immigrants and others clamoring for federal government "benefits" is too ridiculous to contemplate. And the vein of one issue, conspiracy theory voters - really, is concealed carry across state lines the biggest issue we face today? - is downright scary. I understand that these folks feel as though the American Dream passed them by, but they participated in its demise every time they cast a vote for the GOP representatives who betrayed them over and over again. The rest of the world, the economy, life itself is progressive by nature - we're not going to turn the clock back to some imagined perfect pastoral "days gone by" where factories are bustling, a HS diploma got you a $65,000 salary, college tuition was $3900 a semester and $50,000 got you a bungalow in a decent neighborhood. Doing everything you're told you need to do and still falling short hurts, but it's not the fault of the dark skinned guy down the street working hard to ensure his family has all the advantages your does.
60
One cannot blame these people for voting for the dangerously disturbed man in the White House. One can however find fault with an electoral system that lets the entire country (and the rest of the world) be held hostage to the ignorance and the petty concerns of a small number of people like the ones quoted in this article.
47
It is one thing to understand, and have compassion for working class Americans who feel like they have been let down by government and whose everyday life is a struggle. Their ordeal is real, and we need to do something about it. But that doesnt mean that we need to listen to their proposed solutions, which are obviously colored and limited by their micro experiences, without any full understanding of the complexities of today's world. I am frankly sick and tired of hearing about criminal illegals who steal jobs...while the overwhelming evidence shows that the undocumented are an indispensable part of our economy, and law abiding individuals who do jobs nobody else wants to do, so we are all better off. Hardship is no excuse for prejudice and ignorance. If this administration (which I by the way voted for) continues down the path of trade protectionism and a crackdown of immigrants, we will damage our economy for years to come. And the people who are struggling to find jobs today, will struggle even more...while the cost of living keeps going up. Politicians are elected to do whats best for their citizens -- populism is the opposite, an ignorant approach that translates uninformed kneejerk reactions into policies that will wreak havoc on everybody.
16
I googled Eddie Lou Meimer's business and it appears that she only sells her maple syrup within Ohio, meaning that there is no federal oversight of her business and she could not have been required to spend $40,000 on a canning room by the federal government. So, if she feels that food safety within Ohio is over-regulated she should take that up with her Republican governor. The NY Times headline/caption writers should take better care that their work does not misinform readers.
92
I can't even get beyond the headline.
8
These people want the clock turned back and no one of any political party can do that. What incentive does any company have to open shop in one of these small towns? The world has changed, markets have changed, technology marches on.
7
Stock market at 20,000, with the greatest run up between an election and Inauguration in American history. Nice start. I'll take numbers over adjectives, Bubble Dwellers.
2
Trump tapped into the masses forgotten by the elites and knew how to channel their resentment. Millions of others - including Muslims, Latinos, blacks and even many Jews - felt this morning that they belong less to the country that is their home
2
Donald Trump - NYC gangster elected president, his mob loves him.
8
Ask the independents who switched to Trump in the days before the election, not people who have supported him a long time. Those waffling independents and Democrats hold the key.
7
Well the people you interviewed are not wrong. President Trump is largely doing precisely what Candidate Trump said he would.
Obviously the people who voted for him are going to be enthused by the fact that he is "keeping his promises" here.
Obviously the people who voted for him are going to be enthused by the fact that he is "keeping his promises" here.
3
I saw a picture of Trump in front of a medal of honor. How inappropriate.
19
Talk about living in a bubble. Some of Trump's backers need to enlarge their worldview. They care about the local consequences of his actions only, disregarding the larger effects on the country, the economy, and our position in the world. This is not a set of attitudes that can be changed overnight. In the long run, education and exposure to the broader world are required. Perhaps their children will feel differently.
15
In the midst of depression over what our country is coming to, it's somewhat encouraging to remember that a significant majority of voters--54 percent--cast ballots for someone other than Trump, who received 46 per cent. The majority voted for Clinton, a third-party candidate, or a write-in, thereby registering their objection to Trump and his platform.
Trump has given no olive branches to those who opposed his election--he considers them enemies--and revulsion among them is only becoming more pronounced and vocal.
It is human nature for those who voted for Trump to still defend their choice, digging in and resenting aspersions on their thinking processes. It seems logical the number of his supporters should shrink in the time ahead, as the effect of Republican policies becomes "real" in their own lives, what they measure by. But the human mind is adept at rationalization.
So the 2016 election didn't settle things. It's going to be a long four years. Or two, if Congress doesn't contain the damage.
Trump has given no olive branches to those who opposed his election--he considers them enemies--and revulsion among them is only becoming more pronounced and vocal.
It is human nature for those who voted for Trump to still defend their choice, digging in and resenting aspersions on their thinking processes. It seems logical the number of his supporters should shrink in the time ahead, as the effect of Republican policies becomes "real" in their own lives, what they measure by. But the human mind is adept at rationalization.
So the 2016 election didn't settle things. It's going to be a long four years. Or two, if Congress doesn't contain the damage.
13
Americans like this are adolescents: "Ma, get out of my life, but can you take me and Cheryl to the mall first?"
They want government when they want it
Red states take much more than blue states in government subsidies
They just don't want it for anyone else
And they have the biggest, most selfish adolescent as their president.
Unfortunately, he is also ours.
They want government when they want it
Red states take much more than blue states in government subsidies
They just don't want it for anyone else
And they have the biggest, most selfish adolescent as their president.
Unfortunately, he is also ours.
46
Its funny, in a sad way, that so many people dont understand that these executive orders, at least most of those signed thus far, are all pomp and little circumstance. What this first week has shown is how utterly chaotic the Trump Admin is and will likely continue to be. As there is no Trump Doctrine.
What further saddens me is how so many people want to abandon safety regulations, because they dont think it makes any one safer. They think...they feel. All these opinions based on what? IMO, annoyance that a business owner MUST look out for the safety and general well-being of their employees, or their customers buying their products.
These same people, whose fathers, grandfathers, mothers, aunts and uncles, worked hard to get workplace regulations in place to protect them - now their descendants want to roll them back. Want to go back to so some non-existent past where allegedly the Free-Market Gods protected workers and their families from the predatory practices of businesses.
No such time existed people! When left to their own devices - businesses large and small have historically abused their employees, and often put the health of their customers at risk! There is likely a very good reason for that $40K canning extension on that maple-syrup business, but the women in the article never goes into that, nor does the article itself! (which it should have!)
Rolling back time; 1. is impossible. 2. the reasons are based on rose colored fictions. 3. is just plain dumb!
What further saddens me is how so many people want to abandon safety regulations, because they dont think it makes any one safer. They think...they feel. All these opinions based on what? IMO, annoyance that a business owner MUST look out for the safety and general well-being of their employees, or their customers buying their products.
These same people, whose fathers, grandfathers, mothers, aunts and uncles, worked hard to get workplace regulations in place to protect them - now their descendants want to roll them back. Want to go back to so some non-existent past where allegedly the Free-Market Gods protected workers and their families from the predatory practices of businesses.
No such time existed people! When left to their own devices - businesses large and small have historically abused their employees, and often put the health of their customers at risk! There is likely a very good reason for that $40K canning extension on that maple-syrup business, but the women in the article never goes into that, nor does the article itself! (which it should have!)
Rolling back time; 1. is impossible. 2. the reasons are based on rose colored fictions. 3. is just plain dumb!
27
What's to like about anything Trump does, or has done, in his whole life? The man is in way, way, way over his head. The entire decision-making process of his administration will be chaotic, confusing, and debilitating for many Americans because he is an empty shell with no core values or beliefs. He will cede social values issues to Pence, foreign policy to corporate oligarchs, domestic policy to corporate oligarchs, and everything else to his family members, friends of his family members, and billionaire hedge fun backers. Sure, I exaggerate, but is it really much different from this, philosophically? I don't think so. Oh, what a wonderful "change" this man will bring to Washington.
15
We now have a country educated by reality shows. They have chosen a leader in that field. What they may not realize is that reality shows are scripted. Mr. Trump's script, written by Steve Bannon and supported by the odd talking head of Conway, are enough to convince these citizens that they have somehow been shafted. They crave the attention given to the Housewives and Kardashians and feel empty when their personal progress is impeded by reality. They should be up in arms about low wages, banks that steal their homes and their money, an educational system that is now up for sale and the disdain that their politician hold for their uneducated constituents. Rise up and embrace your neighbor, black or Mexican or gay or troubled and feel the energy of positivity. The American public is nothing if not compassionate and the attempt by the GOP to nullify this instinct in order to line their pockets is disgraceful. Shun the tinny hunters and harness your energy to do good.
15
After reading this piece and seeing responses from women who didn't "need" the Women's March and were adamant that it wasn't for them....
I'm wondering if there's just a kind of misery loves company kinda thing going on here?
These people feel aggrieved and seem to want others to feel the same way, I think. Like, rather than making life better all over, they want life worse in cities.
I say this because I was struck by how so many responses to the Women's March were like I'm a single mom working 2 jobs and my ex kicked the crap out of me and I'm still paying the medical bills etc. and I didn't complain...What are these women complaining about? Never mind that these are exactly the kind of structural issues feminists are working to address. It's like: My life is hard and I suck it up. Why are YOU trying to change things? This seems akin to how white women rationalized voting for a serial sexual abuser.
I'm wondering if there's just a kind of misery loves company kinda thing going on here?
These people feel aggrieved and seem to want others to feel the same way, I think. Like, rather than making life better all over, they want life worse in cities.
I say this because I was struck by how so many responses to the Women's March were like I'm a single mom working 2 jobs and my ex kicked the crap out of me and I'm still paying the medical bills etc. and I didn't complain...What are these women complaining about? Never mind that these are exactly the kind of structural issues feminists are working to address. It's like: My life is hard and I suck it up. Why are YOU trying to change things? This seems akin to how white women rationalized voting for a serial sexual abuser.
18
I understand the fustration that people feel when America doesn't fit into their vision on what life in America should be. However, people who don't want money from their taxes to go to those "other" people are the first to claim disability, Medicaid and social security. Even though they claimed to just take back from the system they paid into, they end up taking more out than they put in.
In society we are all in the same boat. It really doesn't matter if you are in first class or 3rd class if the boat goes under. Clean air, water, education, freedom of speech , Heath care, justice for women, minorities as well as all people is priceless.
In society we are all in the same boat. It really doesn't matter if you are in first class or 3rd class if the boat goes under. Clean air, water, education, freedom of speech , Heath care, justice for women, minorities as well as all people is priceless.
14
I'm very happy so far. The Mexico tariff idea is going to need some work, but other than that he's doing a great job.
1
This is how the servile peasant regards his lords and masters.
4
It's not so much that the ideas and policies President Trump puts forth are reprehensible, after all, every proposal is subject to debate about its merits. The problem is in the execution which the president and his administration have not thought through. Ideas without plans to implement them remain immaterial.
Take, for example, the executive order to ban Muslims from six nations from entering the U.S. Aside from the glaring error of not including those countries whose citizens were part of the 9/11 attack on the U.S., where are the plans and procedures for addressing those refugees who already received State department clearance but are now being detained?
And what about the 20 percent tax he wants to impose on Mexican imports to help pay for that wall he thinks will keep us safe? Did he give any thought to the possibility that this tax will be born not by Mexico but rather consumers of Mexican made products and that it could also lead to a trade war that will result in higher prices and a stifling of the economy?
If these kind of disconnects continue between executive orders and a well thought through plan to deal with contingencies, we can look forward to reading those banner headlines in November 2020 proclaiming to President Trump: "You're fired!"
Take, for example, the executive order to ban Muslims from six nations from entering the U.S. Aside from the glaring error of not including those countries whose citizens were part of the 9/11 attack on the U.S., where are the plans and procedures for addressing those refugees who already received State department clearance but are now being detained?
And what about the 20 percent tax he wants to impose on Mexican imports to help pay for that wall he thinks will keep us safe? Did he give any thought to the possibility that this tax will be born not by Mexico but rather consumers of Mexican made products and that it could also lead to a trade war that will result in higher prices and a stifling of the economy?
If these kind of disconnects continue between executive orders and a well thought through plan to deal with contingencies, we can look forward to reading those banner headlines in November 2020 proclaiming to President Trump: "You're fired!"
5
These reports seem similar to reports of bad weather. I don't like hearing about it but it's important to know. What is missing, however, are the views of the legions of those who chose not to vote last November. Has our tweet filled trumpfest stirred the hearts of my indifferent fellow Americans? Any pride or remorse over not voting?
I (try to) get the mind set of those who voted for the president. (Full disclosure: I voted for secretary Clinton) What I'm annoyed about are those who did not show up. I've been taught that the opposite of good is indifference.
I (try to) get the mind set of those who voted for the president. (Full disclosure: I voted for secretary Clinton) What I'm annoyed about are those who did not show up. I've been taught that the opposite of good is indifference.
10
Freezing support of environmental research is something these people have "craved"? Seriously?
Welcome to Trump-world: the refuge of the willfully ignorant.
Welcome to Trump-world: the refuge of the willfully ignorant.
18
These interviews goes to show that message manipulation and showmanship has worked and is still working. I am not sure folks in these interviews know that we already have ~700 miles of border fence with Mexico. I am not sure if they know that once ACA is repealed many folks who voted for Trump will be without insurance.
Advisers surrounding him will continue to brainwash him to do even more of what he did the first week with 2020 in mind. First week was the beginning of 2020 campaign. DNC better be paranoid and wake up!!! "All about me" politics at its best.
Advisers surrounding him will continue to brainwash him to do even more of what he did the first week with 2020 in mind. First week was the beginning of 2020 campaign. DNC better be paranoid and wake up!!! "All about me" politics at its best.
7
Mount Gilead...Republic of Gilead. Interesting coincidence seeing that were plummeting towards some type of Atwood-ian future.
4
So far so good. When someone told me that Mr. Trump won the election and we should expect the stock to drop huge, I said that it was OK even it would hurt my stock value. Look now. Libs always use other people money for their cause but not theirs.
2
I'm impressed by Trump's first week too. As soon as he did the right thing on the refugee situation, I felt very positive about him. And I don't support much else he did. I would strongly prefer funding abortions internationally, but it is standard republican fare not to defund it. I would have preferred an administration who supported stronger environmental regulations and innovation. But I thank God for Trump's moral strength on the refugee crisis.
When Obama went around the world announcing that he prioritized taking in the Muslim refugees of Burma, it didn't even occur to anyone to yell and scream about a religious test for refugees. No one was crying that the Buddhist Burmese also lived under a repressive communist regime so non-muslims were therefore equally entitled to refugee status. But the regressive left has shown its anti-christian bigotry and hypocrisy when they apply a completely different standard to Syria. ISIS is committing genocide against Christians and Yazidis. Trump's law of prioritizing minorities fleeing persecution recognizes that we are support to act when there is a genocide. Right now muslims are overrepresented among Syrian refugees. Shameful. Would these far left cowards have complained about a "religious test for compassion" if we made it a bigger priority to give asylum to Jews fleeing WWII rather than blonde haired protestant Germans? Christians face tremendous bigotry and oppression in much of the Arab world. Trump is doing what is right.
When Obama went around the world announcing that he prioritized taking in the Muslim refugees of Burma, it didn't even occur to anyone to yell and scream about a religious test for refugees. No one was crying that the Buddhist Burmese also lived under a repressive communist regime so non-muslims were therefore equally entitled to refugee status. But the regressive left has shown its anti-christian bigotry and hypocrisy when they apply a completely different standard to Syria. ISIS is committing genocide against Christians and Yazidis. Trump's law of prioritizing minorities fleeing persecution recognizes that we are support to act when there is a genocide. Right now muslims are overrepresented among Syrian refugees. Shameful. Would these far left cowards have complained about a "religious test for compassion" if we made it a bigger priority to give asylum to Jews fleeing WWII rather than blonde haired protestant Germans? Christians face tremendous bigotry and oppression in much of the Arab world. Trump is doing what is right.
3
It wouldn't be the first time in American history that voters have voted against their own best interest and are left holding bag after it's too late to fix the mistake, Trump is that mistake, and they will pay a tough price for their voting ignorance and not looking at the issues and past practices of a candidate, rather than listening to his snake oil of an easy fix and scapegoating various ethnic and racial groups, ignorance is bliss.
3
Two years ago I went to India to attend a wedding. The family hosting the wedding was quite well off, and the wedding "palace" a place where the better-heeled of the city host their events. I was quite appalled by the numerous "violations" of American health and safety codes I encountered at every turn. It made me grateful to live in a country where the citizenry ensures that the government it elects will look out for their health and safety. And several times I thought to myself, "Republicans would love it here!" That certainly seems to be the case for several Trump voters in this article!
9
Amanda Abdon from the article - if your boyfriend doesn't have healthcare then he's freeloading and should be fined even more than he is now. Do you think he should be able to get healthcare at 45 at a reasonable rate without ever having paid into the system? It's funny that Republicans love to point out freeloading when it doesn't apply to them.
18
As a nation we've rapidly gone from "e pluribus unum" to "de pluribus, non"!
2
I'm sure they all love Trump until he comes for them and he will fascist always do.
3
Great piece that thoughtfully takes (I assume) most of us out of our bubbles: probably the most essential US based reporting this week. Clearly the public sphere in American needs to be reinvigorated with debate over these critical questions (immigration, socialised healthcare, unemployment issues and workers' rights). Perhaps there's much to learn from gay rights' activists and how they have succeeded in persuading their fellow Americans of the righteousness of their cause?
Finally, a man who governs as he campaigned. No more Obama-like campaign promises which are never kept, such as his promise to reduce the federal debt which actually doubled to $20 trillion on his watch. Democrats are used to accepting that sort of political equivocation and outright lying; in fact they welcome it because it allows the federal government to continue growing, taxing and spending. Middle America know that tough measures are required economically and socially to right the ship. So far, Trump is right on target, no matter the wailing and hand wringing on the left.
3
I'm absolutely shocked at the vitriol and pompous attitudes expressed. Criticizing other hard working Americans by saying they cannot think, only exposes your insecurity, ignorance and intolerance.
4
Some day Trump backers will pay dearly for their gullibility, and so will we. Be prepared, things are going to get real ugly in the next year or two.
8
Trump's executive orders reversing many of the policies of the Obama stand in sharp contrast and point at the weakening and ineffective policies of the former Administration:
1- A disastrous and horrific Healthcare with cost spinning out of control
2- An ineffective, standby, do-nothing foreign policy with terrible results in the Middle East which has embolden our adversaries.
3- failure to enforce the laws, guard and secure our borders and control the flux of illegal immigrants, crime, drugs and other illicit activities.
4- overbearing, ineffective and suffocating regulations that strangled and hampered our economy.
5- over taxation, complex and ineffective tax laws suffocation our economy and inviting US companies to move and invest off-shore.
6- weakening our military to dangerous levels
7- ignoring the plight and crime in our inner cities.
8- Weakening and damaging the moral of our law enforcement force.
. . just to name a few but important issues that Trump will reverse and is hard at work doing so. About time and an A+ for Trump's Administration efforts.
1- A disastrous and horrific Healthcare with cost spinning out of control
2- An ineffective, standby, do-nothing foreign policy with terrible results in the Middle East which has embolden our adversaries.
3- failure to enforce the laws, guard and secure our borders and control the flux of illegal immigrants, crime, drugs and other illicit activities.
4- overbearing, ineffective and suffocating regulations that strangled and hampered our economy.
5- over taxation, complex and ineffective tax laws suffocation our economy and inviting US companies to move and invest off-shore.
6- weakening our military to dangerous levels
7- ignoring the plight and crime in our inner cities.
8- Weakening and damaging the moral of our law enforcement force.
. . just to name a few but important issues that Trump will reverse and is hard at work doing so. About time and an A+ for Trump's Administration efforts.
3
People generally will believe any narrative that confirms their bias and suspicions, confirmation bias is a logical fallacy, that's emotions ruling not rigorous logic.
1
Our president gets an A+ for the first week. It was like Christmas every day!
2
The disparity in wealth and income has increased dramatically in the past 30 years. There is no other underlying cause than "greed". Unfortunately this selfish attitude has trickled down to a significant number of average Americans. It's all about me today. The irony is that the 1%'s are the ones that took away the middle class. Greed is their creed and outsourcing their method. And the real con is that folks have voted to perpetuate the "non=Christian" god of individual greed. Trump is not a savior, he is an enabler.
9
I agree with Mr. Cottrell that it's unfair for our veterans and homeless to not receive the car and services they deserve. But the solution shouldn't be closing the doors to America, it should be making sure that we invest in and take care of everyone: vets, homeless, refugees, immigrants. We don't invest enough in our own people. If we did, we wouldn't have proponents of a wall.
4
Myopic and selfish-- clearly the defining characteristics of so many Trumpians and Republicans.
I have given up trying to have calm discussions with people who don't use logic or respect facts, and choose to have very limited knowledge about the world.
I feel badly about "writing them off," but until they are willing to see that a world exists outside of themselves, it's a waste of time and effort.
I have given up trying to have calm discussions with people who don't use logic or respect facts, and choose to have very limited knowledge about the world.
I feel badly about "writing them off," but until they are willing to see that a world exists outside of themselves, it's a waste of time and effort.
4
This article only confirms my worst suspicions about a large chuck of Americans who voted for Trump. They are politically and economically illiterate to the extent they not only have voted against their own best interests but those of their country as well. As Trump might say So Sad!
8
It is so sad how predictable it is that 10 or 20 years from now our Nation will be apologizing for all of these shameful moves by Trump. Was it so long ago that we no longer feel guilt about turning away Jews at our borders and sending them to their deaths during World War 2. Are we on the verge of imprisoning and discriminating against people based on their nationality or religion like we did to the Japanese?
2
Trump may go down in history as being the final nail in the coffin of the "united" states. Then all of his supporters can live behind their walls, with their guns, uninsured but "free" from the tyrannies of clean air, water, etc., and hold weekly whining meetings about what's not being given to them. I say, have at it.
5
Given the selfishness of the Republican party, and the hopelessness of getting them to do anything about climate change, I propose that we simply frame it in terms of self-interest. They have shown time and again that they care not a whit about the public good or the general welfare. So let's just convince them that climate change will screw over their grand kids, their own specific tribe which is all they care about anyway. Don't Screw Over Your Grand Kids should be the mantra. Maybe just a few can be convinced to do something
4
The common theme from all of these Trump supporters is that they expect him to make their lives better...so screw the refugees trying to keep alive in a war-torn country, screw the customers that want to buy maple syrup that won't make them sick, screw the workers that might get silicosis from breathing in silica dust. Thank you, middle America.
9
The bottom line of each complaint is that the people interviewed simply do not have the skills or capital to make enough money to support their modest lifestyles or contribute to revitalization of their own communities. They seek blame the government, rather than income redistribution or their own choices and limitations, and a lack of planning. Backyard "businesses" that cannot afford the costs of safety. Young men who cannot afford their own health care cost, minimal though it is. People seeking disability income resentfully facing paperwork they can't understand without trained advocacy to assist them. We get it. They blame the government for their limited prospects. These interviews are beginning to read like an scene from punked, though. Simple folks motivated solely by self-justification falling for a con - both from Trump and and from the interviewer. Are there any people on solid financial footing, living in viable areas of the country, who support Trump? I would like to hear from them, thought that may be even more depressingly self-centered than these.
5
I guess all the well-educated people left this town. Not one of them is interested or able to see the larger context of the reasons they cite for voting for Trump.
8
The perception of some of these people is that someone here illegally is getting a free ride and dog gonnit I should get something free before them. Repercussions from 24 hour a day news. The news shows a few stories of people duping the system but make it look as if all are on the take. Nothing can be said to Trump supporters to change their minds. He riles up his supporters into believing what he says is gospel.
Not all stories we hear and read are true. We seek what we think is true. Crowd size anyone? It reminds me of my mother in law going to the casino. I have never once heard she has lost a nickel at the slots. I hear about her winning all the time. Makes me want to follow her to the casino and see just how she does it. A certain way she pulls that handle to convince the computerized machine that she is a winner. She honestly believes she is making money. Not.
Wake up America.
Not all stories we hear and read are true. We seek what we think is true. Crowd size anyone? It reminds me of my mother in law going to the casino. I have never once heard she has lost a nickel at the slots. I hear about her winning all the time. Makes me want to follow her to the casino and see just how she does it. A certain way she pulls that handle to convince the computerized machine that she is a winner. She honestly believes she is making money. Not.
Wake up America.
1
The "world view" of many of these people you interviewed for this story is quite telling...very much personal, mostly what's in it for me, very incidental, very myopic.
I think education standards in the west have failed us all, sadly. And in your country, with Betsy DeVos at the helm, I can't imagine it will be better in 4-8 years.
I think education standards in the west have failed us all, sadly. And in your country, with Betsy DeVos at the helm, I can't imagine it will be better in 4-8 years.
6
The priorities of some of my 'fellow Americans' disgust me. I guess it's true- I would have more in common with other educated, middle class 'elites' (apparently that's what you are in the U.S. if you have an education, a progressive outlook and aren't dirt poor) than I do with half of the U.S.A. I know a few people like these Trump supporters. It doesn't matter what the facts are; what rational analysis would suggest, or even if the harm to us is greater than the good. Any policy that somehow 'sticks it to the man' is OK. The Great American Divide is only going to get worse. I think of myself as a common-sense, middle-of-the-road progressive. I can understand a desire to preserve certain 2nd Amendment freedoms- but given all of the problems facing us, I can't fathom anyone whose priority for the President is to ensure that states can't set their own limitations on gun ownership. The very right-wing people who couldn't tolerate the federal government telling them that their state had to comply with federal law on something as straightforward and decent as gay marriage now want to tell me I can't live in a state whose rules on gun ownership and carry are ignored. I was pretty sure I'd never vote Republican again after Trump won the nomination; now I am confident enough to change my registration.
6
Trump seems to want to create an economic North Korea. Isolated and 'go it alone'. We are made stronger because of our relationships with others. This will not end well.
7
It's about time that we started to dispose of most of the onerous and damaging regulations. Agencies that have not been elected by the public and/or measures and regulations that have not been established by the legislative bodies are unconstitutional. They are TOTALLY removed from the people who have absolutely no recourse!
2
People take for granted all the science in their life: technology, medicine etc. And then they think they have the right to spread their irrational opinions and beliefs.
5
Interesting that each one expresses one entirely selfish reason for standing behind Trump. So if you don't have a wider view of the world and don't care about anyone but yourself or the Constitution, Trump's your man. For now. But wait till he does one thing that has a negative effect on these lives.
5
This article - and the comments - concern me because they propagate the idea that it was the force of working class, small town folks alone that put Trump in office. The smug criticism of people who own hair salons or maple-syrup businesses and self-congratulatory nature of so many of these comments is hard to miss. The voter demographics, as reported by the Times and Five Thirty Eight, clearly show that the majority of Trump's supporters were from higher than average income brackets. If you were in Ohio, why didn't you find my friend's parents who voted for Trump and recently finished building their second million dollar house in a rich suburb of Columbus? I believe that the people profiled here are indeed ardent supporters of the President, but I question whether they are fully representative of "Trump backers" across the country. By putting up still more photos of working class folks in denim shirts and targeting the fear and anger we're feeling at them, I think we're missing the bigger, more accurate story of how this man came to be President.
15
So controlling silica dust and food safety regs are a bad thing, detrimental to what? It's not so much about jobs as it is the owners' bank accounts or a couple of percentage points lower net profit. Certainly their employees or customers aren't in consideration.
5
Are we sacrificing our best selves on the altar of political expediency? Are we being driven by facts and/or fear? The answers to these questions say much about who we are and what we stand for.
http://thewaryouknowcurat.wixsite.com/the-war-you-know-
http://thewaryouknowcurat.wixsite.com/the-war-you-know-
Why doesn't he just order a terror attack on U.S. soil? That's pretty much what he's achieving with treating people this way; increasing hatred for American around the globe. That's the first thing a U.S. president should do, right?
1
Sadly as it is, this is the real USA. a minority of delusional people voted and put a unstable person in power. Many of the liar in chief supporters complain that they have lost their jobs, but they do not adapt and learn new skills, acquire new knowledge; while many other people, do not complain, and reinvent themselves to get new jobs or keep a certain quality of life. Trump supporters are against lies, but accept lies from their master; Trump supporters do not like government regulations, but when losing their jobs, they blame the government.
2
Let's face it if Trump signed an order that all red headed people must have their hair dyed black the people in this article would see it as "action" and be happy.
6
We all hope and pray for a time when there are no borders, only people. Until that utopian future it seems like many countries, with Russia and China leading the pack; understand one thing primarily. Power. Its sad but true.
Two things: to the lady whose boyfriend has to pay penalty for not carrying health insurance, I'm all in agreement, as long as the boyfriend signs a waiver agreeing not to accept any type of public assistance, including filing bankruptcy, as those courts are maintained by our tax dollars, should he become ill. He must pay for all medical expenses out of his own pocket. If his illness renders him disabled, then he must fend for himself completely, no job retraining, physical therapy, Medicaid or any other type of assistance to help him. As for the fellow who said that President Trump had accomplished more in a week thanPresident Obama did in 8 years, he needs to be reminded that Trump did all this by executive order, for which Obama was excoriated mercilessly by the same individuals when he did the same. Irony is dead.
7
Three takeaways from this article: 1) promoting selfishness and willful ignorance works for many; 2) Donald Trump is definitely a master at showmanship and public relations; and 3) one mistake President Obama made was to not promote himself and his policies enough. I wrote a letter to the White House saying this in 2009 when the Affordable Care Act was being debated and Republicans were ranting about death panels.
Unfortunately for us, some of the effects of his bad policies will take years, possibly after he leaves office, to manifest themselves. More immediate negative outcomes will be blamed on anything and everything except President Trump's own actions.
Unfortunately for us, some of the effects of his bad policies will take years, possibly after he leaves office, to manifest themselves. More immediate negative outcomes will be blamed on anything and everything except President Trump's own actions.
2
Regarding the young woman who is "eager for a repeal of the health care tax penalty her boyfriend had to pay this year:"
Does she understand that when her boyfriend gets a kidney stone and ends up in the emergency room without insurance, she will end up paying significantly higher costs in the labor and delivery rooms at the same hospital when she's there giving birth? (Also, I'm wondering where she gets her health insurance. She is over the age to be on her parent's policy. It seems unlikely a gift shop would offer medical insurance. As a non-relative, I assume she cannot be covered by her boyfriend. Just asking, because she does not mention paying the tax penalty herself.)
Does she understand that when her boyfriend gets a kidney stone and ends up in the emergency room without insurance, she will end up paying significantly higher costs in the labor and delivery rooms at the same hospital when she's there giving birth? (Also, I'm wondering where she gets her health insurance. She is over the age to be on her parent's policy. It seems unlikely a gift shop would offer medical insurance. As a non-relative, I assume she cannot be covered by her boyfriend. Just asking, because she does not mention paying the tax penalty herself.)
5
These folks have a racist undertone. They want government aide for their issues, but also want lower taxes and government spending. They don't want people of color or immigrants to receive any help. It's sad that they cannot see that they will lose their government benefits and will be paying more for pretty much everything. I'm sure they will blame Obama....all while Trump laughs his way to the bank.
9
What a surprise! His followers, for whom loyalty outweighs rationality, must be experiencing a series of visceral rushes seeing this petty, ignorant, mean, selfish, vengeful man wielding rare power on their behalf.
8
I'm sure at least some might have heard the expression "the tyranny of the minority." Some may argue that the concept was present at the founding of the nation, but this kind of tyranny was not what they had in mind.
We will come to our senses for sure, let us hope that it happens before too much damage is done.
We will come to our senses for sure, let us hope that it happens before too much damage is done.
5
I'm sorry but I have never seen such a group of bigots and elitists as this group of people leaving comments. Here is an assortment of them: " the ageing americans are so petty in their passions", "they don't even try and pretend to be good people", "perhaps not everyone living in rural areas are stupid, willfully ignorant, but it sure seems that the extrodinarily stupid ones are", "ya, uneducated, underpaid ignorant whites love Trump". And here is my favorite, "After reading what these people have to say I want nothing more to do with them. They are afraid of everything and care about nothing but themselves"
Although I currently live in a city, I have lots of relatives in the rural areas of New York State. These are fine, hard-working, people that farm, dig wells, and raise animals for a living. It amazes me to see these comments and the mean epithets they are using to describe the people that bring them their kale and the corned beef sandwich they are eating for lunch. I also had to laugh(and cry) at the self-styled "scientist" who probably works in a white labcoat somewhere, who says that these "rural folks" don't know about "reality". These people who get up at 4:30 AM most days to milk the cows or fix the tractor. How totally close-minded. Please open up your minds, readers of the Newspaper, it might be that "real life" takes place out there among the trees and fields of America, and maybe, just maybe your cities are the places where people lose sight of reality.
Although I currently live in a city, I have lots of relatives in the rural areas of New York State. These are fine, hard-working, people that farm, dig wells, and raise animals for a living. It amazes me to see these comments and the mean epithets they are using to describe the people that bring them their kale and the corned beef sandwich they are eating for lunch. I also had to laugh(and cry) at the self-styled "scientist" who probably works in a white labcoat somewhere, who says that these "rural folks" don't know about "reality". These people who get up at 4:30 AM most days to milk the cows or fix the tractor. How totally close-minded. Please open up your minds, readers of the Newspaper, it might be that "real life" takes place out there among the trees and fields of America, and maybe, just maybe your cities are the places where people lose sight of reality.
2
For killing the TPP I will give Trump exactly one brownie point (provisional) and I will give him two if he throws out GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) and withdraws from the WTO. We need international trade, but these schemes we are under are bad for employment, undermine the sovereignty of the US and State Governments and have been sucking our economy dry. We need fair trade - not imports from countries with no EPA, no OSHA, slave wages and child labor.
The wall is stupid and hopefully will never be built. Of course, since there is money to be made, the usual D.C. Contractors will be lining up to line their pockets.
On the rest he is just handing the Evangelicals and Koch Right Wingers their dream list. It is going to be interesting at the very least.
The real test will be how far the Republicans on the Hill let him go. Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell have a choice to make: get in bed with Trump or fight their own Party's choice for President. Those of us who did not vote for either Trump or a Republican Congress will be watching and we will be voting in 2018, which could prove to be as big a backlash as 2010.
The wall is stupid and hopefully will never be built. Of course, since there is money to be made, the usual D.C. Contractors will be lining up to line their pockets.
On the rest he is just handing the Evangelicals and Koch Right Wingers their dream list. It is going to be interesting at the very least.
The real test will be how far the Republicans on the Hill let him go. Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell have a choice to make: get in bed with Trump or fight their own Party's choice for President. Those of us who did not vote for either Trump or a Republican Congress will be watching and we will be voting in 2018, which could prove to be as big a backlash as 2010.
3
After reading this article, my conclusion is that the people interviewed were selfish moochers. How do you try to get disability for years? A doctor certifies you as being disabled or not. Boyfriend does not want to pay for health insurance? I bet he pays for car insurance because its mandatory. Trump supporters are selfish, its all about them.
10
Are none of these people aware they might be losing their health care?
4
Each one of these people want something for themselves--not for America. The business owner wants less regulations so he can poison his employees at lower cost. The other wants more guns. A third wants to ban abortion. There is no regard for anyone else.
11
Trump isn't coming up with all these ideas and actions. These articles make it sound like he's doing the heavy lifting behind the agenda playing out. The people commenting also sound like they believe he's the deep thought behind it. None of this is his. It's coming from Rebekah and Robert Mercer, the billionaires who bought the Presidency. They brought in a cash infusion, Kellyanne Conway and Bannon in exchange for Trump as mouthpiece who doesn't have to think, just follow directions. Their conservative agenda is tactically devised by them and Trump just signs, then tweets. Get this and you can respond to Trump. Go on in naïveté and endless analysis paralysis and get more of the same.
3
He is not a Conservative
He is not a Democrat
He is all for himself and enriching himself at the expense of others.
In the past, the business world was his theatre of operations, now it is the planet.
He is not a Democrat
He is all for himself and enriching himself at the expense of others.
In the past, the business world was his theatre of operations, now it is the planet.
4
It pays to remember that the Trump voter is a minority of the American population. It is imperative that those who did not vote in 2016 come out for the Congressional elections in 2018 and get at least one body back in Democratic hands.
I grew up in Indianapolis which wasn't much then. Today, it and Columbus, Ohio are the only cities growing in the Midwest. They are more open, more educated and tolerant of differences. The suburban and rural areas remain much as they were in my youth. Largely white, less educated, Protestant and have never spent much time around anyone who isn't almost exactly like themselves. It was true in my parents generation as well.
They moan about lost jobs, too many are addicted to opioids, refuse to acquire the skills for the twenty-first century. They can't stand my home city of Indianapolis because it has a Latino population (and a Mexican consulate), a sizable LGBT community and looks outward to the world. Many on welfare, food stamps and use the ACA or have no insurance. For the latter, if they are sick, they check into hospitals, can't pay the bill and guess who is stuck caring for them. It is sad, but we can't let this element
I grew up in Indianapolis which wasn't much then. Today, it and Columbus, Ohio are the only cities growing in the Midwest. They are more open, more educated and tolerant of differences. The suburban and rural areas remain much as they were in my youth. Largely white, less educated, Protestant and have never spent much time around anyone who isn't almost exactly like themselves. It was true in my parents generation as well.
They moan about lost jobs, too many are addicted to opioids, refuse to acquire the skills for the twenty-first century. They can't stand my home city of Indianapolis because it has a Latino population (and a Mexican consulate), a sizable LGBT community and looks outward to the world. Many on welfare, food stamps and use the ACA or have no insurance. For the latter, if they are sick, they check into hospitals, can't pay the bill and guess who is stuck caring for them. It is sad, but we can't let this element
5
The consistent "string" in each of these interviews is that the individual is concerned only with themselves. It may be the hallmark of the republican mindset but it is not the way to build or restore community. One woman doesn't want food safety regulations because it is an inconvenience to her with no regard to the harm that can occur from an unregulated food supply. The other woman wants the ACA repealed so her boyfriend doesn't have to pay the noncompliance tax with no regard to the millions of people who depend on the law - flawed though it is - for health coverage. A business owner doesn't want regulations telling him he can't poison his employees with silica dust to boost profits. Throughout these interviews these people see no further than their own noses and narrow interests. I agree with "atb" - hearing from them is depressing.
7
I wonder if Ms. Meimer would use union workers or day laborers to construct her extension to her business? There was no mention of the ACA at Ms. Cottrell's salon.
Let these people highlighted in the article pay for the wall.
Let these people highlighted in the article pay for the wall.
6
How is it possible that these people think Trump is their savior? They are going to be hurt badly. The myopic and selfish views expressed here are astonishing in their ignorance. Perhaps this is why Trump "loves the poorly educated"; they lack the critical thinking ability to reject the very policy agenda's that will ultimately make their lives SO much worse than they are now. Sad. Bigly sad.
6
The historical figure Trump reminds me of the most is Chairman Mao and the Chinese cultural revolution. Eliminate any ideas you disagree with, discredit anyone with an advanced education. Push aside the media.
This is Americas cultural Revolution. This is the beginning of one party rule.
This is Americas cultural Revolution. This is the beginning of one party rule.
6
you can read these reactions as a template for why the Devos appointment is dangerous. if this is the last 40 to 50 years of collective GPA for a region education has been sorely missing for quite some time now.
4
You can wear all the flag pins you want or engage in other similar superficial displays of being American, but the truth is that the people here who support Donald Trump, support many of his ideas that are "un-American". To act un-American is a travesty to the principles of what this nation was founded on and what has led to our being a beacon of leadership and progress to the rest of the world.
4
Very tired of being told by the media that we liberals live in a bubble---talk about bubble's---what world are these Trump supporters living in.
8
After reading these interviews I realize that i will never understand the mind and thinking of the trump supporter. We, that voted against trump, so ourselves not so much as voting democrat vs republican, but rather reason vs unreason, democracy vs trumpism ( what ever that turns out to be), we were voting FOR AMERICA.
I find it difficult to fathom that many of these people that voted for trump, given voice here, all supported from the beginning. So much of what he blustered and tweeted about is an anathema to most things that conservatives and republicans professed to believe in ( fiscal conservatism to name one) to take a quote from Adam Gopnik in The New Yorker " If there’s one thing we really do know from social science, it’s that people are far more determined to see their ancient enemies made miserable than themselves made happier." http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/orwells-1984-and-trumps-america
These people seem to be seething at liberalism, they feel threatened it by it. Well they now have all branches of government and a madman in the whit house, will they get their dreams come true? Doubtful. More like the nightmare they could never imagine, unfortunately they have included me in them!
I find it difficult to fathom that many of these people that voted for trump, given voice here, all supported from the beginning. So much of what he blustered and tweeted about is an anathema to most things that conservatives and republicans professed to believe in ( fiscal conservatism to name one) to take a quote from Adam Gopnik in The New Yorker " If there’s one thing we really do know from social science, it’s that people are far more determined to see their ancient enemies made miserable than themselves made happier." http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/orwells-1984-and-trumps-america
These people seem to be seething at liberalism, they feel threatened it by it. Well they now have all branches of government and a madman in the whit house, will they get their dreams come true? Doubtful. More like the nightmare they could never imagine, unfortunately they have included me in them!
7
I want to ask the Times that for every article done to interview Trump voters living in predominate white, rural America, they need to do articles about those communities who are the targets of Trump's policies. How did Chicago feel about being singled out by Trump's desire to "send in the feds!" whatever that means. Did the Times interview Atlanta residents when they were called a hell whole. Maybe they could convene a group of young women fearful of attacks on their reproductive healthcare. How about an article on women in Texas who once again had to see their state government pass a law designed to punish them if they had a miscarriage or abortion by forcing them to pay for a funeral for the fetus. I get the Trump voters were angry, we have heard endless stories about how upset they are, and are happy to see him stick it to the America they are so angry at, I guess that is us. But we need balance.
5
Those who feel sympathy for the "forgotten" people of the Rust Belt would do well to remember that the term was coined during the Reagan administration. Now those forgotten people will have an opportunity to ask what they can do for our country. Trump's reply is that they can do without adequate health insurance to help shift wealth up the food chain, they can cope with inflation to pay for a decorative wall on the border and they can breathe more polluted air to relieve their betters of tiresome regulation. Some of them get work in the coal industry where GOP cuts to black lung benefits will enable them to make an ultimate sacrifice.
6
I wonder if Mr. Cottrell was happy when Trump initially had a hiring freeze at the VA - that didn't seem to help veterans at all. There's no thought going into anything this administration is doing.
3
Oh, the mixture of ignorance and selfishness, topped with a heaping scoop of gullibility. None of the "executive actions" mentioned in this article will have any effect on the uneducated masses, but such actions sure "feel good" - like an episode of trashy reality TV. I'm just waiting for the day Ricky TJ wakes up without Medicaid and an unemployment rate of 10%. The Dow be damned, not like these folks have any money in the stock market.
2
I'll make sure to not financially support these people in any way, don't support their small businesses and don't tip.
6
We can all rant and rave as much as we want about the appalling ignorance and selfish, narrow-minded thinking of Trump's supporters but no amount of rational argument is going to convince them that they have put a mad man in the White House. I wish it were possible to find a "populist" from their world, speaking their language, who could rise from the ashes and shout from every hilltop, every hair salon and every church pulpit in the country about the destruction they have wrought in our democracy and possibly across the globe.
4
I am deeply troubled and ashamed of the remarks that I've read. I can't believe that I live in America. Its not the America I grew up in as kid and teenager in the 50s and 60s. I can't believe the depth of the ignorance, bias and racism of some of the people who commented. I'm embarrassed.
Frankly I don't believe that the questions on grading Mr. Trump should have even been asked. He's not worthy of comment. I'm especially disgusted when I read today how innocent people coming to the U.S. who are Muslim or from Iraq, or Syria and the other 5 countries are treated as if they are less than human. The refusal reminds me of the history of the ship carrying Jews from Nazi Germany before the outbreak of war. Many of those Jews were returned to Germany and later murdered in concentration camps. I can't understand the depth of the depravity and callous indifference of Mr. Trump when he disrupts the lives of thousands of Muslims under the pretext of protecting Americans. We're a nation of immigrants. Now we're a nation of racist reactionaries. The Republicans are euphoric. However they may want to control their expressions of joy. There truly is nothing to be proud of or joyful about. I don't believe that Mr. Trump will see another term. Please, Democrats begin your vocal opposition. We need to save America. Ignorance and racism is anathema to Democracy.
Frankly I don't believe that the questions on grading Mr. Trump should have even been asked. He's not worthy of comment. I'm especially disgusted when I read today how innocent people coming to the U.S. who are Muslim or from Iraq, or Syria and the other 5 countries are treated as if they are less than human. The refusal reminds me of the history of the ship carrying Jews from Nazi Germany before the outbreak of war. Many of those Jews were returned to Germany and later murdered in concentration camps. I can't understand the depth of the depravity and callous indifference of Mr. Trump when he disrupts the lives of thousands of Muslims under the pretext of protecting Americans. We're a nation of immigrants. Now we're a nation of racist reactionaries. The Republicans are euphoric. However they may want to control their expressions of joy. There truly is nothing to be proud of or joyful about. I don't believe that Mr. Trump will see another term. Please, Democrats begin your vocal opposition. We need to save America. Ignorance and racism is anathema to Democracy.
5
There's nothing notable about the information in this article - it just states the obvious...that republicans who voted for him like him. Would anyone expect differently?
The article casually mentions that his behaviour may be turning off independents. I'd be more interested in a series of interviews with this group.
The article casually mentions that his behaviour may be turning off independents. I'd be more interested in a series of interviews with this group.
2
They will just have to wait a while until their turn comes to suffer. Perhaps that will wake them up, although they are so willfully ignorant that they may drown cheering for Captain Trump. (And wondering who ate the strawberries)
3
"'Trump’s done more in five days than Obama did in eight years,' said Doug Cooperrider, 58, who works in construction repairing bridges and roads around central Ohio."
If you mean damage, sure. I've heard this line now ad nauseum from the right (isn't it interesting that they all use the same language and phraseology?) for a couple days now. Let's be clear. In 8 years, President Obama:
- created 23,000,000 private sector jobs
- cut the budget deficit and unemployment rate in half
- reduced the number of uninsured Americans to record lows
- saw a record rise in the stock market
- oversaw the first raise in income for the middle class in 15 years
- killed Osama bin Laden
- kept our nation safe from terrorism
So, please tell me, what has Trump done in a week that's "more" than that?
If you mean damage, sure. I've heard this line now ad nauseum from the right (isn't it interesting that they all use the same language and phraseology?) for a couple days now. Let's be clear. In 8 years, President Obama:
- created 23,000,000 private sector jobs
- cut the budget deficit and unemployment rate in half
- reduced the number of uninsured Americans to record lows
- saw a record rise in the stock market
- oversaw the first raise in income for the middle class in 15 years
- killed Osama bin Laden
- kept our nation safe from terrorism
So, please tell me, what has Trump done in a week that's "more" than that?
7
Should we really be concerned with what Trump backers like? It will only encourage them.
1
Trump backers seem not to be persuaded or influenced by those who oppose him. If this trend continues Trump may consolidate his approval in the bellwether state, the swing states and the red states. Is it a new beginning for America? or are we at the cross roads of the future of America?
1
While I understand the frustration and fear around stable employment and job opportunities, I cannot understand what propels people to be so overwhelmingly selfish. Get rid of standards that protect consumers or employees from food poisoning or harmful chemicals. Get rid of insurance when I don't need it at this very moment. Get rid of laws that limit my ability to carry a gun while I travel from OH to PA...oh, but there should definitely be laws that govern the choices that women (that I don't know) get to make about their bodies and families. The hypocrisy is mind boggling.
8
You know, i check in a couple of times a week at a general discussion board from the UK, oritented toward women, to see what they are saying about current events. As you can imagine, horror and trepidation reign.
But what strikes me is: based on self-details they divulge, many of the women commenting are low income, in many cases on public assistance, have not completed education beyond what we would consider high school, and have other socioeconomic characteristics of what here in the US would be statistically likely to be Trump voters.
But 99 percent of these British low-income, low-education posters are able to express themselves in solid grammar, syntax and spelling with sophisticated vocabularies that in some cases include foreign idioms; they are conversant with the geography of the world, prize the ability to travel, know the names and ideologies of numerous world leaders and governments outside the UK, they comprehend economic and scientific topics that are orders of magnitude above what the rural US "Ellie Mae" counterpart is capable of disussing.
Needless to say these people also undertand and are grateful for the social safety nets they enjoy like the NHS; again that goes back to the ability to understand economics, science etc. Abortion is discussed as a medical and practical alternative, with no shame.
All of the above is largely due to their rigorous K-12 (equivalent) education standards. Too bad the US didn't focus on that for the past 35 years.
But what strikes me is: based on self-details they divulge, many of the women commenting are low income, in many cases on public assistance, have not completed education beyond what we would consider high school, and have other socioeconomic characteristics of what here in the US would be statistically likely to be Trump voters.
But 99 percent of these British low-income, low-education posters are able to express themselves in solid grammar, syntax and spelling with sophisticated vocabularies that in some cases include foreign idioms; they are conversant with the geography of the world, prize the ability to travel, know the names and ideologies of numerous world leaders and governments outside the UK, they comprehend economic and scientific topics that are orders of magnitude above what the rural US "Ellie Mae" counterpart is capable of disussing.
Needless to say these people also undertand and are grateful for the social safety nets they enjoy like the NHS; again that goes back to the ability to understand economics, science etc. Abortion is discussed as a medical and practical alternative, with no shame.
All of the above is largely due to their rigorous K-12 (equivalent) education standards. Too bad the US didn't focus on that for the past 35 years.
10
The more of this type of story I read, the more I think we should set up two separate countries. The divide in reasoning is just too large. I cannot understand these people and they probably can't understand me. Trump will never be my president.
9
The worst of America. How do we educate and inform these people? I feel helpless.
5
Ok America first. How do we accomplish that? Yes to the redirection of funds to help those in need, those who work to improve this national, and to safeguard our health and environment. But then again, why bother?
Also if I could use this comment to gripe a bit, I am tired of having to empathize with this lot. Many of us pay for their roads, health care, etc with our taxes. If they are so concerned then why bit be truly self sufficient and reject our largesse?
But no. Like others have noted in the comments, the persons interviewed seem to be most concerned about what they can get from the government rather than demand what is best for our country. Sad.
Also if I could use this comment to gripe a bit, I am tired of having to empathize with this lot. Many of us pay for their roads, health care, etc with our taxes. If they are so concerned then why bit be truly self sufficient and reject our largesse?
But no. Like others have noted in the comments, the persons interviewed seem to be most concerned about what they can get from the government rather than demand what is best for our country. Sad.
50
To millennials in middle America. It's wishful thinking that the private sector or the Trump Administration is going to revive or build a large steel, coal or automobile plant in the middle of your community. Your parents waited a generation. Your livelihood is not a lottery.
Ask ten people in your community, over 80, what they or their parents did to survive and make it in America. Be prepared for a reality check. They worked long hours at back-breaking work, often six days a week. They moved families across the country to chase better opportunities. They joined the military. They dropped out of school to work, not for a new phone, but to feed their families. They scrimped and they saved. They had one car. They did not whine.
You are not guaranteed the lifestyle of previous generations. If you want what they had, you must work like them. There are no shortcuts. Don't use hate or ignorance to justify your own shortcomings.
Stay in school and work hard, every day. Don't get high. Get a job, any job, and show up every day and work hard. Find a better job. Buy a used Toyota Corolla. Don't get married until you are 25, unless you can articulate a compelling reason to do so. A spouse is a business partner, choose wisely. Babies should rarely be "surprises." Don't play the lottery. Consider jobs out of state or across the country. Union jobs are good, find one. Stay married. Constantly educate yourself. Secure your own retirement. Don't whine.
The American dreamed is earned.
Ask ten people in your community, over 80, what they or their parents did to survive and make it in America. Be prepared for a reality check. They worked long hours at back-breaking work, often six days a week. They moved families across the country to chase better opportunities. They joined the military. They dropped out of school to work, not for a new phone, but to feed their families. They scrimped and they saved. They had one car. They did not whine.
You are not guaranteed the lifestyle of previous generations. If you want what they had, you must work like them. There are no shortcuts. Don't use hate or ignorance to justify your own shortcomings.
Stay in school and work hard, every day. Don't get high. Get a job, any job, and show up every day and work hard. Find a better job. Buy a used Toyota Corolla. Don't get married until you are 25, unless you can articulate a compelling reason to do so. A spouse is a business partner, choose wisely. Babies should rarely be "surprises." Don't play the lottery. Consider jobs out of state or across the country. Union jobs are good, find one. Stay married. Constantly educate yourself. Secure your own retirement. Don't whine.
The American dreamed is earned.
92
The heartland is in serious need of a civics lesson. Paying taxes is the backbone of a civil society. When everyone contributes, everyone benefits.
For the last 40 years the republicans have wrapped themselves in the flag pretending patriotism while cutting taxes for the wealthy which translated into less education, infrastructure and services across every state.
The folks highlighted in this article are angry and fail to see how their voting behavior contributes to their community.
Every time i meet a self employed small business person, taxes are the issue they are most angry about. While they write off most of their income and contribute very little, they are enraged when they write that quarterly check... once it is in their bank account they feel robbed when it is time to pay versus a salaried worker that never sees the whole check.
These folks don't want to contribute anything and they want to hold the government accountable for everything and they fail to see the hypocrisy in all of this
For the last 40 years the republicans have wrapped themselves in the flag pretending patriotism while cutting taxes for the wealthy which translated into less education, infrastructure and services across every state.
The folks highlighted in this article are angry and fail to see how their voting behavior contributes to their community.
Every time i meet a self employed small business person, taxes are the issue they are most angry about. While they write off most of their income and contribute very little, they are enraged when they write that quarterly check... once it is in their bank account they feel robbed when it is time to pay versus a salaried worker that never sees the whole check.
These folks don't want to contribute anything and they want to hold the government accountable for everything and they fail to see the hypocrisy in all of this
80
I'm starting to think we should let these people have what they want. Take away their health insurance if they don't want it. But the rest of us also don't have to pay for Ms. Abdon's boyfriend's care when he's in a car accident. When someone gets ill from Ms. Meimer's maple syrup, let them sue her out of business. Gut the VA and let Mr. Cottrell see how that speeds up his disability claim. Or instead of going on road trips to count Trump signs, maybe he could drive to Texas and get a job building the wall. Slap tariffs on other countries and let Mrs. Cottrell see what that does to her hair salon. I'm guessing those plastic rollers aren't made in the US.
125
If this article was supposed to help me understand the minds of some Trump supporters, it didn't work. Frankly, every time I hear Trump supporters excuse his behaviour, dismiss his lies, and wallow in their paranoid fears, I get more depressed at the state of the world. Imagine a 24-year old whose primary concern is to see open-carry laws broadened. It is to weep.
113
The interviewees are an exceptionally selfish and shortsighted lot. We should also remember that they represent a minority of voters. That giant loophole in the Constitution called the electoral college has finally caught up with us.
64
Would the NYT please do a companion piece on countries that will accept immigrants FROM America?
46
I recently adjusted the fuel gauge in my car so that it never indicates less than half a tank of gas. My alt-fuel. I'm very anxious to see how my car responds to the alt-fuel gauge. The so-called president or any of the gaggle in his administration would no doubt assure me that I will never run out of gas.
When all is said and done, the truth and facts win.
When all is said and done, the truth and facts win.
43
Notice almost everyone of the people interviewed were mainly one-issue voters, and they oversimplified that issue, usually only concerned with how it affected them at the moment. Like the maple syrup maker who was "forced" to build a $40K canning room. Well, lady, that's so your syrup doesn't get contaminated and poison people!
Then there's the one who wants nation-wide concealed-carry opened up. You do realize, don't you, that it won't just be right-wing pretend-cowboys and pretend-seals who will then carry? It will be people of color (who you imagine are a threat to you) and lib'ruls who finally figure out the REAL violent threat is...you loonies!
We had elected a mad man who may well set the world on fire, literally. And if/when he's forced out? We'll be left with Christian Talibanista, who has 2 advantages over Trump. 1) He's not crazy 2) He actually has SOME regard for the Bill of Rights and the institutions of government.
Then there's the one who wants nation-wide concealed-carry opened up. You do realize, don't you, that it won't just be right-wing pretend-cowboys and pretend-seals who will then carry? It will be people of color (who you imagine are a threat to you) and lib'ruls who finally figure out the REAL violent threat is...you loonies!
We had elected a mad man who may well set the world on fire, literally. And if/when he's forced out? We'll be left with Christian Talibanista, who has 2 advantages over Trump. 1) He's not crazy 2) He actually has SOME regard for the Bill of Rights and the institutions of government.
41
This comes as no surprise to me. I grew up in morrow county, and though I did love the small town feel, I know how backward and racist some still are. Some folks spout off with racist hate-filled comments and dont think twice about it, yet still think they're good christians. Lol It's unbelievable at times. It's a definite reason I chose to NOT raise my kids there. I'd rather mine grow up knowing there's a big world outside of morrow county, and that we're all in this together. A world where neither your Daddy's last name, nor the color of your skin gives you any privilege over someone else.
48
I don't think these voters are deplorable. They are ill informed and naive in some cases and selfish in others Planned Parent is not federally funded for abortions and provides more affordable health care women need. I doubt that voter really favored advancing breast and cervical cancer in her community. The individual with a maple syrup business has never experienced food poisoning and needs to go back and read The Jungle to understand why these regulations exist. The person objecting to OSHA standards doesn't have a family member with a lung condition.
170
The army veteran looking for a disability payment is not a good example. Looking for a hand-out.
17
I wish you had asked Amanda if she felt that if her boyfriend doesn't buy health insurance and gets sick or in an accident if a hospital should then have to care for him even he if he doesn't have any money as it does under current law.
I'll bet she'll either doesn't know it has to or will say it should.
A lot of people who complain about the ACA mandate then want to be able to do the thing they accuse everyone else of doing: freeloading on others.
I'll bet she'll either doesn't know it has to or will say it should.
A lot of people who complain about the ACA mandate then want to be able to do the thing they accuse everyone else of doing: freeloading on others.
46
As I read these comments, I wonder how many of the folks cited will also read them and how they will react. Seldom if ever does calling people ignorant make them any smarter. Most often it makes them angry and even less open to learning. A sad thing, since so much of their misfortune is a result of their ignorance and gullibility.
This article succeeds in reporting on its subjects in a detailed, apparently accurate, and neutral fashion. I do hope that there will be follow-up. Perhaps we will all get smarter and do better.
This article succeeds in reporting on its subjects in a detailed, apparently accurate, and neutral fashion. I do hope that there will be follow-up. Perhaps we will all get smarter and do better.
12
So much for President Trump's desire to be a president for all our citizens. He frequently doubles-down in favor of the most divisive elements. I will be 70 this year, and hope to be around when he is no longer in office attempting to make a shambles of health care, immigration, relations with Mexico...the list goes on.
With respect to his immigration ban, note the opinion by David Bier that the ban is illegal: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/27/opinion/trumps-immigration-ban-is-ill... . What is noteworthy is that the author is an analyst from the conservative Cato Institute. It would not surprise me one bit to see other conservative legal scholars vociferously denounce Trump's executive order. FDR had at least 5 of his overturned by the Supreme Court (6199, 6204, 6256, 6284, 6855). We'll see what happens now.
With respect to his immigration ban, note the opinion by David Bier that the ban is illegal: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/27/opinion/trumps-immigration-ban-is-ill... . What is noteworthy is that the author is an analyst from the conservative Cato Institute. It would not surprise me one bit to see other conservative legal scholars vociferously denounce Trump's executive order. FDR had at least 5 of his overturned by the Supreme Court (6199, 6204, 6256, 6284, 6855). We'll see what happens now.
14
Republicans see "cutting regulations on business" as helping business profits.
The question is at whose expense to the profits come from?
"cutting regulations on business" is fact "cutting regulations that protect us, the people from harm, material and life". When you understand that, whether from unfortunate experience or understanding, the Republicans will brand you as some sort of anti-business kook.
The question is at whose expense to the profits come from?
"cutting regulations on business" is fact "cutting regulations that protect us, the people from harm, material and life". When you understand that, whether from unfortunate experience or understanding, the Republicans will brand you as some sort of anti-business kook.
15
I am from the Midwest - I generally know this place and these people. The thing that scares me about it all is that all the things they want equate to a slight bump for themselves in some way. It is selfishness plain and simple for little regard to the outside world.
It's easy to be selfish in a place like this, the world is often a very small place and your biggest concern is often your pocketbook, even though you still have food in your fridge and a roof over your head, a vehicle to drive in and probably even a little beer. Doesn't change the fact that they've been sold outrage for so long that there is an entitlement there now. Places like this remind me very much that a lot of us forget what America truly is - an evolving melting pot of immigrants and different cultures. America is increasingly less what you see here and increasingly more a different life. Change is the law of life, and if you can't adapt to it you get this sort of selfish, entitled nonsense.
It's easy to be selfish in a place like this, the world is often a very small place and your biggest concern is often your pocketbook, even though you still have food in your fridge and a roof over your head, a vehicle to drive in and probably even a little beer. Doesn't change the fact that they've been sold outrage for so long that there is an entitlement there now. Places like this remind me very much that a lot of us forget what America truly is - an evolving melting pot of immigrants and different cultures. America is increasingly less what you see here and increasingly more a different life. Change is the law of life, and if you can't adapt to it you get this sort of selfish, entitled nonsense.
45
Trump is the manifestation of our failures as a democracy and the rise in authoritarianism. For many of us it will become increasingly difficult to be proud of this country or safe to live in this heavily armed and angry country, and for the good of ourselves and our families we will seek to live elsewhere,
14
Mount Gilead is a very nice little town, it's too bad you just interviewed the dolts. There are plenty of people here in Ohio that voted against tRump, I'd love to see you do a story about us. But no, that wouldn't fit into the NYT narrative that all people in "fly over country" are imbeciles. Shame on you Times. How about some REAL reporting?
21
The people you interviewed didnt seem to be the ones who switched from Obama to Trump - they seemed like the low information voters he loves. How about you interview the 64% of Americans who think he is insane and dangerous for a change? Im tired of reading about thise ignorant bigots who think Trump has already done more than Obama.
We are here, we are furious, and you are missing a huge story.
We are here, we are furious, and you are missing a huge story.
49
To all my fellow NYC professionals who live in this incredibly wealthy city :: YOU ARE NOT THE AVERAGE AMERICAN. There is real anger and pain in middle America, let us superior beings of the east and west coasts begin to understand and address the needs of our countrymen, before an even worse trump appears.
17
Trump is the "hey, I'm just sayin'" president.
He throws stuff out, not sure if he believes it, to see how it plays. If it doesn't play, he or one of his people will moon-walk it back, re-word it and throw it out there again.
This is what's known as a trial balloon...used by most a,dministrations. It is a polling technique, but eventually it fails if used too much.
He throws stuff out, not sure if he believes it, to see how it plays. If it doesn't play, he or one of his people will moon-walk it back, re-word it and throw it out there again.
This is what's known as a trial balloon...used by most a,dministrations. It is a polling technique, but eventually it fails if used too much.
9
It's become very clear to me that America needs a massive new program to revamp and fund basic education (k-community college) nationwide. Our current system is clearly dysfunctional, having produced a nation of functional illiterates completely ignorant of their civic rights and DUTIES, and lacking any basic ability to think critically. The result: these people, with their nationalist gun-happy capitalist jingoism and resentment of the other, easily sold ridiculous ideas of xenophobia, citizenship as "consumers," capitalist business barons as best qualified to lead government, and any other easy explanation that shifts the burdens of self-responsibility from them.
57
So the already grossly misinformed think Trump is doing a fine job. No surprise there. I'm not really sure why I should care. Also I'm not really sure why the votes of these rural whites should matter more than the sweeping popular vote that elected Hillary Clinton.
29
"Trump has done more in five days..."
Seems the anti-Obama crowd suddenly likes Executive Orders.
Seems the anti-Obama crowd suddenly likes Executive Orders.
34
So how can I make sure I am not buying Eddie Lou's maple syrup? Clearly her right to make the stuff however she wants precedes my right to have a safe food product. Yikes.
37
Try this on for a scenario: Trump is elected by the economically frustrated opponents of social evolution - they don't like the way the world has changed in 40 years and they're angry that it's left them poor and powerless. They are anti-intellectuals who believe that complex national and geopolitical problems have easy, fast solutions. In his first days in office Trump gives them a boatload of Executive Orders which cheers them and confirms their believe that all it takes is a muscular approach to fix America's problems. Those Executive Orders prove difficult to impossible to turn into policy. Time drags on with their champion telling them that the "system" is the only thing standing between them and the achievement of their agenda. If it were up to him, he tells them, he would have put things right in a week and half. His followers become more ardently supportive of him while their anger at the "rigged" system rises, fueled by fake news stories.
Trump suggests that if he were running things alone, everything would be set right. His followers come to believe that he is indeed right, is the only hope for a crumbling country, and that they must take matters in hand and put Trump in unfettered control. Trump, an aspiring strongman, would not discourage that thought or refuse the offer if made to him.
Let us take the man at his word: "I alone can fix it." "Alone" being the operative word.
We've seen a similar scenario play out in the not to distant past in Europe.
Trump suggests that if he were running things alone, everything would be set right. His followers come to believe that he is indeed right, is the only hope for a crumbling country, and that they must take matters in hand and put Trump in unfettered control. Trump, an aspiring strongman, would not discourage that thought or refuse the offer if made to him.
Let us take the man at his word: "I alone can fix it." "Alone" being the operative word.
We've seen a similar scenario play out in the not to distant past in Europe.
38
There is just no sugarcoating it. We have a lot of very uneducated people in this country and many of them are very self-centered. They don't care about others, they care about their own well-being only.
42
For all the commenters here bemoaning the stupidity of these people. Ms Meimer has it right: Trump effectively diverts many people and the press with his tweets. Time to stop paying attention to his outrageous tweets and diversionary tactics (crowd size, etc.) and start paying attention to the policies.
14
It is eye opening how much the readers of the NY Times disdain the folks of Middle America. Maybe after you elitists get slapped around enough by Trump, you will get off your high horse of superiority and aggrandizement and realize the beliefs and values that you trumpet, aren't really worth much. Patriotism and America First is kryptonite for Times readers--and you are going to get in big doses for the next eight years, so you folks will have to be content to just watch the reruns of Ashley Judd, DeNiro and Chelsea Handler... Funny how you "smart" folks didn't learn anything from the Republican primaries. When you hit Trump, he hits you back 10X harder. You fell for Hillary lock, stock and barrel--because that is the only gun you could love. Hillary who? Crickets...You may disdain the folks in Middle America, but President Trump has their back--not yours. Politically you folks created this mess with your love affair of the "chosen one" and the left's political inbreeding and alliances became so interconnected, that it had to dissolve in a Darwinian asteroid called Trump!
6
Donald Trump, champion of the ignorant.
25
These are the same people who, for years, have decried "handouts" to minorities and immigrants. Now, they expect Trump to give them handouts.
Boy, are they going to be disappointed when they get no jobs, have no health insurance, receive inadequate Medicare vouchers and watch Goldman Sachs squander their Social Security money.
Boy, are they going to be disappointed when they get no jobs, have no health insurance, receive inadequate Medicare vouchers and watch Goldman Sachs squander their Social Security money.
40
Polls are clear on this: 100 percent of Trump voters are Trump voters. Clueless reaction to his weeklong display of preposterous claims and meanspirited attacks on American values and Americans is no surprise.
21
Most agree that he is an active person, somewhat scattershot, but better that than someone who contemplates action and never does it. As is noted in the article, these executive actions are a long way from being acted upon and even the President has curbs.
I note in the article that a Quinnipiac University poll gives him a low approval rating. Perhaps my memory is faulty, but I believe their polls leading up to the election showed Hilliary way ahead. So much for polls.
Regarding the Mexico dust up, what needs to be done is for Mexico to tighten their southern border. As was noted in a recent NYT article, most of the immigrants coming north to the US are Central and South American in origin.
While I don't expect the liberals to quiet down any time soon, they have to admit he won.
I note in the article that a Quinnipiac University poll gives him a low approval rating. Perhaps my memory is faulty, but I believe their polls leading up to the election showed Hilliary way ahead. So much for polls.
Regarding the Mexico dust up, what needs to be done is for Mexico to tighten their southern border. As was noted in a recent NYT article, most of the immigrants coming north to the US are Central and South American in origin.
While I don't expect the liberals to quiet down any time soon, they have to admit he won.
5
Many of these Rust Belt workers have been suffering *since Reagan*, not Clinton. Reagan ramped up the de-industrialization and other economic disasters that wiped them out. I think many on the Left forget that these voters also supported Bill Clinton, at least the first time, and many did again in 1996. And what did they get for it? Jobs, yes, but NAFTA and deregulation and increasing privatization of every aspect of our government. And just so we don't forget, many of these same people voted for Barack Obama in 2008 too. He won the popular vote by nearly NINE MILLION VOTES, and carried the states of Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Florida, and nearly won Missouri that year. These voters may sound incoherent, but the fact remains that neoliberal policies, which the Democrats push but refuse to defend, and which the Republicans push but relabel as being good for people (privatization, etc.), are destroying not just the US but the globe. And until someone on the Left--anyone, as Bernie Sanders tried to do--makes a convincing, affirmative case, instead of just saying Trump is bad, stupid, incompetent--he is, he's worse than W Bush, he's like Nixon on steroids, etc.--these voters are going to dig in. Also, while I support the Democrats' social progressivism fully, it is not going to make up for neoliberal economic policy. The two should go hand in hand. *That* would be real populism!
15
I just wonder if the person who thought Trump did more in 1 week than Obama did in 8 years whined about Executive Orders when Obama did them. Apparently he should have signed more.
79
@paula, Yes as Trump voter, I was angry about Obama's Executive Orders, but a student of government, I knew all of Obama's EOs would go away with the troke of a pen. Thank you.
1
Additionally, executive orders are undone the minute a Democrat is done swearing in for the next presidency. Getting laws passed is actually doing something. But the mantra we heard for Obama's terms when laws were proposed was always, "We need fewer laws, not more."
The hypocrisy is endless. They don't even care to make their reasoning appear logical or well-planned out anymore. It isn't "give me what makes sense" anymore, it is "give me what feels good."
The hypocrisy is endless. They don't even care to make their reasoning appear logical or well-planned out anymore. It isn't "give me what makes sense" anymore, it is "give me what feels good."
1
Obama perfected the art of circumventing Congress. What's good for the goose is also good for the gander.
Just admit it. People elected an insane man President.
128
Donald Trump is one of very few politicians who actually did what he promised to do. I am happy that he's taking a stand on issues that mattered to many Americans. I don't agree with his conservative approach on the rights of women, I will fight to protect their right to choose.
12
What has he actually done other than discriminate against refugees for solely being from a Muslim majority country, and taking away recently awarded promotions and jobs to federal workers?
He is not taking a stand on any issues that matter to "most" or a "majority" of American's though.
2
I don't think you understand how your government actually functions. Executive orders are, in most cases, just window dressing. Comgress holds the purse strings amd decides if most of these orders will be carried out. It is mostly flash to put on a good show for his supporters and to keep him busy and feeling good about himself.
1
Although I do not agree with them, we cannot blame these folk for voting as they did out of desperation for a broken social contract that has denied them their American dream. There is plenty of blame to go around for both parties. And the most affluent who consume vast amounts of foreign manufactured goods be it a Mercedes or BMW are generating terrific jobs overseas. If each one of us bought just one American made garment that translates to $9 billion.
Sadly, these folk who support Trump were snookered by this sociopathic con artist who has I think for the first time pushed America towards an authoritarian regime.
Sadly, these folk who support Trump were snookered by this sociopathic con artist who has I think for the first time pushed America towards an authoritarian regime.
41
"denied them their American dream."....You can't realize the American dream just by showing up. It is also important to provide your self with some minimal level of education.
52
Would it though? Or would US factory owners pay them minimum wage and keep most of the profits? They are unskilled labourers, they will accept whatever pay they are assigned.
My Trump voting brother in law has a full size pickup made in Mexico. I have a Subaru and Honda both made in America. Who supports more U.S. jobs, me or my brother in law? Some BMWs are made here.
2
“Trump’s done more in five days than Obama did in eight years,” said Doug Cooperrider
Mr. Cooperrider inexplicably left out four words in the middle of his sentence, to wit: "Trump's done more in five days _to hurt the USA_ than Obama did in eight years." And this despite 53.8% of the voters against him and 10.7% fewer electoral votes than Mr. Obama received in 2008. This is something to cheer about?
Mr. Cooperrider inexplicably left out four words in the middle of his sentence, to wit: "Trump's done more in five days _to hurt the USA_ than Obama did in eight years." And this despite 53.8% of the voters against him and 10.7% fewer electoral votes than Mr. Obama received in 2008. This is something to cheer about?
102
Hi. While I think this perspective is important, interesting and worth writing- coverage as of late seems to have forgotten to cover the millions of people who are frankly scared about their futures in this country. Those who will struggle without insurance. Minorities worried about their second class status. Immigrants who fear violence against them. That seems to be the story when the government decides to enact a white nationalistic agenda- not just those who perceive benefits from those policies.
89
Agree. The woman who complained about her boyfriend having to pay the ACA penalty for refusing to get medical coverage is classic. I bet she won't complain when her boyfriend uses Emergency for some ailment and the US taxpayer has to cover it.
4
Perhaps there should be built a great and magnificent wall, a wall that will keep these folks safe from their enemy, the "democratic elites". I'd recommend covering their side of it with pictures of the Syrian children we on the other side took into our homes. Pictures of the children we have kept safe from the horrors of their guns like the children of Sandy Hook. Pictures of hard working immigrants on the other side of the wall. I'd even add photos of the tax bills paid by the radical democratic voting "elite" who are voting to pay even more taxes for this country. Then they could be truly safe from all the things that make their lives so horrible that they would support a man like Trump. I've had enough.
48
So the Trump supports are not concerned about how the US will finance that amazing Mexico/USA border wall?
No Trump supporter is concerned about their health care costs rising? (Do they think they're so healthy to not need a physician?)
No Trump supporter is concerned that Mexico, for example, may make the costs of moving goods from Mexico to the USA even more expensive, costs which will be reflected in many goods and services in the USA?
Just a few of the most prominent issues at hand, but it makes one wonder about the state of mind of Trump supporters. I mean, when every American has that Good Job (40K? more?) making good ole American products, which necessarily will be expensive to support those deserving American workers, who will pay the prices for those American goods? Wal-mart shoppers? Amazon users? Think China will start importing Made In USA goods?
Think Trump might look at all these USA-chartered companies and demand they move their production back to the USA? Pay a bit more in tax for not doing so?
Trump and his Goebbels-wanna-be-propagandist Bannon have their hands' full, and they'll keep shouting the outrageous to please the fools, but in the end, their reign will be short and, hopefully, bloodless, but I have my doubts.
No Trump supporter is concerned about their health care costs rising? (Do they think they're so healthy to not need a physician?)
No Trump supporter is concerned that Mexico, for example, may make the costs of moving goods from Mexico to the USA even more expensive, costs which will be reflected in many goods and services in the USA?
Just a few of the most prominent issues at hand, but it makes one wonder about the state of mind of Trump supporters. I mean, when every American has that Good Job (40K? more?) making good ole American products, which necessarily will be expensive to support those deserving American workers, who will pay the prices for those American goods? Wal-mart shoppers? Amazon users? Think China will start importing Made In USA goods?
Think Trump might look at all these USA-chartered companies and demand they move their production back to the USA? Pay a bit more in tax for not doing so?
Trump and his Goebbels-wanna-be-propagandist Bannon have their hands' full, and they'll keep shouting the outrageous to please the fools, but in the end, their reign will be short and, hopefully, bloodless, but I have my doubts.
44
The reality is that if Mexican goods become too expensive, Mexicans will have to lower the cost. if not, other countries will jump at the opportunity to sell goods to the US. Therefore, yes, the US has the upper hand.
Also keep in mind that the cost of producing and manufacturing overseas, i.e., China is becoming more expensive everyday, with the added cost of shipping, the likely lowering of corporate taxes in the US, will make US companies much more competitive at home and abroad.
Also keep in mind that the cost of producing and manufacturing overseas, i.e., China is becoming more expensive everyday, with the added cost of shipping, the likely lowering of corporate taxes in the US, will make US companies much more competitive at home and abroad.
This article reminds me of the 2008 campaign when people from these same areas complained that they wanted government to keep out of their social security and medicare. Recently there were young people interviewed about getting jobs in these same areas and many replied that they would try to get a job and then try to get on disability if that didn't work. They don't seem to realize that many of their benefits come from government.
65
And some don't seem to realize that government gets its money from private business and productive individuals, workers.
This is the result of the dumbing down of America. No more women's reproductive rights, equal pay, no progress. These are people, men and women, that would prefer the world the way it was 100 years ago. Good luck.
104
Oddly enough, gun rights enthusiasts are more likely to need their guns to protect themselves in the spirit of the 2nd amendment under a Trump administration than in any time since the revolution. Unfortunately, they won't realize that until American army rifles are pointed at American citizens to "fix the horrible carnage going on."
29
You could be sorry for what you wish. For instance, Obamacare. Trump supporters actually think they will get better coverage at lower prices.
Not so. Impossible to do unless subsides are increased and expanded to cover additional cost. The only other way is a one payor system devoid of profit motivations. Another area jobs. Only newer technologies will create more jobs which require more training and more than a high school diploma. The old economy is gone for the most part. It's possible changes in high school curricula might prepare people for some of these newer jobs, but not by destroying the public school system. You may ask who am I to challenge Trumps ideas which are many. I could spend many more words on several of his ideas that got people excited. I can only say I've been around for awhile. I've seen the good and the bad. I'm sorry so many have such a pessimistic view of our country but that's no reason to vote for policies that bring about calamity. However many of the things wished and promised by Trump are the very things which will bring us all down. Was that your purpose for voting for Trump. If so he played you like a fiddle. Many of his pronouncements were actually Bait and Switch schemes. You have two years to think about it. If you find you made a mistake then vote for democratic representatives to oppose Trump. Either he will have to improve or if not, it is time to vote him out in 2020.
Not so. Impossible to do unless subsides are increased and expanded to cover additional cost. The only other way is a one payor system devoid of profit motivations. Another area jobs. Only newer technologies will create more jobs which require more training and more than a high school diploma. The old economy is gone for the most part. It's possible changes in high school curricula might prepare people for some of these newer jobs, but not by destroying the public school system. You may ask who am I to challenge Trumps ideas which are many. I could spend many more words on several of his ideas that got people excited. I can only say I've been around for awhile. I've seen the good and the bad. I'm sorry so many have such a pessimistic view of our country but that's no reason to vote for policies that bring about calamity. However many of the things wished and promised by Trump are the very things which will bring us all down. Was that your purpose for voting for Trump. If so he played you like a fiddle. Many of his pronouncements were actually Bait and Switch schemes. You have two years to think about it. If you find you made a mistake then vote for democratic representatives to oppose Trump. Either he will have to improve or if not, it is time to vote him out in 2020.
20
A small suggestion - don't expect Trump voters to review what they voted for and how it's turned out in 2018. I didn't trust them to think about the whole - the United States of America - in November, I don't trust them now, and I don't trust them to change in 2 years or 22 years. They'll moan they didn't know it would be so bad, but, like Trump, they'll claim Alternate Facts, but they'll really be lying.
Organize a platform that focuses on core principles, organize locally, nationally, and globally to tear the levers of power out of fascist control, and be prepared to be twice as ruthless as any Trump supporter, or right-wing ideologue. The coup that took away representative government in the USA has been happening for many years. No surprise. We just have to deal with it. Nothing personal, it's just business.
President Eisenhower was right about the Military-Industrial Complex. He just forgot to mention the impact of that Complexes lackeys and toadies.
Organize a platform that focuses on core principles, organize locally, nationally, and globally to tear the levers of power out of fascist control, and be prepared to be twice as ruthless as any Trump supporter, or right-wing ideologue. The coup that took away representative government in the USA has been happening for many years. No surprise. We just have to deal with it. Nothing personal, it's just business.
President Eisenhower was right about the Military-Industrial Complex. He just forgot to mention the impact of that Complexes lackeys and toadies.
2
I always find the unfiltered Trump half-truths and the misperceptions of his supporters fascinating. Their insensitivity is equally frightening.
My standard reaction is that there will be no plot by terrorists to bomb a hair salon or anything else in Mount Gilead, Ohio and yet they perseverate about terrorist threats and their politicians want Homeland Security funding. It would be laughable if it wasn't such a rip-off of tax monies.
As for the undocumented immigrants stealing their jobs and undercutting their incomes, most of them wouldn't want nor take the jobs that the immigrants do. And besides, they all employ them to cut their lawns at cheap prices.
Finally, the most appalling statement was from the business owner who wanted to reduce regulations, like the ones demanding reduction of silica dust in the factory. There is little apparent concern or care that the workers might contract long term chronic problems from the dust. But why care, maybe they are all undocumented immigrants???
The nation's values are being debased by thoughtless people.
My standard reaction is that there will be no plot by terrorists to bomb a hair salon or anything else in Mount Gilead, Ohio and yet they perseverate about terrorist threats and their politicians want Homeland Security funding. It would be laughable if it wasn't such a rip-off of tax monies.
As for the undocumented immigrants stealing their jobs and undercutting their incomes, most of them wouldn't want nor take the jobs that the immigrants do. And besides, they all employ them to cut their lawns at cheap prices.
Finally, the most appalling statement was from the business owner who wanted to reduce regulations, like the ones demanding reduction of silica dust in the factory. There is little apparent concern or care that the workers might contract long term chronic problems from the dust. But why care, maybe they are all undocumented immigrants???
The nation's values are being debased by thoughtless people.
83
Agree. And what anout the woman who was angry that she had to spend money to ensure food safety for the maple syrop she sold. I would love to know why she opposed food safety and whether she would put a label on her products informing her customers.
1
Also, regarding the undocumented immigrants, the article makes the point that Hispanics are only .3% of the population in this particular town, so unless the Somalis are illegal and/or taking their jobs, or there's some other group of immigrants that wasn't mentioned, these fears are largely unfounded.
3
Boil down a lot of the Trump supporters' complaints and you find a couple of basic threads: racism and money. And a lot of today's racism is, also, about money. Our values are cockeyed and the fabric of society is being rent by our obsessions with money.
3
Being an Ohioan, I'm sensitive to how my state is portrayed, and I'd like to point out that the people quoted in this article are not representative of everyone here. My relatives in New York voted for Trump (as did 2.6 million other New Yorkers) while my relatives in Ohio did not. (Though 2.7 million Ohioans did.) So when the reaction to this is "those Midwestern people are crazy," it may be worth it to remember that The New York Times could very well have written this article from New York, or any other state.
And as a resident of Columbus, I'd like to say the Somali community has given me no reason to fear. They have added to the valuable cultural mix here, which just makes our city stronger. People deserve to be safe and have the chance to succeed no matter where they were born or where they live. That includes the poor areas here as well as, say, the war-torn streets of Syria.
And as a resident of Columbus, I'd like to say the Somali community has given me no reason to fear. They have added to the valuable cultural mix here, which just makes our city stronger. People deserve to be safe and have the chance to succeed no matter where they were born or where they live. That includes the poor areas here as well as, say, the war-torn streets of Syria.
56
I wouldn't be surprised if Ms. Cottrell, the hair stylist, and Ms Abdon are either uninsured, receiving Medicaid or received a huge subsidy from Obamacare.
Almost all the people who were interviewed receive some type of government aid:
Robert Kersey and Eddie Lou Meimer - on Medicare and Social Security (even though they own their own businesses)
Mr. Cottrell - disability from the VA (he looks pretty healthy to me)
During my time canvassing for Bernie and Obama - I saw a lot of white people on various government programs complain about everyone else. My favorite - a food pantry in Montgomery County PA. My friend and I were giving out literature on the ACA. Almost every person there was white. They had come for FREE HEALTHSERVICES, FREE FOOD and even FREE TOILET PAPER - (If the reporter of this article wants to talk - please email me). Most would not speak to us but one woman with a small child did - she said "That Obama". She fretted that if people got more healthcare, there would be less.
Her was someone coming to get FREE food, healthcare, and toilet paper. As she had a small child and this is PA - the child was getting CHIP.
Almost all the people who were interviewed receive some type of government aid:
Robert Kersey and Eddie Lou Meimer - on Medicare and Social Security (even though they own their own businesses)
Mr. Cottrell - disability from the VA (he looks pretty healthy to me)
During my time canvassing for Bernie and Obama - I saw a lot of white people on various government programs complain about everyone else. My favorite - a food pantry in Montgomery County PA. My friend and I were giving out literature on the ACA. Almost every person there was white. They had come for FREE HEALTHSERVICES, FREE FOOD and even FREE TOILET PAPER - (If the reporter of this article wants to talk - please email me). Most would not speak to us but one woman with a small child did - she said "That Obama". She fretted that if people got more healthcare, there would be less.
Her was someone coming to get FREE food, healthcare, and toilet paper. As she had a small child and this is PA - the child was getting CHIP.
76
Alex, this is so depressing. How do we ever solve this problem?
Drive by a home improvement center early in the morning and see the reality. Doughy middle aged men in Ram pick up trucks hiring largely undocumented workers. Families that have undocumented workers doing their lawn or shoveling snow. If the white middle class can save a few bucks then it's ok. Such phonies. People who often complain about undocumented workers are lying.
97
Nazi Germany was alive in the 20th century. Hitler didn't kill millions of people alone - millions of people murdered their neighbors. It's time we stop empathizing with these cretin Trump supporters and focus on the reporting of facts. This is not the journalism I know. Reporting on inane things poorly educated people say, simply because they say them? What about Trump's taxes? What about his relationship with Russia? What about the evidence for treason? Everything Trump does is a smokescreen to keep journalists away from the real story. Where is the Times' version of the Spotlight team? Wake up NY Times and stop being a gawker at an accident scene. Assign your reporters to stories where they have to dig, not just write down quotes.
149
Indeed. Forget the casa blanca press room. It is a worthless cesspool of lies. Go do journalism without casa blanca directives.
1
To me it seems we are more like a fascist country.
33
we already were a fascist country under obama. we were told what we could say and more so what we could not say. we were told what to think and not think and what was acceptable and what was not. and if we spoke in disagreement of the anointed policies and agenda, we were labelled racist, sexist, bigoted homophobes. and these labels were used without discretion by people who supposedly believed that labels for people should not exist. ironic to say the least but certainly appears as a form of facism to me. but to you it was correct because you are always right so I must always be wrong in my thinking and opinions.
I have to say to some of you disparaging the low information people quoted in the article, that if you drive a SUV or were among the majority of Americans who thought Iraq was involved in 9/11, you aren't much better.
5
I especially like the young lady complaining about her boyfriend not being able to shirk responsibility for maintaining health insurance. Republicans are all about personal responsibility - for other people.
70
Exactly. Inwonder if he dips into the local Emergency for his health issues and let's the taxpayer foot the bill.
1
Trump is far from a true conservative Republican. In addition, his need for adulation (e.g. The size of the inaugural crowd) and his willingness to employ "alternate facts" to bolster his narrative of greatness is reminiscent of North Korean and Russian propaganda.
19
I am sorry to say it but these people are unable to articulate good well thought arguments. They confort my belief that these people belong to the "deplorable" group of Trump voters and you cannot even have a normal conversation with them! However they are not the only Trump voters as they only represent 25-30% of voters, most of educated upscale republican voted for him and helped him win the election....Do not forget there are several Americas and they are very different from each other!
21
There has never been as wide a chasm between liberals and conservatives in my lifetime. There will be no meeting on middle ground people. Isn't anyone on the right thinking through to the repercussions of their thoughts and actions? It all seems so selfish, violent, isloated and just plain wrong!!
25
The "chasm" is exactly the same as it has ever been--you are simply observing it from a new vantage point. Conservatives have been on the outside looking in for the last several years, now it is your turn. Not so great, eh?
The pendulum swings and will swing again. Let's keep some perspective!
The pendulum swings and will swing again. Let's keep some perspective!
Ms. Cotrell, I feel bad that you have displace the anger about your issues in life on other people. If government is the ennemy why applying for disability? Maybe a better diet might help also.
47
Trump can go and personally burn down their house, telling them it will lower their taxes by doing so, and they'll still think he's the best thing that ever happened to them.
36
Trump accurately (and devastatingly) said he could shoot someone dead in the middle of Fifth Avenue and not lose any supporters.
2
Please stop NYT. I just read the first paragraph and decided I really have no more interest in hearing from Trump voters anymore. We get it. Obama weak and useless. Trump strong and will MAGA. Hillary crooked. Trump lies? Whatever? Government very very bad. What is left to say?
Can we please focus on those of us who spend a lot of time wondering what to do with our darn portfolios???? BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT I AM SCARED ABOUT! When do I convert to cash?
Can we please focus on those of us who spend a lot of time wondering what to do with our darn portfolios???? BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT I AM SCARED ABOUT! When do I convert to cash?
12
Dollar will be devalued and quite possibly worth very little in terms of purchasing power. Don't convert to cash. Buy precious metals, gold, silver.
Convert very soon.
There is a concerted effort to understand what is behind the thinking of these people. How to break through to them. At the end it is all for our own benefit, we just can't let this kind of ignorance to prevail and hurt us all.
"One man said he was uneasy about a long-standing Somali community about an hour south." It is the people in this Somali community that should be uneasy about this community about an hour north. Trump is giving credibility to this kind of thinking, and it won't stop with mere 'uneasiness'. The ignorant and self-serving people of this town are scary, but that one statement is absolutely terrifying.
410
Exactly. Why is he uneasy? Because they are Somali? That's not a reason to be uneasy. But then, our family is multicultural, blacks, whites, asians, etc. We just love each other because we know each other. Maybe he should get to know a few Somalis.
2
The Somali communities are invited here by employers who need people to work. You won't find one of these whiny people willing to do the jobs they do. They are grateful to be here.
2
The vast legions of ignorant people out there -- ignorant of history, of economics, of other nations, of science and of basic humanity -- is truly mind boggling.
This isn't trump's fault, loathsome that he is. This is lazy, self-indulgent, weak minded mentality born of several generations of govt kowtowing to superstition-based organization, to lunatic fringe right wing media and abysmal educational standards.
Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind. It's beyond depressing. Even if the executive office and all of congress vanished tomorrow, we'd still be stuck with 100 million low-info, insular, poorly educated fellow citizens utterly incapable of envisioning the US in the context of larger geopolitical and environmental concerns.
This isn't trump's fault, loathsome that he is. This is lazy, self-indulgent, weak minded mentality born of several generations of govt kowtowing to superstition-based organization, to lunatic fringe right wing media and abysmal educational standards.
Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind. It's beyond depressing. Even if the executive office and all of congress vanished tomorrow, we'd still be stuck with 100 million low-info, insular, poorly educated fellow citizens utterly incapable of envisioning the US in the context of larger geopolitical and environmental concerns.
30
I could understand being a Trump supporter if I liked crude people; felt women and minorities should be kept in their places; disliked eggheads and successful people
who studied hard and went to college; liked politicians who shared their prejudices and enjoyed ridiculing people; don’t mind listening to and accepting an enormous number of false promises; believe it is necessary and important to have access to military-style assault rifles; and harbor an abiding pathological hatred for Hillary Clinton. Apart from that, however, I have a hard time figuring out what motivates Trump supporters.
who studied hard and went to college; liked politicians who shared their prejudices and enjoyed ridiculing people; don’t mind listening to and accepting an enormous number of false promises; believe it is necessary and important to have access to military-style assault rifles; and harbor an abiding pathological hatred for Hillary Clinton. Apart from that, however, I have a hard time figuring out what motivates Trump supporters.
28
People who would rather complain about lack of jobs than cross a state line to find one are demanding concealed carry reciprocity laws. That's really funny.
36
I have given up caring what these low information, Fox addled citizens think about anything, particularly about this phony in the White House. Perhaps the Times could run page one comments from some of the millions of us who actually have a grasp on reality.
47
Could not agree more.
2
One has to wonder why all of these executive orders are received without complaint by the Republican congress? It was but yesterday that they were apoplectic about President Obama's "unconstitutional" use of executive orders to bypass congress--not capitalizing congress is intentional.
30
When industry left New England's mills empty in the 50's and 60's, New Englanders did not decide the solution to their problems was to put a narcissistic, demogouge in the most powerful position in the world. Instead, they got on with it, reinvented themselves and built an economy able to compete in today's world. They neither expected or demanded that someone bring back jobs that were gone forever. It can only be hoped that once Trump supporters start to feel the effects of their "Let's shake things up" experiment, they'll come back to reality and follow the example of their Northeastern cousins.
38
Exactly. I live here too and that is precisely what happened. New England came back from those catastrophic losses, reinvented the economy here and now many of those old mills are being turned into luxury condos. There is always more to be done, but the transformation thus far is pretty impressive. If we can do it, other areas of the country can as well. It just takes the will, commitment, and political leaders who are on board.
2
Says someone from the state with the highest unemployment in New England.
New England has never recovered from the factories and jobs leaving.
The young people there today are heavily drug riddled and have very little hope.
Unless you have multiple degrees and live around Boston, you don't have many prospects. The poverty is astounding in certain areas of New England.
New England has never recovered from the factories and jobs leaving.
The young people there today are heavily drug riddled and have very little hope.
Unless you have multiple degrees and live around Boston, you don't have many prospects. The poverty is astounding in certain areas of New England.
The only heads "spinning" over crowd sizes and fraudulent votes were the media's. It's desperate to see him fail to vindicate itself, doubling down on "he shouldn't be president."
Trump has kept his word. While the media wastes hours depicting him as a liar. There's that disconnect again.
Trump has kept his word. While the media wastes hours depicting him as a liar. There's that disconnect again.
11
Why does the Times persist on publishing these occasional articles pretending to be interested in what Trump Backers think now that their man is in the White House? In reality this is just a pathetic set up to subject these people to more derision and ridicule. The Times is the most elitist newspaper on the planet. Since when does it concern itself with what ordinary people think? It's so patronizing and comes across as "What do the simple people do?" And let's not forget about the coup de grace--the comments section where the elitist blogger community can heap all the contempt they want on people who -- wait for it -- actually voted for Donald Trump.
14
And frankly they deserve all the derision we can heap on them. Their lack of critical thinking and aversion to facts that don't fit their existing internal narratives have put this country in a mess not seen in generations. And it is only going to get worse. Ironically, they are probably the ones who will feel the negative effects first. The whole situation is pathetic and I personally have lost all sympathy for people whose response to their own bad situation is to make it exponentially worse.
5
The difference between the right and the left boils down to inhumanity .vs. humanity. I prefer humanity. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
29
President Trump; three times married; an adulterer; a serial philanderer; accused on multiple occasions of laying hands on women without their permission; a man noted for hanging around beauty contests throughout his adult life; a man with easy access to money and vacant hotel rooms. What odds are Las Vegas betting parlors placing on the likelihood of women emerging during his Presidency who will claim that he is the father of their children and/or procured abortions for them?
What’s not to like for Christian conservatives?
What’s not to like for Christian conservatives?
30
While I've no workable suggestion as to "how", this report and comments clearly example the "United States" is toast, and a formal breakup along both political and geographical (think gerrymandering, the Republican favorite monkey wrench) lines. Wherever and whenever possible personally, I want nothing to do with anything-or-anybody-Trump to the best of my ability. As an old guy, that should be relatively easy. For all of the younger citizens, I wish you luck. You'll need plenty.
19
The folks interviewed for this article definitely represent some, but not all, of Trump's supporters. Counter to the impression reinforced here, that all Trump voters are low-information, uneducated, short-sighted, selfish and lacking in critical thinking skills - both voting statistics, and the anecdotal observations of those of us with family and friends in the red states, show that a sizable proportion of Trump voters are people with university or advanced degrees, and in middle or upper socioeconomic echelons. Could we please hear from some of them, as well?
For the record, I disagree with many of Mr Trump's beliefs and actions, and I voted for Hillary.
For the record, I disagree with many of Mr Trump's beliefs and actions, and I voted for Hillary.
14
Indeed there were many well-educated people, with highly respected professions (like some of my family and friends), who devoted countless hours --- several months, actually,--- researching, debating, reading and listening to all points of view, before finally voting for Mr Trump. But the fact that this journalist decided to publish only what most of the snobbish commentators here think as socially low in status and education, shows this leftist media's agenda; to further divide people.
These people have no problem with laws that affect someone else's well-being. They will sing a different song when THEIR turn comes around.
18
Just because he does it and just because so many people like it doesn't mean that its right, moral, or nurturing of the America that the world holds in such high regard. Someone has to act like an adult in this government and do what's right not only what pleases a hungry crowd or niche of white supremacist, anti-government twitter followers. Our man-child president is being spoiled by an feckless Congress who seems more interested in keeping their jobs than leading the nation.
13
The unmitigated ignorance of Trump voters is breathtaking. Poorly educated people who literally think they deserve something because they're white, and for no other reason. Talk about entitlement mentality, sheesh....
44
If I am not mistaken, not one of them with a college degree or going to school to learn new skills.
21
Good heavens! They barely made it through high school if that, and mostly high school was about Friday night football. And yet, we can't deport them, or keep them from breeding or voting. So, yes, we have to deal with this problem, including the electoral college rules of the game.
1
Reading some folks from Texas I wonder, what happened to Texas ? Such a long way from a liberal progressive State to a cesspool bigots and narrow minded freaks. SAD!!
3
These articles about trump supporters need a bit more context. Please, NYT, take the time to situate this phenomenon in the context of white supremacy. White supremacy was crafted on a cesspool of race science and other made-up philosophies, but it is the foundation of any discussion about trump and his followers. To explain why evangelicals and the family values crowd adore the genital-grabbing, multi-married trump but despise President Obama, you must include the framework of white supremacy.
21
Donald has put on quite a show for these "marks". They are in amazement at his illusions of swift action. There really are "one born every minute".
13
Trump supporters are lavishing praises on him after his first appealing week in office. They equate arrogance, scapegoating and lies with good leadership skills. He makes them feel good even if he is a lunatic
20
There goes the merit society and the keys to the kingdom is given to the hairdresser, PTS guys that fought the Bush wars and small town cannery row people that serve up contaminated canned peas. The redneck Governor of South Carolina said at the UN that America owns the UN and what we say matters above all others, --democratically speaking of course. Then there is the Muslim ban which will prove shortsighted and counterproductive. The new world order is ugly and smart young people will go offshore to find happiness but certainly not join the military because wars are coming.
8
People who decry the fact that these interviewees are "all about me" and not focused on the poor and disenfranchised would do well to remember Maslow's hierarchy of needs. These folks feel they are the poor and disenfranchised. Those of us who are educated, successful, and not scrambling to feed our families are far better positioned for altruism.
At least one of the "NYT Picks" commenters bemoans how depressing it is to read the views of Trump supporters and pleads not to be subjected to similar stories. Bad idea. That's exactly the attitude that got Trump got elected. I'm shocked and pleased it was published because I want to know what everyone is thinking, not just the often smug choir that read and comment on the NYTimes (even if I mostly agree with them) and certainly not the woman-scorned editorials you keep publishing. I grew up in NY, subscribed to the Times all my life and this election cycle I switched to the WSJ and other sources to get a little balance. Please, keep publishing articles like this one so we don't glibly make the same mistake in 2020.
At least one of the "NYT Picks" commenters bemoans how depressing it is to read the views of Trump supporters and pleads not to be subjected to similar stories. Bad idea. That's exactly the attitude that got Trump got elected. I'm shocked and pleased it was published because I want to know what everyone is thinking, not just the often smug choir that read and comment on the NYTimes (even if I mostly agree with them) and certainly not the woman-scorned editorials you keep publishing. I grew up in NY, subscribed to the Times all my life and this election cycle I switched to the WSJ and other sources to get a little balance. Please, keep publishing articles like this one so we don't glibly make the same mistake in 2020.
21
I would like to see a repeal of the laws that say when Ms. Abdon and her boyfriend show up at the emergency room, we all have to foot the bill.
29
If they are leery of him??
1
got to love america
I wouldn't want to be the 2020 president. Too much of a mess to clean up
5
These "Backers" are the ones every single American citizen should fear. He bans immigrants from 7 countries. Imagine if we banned immigrants from Italy, Ireland, Greece, Russia, Poland, Hungary, etc. Isn't that what we all are now? Descendants of immigrants? This president is the greatest threat to world stability since Adolph Hitler. He should be imprisoned before he is known as exactly that. He will destroy America. One can only hope that his misguided "backers" reap their just rewards as well.
10
They had better take advantage of their brief moment of joy as long as it lasts. The not so silent majority in the former United States are now clamouring for secession : residents of New York, Massachusetts, California, Oregon, etc. do NOT want to be a part of the theocratic fascist state in the process of being created before our eyes.
20
These people live in small communities where conformism is the rule and anybody who is smarter than the average is made to feel unwelcome. Is there any surprise that the deepest divide in the country is between urban and rural voters? There is a process of self-selection, in which anybody with an ounce of brains and initiative moves to the metropolitan areas where jobs and education are, while the timid, the stupid and the poorly educated remain in their small towns. It is only the perversity of the American electoral system that puts the educated and successful urbanites at the mercy of people like the ones profiled in the article.
31
Trump backers will definitely wake up when they will be used as cannon fodder in a global war.
12
Why do I get, more strongly every day, the feeling that the U.S. is now being led by Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy??
6
Simply put, Mr. Trump is not a conservative. His actions appear to indicate a fascist orientation. It's not accurate to refer to them as "conservative."
12
This brilliant article reinforces the need to once again not underestimate Mr Trump and what he is capable of doing with this kind of support.
Liberals and moderates will have to examine how to reach out to these Trump supporters if they want to make a dent in next 2 years. Anti-Trump message will only help the pro-Trump group to gain momentum.
Democrats are unable to go for a kill like Trump et al can. this is indeed a sad story.
Liberals and moderates will have to examine how to reach out to these Trump supporters if they want to make a dent in next 2 years. Anti-Trump message will only help the pro-Trump group to gain momentum.
Democrats are unable to go for a kill like Trump et al can. this is indeed a sad story.
6
Agree
The Hillary campaign - which I supported - aimed it's guns at Trump, but wound up hitting his voters. They did not appreciate it.
Now we're all up in arms about Alternative Facts. Facts are pretty slippery, which part of the elephant are you holding? Is the glass half empty or half full ? Very subjective.
I distrust anyone who sees facts as black and white, regardless of their politics.
The Hillary campaign - which I supported - aimed it's guns at Trump, but wound up hitting his voters. They did not appreciate it.
Now we're all up in arms about Alternative Facts. Facts are pretty slippery, which part of the elephant are you holding? Is the glass half empty or half full ? Very subjective.
I distrust anyone who sees facts as black and white, regardless of their politics.
Any respect I once had for the integrity of the NYT 's editorial staff is dwindling fast. Their ultralight liberal spin on their coverage of Trump is disgraceful. What Trump has done is start the process of securing our borders, address our trade deficits, curtail the export of US jobs, reduce the size of our bloated government, and further strengthen our military. The term illegal alien speaks for itself. The ACA is anything but affordable for a small business owner. The rally cry that put him in office seems to allude liberals "It's the economy stupid" that what is being addressed. NYT should report the news and cease with promoting its liberal agenda.
8
Curtail the the export of jobs? Have you not been reading the news for the last 8+ years? More jobs are lost to automation and machines than go overseas.
And a lot of what you mention is good stuff...except that the way he is going about it goes against every ideal this country was founded on.
I suspect you, as many Trump supporters, are more interested in protecting your self interests than protecting the Freedoms outlined in our Constitution. Personally, I believe our Constitution is more important and any one persons job. I believe America should be the beacon of Freedom it was born to be. I believe we should live up to the words inscribed on our Statue of Liberty. I believe we should care more about protecting everyone's right to freedom instead of just trying to protect christian's right to freedom. This is America. Our freedom is what makes this country what it is.
Instead I hear a lot of people that what to deny freedom of others because they don't agree with them. That is biggest threat to America. We could keep all the jobs, not let anyone else into this country, have the strongest military in the world (which we already do), and if we start denying individuals freedom because we dont agree with their choices then America is no longer the country the Founding Fathers planned when they declared our independence.
And a lot of what you mention is good stuff...except that the way he is going about it goes against every ideal this country was founded on.
I suspect you, as many Trump supporters, are more interested in protecting your self interests than protecting the Freedoms outlined in our Constitution. Personally, I believe our Constitution is more important and any one persons job. I believe America should be the beacon of Freedom it was born to be. I believe we should live up to the words inscribed on our Statue of Liberty. I believe we should care more about protecting everyone's right to freedom instead of just trying to protect christian's right to freedom. This is America. Our freedom is what makes this country what it is.
Instead I hear a lot of people that what to deny freedom of others because they don't agree with them. That is biggest threat to America. We could keep all the jobs, not let anyone else into this country, have the strongest military in the world (which we already do), and if we start denying individuals freedom because we dont agree with their choices then America is no longer the country the Founding Fathers planned when they declared our independence.
1
I wonder how much they will like him when they lose their health coverage, their homes are foreclosed by the Wall Street bankers in the cabinet, they don't get any consumer protection, their streets are flooded and tornadoes hit their homes due to corrupt EPA new leaders, the food they buy from grocery stores and which comes from Mexico (avocados, rice, beans, meat) is triple the price, their military sons and daughters are at risk because of big mouth "take the oil" comments which the terrorist there have already made a video of...the list goes on including fracking from oil pipelines and the bursting of oil into their water.
I would say they deserve this man.
I would say they deserve this man.
34
Remember at trump rallies all these folk who looked like retirees (probably getting social security Medicare benefits). And a lot of other folks who could seemingly show up at any time of the day to rally for trump (not working?). Hmmm?
9
These people unbelievable, how can anybody can be that stupid, the history repeat itself, look how the great empires collapse before, they elected person toke them to the destruction.
6
You did not let my first comment through, because I called Trump supporters stupid. So, let me try again.
There are three types of Trump supporter.
1. Overt racists.
2. The true 1% who stand to save a large amount of money on tax cuts.
3. Stupid people.
This article, and the many like it written by the Washington Post, Guardian, etc. simply confirm that part #3 represents the largest percentage of Trump voters.
God help us.
There are three types of Trump supporter.
1. Overt racists.
2. The true 1% who stand to save a large amount of money on tax cuts.
3. Stupid people.
This article, and the many like it written by the Washington Post, Guardian, etc. simply confirm that part #3 represents the largest percentage of Trump voters.
God help us.
31
4. Misogynists
6
Interesting times. I'm sorry Trump didn't ban Saudis.. and there a few recent immigrants - naturalized Americans I would like to see sent away.
BTW I believe "may you live in interesting times" to be a curse!
(Do we have a design for the elegant wall yet??
BTW I believe "may you live in interesting times" to be a curse!
(Do we have a design for the elegant wall yet??
7
When I was a young boy we had a farm upstate NY. As city dwellers we would go there for weekends by way of the town's general store. The porch was always occupied by overweight middle age grumps that would suspiciously eye us forward, the store occupants would hush and immobilize as we went about the shop, to resume only as the car drove off.
As a middle age man we had a working farm in the Blue Ridges of Virginia, a similar general store and quasi identical towns-people appearance and behavior.
We had issues with these people, from cattle rustling, trespassing for the hunt to felling back forest old growth in our absence, but we were "furriners" from another world, shunned by their their incuriosity. When we had a field fire needing dousing by the local fire engine department most of the town dwellers followed the engine barbecues and all, literally covering for the day all the grounds around the house, leaving more damage (and garbage) than the fire itself.
Little changes in deep conservative, call it flyover country except the growing divide between them and the UFOs like us, no realization that red states as a whole are takers of the federal tax revenues for which blue states as a whole are donors.
Knowledge to lack thereof fills the gap separating these two increasingly divergent worlds, a gap which the GOP, Trump and other reactionary forces would use as foundational for their education policy designed to further segregate the haves and have nots.
As a middle age man we had a working farm in the Blue Ridges of Virginia, a similar general store and quasi identical towns-people appearance and behavior.
We had issues with these people, from cattle rustling, trespassing for the hunt to felling back forest old growth in our absence, but we were "furriners" from another world, shunned by their their incuriosity. When we had a field fire needing dousing by the local fire engine department most of the town dwellers followed the engine barbecues and all, literally covering for the day all the grounds around the house, leaving more damage (and garbage) than the fire itself.
Little changes in deep conservative, call it flyover country except the growing divide between them and the UFOs like us, no realization that red states as a whole are takers of the federal tax revenues for which blue states as a whole are donors.
Knowledge to lack thereof fills the gap separating these two increasingly divergent worlds, a gap which the GOP, Trump and other reactionary forces would use as foundational for their education policy designed to further segregate the haves and have nots.
37
Not a word about the greater good, loving one's neighbor or looking out for those who can't look out for themselves. Small-minded in the extreme. They would rather poison fellow citizens than submit to protective regulations. They would rather allow a mentally ill greedy showman run the country than an intelligent thoughtful woman who spoke of bettering the nation for man, woman and child. I'm done listening to them. It breaks my heart.
39
These are not my fellow citizens. I don't know who these people are but enemies. I want nothing to do with them There is no United States. We must break it up into the separate countries that it truly has become and is. The divide is so enormous and so extreme there will never be a reunification. So let's build that wall between the two Americas instead. Keep them out.
26
These are not my fellow citizens.
Believe me, the feeling is mutual!
Believe me, the feeling is mutual!
1
I understand you're hurting. So am I. Still, I have to say in no uncertain terms that this is the wrong approach, and it will not work. An escapist fantasy.
We, who did not vote for Trump, need to persuade others. We need to convince them there is a better way. We need to maintain fidelity to our values while showing them by example, not shouting, a better way. We need to come up with solutions that take care of their basic human needs without abandoning our ideals.
Geographically, the progressive regions are an archipelago surrounded by red. The red part has all the food, all the fuel, and all the guns. Most of the service members in the military come from the red part. How do I know? I'm blue, but I live in the red part.
How long do you really think this experiment of separation would last, Randé?
The only way to survive is to engage in a battle of ideas and win. Fantasies of partition do no good. Ask people who lived through the partition of India. How did that work out? And how did things work out the last time a group of states attempted secession? How many people threw their lives away to make a futile gesture? Your life is worth more than that.
We, who did not vote for Trump, need to persuade others. We need to convince them there is a better way. We need to maintain fidelity to our values while showing them by example, not shouting, a better way. We need to come up with solutions that take care of their basic human needs without abandoning our ideals.
Geographically, the progressive regions are an archipelago surrounded by red. The red part has all the food, all the fuel, and all the guns. Most of the service members in the military come from the red part. How do I know? I'm blue, but I live in the red part.
How long do you really think this experiment of separation would last, Randé?
The only way to survive is to engage in a battle of ideas and win. Fantasies of partition do no good. Ask people who lived through the partition of India. How did that work out? And how did things work out the last time a group of states attempted secession? How many people threw their lives away to make a futile gesture? Your life is worth more than that.
I suspect that this is a crowd who would conflate forethought, an interest in education and reading more than Facebook as "elitist." What if Cuomo wanted to ban their clueless selves from NYC, as they might bring guns and uninformed thoughts to our lil refuge from illiterate ignorami? Doubt they could find any of the countries on the banned list on a map. Please, people, stay where you are, you would not survive outside your bubble. Good luck when the other boot drops.
11
There is a hard core of angry folks - some wish to obliterate FDR's New Deal (safety nets) after 70 years,establish a white christian nation, install a 1950s TV fantasy of Father Knows Best, demonized those fancy educated folks and romanticize guys who work with their hands as well as guys with trophy wives & gilded wealth, reverse the Constitution's separation of church & state (Roe v Wade), free press, science, civility and global diplomacy.
It feels like a paranoid tantrum.
So Trump's claim that America is in carnage resonates with them. His first week looks like bold action. His preoccupation with his personal popularity is forgiven ...he is defending their Movement...no? Lies are jokes, trolling is provocative theater, sound policy isn't the point.
Will Congress say the Emperor has no clothes and have the courage to face the shrill minority's wrath and Brannon's snarl?
How strong are the true fiscal conservatives & principled patriots ?
It feels like a paranoid tantrum.
So Trump's claim that America is in carnage resonates with them. His first week looks like bold action. His preoccupation with his personal popularity is forgiven ...he is defending their Movement...no? Lies are jokes, trolling is provocative theater, sound policy isn't the point.
Will Congress say the Emperor has no clothes and have the courage to face the shrill minority's wrath and Brannon's snarl?
How strong are the true fiscal conservatives & principled patriots ?
18
Just a week in and we should no longer keep the truth that is bubbling up in our hearts from coming out of our mouths - The American Democracy is dead! This new president is on a certain path to a dictatorship.
This time it might not be the Jews who are the scapegoats but there are plenty of targets to be used. The "other" in 2017 is Spanish speaking Mexicans and "terror seeking" Muslims. Health care and other programs will be torn apart and then recreated so that thanks will be given to Trump. Enough people will get work through public projects (such as the building of walls, pipelines, and military hardware) that gratitude for employment will blind many to the complete loss of their political freedom.
See the blueprint followed by the leaders of Germany in the 1930s. You better study it because our one week old president surely has.
This time it might not be the Jews who are the scapegoats but there are plenty of targets to be used. The "other" in 2017 is Spanish speaking Mexicans and "terror seeking" Muslims. Health care and other programs will be torn apart and then recreated so that thanks will be given to Trump. Enough people will get work through public projects (such as the building of walls, pipelines, and military hardware) that gratitude for employment will blind many to the complete loss of their political freedom.
See the blueprint followed by the leaders of Germany in the 1930s. You better study it because our one week old president surely has.
18
That is precisely the point. It's yokels (they haven't ever seen a Muslim, haven't got jobs outside of building, agro, some retail and small industry) vs. urbanites (stuff everywhere, chose your posse, white collar arrogance...). The military is great and difficult to get in vs. I'm too smart to be told what to do. The police is order vs. the police is a bunch of power hungry morons. Bridging that divide? Only people who have lived in both areas could do that, explain the one to the other in a way that feels real. America is close to some kind of civil war. I am trying to respect people who voted for Trump (and not just against Hillary) but have a hard time and on the other hand, in order to defend a bit of unity, you obviously have to stop illegal and slow down general immigration. People really can be trained for most jobs within 3 months if they went to good public schools. But there are places in the US that should have been depopulated years ago because they have nothing (most of WV, a lot of KY...Appalachia in general.) or have nothing left (rust belt).
8
Mr. Cooperrider was absolutely right that “ Trump’s done more in five days than Obama did in eight years,”. With a pen and a Twitter account President Trump delivered more change than 'feel good'/ beautiful speeches / do nothing President Obama.
Whether ones agrees with President Trump or not, he deserves credit for actually doing something; delivering on his campaign promises, (this was only his first week in office!)
Unlike President Obama, he doesn't seem to be afraid of everything and everyone. The most combative establishment Republicans in Congress are mostly silent and do as they are told by President Trump.
Democrats can only be jealous of President Trump's utilizing his presidential powers to bully his agenda like LBJ, though the latter fought xenophobia and racism.
If President Obama had Mr. Trump's talent to forcibly push but for goals like minimum wage, maternity leave, universal healthcare, investment in real jobs and infrastructure, or if he helped devastated communities rather than big banks, Mr. Trump wouldn't have won the election.
Prosperous communities with good jobs, economic security, good healthcare and education and dignified retirement don't vote for a person like Trump.
Whether ones agrees with President Trump or not, he deserves credit for actually doing something; delivering on his campaign promises, (this was only his first week in office!)
Unlike President Obama, he doesn't seem to be afraid of everything and everyone. The most combative establishment Republicans in Congress are mostly silent and do as they are told by President Trump.
Democrats can only be jealous of President Trump's utilizing his presidential powers to bully his agenda like LBJ, though the latter fought xenophobia and racism.
If President Obama had Mr. Trump's talent to forcibly push but for goals like minimum wage, maternity leave, universal healthcare, investment in real jobs and infrastructure, or if he helped devastated communities rather than big banks, Mr. Trump wouldn't have won the election.
Prosperous communities with good jobs, economic security, good healthcare and education and dignified retirement don't vote for a person like Trump.
7
Issuing executive orders was the mark of the devil when Obama did it, out of necessity thanks to an obstructionist, do-nothing Congress. What's Trump's excuse? You're happy to let this tinpot dictator rule by fiat indefinitely with whatever crazy scheme he comes up with next?
Congressional Republicans sure are. They can get the things they want (end of regulation and the safety net, huge tax cuts for the rich, pipelines and seized land for fossil fuel development) while blaming Trump's not including them for the inevitable disasters. If the American people get screwed over they don't care. They're safe in their gerrymandered districts.
No, doing anything rather than nothing is NOT better when everything you're doing is odious and un-American, and every appointee is a threat to American institutions.
And Obama did nothing in eight years? Really? Another deliberate lie. You're as bad and un-American as your Orange Overlord. You think we're returning to America As You Knew It? We're not. And he's destroying America As We Know It.
Congressional Republicans sure are. They can get the things they want (end of regulation and the safety net, huge tax cuts for the rich, pipelines and seized land for fossil fuel development) while blaming Trump's not including them for the inevitable disasters. If the American people get screwed over they don't care. They're safe in their gerrymandered districts.
No, doing anything rather than nothing is NOT better when everything you're doing is odious and un-American, and every appointee is a threat to American institutions.
And Obama did nothing in eight years? Really? Another deliberate lie. You're as bad and un-American as your Orange Overlord. You think we're returning to America As You Knew It? We're not. And he's destroying America As We Know It.
2
When Churchill said "The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter", he was talking about voters like these. We need to educate our people! They are trapped in their little mind, full of anger and hate. This idea that they know better when they barely know anything is mind-boggling.
20
If only the Trump supporters would actually think....
For example, the estimated cost to build Trump's US/Mexico border wall is $15,000,000,000,000. The estimated total number of illegal immigrants entering the US from Mexico each year is 750,000. $15 billion divided by 750,000 is $20,000,000 to keep out one illegal Mexican immigrant each year. How many $20 million a year low information, poorly educated Trump supporter's jobs are being taken by Mexican illegal immigrants? Just think instead of believing Donald Conman Traitor Trump!
For example, the estimated cost to build Trump's US/Mexico border wall is $15,000,000,000,000. The estimated total number of illegal immigrants entering the US from Mexico each year is 750,000. $15 billion divided by 750,000 is $20,000,000 to keep out one illegal Mexican immigrant each year. How many $20 million a year low information, poorly educated Trump supporter's jobs are being taken by Mexican illegal immigrants? Just think instead of believing Donald Conman Traitor Trump!
21
The estimate of $15 billion is a ludicrous low ball figure meant to sell it to the rubes. There's over 1800 miles of border out there. Try $50 billion and you might be nearer the mark, though probably still low as Congress throws all those rich contracts to their buddies. But once it's started we'll just have to finish it, and the middle class American tax payer will pay for every cent, and for decades, since it will be deficit spending. So much for being a fiscal conservative, another Republican "value" thrown under the bus headed to Personal Power and Wealth.
"“It should be about America first,” Mr. Cottrell said. “We see way too many vets waiting in line, homeless, while we’re helping refugees and immigrants.”"
THAT is why Trump was elected, because enough sane people were beyond fed up with the national democratic party's operation to flood the country with impoverished central americans beholden to them with their future votes on the backs of the tax-paying native americans who wisely do not support their lunatic policies.
All I have seen in almost 500+ comments is personal attacks on the people in the article, few have admitted that the open borders lunacy by the democratic party and its massive costs hundreds of billions to support illegals was destroying the country.
Wake up clueless, liberal NYT reader drones and get your news from other sources...
THAT is why Trump was elected, because enough sane people were beyond fed up with the national democratic party's operation to flood the country with impoverished central americans beholden to them with their future votes on the backs of the tax-paying native americans who wisely do not support their lunatic policies.
All I have seen in almost 500+ comments is personal attacks on the people in the article, few have admitted that the open borders lunacy by the democratic party and its massive costs hundreds of billions to support illegals was destroying the country.
Wake up clueless, liberal NYT reader drones and get your news from other sources...
5
Good idea. I'll get my news from the basement of my imagination from now on, just like Trump supporters.
6
New Yorkers live in a multicultural society where they interact with people of all backgrounds and shades on a daily basis. I find insults are the classic retort from Americans who are not comfortable with diversity. Please remember that a 65 million snowflakes can become a storm.
9
Get your facts straight. Do some research on exactly who has been obstructing rational immigration reform. Hint: it isn't Democrats.
6
we have allowed the ignoramus class to actually control our destiny (for now, a very brief now).
thanks, vacuous rural america.
thanks, vacuous rural america.
12
If Trump supporters were proud Americans, why did they open the door to fascism under the guise of conservatism?
11
It is very obvious that from trump on down, they have no idea of what the 'Constitution' means.
8
I am afraid, even if it wasn't the most politic thing to have said, these people are certainly deplorable.
11
Sure they like him, because they're ignorant, convulsive, and bigoted.
Government by the least qualified !!
Government by the least qualified !!
10
i find it telling that his tweeting seems to be something we can all agree on--yes (!) he should stop tweeting--but for them folks its only a mildly embarrassing/childish act because they are not the ones being gassed by those tweets, the rest of us ARE--yep the majority of the american voters are being gassed. We are nothing to him but a wedge to divide us all so they can pillage. Don't you see that we are not that different than you?? WE are ALL americans, but somehow it only belongs to you? Your president, he is playing to you and no one else. The divider. He did that and will continue to do that until you realize that his hate is now your hate too, so is his fear. its your fear. You are not christians, your heart is empty your week and afraid and certainly not a patriot. Now more than ever we need strong people, patriots, not selfish self-serving cowards. He will not govern for ALL OF US ONLY SOME OF US. And you folk are ok with that. How can you live with yourself ?? Cowards. Selfish cowards. live free or die.
8
Dems focused on minority votes, but this election proved them wrong. Minority (Hispanic, African-american etc.) votes couldn't save them in states like FL and NC. Florida was stunning even with a huge surge in Hispanic turnout. And now Repubs are emboldened that they can safely ignore minorities. The "geographical divide" is mostly a media-created myth: there are many "deplorables" in NYC (one of them, though a "fake" one, is now in the WH) and there are many "coastal-elites" in Iowa.
7
As a fan of the movie "Full Metal Jacket", all I can say is that these Trump voters (aka Gomer Pyles) owe the American people "One Jelly Donut". Because they are "eating it" but "we are paying for it".
2
A primitive aspect of the species is conservatism. Holding onto whatever is left of a dying part of society, for the sake of self-assuring a place in a quickly changing world. Unfortunately, the primitive aspects of life in the 20th Century are behind us, and those whom continue to cling onto such conservative opportunism are doomed to be left behind, both economically as well as though natural-selection. Human-beings must learn to evolve in the 21st Century, and understand the new way of acquiescence and unity, cooperation, and advancement in order to survive, lest risk becoming extinct, written out of the evolutionary trajectory.
4
Build the wall! Around these people!
8
Mr. Cottrell, the Navy veteran, should know that it was the GOP congress that repeatedly refused the pass the Jobs for Veterans Act during the Obama years. They also wouldn't raise funding for the VA to expand, instead choosing to provide 20% less medical care for the same VA money by approving outside doctors.
The GOP opposition seems to have been to blame Obama rather than benefit veterans.
I know this because my son is a veteran as well as my neighbor's son. When they returned from service in Afghanistan they wondered what was delaying the Jobs for Veterans Act.
The GOP opposition seems to have been to blame Obama rather than benefit veterans.
I know this because my son is a veteran as well as my neighbor's son. When they returned from service in Afghanistan they wondered what was delaying the Jobs for Veterans Act.
19
You know, I was listening to news story today in which immigrants from Africa who made the dangerous trek across the desert and then got onto unsafe boats jammed with other migrants heading for Italy were telling their harrowing tale of how they risked everything in order to secure a better life.
And I thought: How do these people compare Americans who lament their way of life and livelihood being eroded due to globalization and sit and do nothing about it?
The Americans, similar to the ones profiled in this piece, simply come off as spoiled and lazy.
If there are no jobs in your community MOVE. If you don't have the necessary skills needed in this economy GET AN EDUCATION.
But don't blame others for your plight and vote a liar into the White House.
It is astounding to me the courage it takes to uproot yourself and risk everything in order to simply have a chance at a better life.
On the other hand, it takes no courage at all to whine at the beauty parlor or local dinner and while sitting and doing nothing to improve your lot. And unfortunately, we will ALL suffer the consequences for that lack of courage.
And I thought: How do these people compare Americans who lament their way of life and livelihood being eroded due to globalization and sit and do nothing about it?
The Americans, similar to the ones profiled in this piece, simply come off as spoiled and lazy.
If there are no jobs in your community MOVE. If you don't have the necessary skills needed in this economy GET AN EDUCATION.
But don't blame others for your plight and vote a liar into the White House.
It is astounding to me the courage it takes to uproot yourself and risk everything in order to simply have a chance at a better life.
On the other hand, it takes no courage at all to whine at the beauty parlor or local dinner and while sitting and doing nothing to improve your lot. And unfortunately, we will ALL suffer the consequences for that lack of courage.
19
We will see whether the same voters will hold the same opinion 4 years from now. Voters are fickle should the jobs promised by DJT did not come back and the economic circumstances in hinterland did not improve. So far Donald's shows are watching by his friends and foe alike, and we will see his reality TV can make the rust belt grow again. Stay tuned.
1
I get that we're not supposed to have contempt for these people. Still.
8
What would Christ think of this so called Christian's behavior?
8
Not only do some rank-and-file Trump enthusiasts continue to support him, but so, apparently, do the GOP legislators I've contacted.
I have asked Senators Mitch McConnell (Majority Leader) and Cory Gardner (Colorado), and Rep. Scott Tipton (Western Colorado) to "condemn or support,on the floor of Congress,Trump's wishing we had kept Iraqi in violation of international law". Further, I asked these GOP legislators to say yea or nay to Trump's threat to the First Amendment in which he (through mouthpiece Spicer) said "the press will be held accountable".
The failure of these elected officials to condemn even a few of Trump's wild-eyed edicts should be forever preserved by C-Span. In the future, people will judge those who allow a runaway train that threatens our country.
I have asked Senators Mitch McConnell (Majority Leader) and Cory Gardner (Colorado), and Rep. Scott Tipton (Western Colorado) to "condemn or support,on the floor of Congress,Trump's wishing we had kept Iraqi in violation of international law". Further, I asked these GOP legislators to say yea or nay to Trump's threat to the First Amendment in which he (through mouthpiece Spicer) said "the press will be held accountable".
The failure of these elected officials to condemn even a few of Trump's wild-eyed edicts should be forever preserved by C-Span. In the future, people will judge those who allow a runaway train that threatens our country.
5
Someone posted:
Please, no more reporting on the opinions of uneducated, ignorant people who have thrown us all under the bus by electing a lunatic into the oval office.
The responsibility belongs to Hillary Clinton. Why did she not step aside when her private email server was reveal and she repeatedly lied about it? Why did she not put the party and country ahead of her personal ambition?
Please, no more reporting on the opinions of uneducated, ignorant people who have thrown us all under the bus by electing a lunatic into the oval office.
The responsibility belongs to Hillary Clinton. Why did she not step aside when her private email server was reveal and she repeatedly lied about it? Why did she not put the party and country ahead of her personal ambition?
3
Garbage.
You think she should have, instead, grabbed men by their hoo-hahs against hit will, mocked disabled people, called captured and tortured US soldiers "Losers" for having been captured, attacked a Gold Star family, defrauded thousands of (desperate) Americans out of their money....??
But an unpacked private email server has you bent out of shape???
The bigots are the "deplorables". The email server hysterics are the "gullibles".
You think she should have, instead, grabbed men by their hoo-hahs against hit will, mocked disabled people, called captured and tortured US soldiers "Losers" for having been captured, attacked a Gold Star family, defrauded thousands of (desperate) Americans out of their money....??
But an unpacked private email server has you bent out of shape???
The bigots are the "deplorables". The email server hysterics are the "gullibles".
7
The responsibility lies with those to arrogant to vote for the best choice.
3
The Trump supporters seem to not only want things given to them--money, opportunity, waivers--but they also want someone else to suffer hardship or losses in the same breath. 'I want something good for me and I want that person or group to have something bad happen to them.' A few I've spoken to were even willing to settle for a penalty or hardship for "those people" when a windfall was not available for them. In short, they want the power to punish.
Shortly before the election our family hair dresser waxed rhapsodic during an appointment about Trump getting rid of "those people"...many of which are the salon's customers and contributors to the hair dresser's livelihood. I was appalled--this person denigrated the same customers who patronized the shop regularly, and who I knew tipped the hair dresser generously. That day the hair dresser lost a long-standing client, because my family and I won't be going back.
It's time to regroup, for those of us who care about an inclusive America, to protect the vulnerable, to encourage and strengthen our communities, to resist the "only one winner, me, me, me" mindset. I'll be focusing my efforts and resources on the America of the Statue of Liberty, not the grasping and nasty spirit depicted in this article. And it starts with how, and where, I choose to spend my money.
Shortly before the election our family hair dresser waxed rhapsodic during an appointment about Trump getting rid of "those people"...many of which are the salon's customers and contributors to the hair dresser's livelihood. I was appalled--this person denigrated the same customers who patronized the shop regularly, and who I knew tipped the hair dresser generously. That day the hair dresser lost a long-standing client, because my family and I won't be going back.
It's time to regroup, for those of us who care about an inclusive America, to protect the vulnerable, to encourage and strengthen our communities, to resist the "only one winner, me, me, me" mindset. I'll be focusing my efforts and resources on the America of the Statue of Liberty, not the grasping and nasty spirit depicted in this article. And it starts with how, and where, I choose to spend my money.
20
These are the folks who believe the sun rises in the morning and goes away at night. It does not occur to them that actually the earth rotates..the sun does not move. I do believe they feel left behind..behind in knowledge...behind in their grasp of technology...behind in their own efforts to make their lives better. Somewhere along the line they made choices which resulted in no progress. They are easily brought together when someone comes along who can smell the advantage of promising to make it all better and say "I believe the sun will come up tomorrow too".
9
I feel sad that some American people think we need to have such an angry, defiant and threatening tone in our president and our policies. Wishing for better, more hopeful and peaceful days.
8
Redistribution of wealth is the most difficult and explosive of all political tasks--but if it doesn't start happening soon, the melting pot will blow. All this right v left, conservative v liberal, immigrant vs anti-immigrant, wall v no-wall. trump v clinton, nra v gun control, pro-choice v pro-life is just a mighty wind. Eventually even the most ignorant people start to question why the tiniest fraction of our citizens control the vast majority of our wealth.
6
Trumps business practices, such as they were, were apparently coached by his good friend Roy Cohn -- sue early and often, and wear your poorer adversaries out. Trump sued anybody who criticized him (note, Melanie currently issuing a British paper), and dare anybody he stiffed in business to sue him. After these cases dragged on for years, he'd settle for retractions (from the defendants) and pennies on the dollar for the poor businesses he'd stiffed.
He seems to think you can govern the same way. His backers may think this is lovely, but note that Trump has instituted an expense and ill-considered hiring freeze. The senior litigators in the government are leaving, and the junior ones left behind will be swamped trying to defend all the lawsuits Trump has invited. You can assume he'll lose a good many of them.
So, when the GOP/Trump economic policies meet the cost of all this litigation, and the wasteful expenses of our government skyrocket, I wonder how happy Ms. Cotrell will be?
He seems to think you can govern the same way. His backers may think this is lovely, but note that Trump has instituted an expense and ill-considered hiring freeze. The senior litigators in the government are leaving, and the junior ones left behind will be swamped trying to defend all the lawsuits Trump has invited. You can assume he'll lose a good many of them.
So, when the GOP/Trump economic policies meet the cost of all this litigation, and the wasteful expenses of our government skyrocket, I wonder how happy Ms. Cotrell will be?
7
Surprise, surprise. Well, actually no surprise. It was difficult to read this article. I am tired of hearing the opinions of the 40% who helped put Donald Trump in the White House. I wonder what it will take for these people to realize they have been conned. Is there no bottom for them?
One of them is quoted saying that Trump has done more in five days than Obama has in eight years. Do we really need to hear this man's (limited) opinion and viewpoint? Let's hear from the folks who supported Trump who are beginning to realize that he is in over his head.
One of them is quoted saying that Trump has done more in five days than Obama has in eight years. Do we really need to hear this man's (limited) opinion and viewpoint? Let's hear from the folks who supported Trump who are beginning to realize that he is in over his head.
16
Tell me again why these people are not deplorable.
10
These Trump voters will feel like the Germans in 1945...but in far less time as the entire country implodes from a know-nothing narcissist working for a foreign power and a collaborating party to whom power is more important than the country, the voters, the nation's needs, and the Constitution.
4
The countless profiles of "heartland" America during the election campaign -- showing people who needed help, and were lashing out to blame someone, anyone -- galvanised me behind the candidate who was promising to strengthen healthcare, raise the minimum wage, and help bedraggled communities use their skills in new industries.
And then the results came in.
Now? I'm going to check people's voter registration when someone shares a link to their GoFundMe page. I'm going to harden my face and my heart against people who voted for the current president, because I know that whatever their struggles might be, there are those who opposed him and are struggling more.
The flurry online news and social media that bring us together also perhaps bring us too close to people who we'd be glad to help in the abstract regardless of politics, but whose opinions when stated out loud make us sigh, wish them the best, and tell them to take their problems to the orange emperor.
And then the results came in.
Now? I'm going to check people's voter registration when someone shares a link to their GoFundMe page. I'm going to harden my face and my heart against people who voted for the current president, because I know that whatever their struggles might be, there are those who opposed him and are struggling more.
The flurry online news and social media that bring us together also perhaps bring us too close to people who we'd be glad to help in the abstract regardless of politics, but whose opinions when stated out loud make us sigh, wish them the best, and tell them to take their problems to the orange emperor.
10
Correct me if I am wrong, but it strikes me that a lot of this must be the result of listening to the radio too much.
5
If he had just issued a ban on Syrian Muslim refugees it would have been a good week. But include the other executive orders and it was a HUGE week.
As a thought, perhaps the Wall can be paid for with all the Federal Funds that will be cut from Sanctuary cities. Just NYC alone you can probably extract 7 billion. Add in San Francisco and you might be able to build the wall and have money left over to deport the 11,000,000 illegal aliens.
As a thought, perhaps the Wall can be paid for with all the Federal Funds that will be cut from Sanctuary cities. Just NYC alone you can probably extract 7 billion. Add in San Francisco and you might be able to build the wall and have money left over to deport the 11,000,000 illegal aliens.
If you support the wall, pay for it out of your pocket and that of those who agree with you.
3
Check your math.
1
RE: The challenge Annette Cottrell pondered was how to grade President Trump’s stormy first full week on the job.
Stormy translation - The bleeding heart media is unhappy Trump is doing what he said he would do.
Stormy translation - The bleeding heart media is unhappy Trump is doing what he said he would do.
1
Correct. And you will be too. It's just going to take some a lot longer for dawn to light on their marble heads.
5
Living in a world controlled by some of these folks decision making reminds me of being in the car as a child with my drunk father behind the wheel. I survived but it was terrifying some days.
7
I have never felt ashamed of my country before. I do not know it any more. Nor its people. Hate has been set free, and we are its slaves. Our great American experiment is finished.
7
Sullied perhaps, but finished is going too far. Have we forgotten that the freedom we enjoyed was fought for?
2
The people interviewed in this article apparently don't know or don't care that there is a price to pay to live in a civilized society. They all want to be like Trump -- paying nothing but expecting everything.
7
an Iron Curtain has descended across America's borders, harbouring a neo fascist President elected by an institution of slavery the Electoral College.
4
I am done reading these articles as well. Nothing enlightening. They live in the land of alternative facts and when things don't work out as they hoped, and they won't, they will continue to scapegoat minorities instead of taking any responsibilities for their own actions.
356
The the thing I see is a lot of the people in these articles are upset because life is hard. They want someone to make it easy for them. They have no desire to protect America or our Constitution or the ideals this country was founded on. They just want someone to give them a secure future. They are not willing to work for it. These people are complaining the immigrants are taking their jobs, yet I dont see them working to build their own business like I see a lot of immigrants doing. I mean how can a person immigrate to this county with almost no resources start a store or bakery or whatever and build a life and yet they can't be bothered to do the same? The American Dream exists for those will to fight for it. The American Dream isn't handed out to you just for being born here.
Sure let's eliminate all environmental and food safety regulations because we will have such a spectacular health care program in place to treat our botulism and chronic respiratory illnesses.
7
You can't fix stupid. These people deserve what Trump will bring them:
-higher mortgage rates/insurance via repeal of Obama's rate cut;
-20% increase in goods from Mexico bringing higher prices at the Dollar Tree and Walmart;
-more expensive, yet inferior healthcare after repeal of Obamacare;
-higher taxes to pay for tax cuts to those needy billionaires.
-higher mortgage rates/insurance via repeal of Obama's rate cut;
-20% increase in goods from Mexico bringing higher prices at the Dollar Tree and Walmart;
-more expensive, yet inferior healthcare after repeal of Obamacare;
-higher taxes to pay for tax cuts to those needy billionaires.
5
However, "winning" an election so that policies can be enacted at the expense of the loser's interest e.g. to reverse Roe v. Wade, an expensive wall which will be prove to be impotent, and repealing a health care law as a political aspiration not a systemic solution, is not what democracy is about based upon its pre-Greek origins; hint: "jungle primary". This is why George Washington stated that we should avoid ALL political parties because they do what they are doing- create divisive factions which are then used to undermine the government which, in actuality, is "we the people"! Thus, by not following this principle of democratic science, and common sense, we are headed for a future of perilous uncertainty in the face of violating Cosmic Law. For no democracy can survive where the people are victims of a falsified consciousness!
Again, what most Americans don't understand, and this includes much of our intelligentsia, is that democracy, as a Universal template, is more a science than a political system. Thus, we better start changing for the better with President Trump, or any other president; for the Law waits for no one.
Again, what most Americans don't understand, and this includes much of our intelligentsia, is that democracy, as a Universal template, is more a science than a political system. Thus, we better start changing for the better with President Trump, or any other president; for the Law waits for no one.
1
The only question is: will the Constitution stand?
1
They think of themselves as self starter boot strap folks but they resent any reasonable regulations for safety and they resent having to contribute to society.
Ohio clearly needs basic lessons in civics.
They are Deplorable, selfish, self absorbed, greedy and angry.
Sigh.....
Ohio clearly needs basic lessons in civics.
They are Deplorable, selfish, self absorbed, greedy and angry.
Sigh.....
10
...And in charge! Take a number and we'll get back to you. Maybe.
I'd like a head count of these die hard Trumpeters. Where were they at Inauguration time. I'll bet conglomerate it's about 20% or less. Many marginally supported him. So Trumpeters can justify Trump's antics but they do not represent the Majority of America. Somehow, this Country has to regain momentum and start moving forward. Trump listen to John Lennon--how can I go forward if I don't know which way I'm facing.
4
But you really mean "new old America," New York Times.
Based on the NYT obsession and scrutiny with getting inside the head of a Republican lately, I'm beginning to think you guys don't think your readers hang out or even have family members who are conservative....
Based on the NYT obsession and scrutiny with getting inside the head of a Republican lately, I'm beginning to think you guys don't think your readers hang out or even have family members who are conservative....
Fracking may have been an economic boom but it's very unhealthy for us. We need to explore cleaner, alternative energy methods.
4
Help me understand! My biggest concern after reading this article is not that these individuals voted for Trump, but that some of them have problems with health and safety regulations. I am sure that there are some regulations that are redundant and ineffective, but safe canning procedures or updated silica-dust protections seem quite reasonable. Why would anyone want to abandon rules that protect consumers and employees is beyond me.
7
Standard New York Times dispatch from the Midwest, where the natives are protrayed an something out of a 1950's National Geographic piece on tribal practices.
Please stop trying to legitimize the Trump voter to the rest of us. We know who they are. We've been told to try to understand them, to sympathize with their plight, to feel their pain. I am tired of hearing their whiny complaints, their hatred, the insolence. These are not Americans, they are cultists of Fox News and the alt-right.
12
Nope. We don't need your understanding, we do not require your acquiescence and we are sick and tired of your assumed moral superiority. So either stand clear or be swept out with the tide. Your choice.
Scientifically designed random sample polls have their uses but so do articles such as this, which let people speak for themselves. There is insight to be gained. But I hope future articles will profile some of the 45% of college graduates who voted for Trump or the 37% of voters with post-graduate study who did so. I can understand how "low-information" voters could be conned but I do not get how so many educated people could rationalize to themselves voting for a flagrantly ignorant and mentally unstable person for president.
4
Reason for educated individuals to vote for a totally unqualified and dangerous man? Simple, tax cuts and greed.
6
Easy. It's called intellectual laziness
1
Today as a resident of a city on the coast and a Democrat I am supposed to accept the blame for the colossal failure of America. That I have for decades not understood, cared about or supported the needs of my fellow Americans in 'fly over country'. I am now told to search my soul and prostrate myself to right these terrible wrongs.
My desire for safety in the work place is selfish. My support of a minimum wage is only giving the undeserved a leg up. When I ask did the Democrats ever write a law or regulation that included the phrase 'except for the white working class in Ohio or Tennessee'?
I would like to know where the elected officials in Ohio go? What have they been doing to help their communities? For example, Mitch McConnel has been in government for what 20+ years? What has HE been doing to advocate for the people and businesses in his district? He has tremendous seniority and power. Has he not been able to do anything? Has he not be able to align himself with other Republicans to work towards support for their communities in Ohio, Kentucky or Oklahoma?
I think it is time to set the record straight. The Democrats do not have to accept the blame for the America 'catastrophe'. The GOP is equally if not more so responsible for the state of the union. President Trump's corrections to restore the glory of the forgotten are draconian lies for the benefit of the GOP elite. We are truly in an alternate universe today.
My desire for safety in the work place is selfish. My support of a minimum wage is only giving the undeserved a leg up. When I ask did the Democrats ever write a law or regulation that included the phrase 'except for the white working class in Ohio or Tennessee'?
I would like to know where the elected officials in Ohio go? What have they been doing to help their communities? For example, Mitch McConnel has been in government for what 20+ years? What has HE been doing to advocate for the people and businesses in his district? He has tremendous seniority and power. Has he not been able to do anything? Has he not be able to align himself with other Republicans to work towards support for their communities in Ohio, Kentucky or Oklahoma?
I think it is time to set the record straight. The Democrats do not have to accept the blame for the America 'catastrophe'. The GOP is equally if not more so responsible for the state of the union. President Trump's corrections to restore the glory of the forgotten are draconian lies for the benefit of the GOP elite. We are truly in an alternate universe today.
11
Now, now, that's not fair to poor Mitch McConnell. He has always worked tirelessly to support the coal barons and elite millionaires and billionaires of Kentucky. Give credit where credit is due.
Trump is impressing me with his steadfast commitment to fulfilling his campaign promises.
I feel like common sense and core American values are being reestablished decisively and without hesitation and delay.
Trump is showing amazing leadership. He is the right person for the office of the President of the United States.
We needed an outsider to cut through the partisan stalemate that has paralyzed our country.
Trump, my opinion of you increases with each passing day. My gut told me to vote for you, and sometimes you have to respect that gut feeling.
Congratulations on an amazing first week of presidency, president Trump. Ignore the ignorant taunts and bigoted, close-minded ridicule from the frightened progressives. They are trapped in a narrow and suffocating ideology without substance, so they strike out.
Forgive their ignorance and lack or self-awareness.
I feel like common sense and core American values are being reestablished decisively and without hesitation and delay.
Trump is showing amazing leadership. He is the right person for the office of the President of the United States.
We needed an outsider to cut through the partisan stalemate that has paralyzed our country.
Trump, my opinion of you increases with each passing day. My gut told me to vote for you, and sometimes you have to respect that gut feeling.
Congratulations on an amazing first week of presidency, president Trump. Ignore the ignorant taunts and bigoted, close-minded ridicule from the frightened progressives. They are trapped in a narrow and suffocating ideology without substance, so they strike out.
Forgive their ignorance and lack or self-awareness.
The ultimate irony is that it is the same "political correctness" decried by these people that prevents us from calling them out as the meth-assisted mobile domicile recyclable material that they are. If it was simply a matter of their ignorance and lack of education, then yes, they would be worthy of our (slightly patronizing) sympathy and deserving of our efforts to understand their "differing, but equally valid" points of view. But it is more than that: it is a value system that includes taking pride in their ignorance and denigrating those who do not. It is not merely being "too dumb to know they're dumb". It is also being too lazy and self-centered to even make the effort to understand why the "elites" have a better quality of life and are more insulated from the social, economic, and political upheavals in our country. I'm not sure how we bridge this divide, but politely ignoring it will not help.
13
@ Concerned: "I am not sure how we bridge this divide."
We don't.
The human body, when it encounters an infectious agent that the immune system cannot eliminate outright but is inimical to health, may wall it off, wrapping it in fiber and making what is called a granuloma. The bacillus or whatever may survive inside the granuloma but will not hurt a human who otherwise stays healthy.
The folks in question are not going to change much, but they are hurting themselves more than the rest of us, and in effect are walling themselves off. Their misfortune will increase as their numbers and influence decline. The rest of us will advance along the arc of history, faster if we mind our own civic health, i.e., vote. Let us hope that some of the others, most especially their children, join us.
We don't.
The human body, when it encounters an infectious agent that the immune system cannot eliminate outright but is inimical to health, may wall it off, wrapping it in fiber and making what is called a granuloma. The bacillus or whatever may survive inside the granuloma but will not hurt a human who otherwise stays healthy.
The folks in question are not going to change much, but they are hurting themselves more than the rest of us, and in effect are walling themselves off. Their misfortune will increase as their numbers and influence decline. The rest of us will advance along the arc of history, faster if we mind our own civic health, i.e., vote. Let us hope that some of the others, most especially their children, join us.
1
These are the types of people I've wondered about: Wondered what they would in a life or death situation and the only one there to save them was a minority: One of those Muslims, Blacks, Mexicans, Gays; Transgender Folks... What would they do? Would it change them? Or would they go back to business-as-usual?
3
Six months ago, I would have guessed this was from The Onion.
6
There are several comments here saying those of us on the left need to have compassion for people like the ones interviewed in the article. My compassion evaporated on November 8th at 11 p.m. I voted for Clinton because she had plans to improve Obamacare and for job training, things that would not directly benefit me. I did care about the welfare of the people who feel like they've been left behind which is why I voted against my own interests. I am one of the despised coastal elites who benefits from a Republican administration. But to me, the welfare of the country is more important than my own.
The people interviewed here obviously do not feel the same way so now I no longer feel any empathy for them. Instead I will do the best I can to ensure that the non-Trump voters will not bear the brunt of the abomination that was forced upon us.
The people interviewed here obviously do not feel the same way so now I no longer feel any empathy for them. Instead I will do the best I can to ensure that the non-Trump voters will not bear the brunt of the abomination that was forced upon us.
15
I am hoping this presidency is very short--shorter than 4 years. While Hillary certainly had her faults, I don't see her as deliberately alienating allies, provoking a trade war, or cozying up to Putin. I think the press would not have to fret over First Amendment rights being trampled on, nor would she have sanctioned any type religious, racial, gender-based discrimination. And, I think, maybe she learned her lesson about securing the electronic devices.
4
They all thught ther voices were suppressed and unheard? It turns out there was a perfectly good reason.
10
I see the majority of readers absolutely reject the comments from the Trump backers.
I will correct myself.
The readers do not only reject the comments, but reject the people themselves.
I understand that our country is divided and that there is actually two completely different "realities", but if the democratic party doesn't become a bit smarter and tries to understand these Trump voters, they might not be able to win another election in a while.
I will correct myself.
The readers do not only reject the comments, but reject the people themselves.
I understand that our country is divided and that there is actually two completely different "realities", but if the democratic party doesn't become a bit smarter and tries to understand these Trump voters, they might not be able to win another election in a while.
1
Electoral politics are a sham, so I don't see how it matters.
After the GOP gets through with their gerrymandering and voter suppression it will be impossible for the Democrats to win anyway.
I don't want them anyway. We tried that. Now it's time for the Socialists.
After the GOP gets through with their gerrymandering and voter suppression it will be impossible for the Democrats to win anyway.
I don't want them anyway. We tried that. Now it's time for the Socialists.
A minority of the minority that voted for Trump still doesn't have buyer's remorse. Or faking it. After seven days, counting two days off.
5
When they fall down, Democrats will be ready to help them get back on their feet.
4
Two increasingly diverging world views now in this country; maybe we should start thinking along the lines of two countries run independently?
5
I am a liberal and I oppose every policy that these folks support. But, like them, I care little about the brouhaha over attendance at the inauguration, voter fraud disputes, and conflict with the intelligence community and the Park Service. They merely confirm that Trump is petty and argumentative -- and who didn't know that? Besides, it seems to me that he is following instructions from advisers and acting in accordance with law. The great fear with Trump has always been the unknown. This first week suggests to me that he will govern traditionally while repeatedly being diverted by tangential unproductive arguments. In my opinion that is strong evidence that the fear of a devious and self-aware pursuit of fascism is not in the cards. And that means that we will survive intact to undo all he has done. Nothing is more important than that.
3
Authoritarianism must always choose to be so in every instance no matter so trivial. To do otherwise dispels the illusion of strength.
2
Donald Trump is our President, thanks entirely to the corrupt Clinton cartel, the corrupt DNC, the past eight years living under the weak-kneed President Obama, the historic level of inequality fostered by Obama and his administration during the last eight years, and of course thanks to the coastal liberals, and coastal liberal elites, all of whom, collectively, paid little to no attention to nearly every citizen living and trying to survive, beginning at a distance of less than 100 miles from the major coastal metropolitan areas.
On top of our failure to recognize that America has citizens living outside of these areas, we deprived millions of real employment, shipping their jobs anywhere and everywhere, constantly hunting for opportunity to reduce manufacturing costs, and reduce corporate tax rates, and then bringing the cheaper manufactured product back home to be sold to the unwitting Americans, realizing vast profits, and not passing one cent of savings back to the American consumer.
Not enough space to discuss how we are perceived by the rest of the world, except to note that we are viewed as a nation of opportunists, with nary a gram of empathy.
Capitalism bereft of common decency eventually destroys itself.
And still you imbeciles protest what you wrought.
On top of our failure to recognize that America has citizens living outside of these areas, we deprived millions of real employment, shipping their jobs anywhere and everywhere, constantly hunting for opportunity to reduce manufacturing costs, and reduce corporate tax rates, and then bringing the cheaper manufactured product back home to be sold to the unwitting Americans, realizing vast profits, and not passing one cent of savings back to the American consumer.
Not enough space to discuss how we are perceived by the rest of the world, except to note that we are viewed as a nation of opportunists, with nary a gram of empathy.
Capitalism bereft of common decency eventually destroys itself.
And still you imbeciles protest what you wrought.
8
Yes. Yes. Yes. And what you wrote was the story missed by the NYTimes, and every other media outlet. (They didn't even see that much of what you wrote was why Bernie Sanders stuck around so long.)
Because it was easier to simply call Trump and his supporters names.
Because it was easier to simply call Trump and his supporters names.
2
the two richest families on the planet live in kansas and arkansas. stop blaming the east and west coast populations.
your ignorance is glaring.
your ignorance is glaring.
3
Your definition of corruption is "making speeches for cash." All politicians do that. You definition of corruption is "facilitating meetings for wealthy donors." All politicians do that. The real corruption is the willfull construction of truth that redacts factuality based on source alone.
2
Well I do have to give it to these folks--they don't even try and pretend to be good people.
15
In trying to understand all that afflicts us now "In Praise of Folly" comes to mind.
And tears come to my eyes as I recall the visions of America offered by JFK, Bobby, Dr. MLK, and George McGovern.
And the future good that even a very flawed LBJ put in motion.
And heck while not really a fan I get and appreciate Reagan's appreciation of our Nation's better ideals and his willing to extend a peaceful hand to have them realized in an adversarial land.
And I remember a Republican Party that had room for a good man like Jacob Javits.
I curse not the misguided people who voted Trump in but I do the people who should have seen through their cynical apathy and dragged their sorry selves to the polls and saved their Country from the menace now in the WH and Congress.
I spent a good part of my youth in the military during a scary war many years ago. I hope 100% of us EVs take a simple hour out of their life to vote come mid-term.
You see I think most of us can see past their noses.
And tears come to my eyes as I recall the visions of America offered by JFK, Bobby, Dr. MLK, and George McGovern.
And the future good that even a very flawed LBJ put in motion.
And heck while not really a fan I get and appreciate Reagan's appreciation of our Nation's better ideals and his willing to extend a peaceful hand to have them realized in an adversarial land.
And I remember a Republican Party that had room for a good man like Jacob Javits.
I curse not the misguided people who voted Trump in but I do the people who should have seen through their cynical apathy and dragged their sorry selves to the polls and saved their Country from the menace now in the WH and Congress.
I spent a good part of my youth in the military during a scary war many years ago. I hope 100% of us EVs take a simple hour out of their life to vote come mid-term.
You see I think most of us can see past their noses.
6
Your definition of 'goodness' would be what?
These aging "real Americans" are so petty in their passions. It's time to stop the charade that such ignorant hillbillies represent the voice of true America. Fact is that the majority of the country rejects the mean agenda of Trump. Despite this period of backlash, the young generation will wait them out -- the future is ours.
19
More than anything, Trump's first week showcases the difference between a leader and a politician. Looking back at Obama's lazy, low-energy (lack of) stewardship, why would Americans ever want to go back to getting nothing done--and blaming everyone else for failure?
3
By "low energy" you mean "statesmanlike." That you are unwilling to acknowledge even a single accomplishment of Obama's should further reinforce to moderates what we liberals have been trying to explain to them: there is no talking to y'all.
5
Wow! Jesse-just wow!
Your idea of leadership is an insecure man who spends the better part of his first week in office complaining about the size of his inauguration crowd estimates? Leadership is having the audacity to disrespect those CIA agents that gave their lives for their country, by standing in front of their Memorial Wall and whining about the press?
If those actions define leadership to you, you need a new dictionary.
Your idea of leadership is an insecure man who spends the better part of his first week in office complaining about the size of his inauguration crowd estimates? Leadership is having the audacity to disrespect those CIA agents that gave their lives for their country, by standing in front of their Memorial Wall and whining about the press?
If those actions define leadership to you, you need a new dictionary.
3
Eventually the Trumpistas will be faced with the truth that they have been sold a bill of goods. The flurry of directives and what is likely to be much legislation in Ryan's 200 day plan is all politics. Trump to deflect attention and make him appear a doer and Ryan squarely aimed at the '18 election season. But eventually bad legislation will have to be paid for and using poorly thought or simply disingenuous legislation to inflate party numbers in 2018 will have a price. The question is by that time will Trump and company have scraped their winnings from the table along with tax protections and left the rest of us to pay for the folly. If Atlantic City is a germane history lesson the fleecing has just begun.
7
These interviewees no doubt squawk about programs known as entitlements (an unfortunate term misunderstood by too many), yet they display their ignorant sense of entitlement without shame.
Please, enough with the stories about how Trump opponents need to understand his supporters. We understand them all too well as whining reactionaries crying, "Me first!"
Please, enough with the stories about how Trump opponents need to understand his supporters. We understand them all too well as whining reactionaries crying, "Me first!"
5
Trump has been successful in convincing his followers that anything they read in a reputable source is a lie. If he continues to have the ability to convince these folks that he is the only truth teller, then the country is doomed. Simple logic can be used to debunk almost anything he says. For example, okay--he believes massive voter fraud caused him to lose the popular vote. Then he ups the ante: every single one of those votes went to his opposition. How on earth does he know how 3 million voters voted in secret?
While the NY Times tiptoes around the word "lie" because "lie" implies intent to deceive--if Trump is not lying and truly believes his truths, then he is need of psychiatric evaluation. To put it simply: Trump doesn't make sense. That there are so many that embrace his delusions is really scary.
While the NY Times tiptoes around the word "lie" because "lie" implies intent to deceive--if Trump is not lying and truly believes his truths, then he is need of psychiatric evaluation. To put it simply: Trump doesn't make sense. That there are so many that embrace his delusions is really scary.
9
Ya, uneducated, underpaid ignrorant whites love him! Way to go! We need to spend more on our public schools.
5
If half of Americans are "ignorant" and the other half apparently possessed of monumental arrogance, perhaps public schools are the problem.
Perhaps this online censors will allow this one:
So much unfairness in this column, so much wanton denigration by pandering NYT readers, so many writing, it seems, who were gorging for the last eight years on the self-righteous Liberal Imperialism being promulgated ad nauseam by the NYT and fellows broadcasting out of New York City's media-central. A Sovietized narrative suddenly set eschew by a few thousand votes from the once-forgotten rural regions of the nation. So sad for New Yorkers et al.
So much unfairness in this column, so much wanton denigration by pandering NYT readers, so many writing, it seems, who were gorging for the last eight years on the self-righteous Liberal Imperialism being promulgated ad nauseam by the NYT and fellows broadcasting out of New York City's media-central. A Sovietized narrative suddenly set eschew by a few thousand votes from the once-forgotten rural regions of the nation. So sad for New Yorkers et al.
4
There is typically a lag between submitting a comment and publication of a comment, especially (but not always) in late evening and night, because there are humans weeding out the spam, the deliberately inflammatory, the obscene, etc. A lag does not mean censorship. Sometimes it just means there's a lag, or not enough people to scan the submissions for violations of commenting policy.
4
Classic Stalinist media technique: Send "reporter" to the Midwest to interview opposition voters; post the "story" front page; and then open it up and let the local animals chew the innocent citizens apart with vicious comments and self-serving "insight". NYT editorial at its Trotsky best, for certain.
3
Lol, "classical Stalinist" is a reflexive ad hominem of conservatives trying to sound smart. You're not- but you're useful.
2
“Trump’s done more in five days than Obama did in eight years,” said Doug Cooperrider, 58, who works in construction repairing bridges and roads around central Ohio.
There's simply no way to combat this sort of "logic," and frankly it's not worth anyone's time to try. People like this are pure ideologues, their vote will almost never swing, and clearly they're operating in a completely different sense of reality.
There's simply no way to combat this sort of "logic," and frankly it's not worth anyone's time to try. People like this are pure ideologues, their vote will almost never swing, and clearly they're operating in a completely different sense of reality.
18
Perhaps not everyone who live in rural areas are stupid, willfully ignorant people, but it sure seems like a lot of the extraordinarily stupid ones are Trumpkins. No surprise there. I guess if there is any sense of justice in this whole thing, it will be when the next Trump-inspired recession/Depression strikes, and since life in small rural towns is often on the margin anyway, these people will get hit especially hard. I will have zero pity on them – let’s see if their savior and Messiah, Donald Trump comes to the rescue. He won’t.
10
"No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public (H. L. Mencken). To paraphrase a line from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, "They have morons on their team and they elected Trump with three million less votes." Unfortunately, the rest of us have to suffer this dangerous buffoon right now as the Trumpsters will have to wait to see the damage to their lives before it sinks in on what they have done to themselves as well as the country.
8
the mix of ignorance and fear has lead to the ascendance of donald trump. what is particularly is the outright rejection of obvious facts; choosing to believe whatever lie/distortion emanates from trumpworld.
this country is quickly devolving to secondary status.
this country is quickly devolving to secondary status.
8
"the mix of ignorance and fear has lead to the ascendance of donald trump"
You can thank FIX NEWS for actively promoting ignorance and spreading fear for 20+ years.
You can thank FIX NEWS for actively promoting ignorance and spreading fear for 20+ years.
1
Bottom line: these are no-nothings with real concerns. And the Republican Part takes advantage of them.
5
The Affordable Care Act was a half baked idea from the outset. Its underlying theory was developed by the Heritage Foundation as a conservative, Red Herring alternative to the Hillarycare plan of the early 1990s. Notwithstanding its conservative roots, not one conservative politician supported it when presented in Congress.
Under the Affordable Care Act, you try to force a bunch of insurance companies to sell insurance that they do not want to sell, and individuals to buy insurance that they do not want to buy. All while charging all risks, good and poor, as equal rates as possible. What could possibly go wrong? Well, it turns out, almost everything.
I am afraid we will be stuck with it for some time, because Trump insists it cannot go until something better is available to replace it. A Republican Congress is incapable of doing that.
I think that, inevitably, it will require an expansion of the number of people on single payer insurance. The Medicare age should be dropped to 50. This would take the oldest, and sickest, people out of the private insurance market, so that the shrunken private insurance pool becomes healthier. At the same time, the Medicare pool will also become healthier due to the addition of 50-64 year olds.
And drop the requirement that hospitals must treat anyone, regardless of the ability to pay. It allows people to think they can get away without any form of insurance.
Under the Affordable Care Act, you try to force a bunch of insurance companies to sell insurance that they do not want to sell, and individuals to buy insurance that they do not want to buy. All while charging all risks, good and poor, as equal rates as possible. What could possibly go wrong? Well, it turns out, almost everything.
I am afraid we will be stuck with it for some time, because Trump insists it cannot go until something better is available to replace it. A Republican Congress is incapable of doing that.
I think that, inevitably, it will require an expansion of the number of people on single payer insurance. The Medicare age should be dropped to 50. This would take the oldest, and sickest, people out of the private insurance market, so that the shrunken private insurance pool becomes healthier. At the same time, the Medicare pool will also become healthier due to the addition of 50-64 year olds.
And drop the requirement that hospitals must treat anyone, regardless of the ability to pay. It allows people to think they can get away without any form of insurance.
22
Totally agree. I will never forgive Joe Lieberman for striking out that Medicare option in the ACA. Dems need to get more proactive here. Draft it up and screams it from the rooftops and force the GOP to stop it. I think there are plenty of younger boomers and millennials who would love the simplicity of getting on Medicare.
1
I think that is a very incomplete summary of the ACA and an unconvincing argument as to its drawbacks. The ACA was designed, among other things, to increase access and affordability; one without the other is not logical, as people being offered insurance that they cannot afford is of no use. In order to make insurance more affordable, risk pools need to be diluted, which can be achieved by requiring uninsured individuals who are probably already healthy to join. While many complain - rightly or wrongly - about the fairness of this, the reality is that our society ultimately ends up paying for/suffering from the costs of ill individuals without insurance in other ways, whether it be from the costs of missed work/reduced productivity due to lack of adequate healthcare and/or poorer educational outcomes for students and their families who cannot afford medical care.
By saying, "I'm afraid that we will be stuck with it..., because Trump insists it cannot go until something better is available to replace it," you portray Trump as a reasonable actor, rather than one who is advocating removing necessary coverage from his base (those who probably benefit from it the most). This also ignores that Trump has not shown concern over providing a viable replacement.
And, finally, I would love to see data showing that people - in any substantial numbers - forgo purchasing regular health insurance because they know that they will not be turned away at the emergency room.
By saying, "I'm afraid that we will be stuck with it..., because Trump insists it cannot go until something better is available to replace it," you portray Trump as a reasonable actor, rather than one who is advocating removing necessary coverage from his base (those who probably benefit from it the most). This also ignores that Trump has not shown concern over providing a viable replacement.
And, finally, I would love to see data showing that people - in any substantial numbers - forgo purchasing regular health insurance because they know that they will not be turned away at the emergency room.
1
If hospitals treat only those with insurance, imagine what the triage function would look like after an accident or disaster event. Can't find the insurance card on the wounded patient? Sorry, over into the non-treatment line. Hospitals treat everyone because of medical ethics, sometimes known as morality. To deny treatment based on financial ability to pay is inhumane.
2
Let's see what these Trump groupies say when the GOP and his administration precludes those working for minimum wage from getting living wage increases, prevents those who are vets from getting federal jobs and VA care, ends their Medicaid, and decreases their Social Security and Medicare. Further, not to mention those with dire medical needs have their ACA yanked with less benefits, or preclusion for any benefits which were previously guaranteed. They'll get what they voted for, deservedly.
66
You just described how free market capitalism is SUPPOSED to work. Let's get government's fingerprints off every aspect of our lives and make us each responsible only to and for ourselves. If our labor is truly valuable to our employer, we will be appropriately compensated. If our taxes were where they should be, that is, miniscule, as government provides only the responsibilities enumerated in the Constitution, those who are responsible and thrifty could provide for their own retirement. And so on.
Best of all, he fights the corrupt leftist media and beats them again and again.
19
I don't think "beats them" means what you think it means.
1
At persuading fools, I guess. Great talent, lying to suckers.
1
Well your statement means nothing without an example. Faith-based faith in Trump is voluntary and meaningless at this point.
2
To the Trump believers:
I am a scientist; truth and objective reality are very important to me. I accept as fact what I can see with my eyes and verify with experiments and knowledge. These issues about crowd size and voter fraud aren't about liberal versus conservative viewpoints; it is about reality versus fantasy. The fact that a President and his followers cannot tell the difference due to their fanatical ideology is a serious problem for our country.
The is no such thing as "liberal reality" or "conservative reality" in this world; gravity is real regardless of your politics. To blindly follow a demagogue and never question him is the mark of a religious fanatic. For example, if you want to follow him off a cliff because he told you that there is no such thing as gravity, then go ahead. The problem here is that your "savior" is forcing all of us, believers and nonbelievers, to follow him because he is also the leader of the country we, all of us together, live in.
I believe in gravity; if I drop a rock, it will fall. I have seen it with my own eyes. That is objective reality and not a political viewpoint. The reliable media are trying to tell everyone that there is such a thing as gravity because it is an objective fact. If enough of you will stop believing in "alternative fact" and quit following a delusional messiah, we can keep everyone from falling off that cliff. The choice is yours: work with us to make America better, or follow a demagogue to our mutual oblivion.
I am a scientist; truth and objective reality are very important to me. I accept as fact what I can see with my eyes and verify with experiments and knowledge. These issues about crowd size and voter fraud aren't about liberal versus conservative viewpoints; it is about reality versus fantasy. The fact that a President and his followers cannot tell the difference due to their fanatical ideology is a serious problem for our country.
The is no such thing as "liberal reality" or "conservative reality" in this world; gravity is real regardless of your politics. To blindly follow a demagogue and never question him is the mark of a religious fanatic. For example, if you want to follow him off a cliff because he told you that there is no such thing as gravity, then go ahead. The problem here is that your "savior" is forcing all of us, believers and nonbelievers, to follow him because he is also the leader of the country we, all of us together, live in.
I believe in gravity; if I drop a rock, it will fall. I have seen it with my own eyes. That is objective reality and not a political viewpoint. The reliable media are trying to tell everyone that there is such a thing as gravity because it is an objective fact. If enough of you will stop believing in "alternative fact" and quit following a delusional messiah, we can keep everyone from falling off that cliff. The choice is yours: work with us to make America better, or follow a demagogue to our mutual oblivion.
459
Ranse,
Extremely well said. Thank you for speaking out.
Extremely well said. Thank you for speaking out.
1
Unfortunately Ranse, you probably lost them at "scientist".
3
I have a physics background, so let me give YOU some reality, economics-style: illegal aliens hurt the poor and siphon tax dollars away from needy americans, lower wages for middle and working class americans, etc. That's just as real as gravity and water being wet.
Continuing on the lunatic path the national democratic party would destroy the country, whose policy of importing impoverished future voters from south and central america since americans here don't support their garbage, idiotic policies, is not a realistic path.
Trump is no messiah, he is simply the first person in elected office beside Joe Arpaio to recognize that the status quo is untenable.
Continuing on the lunatic path the national democratic party would destroy the country, whose policy of importing impoverished future voters from south and central america since americans here don't support their garbage, idiotic policies, is not a realistic path.
Trump is no messiah, he is simply the first person in elected office beside Joe Arpaio to recognize that the status quo is untenable.
Can someone please tell me how the United States of America, the world's greatest democracy, has elected a president with such a demonstrably (in one week!) limited grasp of how government and world affairs works. It is really, really hard to imagine how a Trump presidency ends well.
188
Dear ARH,
Actually I can readily imagine how Trump's regime might end well. At the end of next week, his investigation reveals massive voter fraud, people voting in several states at once, some in his own inner circle, thus proving that he actually lost the electoral college. And he is forced to step down and subsequently tried for treason.
It's crazy, but it just might work.
Actually I can readily imagine how Trump's regime might end well. At the end of next week, his investigation reveals massive voter fraud, people voting in several states at once, some in his own inner circle, thus proving that he actually lost the electoral college. And he is forced to step down and subsequently tried for treason.
It's crazy, but it just might work.
Sure, I'd be delighted to tell you.
This week, President Trump, despite overt hostility from the national media which behaves as an extension of the DNC, fulfilled many of his campaign promises.
This is unusual politics as we know it, and even more unusual for media flacks used to a monopoly on information which now arrives faster via social media.
President Trump embarked on several populist themes supported by those who voted for him, using executive orders in much the same way as his predecessor, to get things started:
1. The pipeline is back in business. Environmentalists don't like it but job-hungry Americans do, and even the Obama administration determined that there would be more carbon pollution without it due to oil and gas being trucked into the US without it; (a win);
2. The wall on the southern border will be built. If it is not built, Trump has done more to move the paralyzed immigration debate than any executive in the past 40 years. The media reported "diplomatic war" between the Us and Mexico quickly devolved into a phone cal between leaders instead of a meeting. It will be fine, trade will continue, but all are on notice that there is now a President who takes sovereignty seriously (a win);
3. The President met with union leaders for 2 hours and listened. The union reps said they had never been treated better, not even by their Dem patrons. (a win for all);
4. The President took the first steps to keep us safe from Islamic fascism (a win).
This week, President Trump, despite overt hostility from the national media which behaves as an extension of the DNC, fulfilled many of his campaign promises.
This is unusual politics as we know it, and even more unusual for media flacks used to a monopoly on information which now arrives faster via social media.
President Trump embarked on several populist themes supported by those who voted for him, using executive orders in much the same way as his predecessor, to get things started:
1. The pipeline is back in business. Environmentalists don't like it but job-hungry Americans do, and even the Obama administration determined that there would be more carbon pollution without it due to oil and gas being trucked into the US without it; (a win);
2. The wall on the southern border will be built. If it is not built, Trump has done more to move the paralyzed immigration debate than any executive in the past 40 years. The media reported "diplomatic war" between the Us and Mexico quickly devolved into a phone cal between leaders instead of a meeting. It will be fine, trade will continue, but all are on notice that there is now a President who takes sovereignty seriously (a win);
3. The President met with union leaders for 2 hours and listened. The union reps said they had never been treated better, not even by their Dem patrons. (a win for all);
4. The President took the first steps to keep us safe from Islamic fascism (a win).
Maybe not for you but you didn't vote for him.
1
This was a hate campaign, you can blame the rust belt but there is a whole lot of regular folks that feel like all our problems will be solved with a wall.
We are deeply divided and now we have a congress that will make sure nobody has any rights except of course them.
We are deeply divided and now we have a congress that will make sure nobody has any rights except of course them.
59
It may seem that we're deeply divided, but if you pay attention the majority voted for Clinton. The electoral college went to Donald, but look at the protests! He has become POTUS with the lowest approval rating ever. Speaks volumes!
1
It was all about bigotry.
Look immigrants are coming here taking jobs as teachers, doctors, lawyers, journalists, secretaries, computer programmers, paralegals, etc. It's corporations that are taking advantage of the H1B1 visa rules, its corporations that are shifting jobs overseas because of lower labor costs thus increasing stock prices and their compensation. It's also due to automation. Sorry but it doesn't take 25 guys to build a car anymore. Its one guy, a computer and a robot. Go into any store nowadays and you'll find self check out counters everywhere. There are whole classes of jobs like secretaries, administrative assistants, telephone operators, clerks etc. that are going the way of the dodo bird because of computers and automation. Whether you like it or not those "good old days for white males" are gone.
1
My God, these people are really delusional! His first week has been an appalling embarrassment for the US in the eyes of the world, and these insular people just can't see it. An approval rating of 36% in week one is unprecedented, and indicative of just how out of touch with American values and desires the Narcissist-In-Chief is as he takes the U.S. over the cliff into a permanent reduced stature for this country.
118
They live in their small closed neighborhood with no touch with reality or the world. They have been left behind by their own stupidity, ignorance, lack of education and religious brainwashing.
Then comes a conman who knows what to sell to these people-fake promises. And they stand in line buying his wares. Then he leaves town and they are worse off then ever before.
Then comes a conman who knows what to sell to these people-fake promises. And they stand in line buying his wares. Then he leaves town and they are worse off then ever before.
3
If it is the NYT's intention to paint a picture of Trump voters with a very broad stroke, it has succeeded "bigly." Just look at the photos as well as the reasons, (or excuses) for their Trump enthusiasm. It is far from subtle. It has been revealed time and time again that the majority of Trump voters live somewhat cloistered lives with their like minded, uneducated neighbors, whose only concerns are their own self-interest. The rest of the world be damned. Make no mistake, I feel this is mostly true. However, I'm starting to feel manipulated by pieces such as this. I expect more from the NYT.
34
The reason for the broad stroke is that this IS the majority of his supporters. Some were racist, some were not bright, but most were hardworking people who chose to be willfully ignorant. The information was there - articles everywhere about bankruptcies, sexual predator habits, narcissism, personality disorder, etc. Sadly, Trump supporters bragged every time a mic was put in their face about how little they cared about city dwellers and what they considered to be the pursuits and problems of the elite. They didn't realize that the elite is about 2% of the population. Most city dwellers have the same hopes and dreams that they do. So we went out of our way to not vote for the buffoon who was openly racist and liked to peek at naked teenage girls at his beauty contests. We said no to the man who stiffed small businessmen time and time again and has professed sexual interest in his daughter. Even you agree it is "mostly" true. Then why does it make you feel manipulated to hear it? I'm not trying to be snarky with you. I really want to understand.
1
Dear Ann from PA:
During his "honeymoon" Trump has a 36% approval rating!! And this is even with the spike (temporary) in the stock market! It wouldn't be fair to say that EVERYONE hates him, but that only a third of the country approves of him IN HIS FIRST WEEK IN OFFICE. How low can you go? I'm guessing 20s or maybe high teens.
During his "honeymoon" Trump has a 36% approval rating!! And this is even with the spike (temporary) in the stock market! It wouldn't be fair to say that EVERYONE hates him, but that only a third of the country approves of him IN HIS FIRST WEEK IN OFFICE. How low can you go? I'm guessing 20s or maybe high teens.
Its taken you this long to realize that this "publication" is merely a propaganda arm of the national democratic party? Well I guess even Rip Van Winkle woke up after 20 years...
As the French say, and so eloquently: A chaque son gout. (Full disclosure: I'm a liberal elitist.)
22
Well, you're close. What we actually say is: Chacun à son goût.
There is zero to do about these people. Even when it crashes in on them, they will fight to the death not to admit they fooled themselves. Dems should stop wasting time learning how to talk to them and start working on the 100 million that didn't vote. Leave these folks to their delusions and ignorance.
166
I could be mistaken, but I see thought bubbles above these people: The Black President is gone, a white man is in power along with his all-white Cabinet (no Latinos, and token Black guy who's harmless), we're going to get a wall to keep out those Mexicans, and we're gonna stop those Muslims, too. And we miss the days when Mary Tyler Moore was on.
78
Exactly! It was about the Black man in the White House!
Miss Abdon,
If your boyfriend is not paying into the health insurance system then he is either very rich and able to cover any medical expense he encounters, which you wouldn't complain about the fee if were, or he will someday use the medicare system and not be able to pay. This is called freeloading, something the Republicans complain about when talking about assistance programs.
Note that I said when he uses the medical system. Unless someone dies without getting medical attention, i.e. a fast and usually tragic death, they will someday use the system. This is why everyone needs to be in the system. A $1000 fine (it's not that high but it should be higher) to a multi millionaire isn't woth complaining about so the 1% can just see it as a small tax, otherwise it is your insurance premium.
That is part of the individual responsibility conservatives talk about!
If your boyfriend is not paying into the health insurance system then he is either very rich and able to cover any medical expense he encounters, which you wouldn't complain about the fee if were, or he will someday use the medicare system and not be able to pay. This is called freeloading, something the Republicans complain about when talking about assistance programs.
Note that I said when he uses the medical system. Unless someone dies without getting medical attention, i.e. a fast and usually tragic death, they will someday use the system. This is why everyone needs to be in the system. A $1000 fine (it's not that high but it should be higher) to a multi millionaire isn't woth complaining about so the 1% can just see it as a small tax, otherwise it is your insurance premium.
That is part of the individual responsibility conservatives talk about!
144
Young healthy people need only catastrophic insurance very affordable. They don't need to spend $500 or $600 per month to pay for some old person who did not save for old age.
2
Or Miss Abdon, How about the fact that he will someday use the system (even at his age...could happen this year...for a sprained ankle, shingles...a malignancy) and show up at an emergency room? He will then be billed thousands of dollars he will need to pay. And if he goes to collections, he will be climbing out from under considerable debt that far outweighs the annual tax he should be paying. Or then again, the rest of us will be subsidizing his failure to pay his hospital bill, with higher premiums WE have to pay. Therefore the fairness of at least a tax on him each year.
Great response. So if her boy friend has no health insurance and gets into a serious auto accident requiring lots of medical care, then he should have to pay all his medical bills.
1
It's like his voters live in an alternate reality where they cherry pick their alternate facts.
120
This article is stunning, and I believe managed to quote the most ill-informed person on the planet, one Doug Cooperrider of Ohio, who says that Trump has "done more in five days than Obama did in eight years.
Perhaps Mr. Cooperrider is unaware that Obama only saved the entire economy from its meltdown at the hand of Republican policies. He saved the entire auto industry. He passed the first national healthcare bill in our history. He killed Osama bin Laden, while Dubya talked about it.
Trump has signed a bunch of executive orders demanding that things be done that can't be legally done. Demanding that the two pipelines be built only with American steel, for example, violates our agreement with the WTO and won't happen.
Mr. Cooperrider has seriously become the poster-child for the famous, or perhaps infamous. low-information voter. Good job, Doug.
Perhaps Mr. Cooperrider is unaware that Obama only saved the entire economy from its meltdown at the hand of Republican policies. He saved the entire auto industry. He passed the first national healthcare bill in our history. He killed Osama bin Laden, while Dubya talked about it.
Trump has signed a bunch of executive orders demanding that things be done that can't be legally done. Demanding that the two pipelines be built only with American steel, for example, violates our agreement with the WTO and won't happen.
Mr. Cooperrider has seriously become the poster-child for the famous, or perhaps infamous. low-information voter. Good job, Doug.
339
Seal Team Six killed Bin Laden -- Obama had literally nothing to do with it.
Blaming Bush is pathetic. If you saw the recent film, Zero Dark Thirty, it explained very well the hard work of many in the CIA and military to FIND Bin Laden and track him down, despite many obstacles, and finally kill him. It had very little to do with either President.
Blaming Bush is pathetic. If you saw the recent film, Zero Dark Thirty, it explained very well the hard work of many in the CIA and military to FIND Bin Laden and track him down, despite many obstacles, and finally kill him. It had very little to do with either President.
Yes and unfortunately when he remains jobless or underemployed, you and I will have to pick up the tab.
1
This is a right wing talking point that has been parroted a lot lately. This guy is just another parrot.
3
I can't wait until some of these people come to California to work in our fields, replacing the Mexicans who do a great job and should have legal status to do so. None of these whiners would last a day. If Mexicans cannot come to California to tend our agriculture, then agriculture will move to Mexico or elsewhere and we will all pay more for food.
230
Why have laws that will allow for migrant workers to be here legally, and working under decent and humane conditions, when you can have them here illegally, and therefore subject to no laws or regulations to protect their welfare?
The answer is to reform our laws, not to ignore them.
The answer is to reform our laws, not to ignore them.
10
Only 1% of illegal immigrants work in any form of agriculture.
The most common job for illegal aliens is CONSTRUCTION WORK.
I assure you, I live only about 90 minutes from Mt. Gilead (which is itself 45 minutes from Columbus, the State Capitol! and not isolated mountain village!) and I have SEEN WITH MY OWN EYES crews of illegal aliens working construction there....1200 miles from the Mexican border.
The most common job for illegal aliens is CONSTRUCTION WORK.
I assure you, I live only about 90 minutes from Mt. Gilead (which is itself 45 minutes from Columbus, the State Capitol! and not isolated mountain village!) and I have SEEN WITH MY OWN EYES crews of illegal aliens working construction there....1200 miles from the Mexican border.
Yes, absolutely. Why can't we reform the program to have the labor we need while treating people fairly and humanely and knowing who is here? The only reason we don't have that is that business/Ag loves its slave labor.
1
Perhaps not everyone who live in rural areas are stupid, willfully ignorant people, but it sure seems like a lot of the extraordinarily stupid ones are Trumpkins. No surprise there. I guess if there is any sense of justice in this whole thing, it will be when the next Trump-inspired recession/Depression strikes, and since life in small rural towns is so often on the margin anyway, these people will get hit especially hard. I will have zero pity on them – they can starve to death – and see if their savior and Messiah, Donald Trump comes to the rescue. He won’t.
43
You can be sure that in 5 years from now they will still blame Prez Obama.
You have to have that canning room so people who eat your syrup don't get botulism or some other foodborne illness. (I think that's a smart government policy cause one bad spoonful of syrup and you're out of business and that SBA loan can't be paid back.)
As someone who has worked with literally hundreds of illegal immigrants over the years and have found them far more hardworking than 95% of Americans I begrudge them nothing. Plus, let's be realistic; They are doing the jobs most Americans won't do. The majority of illegal immigrants pay taxes because they don't get paid in cash any more, and they are working on bogus SSN. They cash their checks at joints in the neighborhood and never file a return, so the government keeps all their tax dollars, but no one ever mentions that.
As someone who has worked with literally hundreds of illegal immigrants over the years and have found them far more hardworking than 95% of Americans I begrudge them nothing. Plus, let's be realistic; They are doing the jobs most Americans won't do. The majority of illegal immigrants pay taxes because they don't get paid in cash any more, and they are working on bogus SSN. They cash their checks at joints in the neighborhood and never file a return, so the government keeps all their tax dollars, but no one ever mentions that.
99
You don't need a gold plated canning room.
Thank you Chef D, exactly right! Billions of dollars go into SSI, Workman's Comp, Medicare, etc. out of undocumented workers' pay checks -- never to be claimed by them. Just wait until they're deported . . . opps, turns out 'they' weren't 'taking more than they give' after all. Why isn't this discussed more? There was a good article in the NYT a few months back with all the figures. Truth needs to be told!
They are the best, hardest working illegal aliens and far better than any Americans...but they fraudulently use stolen Social Security numbers. That is a FELONY!!! and you think they are so superior to us, your fellow American citizens, who do NOT commit fraud and who work legally.
And you wonder why you lost the election?
And you wonder why you lost the election?
Ignorance is a bliss. However, in the process, America as we know it, grew up and contributed to it, may be a thing of the past.
"America, that once was..,"
"America, that once was..,"
23
America run by yobs, nice while it jasted, huh?
The lack of leadership from the center is mind boggling. Someone must develop a narrative around which the righteous resistance can rally and unify. Every day that goes by Trump bores his anchor deeper into the government, and gains ever greater control over the data and information upon which policy must be debated and constructed.
We are months away from an elected, authoritarian regime that will continue to sow discord and confusion to cover its tracks as it hojacks everything we know as American democratic institutions and values.
POTUS is nothing more than a bloviating puppet of sinister right wing special interests. They play him and his ego like a fiddle. All the Chicken Hawks around him talk tough, and behave like the pigs on Animal Farm.
The next wall that goes up will be around the truth, and we may never see the other side again.
We are months away from an elected, authoritarian regime that will continue to sow discord and confusion to cover its tracks as it hojacks everything we know as American democratic institutions and values.
POTUS is nothing more than a bloviating puppet of sinister right wing special interests. They play him and his ego like a fiddle. All the Chicken Hawks around him talk tough, and behave like the pigs on Animal Farm.
The next wall that goes up will be around the truth, and we may never see the other side again.
37
John, I agree, and well stated. These are very scary times.
Moderate Congressman Tim Holden overcame a Gerrymandering injustice by upsetting veteran G.O.P. Gekas via the love of his Republican and Democratic constituents. The following Gerrymander awarded this Bi-Partison leader a Democratic District. Unfortunately the Democratic Primary replaced him with a wealthy liberal. They are no different than the Tea Party.
"But in more than two dozen interviews..." Meaningful sample. That's 0.00000007 of the U.S. population. Gimme a break. This is a high-school newspaper story.
15
OK Michael from Miami: If that's not enough of a sample for you, how about this? Trump's approval rating is now 36%
http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/27/politics/trump-approval-rating-quinnipiac-...
This, mind, you, is during the "honeymoon" period. It can only go down. And this is while the stock market has gone up considerably. I suppose the numbers would be even lower without that. The markets will come crashing down too. Just wait.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/27/politics/trump-approval-rating-quinnipiac-...
This, mind, you, is during the "honeymoon" period. It can only go down. And this is while the stock market has gone up considerably. I suppose the numbers would be even lower without that. The markets will come crashing down too. Just wait.
1
Many of these Trump voters have existed on a diet of right-wing radio and Fox News for over 25 years, They tend to believe that if something is stated as a fact on TV or radio it must be true. And even though they have been conned by Hair Duce, most of them will never admit they've been suckered, even with evidence presented to them. They'll just blame PBO, the Democrats and us liberal elites from both coasts. I will wear their blame as a badge of honor.
88
As they said in Star Wars:
"So this is how liberty ends - so thunderous applause."
"So this is how liberty ends - so thunderous applause."
41
Good argument for higher educational standards in public schools.
This America, is now what we reap.
This America, is now what we reap.
113
We have sixteen years of rookies first under Bush and then Obama. Now, we have a grandfather as President who is not perfect, however far better than earlier two predecessors. Media does not talk Trump spent far less money to win the election. Under Bush, It was wastage of money on useless wars which destabilized the Middle East. Under Obama, It was wastage of money under Stimulus. Under Obama Refugees/Illegals were treated far better than Veterans as well as US citizens. While Bush wasted trillions of dollars in Iraq War, Obama wasted close to $862 Billion on stimulus. Bush added five trillion to the debt, Obama added another ten trillion to the debt. Now, establishment Democrats, Republicans with media are against a $15-$30 billion wall. What a shame! Where were republicans fiscal hawks at the time of Iraq war? Why Democrats are not for inner city folks but for Illegals. How can Democrats do climate change, universal health care, free college education by taxing the billionaires? Math does not add up?
17
Obama deported more illegals than any other President.
For starters, health insurance companies should be non-profit, drug companies should be stopped g=from price gouging, that would make health care more affordable. Trickle down economics has not worked in the past. Why should it work now? Climate change is a fact, let's not turn back what we have accomplished. Billionaires could surely pay more, many of them agree. If public education cannot be free, just look back at CCNY in the 50's and 60's.
Stimulus $$ was wasted? Apparently your job did not go out the window because of the Great Recession.
The people that voted for this administration ( a clear minority of Americans ) want their country back from minorities and non-Christian denominations.
It's just that simple.
It's just that simple.
28
Aye FunkyIrishman, but of course it's not that simple, simple though they may be. This country was taken initially from non-Christians and minorities, but also, their motivations and desires go against the Constitution.
1
Actually, they wanted their country back from a Black President...and the liberals. Yes, it was a minority. One friend told me it's the last "hurrah" of the white conservatives. They are terrified that our nation is being taken over by "others"!
2
I can feel for people whose factory jobs were lost to automation or sent out of the country to cheaper labor by corporate executives, but folks ' victimized' by food safety laws, OSHA regulations or required to buy health insurance? Astounding!
80
Yes but the problem is they blame immigrants for those lost jobs. The immigrants had NOTHING to do with it. It was the 1% CEO that took their jobs and life away to increase corporate profits. So what do these ignorant boobs do...they elect a 1% guy who surrounds himself with the Billionaire Boys Club. And somehow they imagine that these billionaires that "forget" $100 million in assets are going to be their savior. Sometimes you just can't fix stupid. I have no sympathy or pity for these fools. The best thing to do is to let them drown in their own stupidity so the rest of us can move on.
Someone needs to point out that flashy signing of executive orders, some of which will not be allowed to proceed due to court appeals or because they need congressional approval, is nothing but show. One week he has glibly paid back his constiuency.
So now the pillaging can begin at the hands of the extreme right wing of the GOP.
So now the pillaging can begin at the hands of the extreme right wing of the GOP.
44
They also don't seem to realize that signing and executive order means nada, zilch, zero. It's Congress that must appropriate money for their beloved wall. It's also going to be interesting to hear all those red staters scream bloody murder when the gubmit wants to seize their border land to build "the wall".
1
And now with an actual Muslim ban, these people support our active engagement in a "holy war."
Some stupid acts cannot be undone.
Some stupid acts cannot be undone.
43
On reflection, this article is one that lifts my spirits a bit. This insight into the thought processes of the average uneducated white Trump voter has eased my mind on one subject.
I was worried that I was being too harsh on these people, that maybe they had some good reasons to vote for this lying traitor. Now I can feel fairly secure, I don't have to cut them any slack.
Now I can not care in the slightest what happens to these folks, and view them as traitors, acting out of fear, bias, or self-interest, to destroy my nation to their benefit.
I regret that in the probable bloodshed to come from Trump's misadventures, they're not going to be on the front lines. The terrorism that results from Trump's anti-Middle East acts will not hit them, in their small towns nobody knows, it'll hit me, in the biggest city in the U.S., and educated liberals like me. The nuclear war with China that Trump just might trigger over Taiwan is also going to hit me first.
The nice thing about that, is in that nuclear exchange, I will be vaporized right away on day one. They will get to live a couple of months at least, and I hope in that time they finally understand what they've done.
I was worried that I was being too harsh on these people, that maybe they had some good reasons to vote for this lying traitor. Now I can feel fairly secure, I don't have to cut them any slack.
Now I can not care in the slightest what happens to these folks, and view them as traitors, acting out of fear, bias, or self-interest, to destroy my nation to their benefit.
I regret that in the probable bloodshed to come from Trump's misadventures, they're not going to be on the front lines. The terrorism that results from Trump's anti-Middle East acts will not hit them, in their small towns nobody knows, it'll hit me, in the biggest city in the U.S., and educated liberals like me. The nuclear war with China that Trump just might trigger over Taiwan is also going to hit me first.
The nice thing about that, is in that nuclear exchange, I will be vaporized right away on day one. They will get to live a couple of months at least, and I hope in that time they finally understand what they've done.
86
@Dan Stackhouse, I too am over my guilt and looking forward to an instant vaporization - beats a slow radiation death. Love, your soul sister in Cali.
1
Six people in one small town in Ohio, and now you know EXACTLY how all 62 million Trump voters think -- enough that you LITERALLY wish they will all die horrible deaths from radiation poisoning.
And you wonder why we didn't vote for your candidate!
Gee Dan, maybe you can just buy an AR-15 and go to Mt. Gilead and gun 'em all down, for the crime of voting for Trump! I mean, you want them dead. You said so in B&W right here.
And you wonder why we didn't vote for your candidate!
Gee Dan, maybe you can just buy an AR-15 and go to Mt. Gilead and gun 'em all down, for the crime of voting for Trump! I mean, you want them dead. You said so in B&W right here.
1
You can feel whatever hate, disgust, fear, anger you want for these people. Your emotions are your right. But don't rationalize those emotions and blame them on others. They're yours.
These people you hate so much are human beings and your fellow countrymen. Whatever malice you feel toward them: own it. You have malice in your heart. It's okay. It only becomes evil when you try to claim that it's logical and necessary and justified. Don't be evil.
These people you hate so much are human beings and your fellow countrymen. Whatever malice you feel toward them: own it. You have malice in your heart. It's okay. It only becomes evil when you try to claim that it's logical and necessary and justified. Don't be evil.
1
Good lord. So this is what happened to Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg. Its people have found some comminity and cohesion, in the cause of a hateful, selfish, and utterly stupid demagogue.
36
I can't put my finger on it, but suddenly I've got "Beauty School Dropout" from "Grease" playing in my head.
24
With science taking a hit watch for the brain drain when scientists will be offered jobs,money and respect while working overseas. Who could blame them?
19
Nobody likes to admit they've been conned. Give it 100 days from the inauguration and then see if they are still in Trump's corner. Also, the idiotic comments from Trump don't matter. It's the policies. And the biggest battle is the ACA. If the GOP cannot come up with a decent replacement, most of these voters will sour on Trump and the rest of the Republicans. Focus on that, not Trump's daily ditherings.
21
Perhaps Middle America cares not for the coasts, for science, for Constitutional Rights, for plain compassion, for trade with our partners, and does not mind to create a religious war, destabilize Europe, and gift the world to Putin. Maybe all of those voters do not care about culture, art, and the elites --nor for orphan refugees, nor for the history of the United States.
However, some of us in the Coasts, in the actual Shinning City on a Hill, are wondering if we do not share ideals, an appreciation for our laws, are we still citizens of the same country? It is becoming clearer every day that many areas of America no longer *are* America. It is perhaps the time to march each our way.
We might share a language but we are no longer the same country. It is time for the Coasts to leave the Heartland and the South. It was a great Union while it lasted, but it is probably finished.
However, some of us in the Coasts, in the actual Shinning City on a Hill, are wondering if we do not share ideals, an appreciation for our laws, are we still citizens of the same country? It is becoming clearer every day that many areas of America no longer *are* America. It is perhaps the time to march each our way.
We might share a language but we are no longer the same country. It is time for the Coasts to leave the Heartland and the South. It was a great Union while it lasted, but it is probably finished.
38
Those areas are dying. They have refused to grow, to evolve. Drive through the south and Midwest sometimes, it's sad.
1
I agree with Mr.Cottrell our veterans come home from war in the middle east and other places and they are unemployed and have no work. There is still an ongoing problem with homelessness within the veteran population.They have to battle the VA for health care and other services. These Refugees have more back up than Elvis Presley. They come here to a job,a comfortable apartment,health care and English classes. We should be helping the veterans first. They fought for this nation and have more than earned the benefits they seek and need.
10
Right Marian, but so Trump puts a freeze on hiring in the Veteran's Administration?!?! Please, that will only make the problems worse, not better!
1
Helping refugees and veterans is not mutually exclusive. There is no excuse for not doing both. We should not turn our backs on those in need.
"Refugees have more back up than Elvis Presley. They come here to a job,a comfortable apartment,health care and English classes."
Um, no, they don't.
Um, no, they don't.
1
These uneducated people seem gleefully ignorant and narrow-minded about many things. I suppose they have spent too much time watching tv and now they have a leader they can finally approve of, a reality tv star.
36
Despite their rallying slogan, these people don't care a bit what happens to America. They don't care that a foreign nation interfered in our election, or that POTUS lies, or that 2 pillars of our government are colluding to destroy the very programs they depend on. They've voted against their own self-interests so long, it's just second nature to keep on and blame everyone else. They don't want to be understood by us, we're the enemy.
41
Stop with the us vs them speech already. Voting for Clinton did not serve the self-interest of those who rallied behind her in stongest numbers either (luke warm on climate change, minimum wage, blm, marriage equality, pro war, fossil fuels, tpp, pipeline) We are all victims of propaganda and its time to look in the mirror before spouting such retoric. Corruption everwhere- are you willing to no longer turn a blind eye towards your camp or is it always "go team go"? Walk the walk. Stay critical. Dems are oking his cabinet and selling out to big pharma while we laugh at Trump memes.
Trump's celebrity TV act certainly paid off with these folks despite his obvious lack of anything beyond the bluster. Sure he can sign anything, say anything, but that isn't how it really works. They live a fun house mirror of what they see on TV where Trump is a fast-talking ringmaster and Fox News feeds them the pleasure of seeing themselves as the victims of a vast left wing conspiracy. This election was one big middle finger at the educated, the arts, the scientists, the multicultural face of a true America that they will do anything to deny or blame. A giant raspberry at the prospect of embracing compassion and understanding, i.e., political correctness, the remote possibility of thinking beyond themselves. Well, those of us in the big cities have learned that getting along and feeling concern for your fellow humans (of any color, gender, or sexual preference) and the planet itself is not only possible but preferable. What a joke that the fattest of fat cats, a conscience-free libertine who represents the absolute worst of the most vilified of US cities is their new Messiah. A joke without any humor.
31
Our ancestors fled from people like this. We used to welcome immigrants with their work ethic and new ideas.
We are in decline and Trump voters are the proof.
We are in decline and Trump voters are the proof.
47
In Canada, Statistics Canada has always reported that immigrants are better educated formally and better professionally trained than native born Canadians of Anglophone or Francophone stock. In suburbs of Vancouver, B.C., the Chinese immigrant is far better educated and far wealthier than the native Vancouverite living in these areas. This, of course, riles the native to no end, as does copious Chinese signage, and has him or her calling on the government to curtail immigration so as to preserve Caucasian culture and race in the country. Many demand that the Muslim immigrant and refugee pledge allegiance to a system of presumed Canadian values that even I, a native born British Columbia, do not subscribe to because they are right-wing and racist. Yet they are purported to be pan-Canadian values, and those who purvey such views would love to see a Trump-like prime minister at the helm of government.
1
do us all a favor. nuke us as soon as possible. it will be your highest accolade in the history books.
6
The concept that everyone gets a trophy has ruined our culture. Trump supporters believe they are entitled to the jobs that their parents had with none of the hard work their parents put in to be qualified for those positions. It's always someone else's fault: the company, their parents, the family they started at far too young an age. My business can't find local workers who can pass a drug test and show up to work 5 days a week. I'm all for job creation, but we don't have the talent pool to support more manufacturing jobs. Somehow being an idiot, but being "real" has become the coveted social archetype. How do we come back from this brink of destruction when being intelligent and informed is a negative trait?
Ignorance cannot win, has not won, and we cannot stand for it. March at every opportunity. Love Still Trumps Hate.
Ignorance cannot win, has not won, and we cannot stand for it. March at every opportunity. Love Still Trumps Hate.
50
Thanks for this post. We've created this. We created this culture which emphasizes distraction, TV, entertainment, and facebook. People know the details of Disney movies,of the Kardashians, and of strange conspiracy theories, but they have no curiosity about the world and can't sustain focus enough to read history or biography or even fiction. I marched with the Women's March. I'll march with the environmentalists. Unions used to offer classes and lectures to their members. Community centers and libraries still offer educational programs (maybe not in these communities, I don't know) - but a peron has to value learning and being informed.
The only unemployed person in this article is a disabled vet, trying to get his claim from the VA processed -- how on earth do you get "unemployed folks who think they are entitled to their parent's jobs" from that? Everyone else in the article HAS A JOB. They are not complaining about THEIR JOBS.
1
I'm very happy to live in my liberal biased bubble of a city if those in the heartland think that this past week has been a resounding success. Let me read your opinions next year when Trump's film-flam promises, lies and executive orders amount to your being worse off than you were two years ago.
34
I really like safe food regulations. Just sayin'.
34
Interestingly, it was Americas open immigration position that allowed a draft-dodging Bavarian by the name of Fred Drumpf to immigrate to the US.
26
100 years ago, when our population was vastly smaller and we were a huge frontier that NEEDED immigration.
Today we are full up. Another century, new rules and regulations.
No other nation on earth has "open borders". Cancuk -- certainly NOT Canada which has strict immigration laws and strict borders.
Today we are full up. Another century, new rules and regulations.
No other nation on earth has "open borders". Cancuk -- certainly NOT Canada which has strict immigration laws and strict borders.
Exactly!
But it seems you DO need immigration. Its very hard to imagine bus loads of rust belters rushing down to California to pick fruit for a pittance.
I like these midwestern people with their Christian, all-American values right up front:
- they acknowledge Trump's lying, but they're kind enough to call it "exaggeration" - really thoughtful way of going easy on the old Prez's feelings
- gun rights tops their list, because of course, guns and their owners don't have any freedom in America
- they realize, unlike we "liberal elites" that our environment doesn't matter, when there's money to be made
- they understand, unlike coastal Christians, that Jesus' message was only meant for them; you just don't help non-Christians, Jesus meant it when he said it!
- they're not boxed into acting "politically correct" - no, they can admit when a black man fails
- even though they have no hispanics to speak of, they still aren't fooled; they can see what most of us cannot, that employers are paying less because of those handful of hispanics
- it's okay to spend money feeding and sheltering refugees, but don't make them feel welcome as you're doing it
- great to have a pro-life Prez in office again; make sure we have more babies, just don't give them food or medical care or educational opportunity or...well, you get the idea...let them live, but make 'em tough by giving 'em nothing to work with
- why be forced to prevent your employees from getting fatal lung diseases, when as the owner it can't happen to you?
- why be forced to produce safe food, when it's only other people who'll be consuming it?
Yeah, real salt of the Earth.
- they acknowledge Trump's lying, but they're kind enough to call it "exaggeration" - really thoughtful way of going easy on the old Prez's feelings
- gun rights tops their list, because of course, guns and their owners don't have any freedom in America
- they realize, unlike we "liberal elites" that our environment doesn't matter, when there's money to be made
- they understand, unlike coastal Christians, that Jesus' message was only meant for them; you just don't help non-Christians, Jesus meant it when he said it!
- they're not boxed into acting "politically correct" - no, they can admit when a black man fails
- even though they have no hispanics to speak of, they still aren't fooled; they can see what most of us cannot, that employers are paying less because of those handful of hispanics
- it's okay to spend money feeding and sheltering refugees, but don't make them feel welcome as you're doing it
- great to have a pro-life Prez in office again; make sure we have more babies, just don't give them food or medical care or educational opportunity or...well, you get the idea...let them live, but make 'em tough by giving 'em nothing to work with
- why be forced to prevent your employees from getting fatal lung diseases, when as the owner it can't happen to you?
- why be forced to produce safe food, when it's only other people who'll be consuming it?
Yeah, real salt of the Earth.
52
Bravo! Truth!
1
Donald Trump is doing what he said he was going to do. That is the reason these people are so positive about Trump's first week. But while Amanda doesn't want her boyfriend to have to pay a health care tax penalty, someone else's boyfriend, father, sister ect. will no longer have access to life saving health care that they currently have.
19
That is NOT how the Individual Mandate works -- the penalty does NOT go to pay for someone else's health care.
And when Amanda's boyfriend needs the same life-saving health care, he won't have it either. The selfishness and short-sightedness of these people is truly astounding.
1
Trump's not going to save you. Maybe you should have tried a little in school...
28
Just wait till they find out that Obamacare is the Affordable Care Act. Till they find out who is expected to pick up the slack when corporations pay no taxes. Less healthcare and higher taxes are only two of the things all of us ordinary folk have in our future. Till a conservative court whacks away at individual liberties and ensures that the minority of the populace that voted for the current president are heavily armed and encouraged by said president to work their will with them.
"The carnage now" os the first lie he uttered. The carnage actually begins now and sill be carried out and supported by billionaires and "businessmen" who don't understand that government is not about making money, but rather about collecting it and spending it wisely. The men and women who America have made rich want only to get richer and more insular.
CONTIMPTIBLE!!!!!! SAD!!!!!!
"The carnage now" os the first lie he uttered. The carnage actually begins now and sill be carried out and supported by billionaires and "businessmen" who don't understand that government is not about making money, but rather about collecting it and spending it wisely. The men and women who America have made rich want only to get richer and more insular.
CONTIMPTIBLE!!!!!! SAD!!!!!!
15
I don't understand these people at all. There are a lot of pictures floating around the internet today of some Jewish refugees. They and their boat were denied entrance to the US during WW II and they returned to Europe where they most likely were murdered by the Nazis. Don't the people you interviewed realize that they're doing that to the Syrian refugees, not to mention putting the lives of our servicemen and women and members of the diplomatic corps in danger by this idiotic and cruel ban on Muslim immigration. "Under informed" is one thing, cruel and heartless is another.
32
Not only that, but the US bears a great deal of responsibility for creating the conditions from which the refugees are fleeing. As a nation, we're all too eager to drop bombs on other countries, but we completely ignore our moral responsibility to help those whose suffering we have caused. It's shameful.
Let's make HATRED, BIGOTRY and RACISMS great again! That's the New American Exceptionalism.
23
I do not agree with the Trumpkins, but I understand their frustration. For too many years, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have ignored the plight of the middle class. Stagnant wages, and skyrocketing health, food and housing costs have left scars that will not easily go away. Unfortunately, that horror of a human being in the White House and the feckless GOP will do nothing to fix the problem. All they care about is fattening their wallets and suppressing basic human and civil rights. God help us when they nominate a right-wing justice. We won't even have the judicial branch to shield us from their oppressive agenda.
12
Comments dripping with contempt and superiority complex.
NYT should allow sorting comments by least recommends at the top.
For those of us who prefer to read only candid comments and avoid the echo chamber.
NYT should allow sorting comments by least recommends at the top.
For those of us who prefer to read only candid comments and avoid the echo chamber.
9
What precise emotion should we feel for people who want to breath carcinogenic air, sell potentially unsafe food, and freeload on other people's healthcare premiums? Pray tell us.
2
Bhaskar: you appear to be one of those people who castigates the fellow who puts down an analytical and critical comment about the Trump supporter as being elitist, contemptuous and superior. Hey, Trump won over these persons by his slogan of telling things as they are, so why can't an educated liberal such as RESISt80 just above, for instance, tell it as it in relation to these folks? There is a great deal of truth in what he writes and the article implies. Americans are suppose to be entrepreneurial, self-starting and energetic, so why have so many of the rust belt people been left in the wake if it's not that they don't possess these qualities as well as an education??
3
When the situation calls for contempt and superiority, some people call it like it is. Others prefer "alternative facts."
2
I am not a Trump fan. However, I believe that President Trump has made one contribution to our democracy: he has convinced voters who were apathetic and uninvolved to get active in local, county, state and national issues. I attended a meeting last night in Tarrytown, NY. The room was packed with first time activists upset with President Trumps plans to destroy Planned Parenthood, the environment- his initiatives against immigrants and against gun safety, among many other issues. I did not know most of the attendees but believe that some will eventually run for public office and win. Thanks to Donald Trump - a new generation of leaders is being created. PAUL FEINER, Greenburgh Town Supervisor
52
I agree! Those who were apathetic, who didn't believe their vote counted...have learned a very painful lesson! I am still very angry at those who voted for a third party candidate, for those people gave us the creep in the White House!
1
Thank you Mr. Feiner for sharing this because until I got to your comment I was still feeling dreary. Yes, that is what it takes. They will not be complacent nor will they ever again think that someone else will take care of it.
Trump right now is like a kid helping you cut the grass. Lots of action for 10 minutes and then gets bored and quits. Let's see how he's doing in a month or two!
11
These are the people Democrats are supposed to "reach?"
38
Their food prices are going to go through the roof when Trump ejects all the people who pick fruit and vegetables and work in slaughterhouses, warehouses and restaurants. There's a reason many Europeans spend 30 percent plus of their income on food.
19
i love how liberals are ok with paying poc below the standard of living as long as they keep quiet. Signed someone who actually cares about humanity. P.s. Mexicans do more than replace the labor of the formerly enslaved Africans and regardless of what Trump wants to do you should be ok with paying fair wages.
I don't want to reach out to these people, I don't want to compromise. These are not fellow citizens. This is not my country.
28
As an reporter friend of mine noted about these folks years ago, we don't have time to debate them. We need to defeat them.
...The reason why Dems lost the Election ?
What is amazing is that these people live far from the terrorism they fear and even the immigrants they loathe. It reminds me of after 9/11, when those of us who were personally affected and live in the areas of the attacks were attacked verbally by Americans living far, far from the attacks, told we sang "Kumbaya" to terrorists, didn't "get" 9/11, etc. It was so offensive. It seems to me that those who live in the heartland have only fellow Americans to fear, yet they speak as though they are the ones under threat. They aren't. Yet those of us who do live in the areas most likely to be struck get up, go to work, refuse to give in to fear, and terrorism, and terrorists.
Unfortunately our fellow Americans, sitting safely in the heartland, are making it difficult. Their fantasies have taken hold of the country, while reality is taking a sabbatical. They are the personification of fear itself being the only thing to fear. Altough, I admit to being very fearful of the stunning ignorance and even stupidity seeming to possess so many Americans, including our new very frightening and vulgar president.
Unfortunately our fellow Americans, sitting safely in the heartland, are making it difficult. Their fantasies have taken hold of the country, while reality is taking a sabbatical. They are the personification of fear itself being the only thing to fear. Altough, I admit to being very fearful of the stunning ignorance and even stupidity seeming to possess so many Americans, including our new very frightening and vulgar president.
34
Yeah, I am sure those Soviet nukes are pointed straight at CAPE COD! the better to blow up all those $900K beach cottages!
I gather you are not aware that there are missiles and silos all over the Midwest? And Western States? and that any missile attack would hit there first -- not Cape Cod?
I gather you are not aware that there are missiles and silos all over the Midwest? And Western States? and that any missile attack would hit there first -- not Cape Cod?
Trump could do no wrong for these die hard supporters. it is very apparent that most of them do not care for immigrants or world trade as they all live in homogeneous enclaves with very little exposure to outsiders. These individuals do not speak for all Americans. The founding fathers had them in mind when they created the much hated electoral college. Please be aware that this is not an endorsement of an outmoded voting system which need to be in the annals of history.
9
I live in Atlanta and have had a getaway place in the North Georgia Mountains for 22 years. And I'm originally from New England. 73 and retired. So I get to see all sides. Urban, rural, liberal and conservative.
Mostly good folks wherever I go but a distinct contrast the further you are from a big liberal city. In these mountains their quiet until they get to know you. Once that happens you start to hear everything you read in this article only worse. There's a seething anger and dislike for liberals (city people). And unfortunately it's not going to improve until........ I have no idea, and little hope for them. They are truly lost in this world economy.
Mostly good folks wherever I go but a distinct contrast the further you are from a big liberal city. In these mountains their quiet until they get to know you. Once that happens you start to hear everything you read in this article only worse. There's a seething anger and dislike for liberals (city people). And unfortunately it's not going to improve until........ I have no idea, and little hope for them. They are truly lost in this world economy.
39
A salon owner, a retail clerk, a construction worker who is paid by federal and state contracts, and a person who doesn't like to ensure her product is safe. These people believe Trump will improve their standard of living?! How about educating yourselves and finding jobs in professions that actually provide a living, like most of the people who have already left your town? Get real, people. The government does not owe you a living. Stop whining and begging for uncle Donnie to come to the rescue.
29
Upper, I love that you have been so politically incorrect in stating this! Gee, I've suddenly taken a liking to political incorrectness! Well, your brand, not the Trump brand!
That lady owns her own salon! And construction workers earn a good living! One man is a disabled veteran -- are you sneering at him, too?
The lady who cans maple syrup sounds like she's got a pretty big home business, as well. Maple syrup is quite profitable in Ohio.
You have a lot of nerve mocking their businesses and lifestyle; who made you God? Do you never get your hair cut in a salon? Do you mock the owners of salons in Seattle? Or construction workers there? because they all don't work for Microsoft?
The lady who cans maple syrup sounds like she's got a pretty big home business, as well. Maple syrup is quite profitable in Ohio.
You have a lot of nerve mocking their businesses and lifestyle; who made you God? Do you never get your hair cut in a salon? Do you mock the owners of salons in Seattle? Or construction workers there? because they all don't work for Microsoft?
1
The ignorance expressed by some of the people in this article is staggering and now there's a president willing to sign on to this stupidity. I've been calling my members of congress, participated in the women's march (with plans for more), sign every petition I can, attend meetings of opposition groups when I have time. But honestly, I feel like the know nothings are here to stay and growing. Some times I wonder if my time would be better spent working out how to emigrate to a more progressive country.
31
Okay, we get it, NY Times. Most of Trump's supporters are angry, under-educated, bigoted and woefully misinformed. That space under the bottom of the barrel you just scraped? Yeah, that's where a lot of them will be found. 'Nuff said.
So how about you report on our country's widespread voter suppression? The gerrymandered districts? How about you report, often if not incessantly, on the convenient purging of the voter rolls that always seems to target reliably Democratic voters right before people start voting? Or how about the missing votes for President not even three months ago on thousands of ballots in primarily African American districts in Michigan?
You can continue to chase Trump's childish histrionics, letting that reliably crazy dog wag your tail, or return, again, to the mind numbing venality of some of his supporters which ends up being a stomach-turning read at best. Or you can get busy reporting on what really matters and what's truly, horrifyingly, affecting our democracy: the GOP's systematic assault on our right to vote.
So how about you report on our country's widespread voter suppression? The gerrymandered districts? How about you report, often if not incessantly, on the convenient purging of the voter rolls that always seems to target reliably Democratic voters right before people start voting? Or how about the missing votes for President not even three months ago on thousands of ballots in primarily African American districts in Michigan?
You can continue to chase Trump's childish histrionics, letting that reliably crazy dog wag your tail, or return, again, to the mind numbing venality of some of his supporters which ends up being a stomach-turning read at best. Or you can get busy reporting on what really matters and what's truly, horrifyingly, affecting our democracy: the GOP's systematic assault on our right to vote.
56
This article and many of the quotes reaffirm to me that Trump's great skill is the way he communicates.
President Trump's vacillates between two distinct communication styles that are woven together by the thread of emotion. One is a world of manifestly incompatible and inconsistent statements, and the other is a world where he communicates in intellectually vapid, wholly meaningless and vacuous statements, often in unintelligible run-ons and non sequiturs.
The result of Mr. Trump's communication style is that he leaves enough space and enough options for the listener to find whatever it is that they want to hear. He is essentially willing to leave **everything** he says up to the interpretation of the listener, allowing them to find and latch onto a narrative that they find personally appealing if they so chose.
In essence, Mr. Trump is constantly "groveling," in his interpretation of the word where (paraphrasing from his ABC interview) "he wants to say something that the listener wants to hear but not that he necessarily wants millions of people to hear or have to hear."
President Trump's vacillates between two distinct communication styles that are woven together by the thread of emotion. One is a world of manifestly incompatible and inconsistent statements, and the other is a world where he communicates in intellectually vapid, wholly meaningless and vacuous statements, often in unintelligible run-ons and non sequiturs.
The result of Mr. Trump's communication style is that he leaves enough space and enough options for the listener to find whatever it is that they want to hear. He is essentially willing to leave **everything** he says up to the interpretation of the listener, allowing them to find and latch onto a narrative that they find personally appealing if they so chose.
In essence, Mr. Trump is constantly "groveling," in his interpretation of the word where (paraphrasing from his ABC interview) "he wants to say something that the listener wants to hear but not that he necessarily wants millions of people to hear or have to hear."
12
The ignorant can be educated. Not so for the wilfully ignorant.
19
Agreed. And neither can you "fix stupid."
1
The beliefs and views expressed by the people interviewed in this article make me profoundly sad for this country. The level of ignorance and selfishness they appear to be proud of is astounding.
Our only hope is that every journalist works hard to expose the virulence and hypocrisy spewing from this administration, and that we, the people, are willing to pressure Congress and take to the streets in order to preserve what America should be.
Our only hope is that every journalist works hard to expose the virulence and hypocrisy spewing from this administration, and that we, the people, are willing to pressure Congress and take to the streets in order to preserve what America should be.
14
PDE
THE ADMINISTRATION IS NEARLY ONE WEEK OLD. GIVE IT A CHANCE.
THE ADMINISTRATION IS NEARLY ONE WEEK OLD. GIVE IT A CHANCE.
3
He gets the same chance Obama received - none.
1
NO.
1
These selfish people, without a hint of shame or awareness, felt comfortable expressing their ignorant, self-interested opinions. Their provincial opinions elected us a mentally ill tyrant who compulsively lies, and they dismiss it with a wave of their hands. Their speak proudly of him, he who will trash our environment, pollute out world, take away consumer protections and steal their money, Social Security and Medicare. They are to blame for electing a mentally ill despot; please stop giving their myopic opinions a megaphone. They don't deserve one.
26
Mr. Kelsey is against regulations that will keep his product from damaging the environment and the human beings that work for him.Typical republican. Imagine if we had no regulations....as his hero Trump wants. Businesses like Kelsey's would be dumping their poisons in our rivers and streams, polluting our air and poisoning our kids.
13
4 out of 5 pictured are obese by current standards. what are their health care premiums now? and what will they be when they lose their health insurance?
the hair stylist is severely obese and is breathing toxic fumes all day long while standing on her feet for hours upon hours daily. and she thinks she can lay brick?
i am tired of listening to these people that have made themselves obese in this modern age. we have known for at least 50 years the importance of nutrition, exercise, and maintaining a proper weight.
as a man in my low 50's, that takes no medications and has maintained my health properly for my entire life, i am tired of paying higher premiums for my heath insurance to offset the cost for these unhealthy people.
no one should have to pay for their ignorance. except themselves.
the hair stylist is severely obese and is breathing toxic fumes all day long while standing on her feet for hours upon hours daily. and she thinks she can lay brick?
i am tired of listening to these people that have made themselves obese in this modern age. we have known for at least 50 years the importance of nutrition, exercise, and maintaining a proper weight.
as a man in my low 50's, that takes no medications and has maintained my health properly for my entire life, i am tired of paying higher premiums for my heath insurance to offset the cost for these unhealthy people.
no one should have to pay for their ignorance. except themselves.
12
Amen! Also, I am all for supporting our Vets, but question how a 34 year old man cannot get some skills, no matter his circumstance, that would make him employable -- at least part time...
Each of the narratives presented in this article made me wish we could establish a separate country for these motivation-less leeches. The country would be Christian, minority-free, devoid of healthcare and educational opportunities, and equipped with "telescreens" constantly looping Hannity and the Apprentice (pre-Arnold).
Each of the narratives presented in this article made me wish we could establish a separate country for these motivation-less leeches. The country would be Christian, minority-free, devoid of healthcare and educational opportunities, and equipped with "telescreens" constantly looping Hannity and the Apprentice (pre-Arnold).
1
Obamacare makes insurers take everyone.
"But in more than two dozen interviews this week ..."
I wonder if any effort was exerted to make these interviews typical of random people who voted for Trump, or whether those mentioned here are just happened to be the most interesting interviews to write about. And I wonder to what extent interviews conducted within earshot of other people can be accurate reflections of the interviewees' true feelings.
I wonder if any effort was exerted to make these interviews typical of random people who voted for Trump, or whether those mentioned here are just happened to be the most interesting interviews to write about. And I wonder to what extent interviews conducted within earshot of other people can be accurate reflections of the interviewees' true feelings.
6
the opinions span all sorts of reasons. that alone provides a list a spectrum of data.
2
One person interviewed wants her boyfriends health care penalty tax repealed, but I'll bet if he gets badly injured in a car wreck, she'll want other taxpayers to pick up the bill. Another doesn't like the safety equipment she's required to have to ensure her maple syrup is safe. Guess she wants to go back to the days when people put anything out there and it was "buyer beware" as to its safety.
23
Bread and circuses they cried. The end of the republic and the start of empire. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
Et tu America?
Et tu America?
24
The election of Donald Trump was illegimiate as shown by these exmaples of voter registration fraud:
Steve Bannon, Mr. Trump’s strategist, was registered to vote in Florida and New York, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune found.
Tiffany Trump, Mr. Trump’s youngest daughter, was registered in Pennsylvania and New York, NBC News reported.
Sean Spicer, his press secretary, was registered in both Virginia and Rhode Island, according to The Washington Post.
Jared Kushner, his son-in-law and close adviser, was registered in New York and New Jersey, according to The Washington Post.
Steven Mnuchin, who is nominated to lead the Treasury Department, was registered in New York and California, CNN found.
LOCK THEM UP!!! LOCK THEM UP!!!
Steve Bannon, Mr. Trump’s strategist, was registered to vote in Florida and New York, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune found.
Tiffany Trump, Mr. Trump’s youngest daughter, was registered in Pennsylvania and New York, NBC News reported.
Sean Spicer, his press secretary, was registered in both Virginia and Rhode Island, according to The Washington Post.
Jared Kushner, his son-in-law and close adviser, was registered in New York and New Jersey, according to The Washington Post.
Steven Mnuchin, who is nominated to lead the Treasury Department, was registered in New York and California, CNN found.
LOCK THEM UP!!! LOCK THEM UP!!!
40
Being registered to vote in two places and voting in one is different than people who are not supposed to vote voting.
1
That makes no sense. You register in the state where you live; it is not required you "de-register" from your old state.
As long as those people only voted once, in their proper state of residence, no wrong doing has been committed AT ALL.
As long as those people only voted once, in their proper state of residence, no wrong doing has been committed AT ALL.
To the woman who wants to repeal the fine her boyfriend pays because he refused to purchase health insurance:
Is she also in favor of repealing the law that states an emergency room must treat an emergency regardless of ability to pay?
Her boyfriend is a freeloader who wants the taxpayer and hospital and other responsible insurance holders pick up when her boyfriend shows up at the emergency room.
Is she also in favor of repealing the law that states an emergency room must treat an emergency regardless of ability to pay?
Her boyfriend is a freeloader who wants the taxpayer and hospital and other responsible insurance holders pick up when her boyfriend shows up at the emergency room.
90
The law (EMTALA) says the ER must treat you. It does not say the ER must treat you FOR FREE.
If her boyfriend has a job and any assets...he will pay rack rate for that ER visit and be dunned by collection agents, and have his wages garnished.
THE ER IS NOT FREE! that is a total lefty lie.
If her boyfriend has a job and any assets...he will pay rack rate for that ER visit and be dunned by collection agents, and have his wages garnished.
THE ER IS NOT FREE! that is a total lefty lie.
The pride in self-centeredness, and the absolute refusal to think critically, is a recipe for socio-economic disaster. I am someone who knows about the disparaging articles on working class whites that appeared in conservative magazines over the last few years . I know about Charles Murray's tomes on white working class, which oddly enough were the similar to the opinions spouted about African-Americans since...forever. I am an African-American, city slicker who was disgusted to learn that a writer of one of these articles said, "let them all die out", something that would never have gotten a pass if said about a minority group. But now, as the months go by following the election of Donald Trump, and the more more these proud "deplorables" talk, the more my concern about them for fades. Let them live with the fallout of the fate they've chosen for themselves, taking comfort in each other, as appears to be their desire. I'll save my concerns for those of us who are unwillingly stuck in the muck with them.
34
New York Times,
How about showing all these poor Trump voters you interviewed the comments of all of us who don't support their Dear Leader? Let them know what we think of them, for a change.
How about showing all these poor Trump voters you interviewed the comments of all of us who don't support their Dear Leader? Let them know what we think of them, for a change.
23
They know...why do you think they voted for Trump?
5
They know what Fox News told them. They should at least get it straight from us.
I have no patience with people who believe "fer'ners" are undercutting them, and that's why they aren't doing as well as they imagine they should. I have minimal sympathy for a veteran who believes that vets would be getting better treatment IF other people were treated badly. I want business owners who believe safety regulations are inconvenient,(so workers developing lung cancer, or consumers with food poisoning should be accepted as a fact of life), to be barred from the industries with which they are associated - or tarred & feathered.
I have no patience with people who believe "fer'ners" are undercutting them, and that's why they aren't doing as well as they imagine they should. I have minimal sympathy for a veteran who believes that vets would be getting better treatment IF other people were treated badly. I want business owners who believe safety regulations are inconvenient,(so workers developing lung cancer, or consumers with food poisoning should be accepted as a fact of life), to be barred from the industries with which they are associated - or tarred & feathered.
2
They wouldn't care. They are insulated against what the rest of America thinks or feels. The right-wing sources they rely on for their information have already delegitimized our most reliabel news sources, including this one. Tehre is nothing that will convince them they they voted irresponsibly and thereby elected an unstable, irresponsible, unsuitable, and hypcritical man to the most powerful office in the world.
Reading this article and the attendant comments leaves me feeling that the US is starkly divided into two populations. Democrats and Republicans can no longer maintain civilized discourse. And I don't fault the Democrats. It goes back to Newt Gingrich and the demonization of Bill Clinton in the 1990's. Newt's "Contract for America" was, put simply, oppose and obstruct anything put forward by Democrats. It's been a downhill slide from there. Fast forward to Mitch McConnell and we're hearing Newt's words from a talking mud turtle.
It's no exaggeration to say the US is more divided now than at any time since 1860. In the stepwise program from Gail Collins, I'm still on step 1. Pour me another Scotch, please.
It's no exaggeration to say the US is more divided now than at any time since 1860. In the stepwise program from Gail Collins, I'm still on step 1. Pour me another Scotch, please.
11
Yes! Never forget, when someone brings up the lack of socializing between the parties to
promote collegiality and facilitate bipartisanship it was Gingrich who ordered his troops "do not even make eye contact" with the Democrats. He in the house, McConnell in the senate and Limbaugh in the media are the three who have done the most to weaken our foundations of liberty and justice.
promote collegiality and facilitate bipartisanship it was Gingrich who ordered his troops "do not even make eye contact" with the Democrats. He in the house, McConnell in the senate and Limbaugh in the media are the three who have done the most to weaken our foundations of liberty and justice.
14
Right now his tough talk would seem impressive. I get that.
When things go to heck in a hand basket after they find out he has no real plan beyond tough talk, they will be very quiet.
When things go to heck in a hand basket after they find out he has no real plan beyond tough talk, they will be very quiet.
9
Half of the entire federal civilian work force is employed by just two departments: the Pentagon and the VA.
Funny to hear these people complain about government regulations while at the same time waiting for the government benefits.
Why would anyone be against environmental research? Especially in a tombstone strewn cess pool like Ohio?
Funny to hear these people complain about government regulations while at the same time waiting for the government benefits.
Why would anyone be against environmental research? Especially in a tombstone strewn cess pool like Ohio?
19
Be careful what you wish for, especially the young lady who is eager to repeal the Affordable Care Act so her boyfriend can avoid the tax penalty. I hope you and everyone else who wants to gut the ACA are fortunate enough to never get sick or have a serious illness. Those who have a medical history will be left out in the cold.
19
The ACA has only been in effect for 3 years, this month. It went into effect January 2014.
So everyone got on fine before this, and they will get on fine after it is dead & buried, as it is a total failure and only enriches Big Insurance.
So everyone got on fine before this, and they will get on fine after it is dead & buried, as it is a total failure and only enriches Big Insurance.
Actually as much as these people paint themselves as "hard working Americans" the majority of welfare and Medicaid recipients are poor whites so betcha if boyfriend or herself gets badly hurt, they will not think twice about Medicaid, if still around.
They would probably be even happier if Tomás de Torquemada was in Trump's cabinet.
9
You simply cannot reason with those who are willfully blind and ignorant and have no desire for honest discourse or compromise. The 36% left who still approve of Trump fall into this category.
26
I wonder if the Times asked their interviewees where they get their news? i.e. what degree of bias is their approval based on
14
ANIA
WHERE I GET MY NEWS:
FOX
CNN, NY tIMES
MSNBC: LAST AND VERY MUCH LEAST
WHERE I GET MY NEWS:
FOX
CNN, NY tIMES
MSNBC: LAST AND VERY MUCH LEAST
2
Since you asked...I get my news from the NYT, and Wall Street Journal and a few other publications less often (Slate, the Atlantic) and on the radio, from BBC America. I also listen to NPR, and our local classical music station.
I have never seen Fox News, as I do not have cable TV. Likewise, I have never listened to Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck, Ann Coulter or any other talk radio personalities.
Occasionally, I watch the local news stations, or catch a bit of one of the Big 3 national evening news, but not daily.
I am very capable of MAKING UP MY OWN MIND. I read very widely and do not rely on any one source of news.
I have never seen Fox News, as I do not have cable TV. Likewise, I have never listened to Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck, Ann Coulter or any other talk radio personalities.
Occasionally, I watch the local news stations, or catch a bit of one of the Big 3 national evening news, but not daily.
I am very capable of MAKING UP MY OWN MIND. I read very widely and do not rely on any one source of news.
Would it be possible for you to ask these questions of the majority demographic who voted for Trump, the wealthy ones, not the stereotypical rust belt working class who continue to overpopulate your reporting? You give these voters a lot more attention than they deserve in doing so and, at the same time spread misinformation by contributing to the illusion that there is this massive population of voters who actually believe that these dashed off letters and executive orders actually make law or execute policy. You are asking the minority-Trump-voting demographic, who do not understand how government works, to validate that Trump's own self-created delusion that any of is actually equivalent to governing, when in fact that it represents is it's absence. You are doing more to create the myth of Trump fulfilling his worst campaign promises than Trump's own PR advisors. At some point, please get real and explain government to these poor people along with the questions - and then move on and chase down the majority demographic of Trump voters, the rich folks, what they think too. People forget that they are wy Trump won. We would love to hear their response.
28
Apparently, the Trump voters did not pick up on something Trump said about the illegal immigrants from South of the border. Something like - they're not sending us their "best" people. What do they think he meant by that? The fact is that most of these people are hard workers, not criminals, who have come to better their lives. I think Trump's idea of who are the "best" people actually refers to their economic success and their appearance - he likes good looking people.
I wonder if these Americans think Donald Trump thinks of them as the "best" people. And whether a person who rates people based on their level of success really can care about them.
I wonder if these Americans think Donald Trump thinks of them as the "best" people. And whether a person who rates people based on their level of success really can care about them.
14
The only thing I can think of, is thank god that most of the people shown here will probably nor be voting in 4 years, and if we are lucky will not be voting in 2 years.
16
Wow, you want them to die? Not hatefull at all....
One week? Pretty early for buyers remorse.. ask them again in 6 months or a year, if they will talk.
12
I try to be empathetic but their ignorance is hurting us for years to come. They don't like the environment so their grandchildren will be fighting for potable water. They have short time frames and selfish interests.
36
Potable water was at risk long before last week. Selective memory is stong in America
1
"Trump’s done more in five days than Obama did in eight years..."
Not at all. He's tweeted and lied lot. He lied some more. He fixated on numbers (his small ones). He lied some more. He's signed a lot of executive orders. And why the silence on that? People were APOPLECTIC when Obama did it in the face of persistent obstructionism. Supreme hypocrites.
The stock market and job market increased under Obama. He provided 20 million people health care. There's more but these folks don't like to listen much. They'd rather hear lies and bluster.
Not at all. He's tweeted and lied lot. He lied some more. He fixated on numbers (his small ones). He lied some more. He's signed a lot of executive orders. And why the silence on that? People were APOPLECTIC when Obama did it in the face of persistent obstructionism. Supreme hypocrites.
The stock market and job market increased under Obama. He provided 20 million people health care. There's more but these folks don't like to listen much. They'd rather hear lies and bluster.
32
Not since Nixon have I been so totally embarrassed about our President when talking to my friends abroad.
We are quickly becoming the laughingstock of the civilized world.
What a shame.
We are quickly becoming the laughingstock of the civilized world.
What a shame.
34
It's a bunch of fools who think that Trump getting rich is going to make them less poor.
34
We will soon see a Democrat losing a Presidential Election even if they have secured the popular vote by 5-6 million votes or more.
In this so called republic it is no longer the will of the majority, it is the will of the 1%. What truly amazes me are the Appalachians who think these plutocrats have their best interest at heart.
Al Gore, the majority of Americans voted for him. (lost)
Hillary Clinton, a vast majority of Americans voted for her. (lost)
The Republican's have rigged our voting rights! ( electoral college, gerrymandering and voter suppression in urban areas only)
Now's the time to put an end to this and save our Democracy, athough it may be to late. We just had a President in office for 8 years whose Supreme Court nominee wasn't even considered a vote, we now have a nutcase in office who will appoint a Supreme Court Injustice after 10 days in office.
Better wake up Dems..
In this so called republic it is no longer the will of the majority, it is the will of the 1%. What truly amazes me are the Appalachians who think these plutocrats have their best interest at heart.
Al Gore, the majority of Americans voted for him. (lost)
Hillary Clinton, a vast majority of Americans voted for her. (lost)
The Republican's have rigged our voting rights! ( electoral college, gerrymandering and voter suppression in urban areas only)
Now's the time to put an end to this and save our Democracy, athough it may be to late. We just had a President in office for 8 years whose Supreme Court nominee wasn't even considered a vote, we now have a nutcase in office who will appoint a Supreme Court Injustice after 10 days in office.
Better wake up Dems..
30
I voted for Trump. But competition is good. Dems wake up. People need jobs. They don't need men allowed in women's rest rooms because some high school girl wants to pretend she's a boy.
You cannot rig, nor gerrymander, the Electoral Colleg.
Sorry! Al and Hillary both knew that the President is chosen by the Electoral College and NOT by the popular vote.
They campaigned incorrectly, if they believed otherwise. Which is why they lost.
Sorry! Al and Hillary both knew that the President is chosen by the Electoral College and NOT by the popular vote.
They campaigned incorrectly, if they believed otherwise. Which is why they lost.
So the republucans rigged the election to get Obama elected or is Obama part of the plutocracy? Logic is at an all time low in America.
I give them 12-18 months before Trumps promises don't match up with reality. When prices start rising, when interest rates go up, when jobs start to dry up - they may just change their tune.
I'm amazed at the number of people voting for something personally to happen to them - pay less tax, dodge more regulations, carry more guns. There is a total lack of strategic thought amongst these people, or any deep thought regarding what Trumps likley to achieve. It's really brainless, thoughtless believe with absolutely no proof at all. Not even proof of concept. It really is mind boggling.
I'm amazed at the number of people voting for something personally to happen to them - pay less tax, dodge more regulations, carry more guns. There is a total lack of strategic thought amongst these people, or any deep thought regarding what Trumps likley to achieve. It's really brainless, thoughtless believe with absolutely no proof at all. Not even proof of concept. It really is mind boggling.
30
I suppose it's true: in a democracy, people get the government they deserve.
But Clinton got 2.9 million more votes than Trump. The majority of voters don't deserve what the minority is inflicting on them.
But Clinton got 2.9 million more votes than Trump. The majority of voters don't deserve what the minority is inflicting on them.
32
How about at minimum: Trump** does NOT have a mandate. In fact, he has whatever the opposite is. Some inkling of humility and restraint is thus, in order. (Riiiiight)
4
Are all opinions worth the same, or are Trump backers' opinions more valuable? What about interviews with the majority who have unfavorable views of Trump according to the latest polls?
43
The candidate of Trump backers won the election, so we get more say, just like Obama ignored us and listened to leftists. That's how our system works.
4
Can we please stop covering the opinions of people who lack the education or information necessary to critically assess what Trump is doing. A wall? Seriously? That's the solution?
The response of Trump supporters to his executive orders is predictable, and exactly what Trump is going for. I expect him to issue an executive order purporting to overrule Roe v. Wade, with Trump supporters believing that is actually within his capability to do so and that he has thus "done something about it."
The response of Trump supporters to his executive orders is predictable, and exactly what Trump is going for. I expect him to issue an executive order purporting to overrule Roe v. Wade, with Trump supporters believing that is actually within his capability to do so and that he has thus "done something about it."
“'We have a pro-life president back in the White House, and that is very encouraging,' she said."
A person like Donald Trump is NOT "pro-life" if he/she, among other things:
o Supports the return of torture and the establishment of "black sites" where torture could be carried out (Torture is against US law by-the-way)
o Supports repealing the ACA leaving people to die because they will no longer have access to health insurance
o Promotes limiting women's access to affordable birth control
o Favors balancing the budget by cutting food stamps and other programs that help feed the poor and hungry
o Does not support a living wage for all US workers
o Does not believe in the science associated with climate change
o Is against regulations that promote clean air and water
No a person like Mr. Trump may be "PRO-FETUS," but "PRO-LIFE," not so much!
A person like Donald Trump is NOT "pro-life" if he/she, among other things:
o Supports the return of torture and the establishment of "black sites" where torture could be carried out (Torture is against US law by-the-way)
o Supports repealing the ACA leaving people to die because they will no longer have access to health insurance
o Promotes limiting women's access to affordable birth control
o Favors balancing the budget by cutting food stamps and other programs that help feed the poor and hungry
o Does not support a living wage for all US workers
o Does not believe in the science associated with climate change
o Is against regulations that promote clean air and water
No a person like Mr. Trump may be "PRO-FETUS," but "PRO-LIFE," not so much!
39
I'm fairly certain that a debonair lady killer type like Trump has paid for a large number of abortions. I've never caused a need for an abortion myself, but what do I know, I'm an East Coast librul city ivory tower type.
1
Leaked audio tapes from the Republican retreat in Philly reveal a major lie:
When Trump claimed the GOP already had an Obamacare replacement plan, he was again telling falsehoods. Lie after lie !!!
And Republicans' interactions on those tapes prove once again they only care about elections. As in their own. They have nothing. Zip. Nada.
After a hundred repeals of Obamacare the past 8 years, there's nothing ready to go.
One very telling interaction was this:
Question:
"Will states have the ability to maintain the expanded Medicaid rolls provided for under the ACA, which now provide coverage for more than 10 million Americans, and can other states do similar expansions?'
Response: “These are decisions we haven’t made yet,”
And someone said "“Health insurance is going to be tough enough for us to deal with without having millions of people on social media come to Planned Parenthood’s defense and sending hundreds of thousands of new donors to the Democratic Senate and Democratic congressional campaign committees. So I would just urge us to rethink this.”
The GOP and Donald Trump get top liar award.
When Trump claimed the GOP already had an Obamacare replacement plan, he was again telling falsehoods. Lie after lie !!!
And Republicans' interactions on those tapes prove once again they only care about elections. As in their own. They have nothing. Zip. Nada.
After a hundred repeals of Obamacare the past 8 years, there's nothing ready to go.
One very telling interaction was this:
Question:
"Will states have the ability to maintain the expanded Medicaid rolls provided for under the ACA, which now provide coverage for more than 10 million Americans, and can other states do similar expansions?'
Response: “These are decisions we haven’t made yet,”
And someone said "“Health insurance is going to be tough enough for us to deal with without having millions of people on social media come to Planned Parenthood’s defense and sending hundreds of thousands of new donors to the Democratic Senate and Democratic congressional campaign committees. So I would just urge us to rethink this.”
The GOP and Donald Trump get top liar award.
26
The conservative fake victims who voted for our newest actor-in-chief see our beautiful world through cultivated hatred instilled from birth. Why can't they see that criminal businessmen like trump are the same ones who sold their dad's job or their own to Japan, Mexico, China, etc? Propaganda. The paranoid hatred that has been overlaid on them via fake fox news and decades of conservative fakes in congress is our national disgrace and disaster. When are they going to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps and stop blaming the "other"? Sadly I can't see them having such capacity at this point as they embrace fascists instead of the beautiful future. They are leaving themselves behind as they shop at the walmart that strangled their neighborhood shop owners.
28
The walmart they soon cannot afford anymore because it depends on imports from China and Mexico that will be slammed with tariffs under Trump. A good outcome may be the walmarts go belly-up due to declining revenues, providing opportunities for neighborhood shops.
I notice that they are mostly sorta round, pudgy, ruddy and focused solely on blaming others for their problems.
50
This may well be a rejection of leftist direction in the US and the world.
3
Don't worry snowflakes, reality will reach you soon enough. Even you will celebrate with us as we welcome safety, health and prosperity to America!
10
Well, you won't be safe from tainted water and rising tides, or from streams polluted by enormous pig farms, or from shoddy and dangerous products produced by companies you will unable to fight.
You won't be healthy because you won't know what's in your food, you'll be breathing in car emissions that will revert back to the bad old days, the CDC will be gutted along with the EPA and our national parks, and you won't have health insurance.
Oh, and don't grow old. The Republicans have been itching to scrap Social Security and Medicare, and you've just enabled them to do it.
A beautiful job.
You won't be healthy because you won't know what's in your food, you'll be breathing in car emissions that will revert back to the bad old days, the CDC will be gutted along with the EPA and our national parks, and you won't have health insurance.
Oh, and don't grow old. The Republicans have been itching to scrap Social Security and Medicare, and you've just enabled them to do it.
A beautiful job.
1
That's nice how you insult others with childish name calling and then dictate how they will feel. Your Dear Leader would be proud.
1
The self-centeredness and dangerously simplistic thinking exhibited by the Trump supporters profiled in this article are terrifying. They have no ability or motivation to consider the long-term consequences of Trump’s actions and proposals. They’d rather blame Obama and minorities for their own personal circumstances than take responsibility for their lives. I can’t imagine how they were raised or how they’re raising their own children. These people are completely bereft of critical thinking ability; they don’t have it, and they don’t want it. They treat the world as if it were a reality television show, which is why Trump is their ideal leader. They’re not citizens, they’re consumers who demand maximum benefits and entertainment from their government! Future generations be damned!
64
BCM -- thank you! You hit the nail on the head.
6
BCM, Exactly.
Well spoken!
Well spoken!
3
Oh my goodness - that's what I've been saying particularly with regards to the reality show angle .
1
I really wish that somehow, some way we could walk away from partisanship and look at the issues as they really are. I bet Americans have a lot of things in common, like wanting to breathe clean air, drink water that has no lead in it, create JOBS with lots of clean energy, have health care that is affordable and accessible to all, and most of all, be kind neighbors to each other. I don't know how this story is going to end, but I do hope that in the long run we all become a little less arrogant and find some ways to reach out to one another so that our country can be united in it's goals. Maybe I'm dreaming here, but it's all I've got at this point.
10
But no. Not really. The article says they don't want health care, clean air or clean water.
7
I was with you until you said "kind neighbors to each other" If someone who looked different from them bought the house next door, I don't think so
4
You have expressed my hopes for the future so succintly. Thank you.
3
I suppose after eight years of a test pattern on TV, watching something actually happen looks better to a lot of people regardless of what it is.
3
Nothing has actually happened yet.
Perhaps it's me but I often get the sense that the republican voters seem more interested in "WIIFM" What's in it for me than what is better for all. I don't always get what I want in the democratic party but I view it as a just and reasonable platform trying to do what's right for the greater good.
54
Trump has made many campaign promises. It remains to be seen how many actually see the light of day. He also speaks his own language which is difficult to follow. The folks who speak on his behalf are constantly having to interpret what he really meant. Either he really knows what he's doing (keeps the media distracted from the real issues) or, he doesn't know what he's doing. All we really know is that he's in his full glory being in the spotlight.
4
How many of these people were represented by Republicans before the Trump administration? Did their representatives ignore them because Republicans wanted a one term Obama presidency? Eight years of obstruction created this situation. If you ask any of them about the specific details of an issue....like how the wall tax will hit their pockets....could they answer?
Trump has given them something to believe in even if it has no basis in fact. He has sold them a product. Instead of golf clubs it's his commoditized plan for making America great.
Trump has given them something to believe in even if it has no basis in fact. He has sold them a product. Instead of golf clubs it's his commoditized plan for making America great.
15
They'll cheer until they lose their savings, their homes, their jobs, their Social Security, their ACA insurance, their Medicare, and their jobs. Then they'll boo Obama.
50
NOT being politically correct: the "deplorables" depicted in this article are even more deplorable than I ever thought they could be.
33
Don't these people even know the history of coal-mining in this country? It's people like Trump whose greed and lack of morals have killed and maimed their miner brothers and sisters, and even shot and killed them to keep unions out and wages at subsistence level. If they don't want to read about it, maybe they can at least watch the film Harlan County USA and others like it. All the suffering and hardships their people went through to make life better and now they've dissed it and thrown it down the shaft by voting for someone like Trump. Trump and his oligarch pals in the cabinet can't wait for them to have to shop at the company store.
30
When you get down to the small minority percentage of people who blindly think that Trump is doing a good or even reasonable job (including having anything at all to do with their best interest, health and well-being) it sadly comes down to simple facts like they want to be "protected" from brown people. At whatever cost. That their blind Christian faith has them deny science. It gets reduced to ignorance in a hurry.
But despite people constantly coming to their defense and saying, "they're not stupid"? In actual fact, the blind Trump supporters are. They're racist. They're violent. They're hateful. And that is unenlightened, low-minded thinking. So Trump is perfect. He's their guy. Because how is that not a match made in heaven? He's an imbecile. A racist. A liar. A cheat and a fraud. He's xenophobic. He's a sexual predator. He'll keep the Mexicans and the Muslims and the immigrants (who aren't white models) out!
But their jobs aren't coming back. Our recovered economy will go run and hide again while the GOP funnels all the more money straight to the top. But at least he's white. Any problems that do arise will easily be blamed on the black guy.
Believe me, I just heard it from my own family. I posted Philip Roth's scathing comment on Trump from the New Yorker on facebook and my blindly evangelical-republican aunt's response was, "let's give him a chance. He couldn't possibly be worse than the last guy." Meaning: he's white. We're great again.
But despite people constantly coming to their defense and saying, "they're not stupid"? In actual fact, the blind Trump supporters are. They're racist. They're violent. They're hateful. And that is unenlightened, low-minded thinking. So Trump is perfect. He's their guy. Because how is that not a match made in heaven? He's an imbecile. A racist. A liar. A cheat and a fraud. He's xenophobic. He's a sexual predator. He'll keep the Mexicans and the Muslims and the immigrants (who aren't white models) out!
But their jobs aren't coming back. Our recovered economy will go run and hide again while the GOP funnels all the more money straight to the top. But at least he's white. Any problems that do arise will easily be blamed on the black guy.
Believe me, I just heard it from my own family. I posted Philip Roth's scathing comment on Trump from the New Yorker on facebook and my blindly evangelical-republican aunt's response was, "let's give him a chance. He couldn't possibly be worse than the last guy." Meaning: he's white. We're great again.
58
Actually... most hispanics self identify as WHITE. So do most Muslims.
Islam is not a race; you do know it is a RELIGION with 1.6 billion members, of all races? Most are actually asian.
Mexican is a nation, not a race. Hispanic is a language and culture -- NOT A RACE. Latino is not a race either.
So if you dislike Mexicans or Muslims....it has nothing to do with their race. They are very likely white.
Islam is not a race; you do know it is a RELIGION with 1.6 billion members, of all races? Most are actually asian.
Mexican is a nation, not a race. Hispanic is a language and culture -- NOT A RACE. Latino is not a race either.
So if you dislike Mexicans or Muslims....it has nothing to do with their race. They are very likely white.
So much unfairness in this column, so much wanton denigration, so many writing, it seems, who were gorging for the last eight years on the self-righteous Liberal Imperialism being promulgated ad nauseam by the NYT and fellows broadcasting out of New York City's media central. A Sovietized narrative suddenly set eschew by a few thousand votes from the once forgotten rural regions of the nation. So sad for New Yorkers et al.
11
My question, I suppose, is how we can begin to talk to one another across this landscape of misinformation and distorted thinking...This article was really disturbing on many levels. Frankly, I have never heard the term "Liberal Imperialism" used before. I think I understand what a"Sovietized narrative might be, but that readers should consider the cozy relationship that is now evolving between, the new President, and the President of the former Soviet Union. FOX news and years of fake news, conspiracies, have managed to obliterated the fact that their liberal neighbors want them and all of us to work in factories and offices that will not make sick, or drink water that is not toxic, or breathe air that is without toxic particles. Can we now talk to a Trump voter, retired coal minor who now worries about losing his Obama care for his now chronic Black Lung condition. We are on the verge folks and we don not even recognize it So, tell me, anyone, please how do we begin to talk to neighbors and let them know that we want safety in all work areas, social security for all, and health care for all. Are these such vile bad things that liberals want to send our way? If we say that we want to reduce the level of ignorance in these voters, we will be labeled liberal elites. If we suggest that science is on the side of facts and data, will we be told that it is part of a world wide conspiracy started by the Chinese.
7
It's not enough to just land a job and stick with what you grew up with. Sorry, life in the twenty-first century means being constantly exposed to the unfamiliar, evolving in line with the changing world, and take the time and trouble to educate and improve yourself. It's hard work but that's life. If it's too much for you, you will be left behind. Throughout history a small contingent of people has always been griping about social, economic, and scientific progress. They have been forgotten, and they are not missed.
43
These articles asking for Trump supporters to explain their ideas, opinions and such are not really helpful. Would the board of IBM consult these folks when choosing a CEO? Of course not! And the US government is far more complex than a private company. Now of course we do have to face the reality that these idiots are allowed votes that count for more than ours. This is a problem but it is one that we can't solve overnight. Instead, let's concentrate on how to control, disenfranchise and manipulate these folks to vote in a slightly more productive/sane way than they are currently doing. It is just marketing. So the challenge is how to feel empathy for these people and their very real problems while putting zero stock in their mindless ideas.
7
I did not vote for Donald Trump. I am appalled he won.
I spent some of my grade-school years in Galion, Ohio, right down the road from Mount Gilead. Different county, but same world.
I would like to provide some advice regarding some of the frankly hateful responses, here. Responses that, in their vituperativeness, are equal to some of the bilge I've seen pumped out of the alt-right:
If you want to lose the 2020 presidential election, keep attacking, insulting, and demeaning these people. They vote. Their concerns matter, and every time someone from the Upper West Side, or San Francisco, or Cambridge, Mass., insults them, they wear it as a badge of honor and are energized. New York, Massachusetts, and California are irrelevant in Presidential elections. Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan are pivotal.
If the Democratic Party attended to the needs of these people instead of hedge fund managers and tech executives, and showed them more respect, I have no doubt Hillary Clinton would be president.
Just some friendly advice from me, another fat rube eating canned tuna instead of ahi tuna, and living with all these "losers" in flyover country. A rube whose vote means a lot more than yours, since I live in Michigan, and Michigan isn't a one-party state.
Smarten up, now, or things are only going to get worse.
I spent some of my grade-school years in Galion, Ohio, right down the road from Mount Gilead. Different county, but same world.
I would like to provide some advice regarding some of the frankly hateful responses, here. Responses that, in their vituperativeness, are equal to some of the bilge I've seen pumped out of the alt-right:
If you want to lose the 2020 presidential election, keep attacking, insulting, and demeaning these people. They vote. Their concerns matter, and every time someone from the Upper West Side, or San Francisco, or Cambridge, Mass., insults them, they wear it as a badge of honor and are energized. New York, Massachusetts, and California are irrelevant in Presidential elections. Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan are pivotal.
If the Democratic Party attended to the needs of these people instead of hedge fund managers and tech executives, and showed them more respect, I have no doubt Hillary Clinton would be president.
Just some friendly advice from me, another fat rube eating canned tuna instead of ahi tuna, and living with all these "losers" in flyover country. A rube whose vote means a lot more than yours, since I live in Michigan, and Michigan isn't a one-party state.
Smarten up, now, or things are only going to get worse.
22
I was Born and raised in Missouri two blocks from Kansas. I live in Mo again. Everyone of these commenters have it absolutely spot on right. Sorry, whether or not they vote, they deserve every bit of the criticism they're receiving. Their concerns are everyone's concerns.
6
I can see how you might get the wrong impression. Believe it or not, most people in blue states are not billionaire tech moguls or hedge fund managers. They call them the "1%" for a reason.
You might that there are a lot of protests in the northeast about income equality, raising he minimum wage, healthcare, etc. That's not exactly pro-Wall Street.
You might that there are a lot of protests in the northeast about income equality, raising he minimum wage, healthcare, etc. That's not exactly pro-Wall Street.
5
CPBS,
Exactly. Thank you for speaking out!
Exactly. Thank you for speaking out!
3
I run into a lot of these folks here and I feel sorry for them. If a person's job is genuinely threatened by undocumented immigrants, that person has bigger problems than not having a job. And if people are so gullible as to believe the swill that is now coming out of Washington, they and their children are dismally unsuited for the 21st century. They are shafted by the calendar, their place on the food chain, and their own misconceptions. Sad.
34
I thank you for echoing my sentiments exactly. No place for mean and dumb in future society.
3
I believe it truly is a godsend that we're totally switching to robots in this coming century.
3
Or it could be many of them are happily employed, basically content with their lives, except they don't like the cultural changes wrought by hordes of illegal aliens. Not unreasonable. How would Mexico feel about an imminent "whitening" that would be predicted twenty years from now to make English the most-spoken first language, and have their well-ingrained cultural tastes dominated by, say, those of Britain? Every country would rebel against those shifts, especially if accelerated by illegal immigrants.
Illegal "immigration" is the hot issue. In California, ground zero for the invasion that has taken place over the last 30 years of failure to enforce our immigration laws, all manner of largely Hispanic politicians are defying any form of law enforcement. The scofflaw ecosystem is large and well established. Here are a couple of LA Times articles illustrating the mindset:
http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-sanctuary-legal-battle-2017012...
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-sanctuary-cities-20170125-story...
http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-sanctuary-legal-battle-2017012...
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-sanctuary-cities-20170125-story...
3
Since Southern California has in many ways already gone back to being more a part of Mexico than the US, all this talk of secession after Trump's election is pointless.
1
Some people never catch on to the reality around them. Sometimes they react to imaginary stimulus.
For these Trump supporters, it should be akin to the revalation that behind the curtain is an ordinary man with a really big megaphone. In Trump's case, he's just a big, sleezy grifter - with endless access to the mass media.
Trump is the logical result of what the Republicans have done to themselves and to the rest of us.
For these Trump supporters, it should be akin to the revalation that behind the curtain is an ordinary man with a really big megaphone. In Trump's case, he's just a big, sleezy grifter - with endless access to the mass media.
Trump is the logical result of what the Republicans have done to themselves and to the rest of us.
14
To me, this shows Fox News is effective in its mission to be the GOP's propaganda machine. It is a win - win. Fox makes money giving hte people what they want; the GOP keep its voters 100% loyal. The supporters hear a very different story than people who aren't drinking the Fox Kool-Aid. It is incomplete. It is is focused on the positive only. It distorts opposition. It is spun for their consumption. It is extremely emotional in its appeals to them to both support Trump and distrust any opposition to Trump. I am not sure what to do about it. People I know who watch Fox seem to think it is the oracle. Why Rupert Murdoch - a bloke from Australia who made his fortune selling papers with topless women photos as a big draw - would be some kind of divine source of enlightenment - I don't know. But so long as they open their mouth and let Fox pour in its propaganda - their views of Trump will likely stay the same. At least until it really hits home and there is no way to spin out of it. By then, it will likely be too late undo the impact of Trump's irrational and illogical decision-making. I foresee much greater inequality, our natural resources squandered, and much greater world instability. Happy Friday.
18
Lead with your actions, Mr. Trump, not empty words.
I didn't vote for you but you still work for me.
Show me I was mistaken.
I have seen nothing thus far that would lead to a materially different impression than that you are still an incredible nincompoop.
I didn't vote for you but you still work for me.
Show me I was mistaken.
I have seen nothing thus far that would lead to a materially different impression than that you are still an incredible nincompoop.
10
Dear NYT,
Why don’t you interview some members of the Flat Earth Society as well? Both groups exhibit the same kind of fervent, irrational beliefs in direct contrast and contempt to the facts as the rest of the world understands them. The main difference is believing in a flat earth doesn’t jeopardize anyone’s quality of life.
Why don’t you interview some members of the Flat Earth Society as well? Both groups exhibit the same kind of fervent, irrational beliefs in direct contrast and contempt to the facts as the rest of the world understands them. The main difference is believing in a flat earth doesn’t jeopardize anyone’s quality of life.
36
What you have here are people who've never read a book of any repute in their lives, who live on Fox news, and who go to their Facebook feeds for the latest news. I have lost all patience with them; they get what they deserve. Sadly, they'll take a lot of people who deserve better down with them.
78
How on earth could you possibly know from this one article what these six people read or don't read? Are you psychic or something?
Good article, Mr. Healy, but it should be a series of several because Trump's voter base is stratified. If only small towns voted for Trump he wouldn't have been able to carry states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan. And he did carry more than a quarter of the Hispanic vote in spite of his outrageous statements. Some Trump voters intensely disliked him as a person but chose him for strategic reasons (e.g. Supreme Court picks). Your editorial staff has chosen to be oblivious to these factors and can't stop barking like beagles that saw a raccoon in the alley.
6
A quick Google search on this little town in Ohio puts the lie to the residents worrying about immigrants, the "wall" and getting rid of Planned Parenthood. The place sounds like a lot of the heartland- awash in heroin, meth and oxycontin addiction. An article from the Chicago Tribune from '03 talked of the out of control theft crimes. And Obama was the problem except he wasnt in office yet.
This reminds me of the coal miners who voted for the GOP who just canned their pension request in Congress and for Trump who will can the ACA that fought to get them coverage for black lung. No cure for some things.
This reminds me of the coal miners who voted for the GOP who just canned their pension request in Congress and for Trump who will can the ACA that fought to get them coverage for black lung. No cure for some things.
35
This kind of coverage reminds me of what the press did during the election. Remember just a few months ago you all were soul searching about what you did wrong during the campaign? I would argue that going out in search of Trump supporters to get them to validate his actions provides no actual news (because it is week 1 and they voted for him so we could guess their feelings) is in the same vein as the work you did before Nov. 8. I get that you want to bring the perspective of these people to the other side and you should, but that would be accomplished by digging deeper - much deeper - into this community's history and politics, not just their 'feelings' right now. Please don't paper over Trump's dangerous behavior by finding a few people who like him.
13
I don't know which is more troubling, reading the views of the people in the article, or reading the reactions of the readers.
There is a real and present threat not acknowledged let alone talked about -- the country is deeply divided, and will continue to remain so until we start seeing something about the opposing view we can empathize with. I would hope the NYT wrote this piece as a way of promoting some sort of understanding between these two "different Americas", and not to just elicit more contempt and amazement at "these people".
So, both they, and your readers can just keep opining that they have no idea who these "other" people are, that there is no reasoning with them, or that they belong outside "my America". There is only one America, and it contains everyone.
This is really going to be a true test of how tolerant we really are.
While most of what these folks think makes very little sense to me, I expect that it makes a lot more sense to them, based on their life experiences. and the communities they live in.
Our communities are insular politically and culturally for that very reason, lack of tolerance for anyone else. I personally blame Newt Gingrich for a lot of this, but the list of characters is long and storied.
There is a real and present threat not acknowledged let alone talked about -- the country is deeply divided, and will continue to remain so until we start seeing something about the opposing view we can empathize with. I would hope the NYT wrote this piece as a way of promoting some sort of understanding between these two "different Americas", and not to just elicit more contempt and amazement at "these people".
So, both they, and your readers can just keep opining that they have no idea who these "other" people are, that there is no reasoning with them, or that they belong outside "my America". There is only one America, and it contains everyone.
This is really going to be a true test of how tolerant we really are.
While most of what these folks think makes very little sense to me, I expect that it makes a lot more sense to them, based on their life experiences. and the communities they live in.
Our communities are insular politically and culturally for that very reason, lack of tolerance for anyone else. I personally blame Newt Gingrich for a lot of this, but the list of characters is long and storied.
15
Yes. Agreed. What happened to "they go low, we go high?" "These people" and snarky photos are fine for venting. Move on.
It is interesting that 48% of this country views Trump as a crude and crass con man and an embarrassment and 46% view him as their Savior, someone who can do no wrong. What is the one trait that separates these two disparate groups? Level of education. And also that Trump supporters are people who consider themselves super patriots who flaunt the red, WHITE, and blue. Witness the Kelly Ann Conway inauguration outfit. So the battle lines have been drawn. Both sides will dig in. Future elections will be all about turnout. In this election 56% of the population turned out to vote. Look for those numbers to jump in 2018 and 2020. To the turnout go the spoils.
18
That is a lie. Education, class, or sex was not a dividing line. Race was. Thats about it. People fooled by propaganda all around.
Trump's favor-ability poll stands at 37%
5
Truly, I am still baffled that so many people view him favorably. It's depressing.
3
This is what these people will get under the guy the voted for:
"Price has also been a vociferous opponent of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and a leader of the repeal-and-replace movement. His proposal for replacing the ACA is H.R. 2300, the Empowering Patients First Act,5 which would eliminate the ACA’s Medicaid expansion and replace its subsidies with flat tax credits based on age, not income ($1,200 per year for someone 18 to 35 years of age; $3,000 for someone 50 or older, with an additional one-time credit of $1,000 toward a health savings account). Price’s plan is regressive: it offers much greater subsidies relative to income for purchasers with high incomes and much more meager subsidies for those with low incomes. In today’s market, these credits would pay only about one third of the premium of a low-cost plan, leaving a 30-year-old with a premium bill for $2,532, and a 60-year-old with a bill for $5,916 — along with a potential out-of-pocket liability of as much as $7,000. By contrast, subsidies under the ACA are based on income and the price of health insurance. Today, a low-income person (with an income of 200% of the federal poverty level) pays, on average, a premium of $1,528 per year (regardless of age) for a plan with an out-of-pocket maximum of $2,350, and that payment does not change even if health insurance premiums rise.
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1615714#t=article
I'm sorry to say this, but these people are stupid. I'd get more money!
"Price has also been a vociferous opponent of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and a leader of the repeal-and-replace movement. His proposal for replacing the ACA is H.R. 2300, the Empowering Patients First Act,5 which would eliminate the ACA’s Medicaid expansion and replace its subsidies with flat tax credits based on age, not income ($1,200 per year for someone 18 to 35 years of age; $3,000 for someone 50 or older, with an additional one-time credit of $1,000 toward a health savings account). Price’s plan is regressive: it offers much greater subsidies relative to income for purchasers with high incomes and much more meager subsidies for those with low incomes. In today’s market, these credits would pay only about one third of the premium of a low-cost plan, leaving a 30-year-old with a premium bill for $2,532, and a 60-year-old with a bill for $5,916 — along with a potential out-of-pocket liability of as much as $7,000. By contrast, subsidies under the ACA are based on income and the price of health insurance. Today, a low-income person (with an income of 200% of the federal poverty level) pays, on average, a premium of $1,528 per year (regardless of age) for a plan with an out-of-pocket maximum of $2,350, and that payment does not change even if health insurance premiums rise.
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1615714#t=article
I'm sorry to say this, but these people are stupid. I'd get more money!
14
Jaleh: the ACA most definitely DOES charge based on age, and penalizes older people by surcharging them 300-400% more than younger people.
BTW: the premium is only a SMALL PART of health insurance. The deductible is the big bugaboo. You can have little or no premium, but if your deductible is $7500 (as mine is), you won't get one dime for health care unless you are hospitalized or have surgery, and even then, you'll be out $7500 cash -- which most people cannot remotely afford.
BTW: the premium is only a SMALL PART of health insurance. The deductible is the big bugaboo. You can have little or no premium, but if your deductible is $7500 (as mine is), you won't get one dime for health care unless you are hospitalized or have surgery, and even then, you'll be out $7500 cash -- which most people cannot remotely afford.
Concerned Citizen: How about people who are on Medicaid? Medicaid pays for the deductible. Did you read the article? It's from New England Journal of Medicine. I would tend to agree with Journal's analysis than yours. Just so you know, my husband is a physician and that's why I read this.
Well Trump said the he loved uneducated people and that is exactly what he got. Mr. Cottrell may get his wish for the VA to be "gutted". If he thinks Bone Spurs Trump is going to help vets he should get his head examined. How many of these folks get Social Security, Medicare, farm subsidies or disability checks? They might want to Wake Up sometime before it is too late. What does it take??
19
Can we please have some opinions from the educated Trump voters (if there are any)? I'm so sick of these gossipy anecdotal trips to diners and hair dressing salons that seem to crop every week.
25
Don't despair, America. I was, then I read the story about LaGRANGE, Ga. and the local Police Chief's apology this week for a lynching done in his town in 1940.
So I called the town's PD and found myself speaking with a very proud woman whose accent (I'm in NH) I could barely understand and thanked her and her chief for what the department did in this moment of uncertainty about whether we American's still revere the courage to apologize.
There are Americans who care, and they live in the least likely of places.
Praise God and The Buddha and Mohammed and the sweet good natured essence of ordinary Americans.
America lives. Don't let Trump destroy your faith in our nation's essential goodness.
So I called the town's PD and found myself speaking with a very proud woman whose accent (I'm in NH) I could barely understand and thanked her and her chief for what the department did in this moment of uncertainty about whether we American's still revere the courage to apologize.
There are Americans who care, and they live in the least likely of places.
Praise God and The Buddha and Mohammed and the sweet good natured essence of ordinary Americans.
America lives. Don't let Trump destroy your faith in our nation's essential goodness.
12
Yes, there is still decency, a lot of it, throughout America, but when millions upon millions of Americans literally go hungry, one report comes to mind; students in Maine, reported on NPR yesterday, still go hungry and arrive in class Monday morning and have not eaten during the weekend, there is also rage, palpable rage, at the historic level of inequality created by the wanton greed of corporate America, and the elites who regard the middle-class and poor as tools to be used and exploited, at every opportunity.
Here in America , in the Northeast !!! And there are dozens of situations similar to that, all over America.
I am nearing 70 years old and frankly cannot fathom the avariciousness exhibited by the .01, and .1%ters.
We lost our way several decades ago, and I fear we may never recover.
Here in America , in the Northeast !!! And there are dozens of situations similar to that, all over America.
I am nearing 70 years old and frankly cannot fathom the avariciousness exhibited by the .01, and .1%ters.
We lost our way several decades ago, and I fear we may never recover.
What stands out about these people is their selfishness and ignorance. All each of them wants is something more for themselves, the impact on the environment or others be damned. The man who believes Trump has done more in 5 days that Obama in 8 years has either been living on another planet or is, more likely, both completely ignorant of facts and tunes in 24/7 to conservative talk radio. And the Cottrells, struggling for years to get a disability claim approved from the VA? Hello, maybe that's because he has a weak or no case? And of course, the usual hypocrisy: it's ok for ME to use taxpayer dollars for my (maybe) disability, but let's not share those dollars with people of color in need. Oh, and Ms. Alexandria, if you really want to prevent abortions, the last thing you would support is banning funding for overseas NGO's that discuss abortion. The Kaiser Family Foundation's report showed that "abortion rates ROSE in countries with high exposure to the Mexico City Policy compared to those with low exposure." In other words, your pro-life president's actions will definitely increase the number of abortions overseas, and will increase maternal deaths as many of these abortions will be back alley. So much for supporting life.
I fail to see why uniformed, misinformed, uneducated selfish people can set the agenda. What happened to valuing education, experience and truth?
I fail to see why uniformed, misinformed, uneducated selfish people can set the agenda. What happened to valuing education, experience and truth?
63
You hit the nail on the head. It really is about selfishness and ignorance. The ignorance is willful, self imposed, and celebrated. You cannot help a culture that's decided it revels in being mean and dumb.
Here is the most interesting piece that no one ever really delves into-- many of the semi decent jobs in these small Ohio towns are in social services. Human Services Technology is still a popular college major. When you talk about Trump voters voting against their own interests, everyone fails to mention these folks. They purposely attain degrees to spend their days qualifying the people they hate for government benefits. They rail about assistance programs and vote to have them cut or ended entirely. I cannot sympathize with that mentality.
I wish someone would do a story that shows exactly how much of small town America's economy is propped up by social service jobs, including now, ones tailored to addiction. Those jobs, helping people in need and maligned by society, keep local communities solvent. The hypocrisy of Conservatives benefitting entirely from Progressive programs, then voting to end them is more than I can stomach at this point.
Here is the most interesting piece that no one ever really delves into-- many of the semi decent jobs in these small Ohio towns are in social services. Human Services Technology is still a popular college major. When you talk about Trump voters voting against their own interests, everyone fails to mention these folks. They purposely attain degrees to spend their days qualifying the people they hate for government benefits. They rail about assistance programs and vote to have them cut or ended entirely. I cannot sympathize with that mentality.
I wish someone would do a story that shows exactly how much of small town America's economy is propped up by social service jobs, including now, ones tailored to addiction. Those jobs, helping people in need and maligned by society, keep local communities solvent. The hypocrisy of Conservatives benefitting entirely from Progressive programs, then voting to end them is more than I can stomach at this point.
3
The VA is known to be VERY slow in processing disability claims and can take YEARS to do so. You are grossly unfair and very cruel to imply that Mr. Cottrell does not have a legitimate claim -- NOTHING in this article would give you that information! It's simply a nasty, ugly slur because you are angry at him for voting for Trump.
Not one mention of those poor unemployed, unemployable, and forgotten rural workers, oh and they aren't racist at all.
4
How many of these enthused Trump supporters read the NY Times? For that matter, how many of them read any kind of real news service at all? "Very few" would be a reasonable bet.
People believe what they emotionally desire to be true. Hillary-haters believe that she runs a child prostitution ring from a pizza parlor, and they will believe whatever Trump publicity photos instruct them to believe, the facts be damned.
People believe what they emotionally desire to be true. Hillary-haters believe that she runs a child prostitution ring from a pizza parlor, and they will believe whatever Trump publicity photos instruct them to believe, the facts be damned.
26
The basket of deplorables.
21
Just keep saying that.
it's why you lost. Even Hillary admits as much.
Keep saying it though.
Then you'll lose in 2018 and 2020 and 2021 and 2025.
it's why you lost. Even Hillary admits as much.
Keep saying it though.
Then you'll lose in 2018 and 2020 and 2021 and 2025.
"Truths a dog must to kennel." Lear so treasured his fool.
6
And all the DNC's "yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death". So sad about Queen Hillary--the "spot", she no go away, got "Trumped", it seems. The many were hidden in the trees, in the countryside.
"Trump's done more in five days than Obama did in eight years..." Wow. I'm saddened hear a carpenter say this. As I recall, there were no construction jobs when Obama took office. How short people's memories are!
28
Well as Trump said "I love the poorly educated"
34
This is Bizarro World, but remember--there's far more of us than there are of them. Make sure you talk civics, how our policy making actually works, etc. with your own kids. I have a high schooler & I promise, much of the generation coming up is savvy, worldly, (phones are computers of course) and in teen parlance, they would be like, "uh, noooo..." reading this.
11
And the Times is still saying it's honest? 36 percent job approval rating?
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/latest_polls/
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/latest_polls/
1
What is dishonest? That's exactly what the link you post says for that polling firm for Thursday.
1
Just wondering which "Foreign" countries will be welcoming to the floods of American Political Refugees fleeing to their shores?
23
Trump backers may like his first draft of a new America, to me it is a cold blast of a winter wind with a future of darkness and despair.
30
So I may be the odd duck but I am glad the Times is doing profiles of this administrations voters. I want to know 'Why did you vote for this guy, what were the top four things you wanted done? And lastly, what's your view of the logical end to the path we are on?' I really want to understand how to bring us back to center or we will keep doing the pendulum swing, which hurts us all. And I would like you to please remember I am just asking questions, so please if you reply, keep a civil tongue in your head.
22
Let Congress pass the 20 percent tariff and watch our slow recovery turn into an instant recession. Donald Trump and his fans won't hesitate to find scapegoats, gladly deflecting the blame from his Congressional lapdogs.
24
"Lapdogs." I have another descriptive term, Mark, but the NYT won't print it, and might ignore future submissions just to make their point.
The number of people willing to accept the proclamation that a calf has five legs because its tail is really a leg is mind boggling. It helps, though, to understand that they have been conditioned through fundamentalism, and are willing to believe in virgin births and a dead man coming back to life.
68
I believe a dead man came back to life (Christ). But I don't believe a calf has five legs. I also have a doctorate, am a tenured university professor, and believe in the science behind climate change. Please do not toss all Christians into the same pile. There are plenty of well-educated, well-read Christians who think Donald Trump is a nightmare come true.
2
Dear NYT,
Please do followup articles on these same people at one-year intervals.
Please do followup articles on these same people at one-year intervals.
849
With the caveat, if they've managed to survive one-year intervals of Trump.
3
Are these the same people who are okay with he and his staff using a private email server, profiting off the presidency and putting his business interests ahead of the country's (including pay for play)?
2
Perhaps in one year the alternate facts these supporters subscribe to will be the exception rather than the rule and reality will have visited them, along with the disappointment that their savior, with his bombastic promises, did not bear fruit.
1
Trump first week is over, and in that short time he has convinced me that Conservative America is not America. His policies are still campaign slogans, not well thought out or articulated. His supporters can't seem to see beyond tomorrow and all are looking for a pot of gold at the end of and artificial rainbow created by Trump. If the facts don't fit their argument, they make them up and call out anybody who has the audacity to say their facts are lies. They love what's happening cause that's the new America. But like I say, Conservative America is not America. If there ever was a slogan that makes sense, it's "Take Back America."
36
These people embody all that is wrong with the US. They care only for themselves. And it is disturbing to see what some of these people want - less regulation so that they can do things that will endanger themselves and others. But these people are not entirely to blame for their retrograde attitudes. They are raised in a society where taking care of each other is considered weakness and where Darwinian economic and social policies - ironically, exactly of the kind supported by Trump - make their lives miserable. These are the kind of people who should be voting Democrat (except for the gun nut) but they consistently vote against their own self-interests and are too ill-informed to know that the Republicans are the party that consistently blocked Obama's efforts to help them, precisely because the GOP knew it could dupe these people into voting for them. There is a bizarre combination of ignorance and resentment that is embodied in these voters. They fully demonstrate the weakness of any democracy - a public that is easily misled and deceived by unscrupulous demagogues.
71
These people are willing to see others, including Americans, suffer and die so they can make another buck or indulge hate. Appalling. I have nothing in common with them.
190
A common there for many of the Trump voters interviewed here is that they are only concerned about their own very narrow interests. Much like the president they helped elect.
154
If there was ever a country that you could say was being run by a 12 year old, it is America. That wouldn't be bad if that 12 year old sought advice from the grown-up with experience before taking action, but this 12 year old has ADD and has an addition to Twitter. He also gets very upset and throws tantrums if anyone who says he is wrong. Please, someone, please make sure he takes his meds everyday or a lot of what we hold dear will be trashed.
28
Not 12. Columbia University researched his language. He's about age 9, and that's if you consider that someone else likely wrote his speeches.
1
I suspected he was on meds a few weeks before the election as he seemed relatively restrained.
1
Cripes. So these are the people whose votes are weighted at 3.5 times my vote?
322
Yes, they are the ones. Their ignorance worth as much or more than your informed decision and they want you to know realize that fact.
5
It's only when a news crew interviews them at a polling place that the camera makes them look 3.5 times your vote.
1
For every action there will be a more than equal and opposite reaction. In a couple of years lets see how deep his support is. He is the first President who was elected by a minority who doesn't want to be President of all the people. We will see in four, or even two years whether his supporters still strongly back him and the substantial baggage he brings to the table.
17
He is the fifth President who was elected by a minority of the vote. time will tell.
2
I used to feel kinda bad for the trump voters - They have been conned by a man that has promised to help them. He has told them what they want to hear, whether or not it was true.
Not anymore. Trump supporters are willing to believe the obvious lies and deception that trump is using to erode and dismantle our democracy - It really doesn't matter if it is lack of intelligence or purposeful ignorance that allows them to do so.
Our country will not thrive by vilifying science, facts and rational thought. Allowing hate, fear and irrational thought to guide us will lead us to a very dark place, and that is exactly where trump and his supporters are taking us.
Not anymore. Trump supporters are willing to believe the obvious lies and deception that trump is using to erode and dismantle our democracy - It really doesn't matter if it is lack of intelligence or purposeful ignorance that allows them to do so.
Our country will not thrive by vilifying science, facts and rational thought. Allowing hate, fear and irrational thought to guide us will lead us to a very dark place, and that is exactly where trump and his supporters are taking us.
184
Absolutely, spot on!
1
This should be a lesson to all media outlets. Trump and Bannon are still playing you all like a fiddle. He is a master of showmanship to the low information voter (most of them!). Breathless reporting on "executive actions" that require congressional appropriations or will face years of legal challenge is hardly getting things done. Breathless reporting on Trump's cluelessness, his lies, his tweets, etc, are the same things that didn't work during the campaign. Putin is out of the news cycle, as are Price's stock trades, as are the non payment of employee taxes by the CBO nominee, etc etc - I know that you gotta cover the president but can you please prioritize policy, ethics violations, illegal actions, substance over smoke and mirrors please. You've already covered that he's delusional and obsessed over measures of popularity.
103
agree. i stopped watching msm because it became a soap opera. do some investigation,. get the facts, and report them. Stop reading tweets like they are news.
2
Yes. And stop feeding hysteria; give us the tools that we need.
Once you swallow the kool-aid, you can never go back. These voters are no different than anyone else in the current administration - self interest. However, this will ebb as soon as their leader #FabulistInChief start issuing executive orders affecting their way of life. Healthcare costs, Preventable man made disasters and the wait and see attitude that can't return them to their perceived paradise under the POTUS. Yes they hear the words that he spouts as promises kept without foreseeing its consequences. Good luck to them because most of us are prepared to resist and fight, since we know the fox is in the hen house and we don't want to starve to death.
37
You need to remember about the citizens in the "Rust Belt" when reading this article. These citizens have been the forgotten citizens since the days of Bill Clinton and his presidency. They have lost their good paying jobs, their hope for the future and their neighbors down the street. many of these small towns that were once thriving communities have lost their major employers to bankruptcy, downsizing or having their employer move the factory out of the country. No industry has come in and replaced their jobs or their income. What work can be found is entry level wages. How can any family with children afford that type of income. They can't. This was why so many white, high school educated and less voted for President Trump. They are hoping and praying that he will bring back jobs, restore their communities to full employment, and bring back their neighbors and friends who have left their communities for elsewhere.
These Americans are in desperate situations. Their lives are out of control. They feel they have no future and no present. They voted for President Trump out of sheer desperation. These Americans are scared. They are afraid that their way of life and their future is dying to outside forces they cannot control. They saw President Trump as their only hope and salvation.
These Americans are not stupid. They may see Mr. Trump as their version of FDR. They are hoping for "American First" like our grand or great grandparents were hoping for in the"The New Deal"
These Americans are in desperate situations. Their lives are out of control. They feel they have no future and no present. They voted for President Trump out of sheer desperation. These Americans are scared. They are afraid that their way of life and their future is dying to outside forces they cannot control. They saw President Trump as their only hope and salvation.
These Americans are not stupid. They may see Mr. Trump as their version of FDR. They are hoping for "American First" like our grand or great grandparents were hoping for in the"The New Deal"
137
many east and west coast people are living off those paltry wages complained about. They voted to give up constitutional principles to get what they want. bottom line.
8
Then they are seriously mentally impaired.
Cowardly and selfish behavior is not what such a sea change requires from its citizens or its executive.
Trump isn't worthy to carry a Roosevelt's (any Roosevelt's) dirty underwear.
Cowardly and selfish behavior is not what such a sea change requires from its citizens or its executive.
Trump isn't worthy to carry a Roosevelt's (any Roosevelt's) dirty underwear.
13
They do have plenty of real difficulties because of the very circumstances that you describe but they are not illiterate people who live in communities which have been excluded from the development of this country since it was founded. They are literate with mostly high school educations, all have electricity and modern communications, they know a lot more that 90% of the people in this world about the world in which they live. They could not figure out how to adapt to the changes which have beset them but in reality nobody has as yet. So why do they think that somebody whose only solutions are to bring down the system is the solution? It seems to me that they simply haven't seriously thought about what needs to be done and to learn what has been tried. They could do that if they gave it a little effort.
14
America has always suffered from a kind of widespread foolishness and ignorance, the result of the relative safety of our borders, our open lands, our relative prosperity, and the ability of our citizens to choose to live amongst like-minded people. Freedoms, all - but with great freedom comes great responsibility. I don't believe that the sense of how to exert such responsibility was felt in the same ways between urban and rural areas.
As our cities grew, and diversity became more widespread, and popular culture began to take on social issues and problems with a degree of seriousness not seen before - apart from a very few careful Hollywood movies - those who were increasingly uncomfortable outside of their immediate sphere were able to dig deeper into whatever cultural choices may have offered in simpler municipalities.
It's the immediacy of our burgeoning social media that may make it seem like a new phenomenon. And now we face a harsh time because of a societal rarity - one of the regular pendulum swings we as Americans see on a regular basis - where the timing was such that a potential dictator with a powerful base and a psychopathic need to lie in order to continually self-aggrandize - was ready and waiting to pounce.
As our cities grew, and diversity became more widespread, and popular culture began to take on social issues and problems with a degree of seriousness not seen before - apart from a very few careful Hollywood movies - those who were increasingly uncomfortable outside of their immediate sphere were able to dig deeper into whatever cultural choices may have offered in simpler municipalities.
It's the immediacy of our burgeoning social media that may make it seem like a new phenomenon. And now we face a harsh time because of a societal rarity - one of the regular pendulum swings we as Americans see on a regular basis - where the timing was such that a potential dictator with a powerful base and a psychopathic need to lie in order to continually self-aggrandize - was ready and waiting to pounce.
40
sad but true.
1
Eddie Lou Meimer isn't interested in investing in her own company to ensure that her product meets food safety guidelines? She'd rather lose the guidelines than care about her customers' safety? I'm not buying that maple syrup! And, if she won't invest in her own company's infrastructure, why should my tax-payer money support anything about her business? Those whiny conservatives want handouts disguised to look like "an honest day's work." There's nothing honest about skimping on a product's safety. These conservatives are the new welfare queens.
532
agree. and when the first customer gets botulism, she won't even have a home after the lawsuit gets filed. oh wait, she would file bankruptcy, never paying for the damage done, and then complain about how lazy people try and skate by by suing hard working people.
12
One does not need a gold plated canning room. 711 stores had to put in behind the counter dividers separating the area where the hot dogs are since food prep has to have it's own space. So imagine the waste a government bureaucrat could impose on a cannery .
How do you know which regulations she's referring to? You don't. Many regulations are onerous, expensive and do not make your food any safer.
Just as Dodd Frank regulations, designed to protect Americans from big banks, made those banks twice as big. Why? The regulations were so onerous and complicated, small banks went out of business trying to fund legal teams to interpret them. My point is, not all regulations are good regulations. People starting businesses understand that. So try to ease up on the sanctimony.
Just as Dodd Frank regulations, designed to protect Americans from big banks, made those banks twice as big. Why? The regulations were so onerous and complicated, small banks went out of business trying to fund legal teams to interpret them. My point is, not all regulations are good regulations. People starting businesses understand that. So try to ease up on the sanctimony.
1
"extend concealed-carry rights across state lines"
How do you arrive at a place in your life where this is your #1 priority?
How do you arrive at a place in your life where this is your #1 priority?
649
I talked to one man whose priority seemed to be "politically correct" language. He'll vote for anyone who thinks it's fine to yell the N word at someone in the street.
I'm supposed to empathize with this?
I'm supposed to empathize with this?
4
When you live in the Midwest bubble, logic treated like a salad - take the bits you like, leave the rest behind.
2
Well in a way, that could be very helpful. The cause of all the problems in the world, every single one, is overpopulation. Americans consume more and are more wasteful than any other nationality. Thus the more Americans that are shot dead by other Americans, the better off the planet is.
Right now we only have about 10,000 gun homicides a year. If we could bring that number up to 150,000,000, that would be terrific for the planet and our species as a whole.
Right now we only have about 10,000 gun homicides a year. If we could bring that number up to 150,000,000, that would be terrific for the planet and our species as a whole.
1
These comments prove that Trump is good at showmanship as the comments make clear these folks have zero understanding of complex issues. If silica dust regulations are dropped does that business owner have a way to pay the health care costs of his employees? My guess is the answer is no and when they get sick he will be happy for them to go on medicaid or other government benefits. The construction guy who says Trump has done more than Obama did in eight years - does he know if any of his projects were funded by the stimulus? If has an IRA has he noticed the value doubled since 2009 or perhaps he has a union pension fund that is in much better shape. When Ryan has Trump sign a bill gutting Social security and Medicare I wonder how these folks will react and who will they blame?
41
Too bad each one of these individuals can't see their own hypocrisy. Obese people on disability complaining about handouts for other people. Someone with no health insurance complaining about being forced to contribute to the system that we all know he would take advantage of immediately (at taxpayer expense) if he had a serious injury or illness. A woman claiming the government made her spend $40,000 dollars; baloney. There are common-sense regulations about food handling that we are all obligated to follow if we want to put products on the market, but her example is highly misleading. I don't want botulism, do you? All these people find it so easy to blame "others" but their ignorance gave us Trump, the guy who validates their blame and anger.
125
Some say that Trump is taking away President Obama's legacy. I disagree. History will Show a president sandwiched between Bush and Trump. We saw what Bush did and when Trump gets finished, President Obama will go down as one of the greatest.
45
Stupid is as stupid does (Forest Gump).
How small minded and ill informed can a human being be?
Kill them with asbestos, silica, polluted water, and tainted food - but just make sure my tax is lowered. Oh, and Trump has done more in a week than Obama - he has made the entire world realize we are a stupid,ignorant, low brow, country not worthy of leading.
How small minded and ill informed can a human being be?
Kill them with asbestos, silica, polluted water, and tainted food - but just make sure my tax is lowered. Oh, and Trump has done more in a week than Obama - he has made the entire world realize we are a stupid,ignorant, low brow, country not worthy of leading.
132
I find it fascinating that the New York Times is taking to heart the charge that they have neglected to portray the feelings of mid-America which elected our new President and then all of the comments are about how dumb and self-centered all these people are. All these comments are doing is reinforcing the notion that the coastal elites have no understanding or compassion for the less well-to-do members of our society. We all need to be a little more understanding of each other!
17
Mr. Lindsley,
The fact is that the coasts are home to a vast diverse array of people hailing not only from all over the country, but all over the globe. This extends to economic diversity as well, especially in big cities like New York. The idea that people on the coasts don't know about the working class and their issues suggests that there is a profound ignorance and disinterest in the middle of the country about what the rest of it looks like.
Sure there are disinterested people on the coasts as well. But being surrounded by so many different people from all walks of life can't help teaching you a thing or two. Such as how much you all have in common. And how to get along.
The truth is that middle America are the ones who need to learn about the cities and everything that happens there. Not the other way around.
The fact is that the coasts are home to a vast diverse array of people hailing not only from all over the country, but all over the globe. This extends to economic diversity as well, especially in big cities like New York. The idea that people on the coasts don't know about the working class and their issues suggests that there is a profound ignorance and disinterest in the middle of the country about what the rest of it looks like.
Sure there are disinterested people on the coasts as well. But being surrounded by so many different people from all walks of life can't help teaching you a thing or two. Such as how much you all have in common. And how to get along.
The truth is that middle America are the ones who need to learn about the cities and everything that happens there. Not the other way around.
38
Better find a nice safe space to hide for the next four years!
Trump and his followers aren't bringing compassion and understanding to the table. They are bringing hate, fear, and greed. I don't care why they are that way. I just want to disengage from their alt-reality.
Why bother to pretend that we have still have a chance at unity? The idea is laughable at this point.
Trump and his followers aren't bringing compassion and understanding to the table. They are bringing hate, fear, and greed. I don't care why they are that way. I just want to disengage from their alt-reality.
Why bother to pretend that we have still have a chance at unity? The idea is laughable at this point.
10
No way do these "people" deserve understanding.
2
Trump is light on rhetoric and heavy with the theatrics. To his supporters, they overlook his histrionics and his un-presidential boorish demeanor; both reflecting the mood of his supporters. Whereas Hillary is intellectually superior to Trump and possessed a presidential demeanor, she represented all that was wrong with Washington, Trump is the antithesis of Washington and his demeanor, tweets and language a reflection of the commoners who are searching for their place in the new America. Obama guided and prevented further foreign entanglements and battled an obstinate congress; but to Trump supporters the era of inspirational rhetoric has been replaced by a language of frustration and lashing out to all perceived threats. Trump supporters will hold him accountable based on his actions and not on what he says and whom he insults! If he creates jobs, his support will come!
5
How many articles like this - exposing the inner workings of the minds of white Trump voters -must we endure? There have been dozens so far. As if these people made up a majority, or their opinions were well-formed and interesting.
I want to hear about how forward-thinking Americans are working to create change and a better future despite Trump and the people that voted for him.
I want to hear about how forward-thinking Americans are working to create change and a better future despite Trump and the people that voted for him.
65
Stupid is what stupid does. Let's all look in the mirror to see what we have done. This didn't happen overnight, it has been in the works for decades. We as a nation have failed, and we are all guilty.
23
The nation is not guilty of making these people poorly educated and shallow. They are responsible for themselves.
Positive Confirmation bias was probably shared by many Trump university enrollees during their first few days too.
31
It is not news to me how ignorant Trump supporters are.
I don't need to understand them. They are uneducated. They don't understand science, facts, logic or evidence.
I don't need to understand them. They are uneducated. They don't understand science, facts, logic or evidence.
201
Too much silica dust.
3
Or history. My friend talked to someone who's happy about the Wall. "It will keep the bad guys out, like the Berlin Wall did," the person explained.
When my friend tried to tell her that wasn't what the Berlin Wall was or did, the Trump supporter shouted her down and refused to listen.
When my friend tried to tell her that wasn't what the Berlin Wall was or did, the Trump supporter shouted her down and refused to listen.
12
Anecdotal stories like this belongs in opinion, not news. I can easily find you three dozen "Trump backers" who don't think the first week was anything other than eyewash, photo ops and talking points written by a PR hack (that's public relations not Puerto Rican in case a Trump troll is reading this phonetically).
There's fake news and then there's the fake reality it's designed to invoke. Maybe Mr. Healy went out and talked to a bunch of folks he identified as Trump people and they really did say the things he reported. But it isn't news just because it meets the minimum of who, what, why, when and where. And it isn't news when it obviously reflects a powerful buyer's bias -- the only idiocy that exceeds buying what Trump sold would be idiocy that admits they were idiots for buying it in the first place. When part of stupidity stems from self-loathing and denial, owning it despite the red warning lights is predictable. There's no news value in this front page filler.
These people are still intoxicated, not even hung-over yet. And Trump is still pouring it thick and heavy down their throats like turkeys in the rain. There's neither news nor insight in telling us they remain idiots and -- big surprise -- ecstatic with the idiot who they gave the nuclear codes to play with.
These people bought the sizzle. Don't ask them about the steak when they're gorging on the cheap appetizers. Go talk to them when the steak never shows.
There's fake news and then there's the fake reality it's designed to invoke. Maybe Mr. Healy went out and talked to a bunch of folks he identified as Trump people and they really did say the things he reported. But it isn't news just because it meets the minimum of who, what, why, when and where. And it isn't news when it obviously reflects a powerful buyer's bias -- the only idiocy that exceeds buying what Trump sold would be idiocy that admits they were idiots for buying it in the first place. When part of stupidity stems from self-loathing and denial, owning it despite the red warning lights is predictable. There's no news value in this front page filler.
These people are still intoxicated, not even hung-over yet. And Trump is still pouring it thick and heavy down their throats like turkeys in the rain. There's neither news nor insight in telling us they remain idiots and -- big surprise -- ecstatic with the idiot who they gave the nuclear codes to play with.
These people bought the sizzle. Don't ask them about the steak when they're gorging on the cheap appetizers. Go talk to them when the steak never shows.
91
I think they represent "Trump" supporters and I've heard similar stories from others who voted for Trump. I think however, there was a voting population of Jews and Rich people that should also examined. I can't fathom how or why they voted for him. I think the common denominator was a Hate for Hillary (sowed by Republican propaganda and male mocha) as well as economic self interests (my taxes are too high, or the Isreal card) But I think the common denominator is greed.
There were a few good things that happened this week...Mattis as Defense Secretary being the main good point and of course Republicans running (somewhat) frightened on Obamacare repeal. The rhetoric, tweets, lies, and attacks on the press are getting old and tiring and it has only been seven days.
The Republicans won the election, let them govern (if they know how), and let them own it. If, as is the case with past republican administrations, the Democrats will be cleaning up their mess in (hopefully) only 4 years.
This is not to say I'm going to sit back and let it happen without a fight, I suspect Constitutional lawyers and the ACLU will be very busy for the next four years, and I personally have already signed up in the queue to provide pro bono hours for those affected.
The Republicans won the election, let them govern (if they know how), and let them own it. If, as is the case with past republican administrations, the Democrats will be cleaning up their mess in (hopefully) only 4 years.
This is not to say I'm going to sit back and let it happen without a fight, I suspect Constitutional lawyers and the ACLU will be very busy for the next four years, and I personally have already signed up in the queue to provide pro bono hours for those affected.
572
Yes, but is this any way to run a country? Is this how the majority wants to live, ricocheting from one extreme to the other four to eight years? I don't think so. Polls have consistently shown that the majority of Americans across the country believe climate change is real, gun purchases should be monitored, people should have access to affordable healthcare, that basic safety regulations governing food, medicine, OSHA etc are necessary to us all.
There will always be uninformed people who take a narrow view, who consistently fail to see how they and their needs fit into the larger picture, but they should not be considered mainstream, nor should their views hold major sway in a progressive society. Unfortunately these people tend to be concentrated in pockets of the country where the Electoral College says that their vote is worth 10x the value of my absentee vote in CA. Now the EC has determined that we are all subject to their whims. Trump has a 36% approval rating and it's only going to drop from there. Eliminate the Electoral College and these people's views and articles about them will cease to be relevant.
There will always be uninformed people who take a narrow view, who consistently fail to see how they and their needs fit into the larger picture, but they should not be considered mainstream, nor should their views hold major sway in a progressive society. Unfortunately these people tend to be concentrated in pockets of the country where the Electoral College says that their vote is worth 10x the value of my absentee vote in CA. Now the EC has determined that we are all subject to their whims. Trump has a 36% approval rating and it's only going to drop from there. Eliminate the Electoral College and these people's views and articles about them will cease to be relevant.
1
Good for you! Very generous. Cheers.
I think you are spot on. So far this administration has shown they Oath they took to defend the Constitution was meaningless. I suspect the courts will be dealing with a lot of this administrations "orders."
Provincial, self-pitying, fact-averse, xenophobic, unconcerned with broader consequences. No question, Trump's their guy.
72
Why is the desire to preserve and live in one's own culture, xenophobic? In addition, this country has enough people, non-assimilated and otherwise. At least until recently, even the Sierra Club opposed mass immigration because of the obvious negative impact on the environment.
Finally, the one interviewee is absolutely correct when he notes that US vets, used and washed up protecting the trade routes and business of the "elites," as well as other citizens who lack, need attention before opening the full array of benefits to foreigners? It's disingenuous and dishonest, these name-callers.
Finally, the one interviewee is absolutely correct when he notes that US vets, used and washed up protecting the trade routes and business of the "elites," as well as other citizens who lack, need attention before opening the full array of benefits to foreigners? It's disingenuous and dishonest, these name-callers.
3
I knew Trump supporters were short sighted but not this bad. I hope the NY Times does a followup with these same people in two years.
46
I demand follow up at 6 month intervals. It's the least the NYT can do after being instrumental in the outcome of the election by treating Trump as a legitimate potential president for 18 months.
1
In the end, a lot of people simply don't buy poll results. Many believe that the questions are phrased in order to obtain a desired response (either liberal OR conservative), rather than real sentiments. Beyond that, while polls had Clinton and Trump at virtually a dead-heat going into the election, the MSM almost universally had Clinton winning by some huge electoral majority in their ANALYSIS of those polls.
Needless to say, the MSM was wrong. It can't be a good feeling to know that if they'd been more accurate in their predictions, Mrs. Clinton might have taken less for granted and ACTUALLY won, instead of losing by the merest Electoral College breath.
Readers should note as well that this Times U.S. "news" piece is one serial set of arguments from beginning to end seeking to discredit the views of Trump supporters and cast doubt on both his promises and his ability to fulfill them. It's not even news "analysis" but propaganda lacking any real sense of balance.
Needless to say, the MSM was wrong. It can't be a good feeling to know that if they'd been more accurate in their predictions, Mrs. Clinton might have taken less for granted and ACTUALLY won, instead of losing by the merest Electoral College breath.
Readers should note as well that this Times U.S. "news" piece is one serial set of arguments from beginning to end seeking to discredit the views of Trump supporters and cast doubt on both his promises and his ability to fulfill them. It's not even news "analysis" but propaganda lacking any real sense of balance.
15
one serial set that has continued relentlessly from the day Trump declared his candidacy, throughout the campaign, election and to this moment - the "uneducated" "deplorable narrative.
How shameful.
How shameful.
5
So, Richard, can we start taking Trump literally yet?
8
reply to Richard Leuttgen: "In the End"? In the end; a lot of people still don't believe the Earth is Round or Cigarettes lead to Cancer; Guns actually kill people. The issue isn't about Polls now (but you know that). The issue is what we now have in a President and how the man perceives reality vs paranoid rantings about matters of non consequence: Seven days and he is STUCK on Aerial Photos of Crowds; That is what People like yourself should (also) be concerned about Richard.
8
Trump shows that election promises are meant to be kept, not broken.
What a novel concept.
With Trump's governing style, who will elect politicians any more ?
What a novel concept.
With Trump's governing style, who will elect politicians any more ?
4
Name one promise then that he has actually kept, followed through on and produced. Not just written some order that hasn't been carried out, or tweeted some nonsense. Just one promise completed, if you can.
3
I'm sure Trump supporters are ecstatic that he's still lying now that he's President. They adored him as he lied to them regularly at his rallies, they just ate it all up.
Trump took a page right out of the GOP playbook. Con the white lower and middle class voters into supporting tax cuts for the wealthy by promising them trickle-down prosperity. It's a tired old game but Trump took it to an entirely new level with some slick demagoguery, trafficking in racial provocation and a touch of xenophobia.
Trump took a page right out of the GOP playbook. Con the white lower and middle class voters into supporting tax cuts for the wealthy by promising them trickle-down prosperity. It's a tired old game but Trump took it to an entirely new level with some slick demagoguery, trafficking in racial provocation and a touch of xenophobia.
42
Conservative Republicans voted against their own well being and were mesmerized by the Television man. I think we must do better in education, especially requiring mandatory High School graduation because these voters hurt themselves badly in coming years.
To be light hearted for a moment, I want to share a joke of mine that especially fits Trump who was sent to a military school in his youth by his family to straighten him out...................
Ya know, Republican politicians always want to reform everything. They must have gone to reform school.
To be light hearted for a moment, I want to share a joke of mine that especially fits Trump who was sent to a military school in his youth by his family to straighten him out...................
Ya know, Republican politicians always want to reform everything. They must have gone to reform school.
12
Everyone under the party of "personal responsibility" shouldn't have to worry about paying a penalty because they should all be responsible enough to have health insurance.
29
What a bunch of ignorant people. These people don't seem to realize that it was the Democrats that established social security and medicare. That Obama and the Democrats saved the auto industry and wanted everyone to have access to affordable healthcare. Republicans never wanted social security and medicare to become entitlements. Republicans didn't care if the auto industry went down in flames. I hope that these Ohioans all enjoy their $1.98 in tax refunds and their cuts in social security, medicare and medicaid benefits. These Ohioans will see what it means to vote against your own self interest when they no longer can get affordable healthcare, but they still will have their guns and religion and no Mexicans in their neighborhoods.
93
Obama reduced the V.A. waiting list substantially. This guy in the article probably has no clue. Just like many Trump supporters didn't realize the unemployment levels went from record highs to record lows under Obama.
9
Frankly, at this point I don't know that they will ever see. More likely they will make something up to fit their narrative.
1
"The Hispanic population is tiny in this overwhelmingly white county of 35,000, and it has grown only 0.3 percent in the past five years. Still, people here said they felt as if immigration had undercut wages for construction workers in the area." There we go. The Trump succeeds again in getting folks who are struggling to blame immigrants for all their woes instead of addressing the complicated causes of Midwest unemployment. There are also a substantial number of Trump supporters who think that repealing Obamacare is great because they'll still have the ACA. No kidding!
These are the people who think he's doing a great job! The best!! Just ask him!!!
These are the people who think he's doing a great job! The best!! Just ask him!!!
75
I'd like to know how many of the young woman in Ohio feel that a woman should never be president.
My daughter has met many women at the university she attends in Ohio that voted for Trump because they believed in this day and age that a woman should not hold the Oval Office. And a good many of them didn't realize until AFTER they voted for Trump that their reproductive rights were threatened.
77,000 votes may reverse 40 years of progress.
My daughter has met many women at the university she attends in Ohio that voted for Trump because they believed in this day and age that a woman should not hold the Oval Office. And a good many of them didn't realize until AFTER they voted for Trump that their reproductive rights were threatened.
77,000 votes may reverse 40 years of progress.
131
Sad, as their pal in the White House would say.
They'll get their abortion roll-back, and then we'll have either barefoot-and-pregnant types á la the 1920s or dead women who swallowed bleach or lye, anything to avoid carrying their rapist's spawn.
They'll get their wall, but they won't get their jobs back. Technology, not Mexicans, took their jobs. Unless they want to work again for coolie wages, which is not, I think, what they have in mind.
We once sent men to the moon, patented medicines, eradicated diseases, mapped DNA. But we didn't do it with men and women who have no interest in science and prefer to believe that God with a word and a woosh! made everything that was made.
Middle-class people once listened to the Metropolitan Opera broadcast, brought to them by Texaco every Saturday afternoon. What do they listen to now? Shock-jocks. And on television, so-called reality shows from which their tetchy, erratic President has slouched into the White House.
They'll get their abortion roll-back, and then we'll have either barefoot-and-pregnant types á la the 1920s or dead women who swallowed bleach or lye, anything to avoid carrying their rapist's spawn.
They'll get their wall, but they won't get their jobs back. Technology, not Mexicans, took their jobs. Unless they want to work again for coolie wages, which is not, I think, what they have in mind.
We once sent men to the moon, patented medicines, eradicated diseases, mapped DNA. But we didn't do it with men and women who have no interest in science and prefer to believe that God with a word and a woosh! made everything that was made.
Middle-class people once listened to the Metropolitan Opera broadcast, brought to them by Texaco every Saturday afternoon. What do they listen to now? Shock-jocks. And on television, so-called reality shows from which their tetchy, erratic President has slouched into the White House.
214
Several recent articles have pointed out that the natural and logical consequence of prohibitions against normal and reasonable assistance to women's health care is an increase in the incidence of abortions, and that increase is quite possibly substantial.
It begs the question why so many women artificially inseminate themselves just to turn around and seek an abortion. Oh, wait, You say there's a man involved? And in case you're wondering why so many women don't say No to their mates is because the bible tells them in no uncertain terms that they are to be subservient to them.
Mike Pence is one of the great minds of the 13th century.
Why do Republican men hate women so much?
On a related note, ask yourself what the Republican party has done for anyone but the (very) wealthy in the last 36 years.
It begs the question why so many women artificially inseminate themselves just to turn around and seek an abortion. Oh, wait, You say there's a man involved? And in case you're wondering why so many women don't say No to their mates is because the bible tells them in no uncertain terms that they are to be subservient to them.
Mike Pence is one of the great minds of the 13th century.
Why do Republican men hate women so much?
On a related note, ask yourself what the Republican party has done for anyone but the (very) wealthy in the last 36 years.
6
There is a degree of selfishness in some of the supporters:.
The angry vet who is angry that he had a hard time getting his disability, the young woman who is happy that her uninsured boyfriend will get not have to pay the mandate penalty, the farmer who is mad about being forced to pay for food safety. (Wouldn't it be great if the country actually paid the farmer for installing food safety mechanisms?)
Make America Gret Again seems to mean for these folks: let me get mine and who cares about the country. It's "Me, Myself and I".
No concept of shared vision, shared goals. But Trump, the great Ego, is the perfect President for these folks. So, of course, they would be thrilled with his Executive orders.
The angry vet who is angry that he had a hard time getting his disability, the young woman who is happy that her uninsured boyfriend will get not have to pay the mandate penalty, the farmer who is mad about being forced to pay for food safety. (Wouldn't it be great if the country actually paid the farmer for installing food safety mechanisms?)
Make America Gret Again seems to mean for these folks: let me get mine and who cares about the country. It's "Me, Myself and I".
No concept of shared vision, shared goals. But Trump, the great Ego, is the perfect President for these folks. So, of course, they would be thrilled with his Executive orders.
128
Yep= bet the boyfriend was just lazy and didn't seelk out a plan of figure out how to sign uo for Obamacare- which in my experience was fairly simple.
3
How do we ever reconcile with a group of people that applaud a president that has embraced unprecedented lying, threatening the press and our allies, and shoving millions from essential health care in his first week of office?
The simple thing is we can't. There is no amount of reasoning; no facts; no points about the safety of their kids and future; no demonstration of hypocrisy---nothing that will ever persuade them that we're embarking on a disastrous and terrible course that could result in our country losing its status in the world, or worse.
And I feel confident that most all of them are incapable of learning the hard way, even if Trump's actions results in damaging effects to their lives, such as a loss in Social Security, health care, or essential safety nets. Most cannot reject that their view of the world was wrong, given everything that they have ignored or rationalized up to this point to be part of Trump's faithfuls.
The hard question is how does our society and country move forward when many millions of our citizens are incapable or unwilling to make rational decisions and heed common sense warnings voiced by unbiased sources?
We need to face this problem because it is not going away any time soon.
The simple thing is we can't. There is no amount of reasoning; no facts; no points about the safety of their kids and future; no demonstration of hypocrisy---nothing that will ever persuade them that we're embarking on a disastrous and terrible course that could result in our country losing its status in the world, or worse.
And I feel confident that most all of them are incapable of learning the hard way, even if Trump's actions results in damaging effects to their lives, such as a loss in Social Security, health care, or essential safety nets. Most cannot reject that their view of the world was wrong, given everything that they have ignored or rationalized up to this point to be part of Trump's faithfuls.
The hard question is how does our society and country move forward when many millions of our citizens are incapable or unwilling to make rational decisions and heed common sense warnings voiced by unbiased sources?
We need to face this problem because it is not going away any time soon.
164
We wait until they all die from silica dust poisoning, home-grown terrorists shooting them in movie theaters, succumbing to heart attacks from eating too much fast food, etc.
13
I agree. They will force themselves to come to any conclusion other than the truth: that their problems are caused by Trump.
1
Democracy works well for informed Citizenry. SIMPLE
31
Keep focusing your profiles on blue-collar areas in the Midwest and finding people to interview who will incite nasty comments from your readers. That way you can feel good about your even-handed journalism, your quest for understanding the Trump voter. And your commenters can continue to to live in the Elite Tower of Sanctimony. This worked so well for your agenda in the November election! I'm just positive that going forward, people will really start to believe that the Democratic party is the one of tolerance, acceptance and inclusivity.
13
It is not my fault I have educated myself. So when someone says 2 2 is 5, I don't need to understand their viewpoint. They are just plain wrong.
Just point to issue of climate change as example.
Just point to issue of climate change as example.
28
So who should the NYT interview? These folks seemed to be a fair representation of Trump supporters. Or is it that Trump supporters just naturally incite nasty comments based on their views?
8
If you can find a batch of highly-educated, affluent, urban left/right coast dwellers who supported donald, no doubt the NYT would be happy to interview them. I personally know of no one who hits all four quadrants.
8
I don't say God bless America I say God help America
45
Can anyone alive today recall the first week of any Presidency that was stalked by doubters with such incredible malevolence and minute-by-minute microscopic cavity-searching?
It's little wonder Trump supporters like what he's doing: we have given him the reins and now we're hoping the wolves don't chase him off the trail.
It's little wonder Trump supporters like what he's doing: we have given him the reins and now we're hoping the wolves don't chase him off the trail.
5
Does anybody remember that even before he was elected, Pres Obama was "stalked by doubters (i.e. the birthers) with such malevolence and cavity searching?"
Does anybody remember that at the very start of his presidency, the Republicans flatly stated that they would refuse to work with him, and that their main goal was to "make him a one-term president?"
It's little wonder that 60%+ of Americans don't like what tRump is doing; a minority of the population has given him the reins, and the rest of us are trying to chase him off the trail before he does irepperable damage to our country.
Does anybody remember that at the very start of his presidency, the Republicans flatly stated that they would refuse to work with him, and that their main goal was to "make him a one-term president?"
It's little wonder that 60%+ of Americans don't like what tRump is doing; a minority of the population has given him the reins, and the rest of us are trying to chase him off the trail before he does irepperable damage to our country.
40
He's also the only president to rely so almost entirely on Twitter and to have virtually no unedited thoughts. Which is to say, if he were more circumspect, there would be less to comment on.
The US is fast becoming the most retrograde country in the Western World. If Franklin or Madison could see what is going on, they would wonder what went wrong. What started out as an enlightened republic ends up as a quasi medieval cauldron of fanaticism and ignorance. ISIS will soon be green with envy.
72
If the purpose of terrorism is to inspire so much terror in a populace that they act irrationally and sabotage themselves...
Then Trump signals the triumph of terrorism over America.
They won.
Then Trump signals the triumph of terrorism over America.
They won.
20
While I share your sentiment about the current lower class populace, I think history will show it probably wasn't much better in the deep past in these areas. Frequent revival eras, frontier ignorance, and backward ways is an American tradition. It is also pretty much the way of the world in other nations as well. They don't get out much.
6
Is there a way we can have an amicable divorce in America? Then my America won't have to pay for your expensive medical treatment of preventable diseases such as silica dust poisoning or your accidental shootings and other preventable chronic health conditions caused by lifestyle. We'll keep the educated immigrants (who are on average more educated than the average American) and Planned Parenthood. If you want to come to my America from your America, you'll have to get in line and apply for citizenship like everyone else.
264
As soon as you figure out whether to cede the east coast or the west coast so as to have a contiguous split away nation, I'll leave the midwest and join your new nation. I would suggest seceding the east coast as it has more water, fewer earthquakes, less gun owners. Until then, the Dems had better work on how to connect with enough voters to make the electoral college work in their favor.
"Lou Meimer, 70, walking through her family farm south of town, said she wanted the federal government to ease the kind of food-safety regulations that she said had forced her to build a $40,000 canning room for her maple-syrup business."
The mindset of Trump Supporters (in a nutshell): Me, me and only me. Woe-be-damned any thing else. Forget about Food Safety for the rest of us; salmonella anyone? Who cares? Never thinking beyond the "Big "I" and little "u". Suddenly the "long standing Somali Community" is suspicious. Blame immigrants for taking Construction jobs rather than the dearth of skilled Americans with the types of Construction skills required; We Hate Unions remember; so there aren't unions shops and apprenticeships teaching vocational skills. These people truly make me sick.
The mindset of Trump Supporters (in a nutshell): Me, me and only me. Woe-be-damned any thing else. Forget about Food Safety for the rest of us; salmonella anyone? Who cares? Never thinking beyond the "Big "I" and little "u". Suddenly the "long standing Somali Community" is suspicious. Blame immigrants for taking Construction jobs rather than the dearth of skilled Americans with the types of Construction skills required; We Hate Unions remember; so there aren't unions shops and apprenticeships teaching vocational skills. These people truly make me sick.
123
Why should she have to spend money to make money? It's this kind of insanity you can't combat. If she could afford 40k for her lil' 'ol syrup business, I can assure you, it no longer fits in her kitchen. God forbid she be required to pay for any of the costs associated with running a business. ROI?
I'll be sure to look her up and save myself the salmonella.
I'll be sure to look her up and save myself the salmonella.
4
Do a bit of googling & you'll see what a pig sty she's canning the syrup on. We need more refs on people like that, not fewer.
1
Off to a good start. So are plenty of races hoarse who can't gain the triple crown. I'll wait for the outcome. I've heard the rhetoric already.
1
All I can say is they really now have no one to blame but themselves
45
I read something today that said, "Equal rights doesn't mean you receive fewer rights. It isn't pie." (OK, it was on Facebook. But still!). I feel like that's what these voters don't seem to understand.
Also, and I can only assess based on the photos, no people of color? Guess it's hard to find a Trump voter of color, but maybe harder still to find one satisfied with his performance?
Also, and I can only assess based on the photos, no people of color? Guess it's hard to find a Trump voter of color, but maybe harder still to find one satisfied with his performance?
16
I'm not sure whether the NY Times does it purposely or not but every Trump-supporter comes off as either selfish, racist or just grossly misinformed. I have no doubt these people are "happy" about Trump's actions but I suspect they'd be happy with any Republican.
36
Trump is doing a great job. It is refreshing to know there is someone who actually likes Americans in our Oval Office now. The fearmongering by liberals is all they have, since once you read, watch, or check Tump's actions, you see he has a pragmatic, sensible, meritocratic approach to fixing our many problems (most caused by Democrat rule).
It reminds me of that Star Trek:TNG episode when they thought they had to keep turning up the heat shields to withstand attack, but Data said, no, turn them down. That is a perfect analogy for liberals: the more than scream, the more we win. All citizens of conscience feel the freedom Trump has restored after the tyranny of Obama and his fascistic folllowers.
It reminds me of that Star Trek:TNG episode when they thought they had to keep turning up the heat shields to withstand attack, but Data said, no, turn them down. That is a perfect analogy for liberals: the more than scream, the more we win. All citizens of conscience feel the freedom Trump has restored after the tyranny of Obama and his fascistic folllowers.
6
So impressed by your deep reference frame, Star Trek:TNG.
13
It's hard to win an argument with a smart person, but impossible to win one with a stupid person.
35
No it is more like The Simpsons when Homer talks to his own brain congratulating himself on how smart he is.
Saying Mexico will pay for a wall and then No, the US will pay by being taxed is neither pragmatic not sensible. You are just in your own Star Trek movie.
Saying Mexico will pay for a wall and then No, the US will pay by being taxed is neither pragmatic not sensible. You are just in your own Star Trek movie.
8