I'll never understand the press's fascination with these people. Not a week passes without some report from Nowhere, Idaho, or Flyover, Florida, attempting to probe Trump voters' psyches. These reports never offer any new insights and invariably reach the same conclusion: these simple-minded people love their simple-minded president and will never betray him. How many small towns must these journalists visit to tell us the same thing?
We also needn't speculate further about their motivations for electing him. These articles portray Trump's voters as victims of globalization, hapless creatures devastated by the new economy. The writers painstakingly describe the rural desperation and post-industrial angst. Their factories left. They can't kick the opioid habit. They worry about losing healthcare. Never mind that they voted AGAINST the candidate who promised to fix or at least assuage those problems. No, they deserve our sympathy and understanding. The newspapers peddle this story ad nauseam.
But, as always, their own words convey their real feelings and intentions. This article describes the locals' reminiscing about "the way things used to be." Combine such statements with the studies conducted post-election, and you get the real picture - namely, that racists and bigots relished the opportunity to elect someone who represented them. They resent minorities for existing, and they doubly resent the Democratic Party for helping minorities. To them progress represents not societal advancement but an attack on them and their social status. They thus voted for a candidate who vowed, implicitly and explicitly, to maintain white supremacy. No logic will reach them, no Tweet will embarrass them, no Democratic candidate will sway them with commitments to higher wages and healthcare. They'll vote for their "team" (white, Christian, Republican) every time and to their detriment if they can somehow hurt minorities. They won't change.
