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Originally Posted by !@#$%!
i disagree that trump endures because he's a celebrity.
he endures because he appeals to white working class voters who feel that the system is rigged against them.
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Honestly that is only part of it, I think the celebrity and TV persona really are a major contributing factor as to WHY such white nationalists (as Nate Silver has designated this demographic) even remotely believe Trump is "their guy" is because of the TV character he invented for himself. It is entirely a fabrication of television that portrays Trump as a successful businessman (he is definitively NOT), a charismatic personality (which before "the Donald" was commonly accepted as NOT being in anyway true), or even knowledgeable person in general. There is a great Frontline that came out recently lending a biography to the two candidates which makes a good case for this.
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this is a legitimate constituency with a legitimate problem.
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Personally I disagree in the sense that while the economic decline of lower-to-lower-middle class middle aged white men has been a consistent trend over the past 10-15 years I am not sure that Trump in anyway actually legitimately addresses their concerns. In particular, I wonder if in many respects this economic decline is actually self-inflicted, not merely by decades of supporting "fiscal conservatives" and "supply-side economics", but also by themselves not as a work force stay up to date with the trends in their respective industries and seek the appropriate training or education to shift with the times. For example, many of these guys used to make their living in manufacturing, and while this sector is certainly not what it was before the 1970s it certainly isn't like the US doesn't manufacture anything, indeed currently 51% of the American economy is still involved in manufacturing and by total dollar value output US manufacturing is still by far the largest in the world. There are a currently estimated ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND openings in manufacturing that are STILL unable to be filled because they require certification, training, or some college education that these middle aged white guys simply didn't pursue. Had they not been such dumbasses many of them would be making up to six figures annually instead of scapegoating "libtards" for their woes..
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unfortunately it's also compounded with scapegoating, racism, xenophobia, and all manner of absurdities just like nazism used the jews to blame for germany's problems.
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To be sure the Germans had more legitimate grievances that white America even if the Jews and Russians were not in any way the ones worthy of taking the blame. I think that about 25% of Trumpites are outright bigots or racists, and the other 10-15% are those that still tap dance around Republican ideological talking points.
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and if i felt that trump offered actual workable solutions instead of lies and snake oil i would actually support him. but he's a scammer and a thief and an abusive psychopath lying demagogue. so no fucking way. NO FUCKING WAY.
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I find this statement very interesting as Trump seems to be the epitome of all the conservative slime and not just because of racism/bigotry but also the insistence on continually proven failed economic ideology.