Trump voters revealed
There's a really interesting article at The Atlantic about the real reasons why people voted for Trump and why they still support him: The Nationalist's Delusion. I learned of the article when Lawrence O'Donnell had the writer on his show ...
The article is very long and detailed but well worth a read. The premise is that it was *not* the middle class's money worries that caused people to support Trump - the article shows that the poorest voters actually voted for Hillary. And the article points out that the one thing that almost all Trump voters have in common, as opposed to Hillary voters, was that they were white. Here's just a bit of the article ...
[...] Clinton defeated Trump handily among Americans making less than $50,000 a year. Among voters making more than that, the two candidates ran roughly even. The electorate, however, skews wealthier than the general population. Voters making less than $50,000, whom Clinton won by a proportion of 53 to 41, accounted for only 36 percent of the votes cast, while those making more than $50,000—whom Trump won by a single point—made up 64 percent. The most economically vulnerable Americans voted for Clinton overwhelmingly; the usual presumption is exactly the opposite.
If you look at white voters alone, a different picture emerges. Trump defeated Clinton among white voters in every income category, winning by a margin of 57 to 34 among whites making less than $30,000; 56 to 37 among those making less than $50,000; 61 to 33 for those making $50,000 to $100,000; 56 to 39 among those making $100,000 to $200,000; 50 to 45 among those making $200,000 to $250,000; and 48 to 43 among those making more than $250,000. In other words, Trump won white voters at every level of class and income. He won workers, he won managers, he won owners, he won robber barons. This is not a working-class coalition; it is a nationalist one ...
It's hard to escape the conclusion that Trump voters supported and continue to support him because they believe he will provide a society in which conservative white Christians are dominant. I think this extends too to the way Trump supporters view women ... it's not a coincidence that they supported a self-confessed assaulter of women for president, that they work to curtail women's reproductive rights, or that they so hated the first woman to run for president.
The article is very long and detailed but well worth a read. The premise is that it was *not* the middle class's money worries that caused people to support Trump - the article shows that the poorest voters actually voted for Hillary. And the article points out that the one thing that almost all Trump voters have in common, as opposed to Hillary voters, was that they were white. Here's just a bit of the article ...
[...] Clinton defeated Trump handily among Americans making less than $50,000 a year. Among voters making more than that, the two candidates ran roughly even. The electorate, however, skews wealthier than the general population. Voters making less than $50,000, whom Clinton won by a proportion of 53 to 41, accounted for only 36 percent of the votes cast, while those making more than $50,000—whom Trump won by a single point—made up 64 percent. The most economically vulnerable Americans voted for Clinton overwhelmingly; the usual presumption is exactly the opposite.
If you look at white voters alone, a different picture emerges. Trump defeated Clinton among white voters in every income category, winning by a margin of 57 to 34 among whites making less than $30,000; 56 to 37 among those making less than $50,000; 61 to 33 for those making $50,000 to $100,000; 56 to 39 among those making $100,000 to $200,000; 50 to 45 among those making $200,000 to $250,000; and 48 to 43 among those making more than $250,000. In other words, Trump won white voters at every level of class and income. He won workers, he won managers, he won owners, he won robber barons. This is not a working-class coalition; it is a nationalist one ...
It's hard to escape the conclusion that Trump voters supported and continue to support him because they believe he will provide a society in which conservative white Christians are dominant. I think this extends too to the way Trump supporters view women ... it's not a coincidence that they supported a self-confessed assaulter of women for president, that they work to curtail women's reproductive rights, or that they so hated the first woman to run for president.
posted by crystal | 3:17 PM
2 Comments:
That was really interesting - I'll be reading the article when I have more time. Thanks for this Crystal!
Thanks, Dyan :)
Post a Comment
<< Home