The President of the United States has become a politically polarizing leader. Many people in the Valley either love him or hate him. Few are indifferent.
President Trump’s supporters can’t be lumped into a “basket of deplorables,” as Hilary Clinton once asserted. Rather, his supporters are a diverse group who do not necessarily link their value systems with those of the president they support.
The support of a president may exist for one reason, two reasons, or multiple reasons. People generally decide who they support based on perceived self-interest. Thus, Trump’s political base consists of those who think they benefit from the president’s actions in office. Support erodes only when perceptions adversely change. Perceptions do not generally change easily.
The Valley Perspective
For over thirty years, the dominating political force in the Valley has been the Republican Party. Republicans have held the majority of elective offices, including the non-partisan ones. Republicans have usually turned out to vote in greater numbers than non-Republicans. As a result, Valley communities have been governed in traditionally conservative ways.
During this thirty year period, the Republican elected leaders and their supporters have constantly harped about the evils of government, blaming everything that is wrong with the country on the government while actually running it! This modus operandi has created an enormous amount of negativism in the electorate, ideal for supporting a divisive President.
President Trump has thrived on numerous conspiracy theories, easily accepted by the cynical electorate in the Central Valley. If one believes that the government is rotten, then any conspiracy theory that confirms the narrative is easily accepted as true.
Religious fundamentalists have actively participated in local politics, holding candidate forums, endorsing and electing like-minded mostly Republican self-proclaimed conservatives. They represent a large minority of local voters and, in elections with low voter turnout, may represent a majority of voters who cast a vote. Nationwide, fundamentalists are a substantial and important voting bloc.
An Imbedded Bias
Given how the bias has been imbedded in Trump supporters, one would be naive to think that his supporters will easily change their preference, especially given how deeply Democrats have been demonized by Republicans over a long period of time.
So many Valley citizens have always voted for the same political party that changing voting preference comes slowly, on a generational basis, if at all.
How deep is the bias? Former Republican Jeff Denham was voted out of office only because his job performance was so mediocre that even some Republicans realized he was a RINO–Republican in name only.
How mediocre does President Trump have to be to lose his local base of support? The answer depends on the preferences of each voter. Those harmed most by Trump policies are most likely to abandon him. But those who seem to have benefited the most—we won’t list them here as the political opposition has repeatedly speculated about the President’s remaining supporters—will stick with him until the country collapses in a heap of social unrest, a failed economy, or both.
Weirdos like you are the main reason Donald Trump, who had no chance according to your kind, is President and will be again come 2020. Arrogance, condescension, ridicule, a total lack of respect for anyone who has the gall to think differently than you, etc.. Please, keep it up and never change. You can take on the martyr role, the victim of the big bad conservatives for the rest of time. Suits me just peachy!
I’m a small business owner, and Trump is the type of client I’d put on a cash up front basis before doing anything for him. He stiffed suppliers, students, and told people of color his properties weren’t for sale or rent to them. I’m sorry you want to hang in with a thief.
Trump is neither Republican nor Democrat. He is not a politician. He has personally said so. He is a businessman and a very successful one at that, and has not criminally stolen from anyone during the course of his business career. He, like any shrewd entrepreneur, operates within the legal system to maximize his advantage. It is the American way. Never forget that “the business
of America is business.”
It’s curious that you state Trump has not “criminally stolen” from anyone and that he uses the legal system to “maximum his advantage”. Both of those statements say to me, “he cheated people and businesses but either wasn’t caught or it wasn’t completely illegal, so I approve” and “he lawyered up and was willing to spends hundreds of thousands of dollars” to avoid doing the what the rest of us do…pay our taxes. It’s that kind of thinking that gives him a pass when he “suggests” (c’mon, we know what that means) that AF2 and the VP fly across Ireland on public business just so Trump can financially benefit from all those rooms and meals at his golf course.
Your words are carefully chosen. You know its wrong.
Thank goodness Jeff Denham is finally gone. Now, we can only hope that enough Republicans and Independents will join the Democrats in 2020 to vote Blue. Our nation needs to return to civility.
I second Nancy Howard’s statement 110% !!!
Your essay here just seems just rambling and pointless. It’s patently clear to me that Trump is deplorable. His supporters don’t deserve any sympathy. Every decent person should work tirelessly during this election cycle to clear out Trump and his ilk.
Your essay said nothing of substance and when you could have you deferred because it has been said so many times by the opposition. What has Trump given the valley? Who has profited from his years in office? I think folks are intelligent enough to vote for what is best for them and not because that is what daddy did. Much of the valley republicans consist of ranchers and they are not benefiting from the tariffs imposed on their exports. I suggest you start over and give us facts, quotes, and conclusions based on current information rather than emote about the past.