Donald Trump’s Appeal
He observes that for many voters, perceived threats to their security are now coming
from both inside the group (e.g. changing demographics, Wall Street greed, immigration, income inequality repercussions) — as well as from outside the group (international disorder, ISIS, China, Russia).
.. For less well-educated white men, Van Susteren said,
the last eight years have been humiliating. They have been emasculated by economic factors, unable to earn what they need — the jobs they want they perceive going to immigrants.” At the same time, these voters believe that “we are getting our butts kicked in the Middle East. For the white male, Trump offers a chance to have his sense of manhood restored. He conveys enormous confidence. Voting for Trump feels empowering in the sense that you can say what you believe without getting in trouble for it.
.. Trump is “saying things what everybody thinks,” and in the process, he is
opening a public debate on subjects nobody wants to talk about, things that people feel misled or lied to about. Trump gives voice to the feeling of dismissal and mines the anger. And what is that anger, it’s the anger of ordinary Americans who feel they have been lied to, that the policies they have been promised don’t work, and, by and large, they feel they have not been taken into account. Trump says to them, “you are right. Watch me, I am making them take me into account. I’ll do the same for you.”
.. Going a step further, if Trump’s 30 percent of Republican primary voters is a marker of his core support, that translates to just 7.5 percent of all the voters who will cast ballots in the general election next November.