trump-supporters

Podcast: Apocalyptic Politics

EVANGELICAL VOTERS MADE UP A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF DONALD TRUMP’S BASE IN THE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. THEIR POLITICAL AGENDA MAY NOT BE PEACE OR PROSPERITY, BUT INSTEAD BRINGING US CLOSER TO THE END OF TIME.

Trump Support in Africa

According to a 25-nation survey, Donald Trump is more popular in Africa than in any other region (though less popular than Barack Obama was). Over half of Nigerians and Kenyans consider Mr Trump a positive influence on world affairs. This may have something to do with America’s cultural appeal and a shared animosity towards China. Mr Trump’s strong-man style also grates less on a continent used to bombastic presidents

He’s ‘One of Us’: The Undying Bond Between the Bible Belt and Trump

“I don’t think it’s about any specific set of policy positions, but it’s about somebody being a warrior for folks,” he said.

.. Southern Republicans have forged a deep, personal connection to the man they saw on television for years. Mr. Trump does the four things those voters love, rally attendees said:

He wins, regardless of how fungible the definition of winning may be.

He takes the fight directly to Democrats, unlike previous Republican presidential candidates who preferred comity over controversy.

He does not bow to politically correct culture. And

he does not condescend to them.

.. At a rally in the spring, Mr. Trump called Tennessee the “home of hardworking American patriots,” an assertion met with cheers.

.. The mistrust of the national news media runs deep. Headlines that have dominated the national news, such as a payment Mr. Trump directed to silence an adult-film actress who alleged he had an affair with her, have been viewed suspiciously, or even batted away.
“Nonsense,” Lisa McCarter, 58, said from her front-row seat in the stands at the Landers Center in Southaven, Miss.

“I don’t even think the Democrats take that seriously,” her husband, Mike, chimed in.

.. She described what she saw as “holes” in the story of Christine Blasey Ford, who accused Justice Kavanaugh of trying to rape her in high school.

.. “I don’t really look at him as a politician,” he said. “Even now, I look at him as just one of us. He doesn’t act like he’s above you, as a person.”

.. “Undoubtably, if you go anywhere in Kentucky or anywhere in Mississippi, it’s a really devoted following there,” he said, noting Mr. Trump’s ability to connect more authentically with less religious working-class white voters, particularly men.

.. “He’s a businessman and he doesn’t owe anyone anything,” she said. She had no issue with Mr. Trump’s three marriages — “at least he married Marla Maples!” she said — and was also doubting of the coverage surrounding Stephanie Clifford, the adult-film actress who goes by the stage name Stormy Daniels.

By contrast, she said she had grown weary of Mr. Clinton’s personal scandals when he was in office.

Was there a contradiction? “It sounds like a double standard,” she conceded of her opinion. But Mr. Trump was just different, she suggested.

“I think the Good Lord forgave him, so I can, too,” she said.

Economic Anxiety Didn’t Elect Trump and It May Hurt His Party in the Midterms

On the whole, Trump voters were never extraordinarily economically distressed. And now the economically distressed are actually less likely to approve of Mr. Trump’s performance as president.

.. The results showed that minorities of Americans reported an acute economic struggle in the previous year. Eight percent said they or their spouse had lost a job. The percentage who had difficulty making a payment for their mortgage or other major expenses ranged between 7 and 14 percent.

.. A larger fraction expressed concern about their economic situation. About one in five were somewhat or very dissatisfied with their income and 25 percent reported a drop in their income in the previous year. Savings were a real concern: 33 percent said that they did not have any savings and 40 percent were dissatisfied with their savings. Nearly half (47 percent) said that they were not very or not at all financially prepared for the unexpected.

.. Who was especially likely to report economic distress? To answer this, we combined these 14 questions into an overall index that ranges from 0-100, where 100 indicates the most distress. The average in this survey was 29. Among the white working class voters that featured in so much election commentary, the average was also 29, which suggested more distress than whites with a college degree, who averaged 23.

.. But focusing on the white working class obscures the true contours of economic distress. In reality, it is people of color who report the most distress — a fact that is not surprising but stands out clearly in the new data. Hispanic-Americans without a college degree averaged 37 on this index and African-Americans without a college degree averaged 32. In fact, African-Americans with a college degree reported slightly more distress (30, on average) than whites without a college degree.

.. But focusing on the white working class obscures the true contours of economic distress. In reality, it is people of color who report the most distress — a fact that is not surprising but stands out clearly in the new data. Hispanic-Americans without a college degree averaged 37 on this index and African-Americans without a college degree averaged 32. In fact, African-Americans with a college degree reported slightly more distress (30, on average) than whites without a college degree.

.. economic distress was not a distinguishing feature of Mr. Trump’s support, especially compared to attitudes about race and immigration.

.. If anything, economic distress is now a drag on Mr. Trump’s support. Republicans who reported high levels of distress were 10 percentage points less likely to approve of Mr. Trump, compared with those with low levels of distress. Among independents, economic distress was associated with a steeper 17-point drop in approval. In other words, economic distress is doing what it typically does in American politics: serve as a referendum on the incumbent president.

.. Mr. Trump remains less popular than the economy’s growth would predict.