I can't find it, but I read a fascinating exchange in r/Conservative on Reddit. A liberal went in and posted an honest question along the lines of, "I don't get it... why do you like this guy?" And the posters were SUPER nice in their responses. They didn't troll him; they were earnest in their responses. And the one that stuck with me I have to paraphrase (because I can't find the post anymore), but he basically said: He's 100% on foreign policy... got us out of Afghanistan, made progress with North Korea, slapped Syria in the face, brought troops back home, avoided a trade war with China and have real negotiations going on, and he got us out of the Paris Climate Accords, like he promised. I don't like the guy, and I don't want to ever have a beer with him. But he's done the job I hired him to do, and he's been ruthless reaching those goals." And, ok, there's a lot of details to niggle with and pick apart and point out issues with what this guy was calling "successes"... but the CORE IDEA - which was reinforced by dozens of other commenters supporting this comment - was that the Democrats run nice friendly people you want to get to know, and Republicans hire a motherfucker to do a goddamn job, and he'd better fucking do the job he was hired for. They don't CARE if he is "likeable" or even a model citizen... he's an employee, with a job to do, and he does that job. And I've been noodling this for a day now, and I respect and understand their vision and point. Imagine if the Democrats ran Rahm Emmanuel or some other truly abrasive motherfucker who isn't anybody's friend, but gets shit done. Holy fuck I wanna meet that Democrat! "I don't like him. And I don't have to. I don't like many of my coworkers, either, but they do their job well. We hired Trump to do a job, and he has done it very well.
"I like Trump because he did ________." is so thoroughly undermined by his attempts at thwarting our representative democracy that anyone trying to defend him can just shut the fuck up. There is nothing else to say.
That statement reeks of privileged white male that doesn’t give a damn about anybody but himself. Truthfully that’s what this election solidified for me. That nearly half of Americans are self serving assholes who are willing to support a coworker or boss that bullies coworkers as long as it isn’t them. In every other situation you can try to swing it differently, but here it is laid out for the world to see. You can’t blame low voter turnout, or ignorance anymore. Nearly half of Americans watched what he did for 4 years and still voted for him, because they couldn’t give a damn about anybody else in the country. Oh except the troops of course, the ones who get welcomed home with glitter and cheers before promptly having the door shut in their face at every turn.
This is basically revisionist history by the kind of 'enlightened' conservatives who don't want to admit they're just partisan Republicans. It's interesting that the respondents focus on foreign policy, the least objectionable of Trump's policies. Actual voters consistently care very little about foreign policy and these issues, according to exit polls. The top issues for most voters are the economy, racial inequality, crime and safety, and healthcare policy, all areas where Trump's record is much harder to defend.We hired Trump to do a job, and he has done it very well.
Like I said, we can nitpick this specific voters' choice of "wins" and how they are measured... ... but the crux of their argument is indisputable: "The President has a JOB to do, and I'm gonna hire a motherfucker that can get that job DONE." They then get to cherry pick all the wins and claim he is "doing the job" and completely ignore the moronic rallies and self-aggrandizing posturing on Twitter, etc. Because that's irrelevant. That's the show. The WORK is actually getting done. (In their estimation.) Hence why Biden is so lacking for them; he doesn't have a business plan that is easy to pitch and he doesn't have the "killer" instinct that a "business man" has, as opposed to a life-long politician who waffles and negotiates and compromises and is largely ineffectual in the end. This is an aspect of the Conservative Story that I can understand, and wrap my head around, and it makes sense why they excuse all of Trump's personal failures.
He doesn't appeal to white, and especially white male, fragility and ego. It's that simple.Hence why Biden is so lacking for them; he doesn't have a business plan that is easy to pitch and he doesn't have the "killer" instinct that a "business man" has, as opposed to a life-long politician who waffles and negotiates and compromises and is largely ineffectual in the end.
The WORK is actually getting done. (In their estimation.)
Exit Polls if you believe them, actually say exactly the opposite. The fragile white male ego was actually the biggest looser for trump. This is based off previous performance ofcourse in aggregate republicans don’t do well with minorities but he’s made progress rather unexpectedly
The last two elections have shown that “everything is made up, and the polls don’t matter”! (Cue Drew Carey)
I think you're right to be skeptical of polls that show that, e.g. Trump Is Losing Ground With White Voters. But what then is your evidence for concluding that Biden doesn't appeal to white male voters?
I’m also skeptical of Nate Silver at this point!
This is probably it. EDIT: Meant to paste this comment from that same post.I can't find it, but I read a fascinating exchange in r/Conservative on Reddit.