Trump's Axios interview

[Dill]

(08-05-2020, 07:13 AM)hollodero Wrote: ad1, likewise, ad 2, I personally could never vote for a person like Trump, never have I felt that strongly about my agenda that I could overloook that. I'd vote for a conservative candidate any day if my alternative was some progressive version of Trump. It's easier for me to say when it's the other way round for sure, but this person... I could never overlook all that. And it IS important what person is on the ticket.

My agenda might just be that I want a competent and intelligent person running things, one that accepts norms and democracy and decency and everything that makes the western model work, and to try to avoid a descent into ridiculousness, utter ineptness and a hate-filled idiocracy. Which, imho, is what Trump provides. More conservative judges etc. won't heal that.

I know America is a different cup of thea than what I personally experienced, I am not shocked that someone would vote for Trump, but it doesn't go as far as that this has my complete and total understanding. 

I tend to agree with the bolded. The Axios interview makes clear Trump is not that guy.

The "shock" many experience upon finding that such a large plurality of Americans will vote for someone who does not understand the Constitution, knows nothing of diplomacy and world/US history, regularly abuses presidential prerogatives, and mocks women who claim they have been raped/assaulted, has to do with what this implies for the judgment of millions of Americans and their understanding--or lack thereof--of how a democracy is supposed to work, the kind of norms, civility and bipartisanship it requires for basic functioning. 

Ted Cruz would have promoted the GOP agenda, but many Republicans chose Trump over Cruz precisely because it wasn't just about that agenda, or in many cases because they cared little for that agenda. (Benton is quite correct to reference the "fringe" voters Trump drew, many of whom never gave a fig for any GOP platform. They wanted a wall.) Many may have voted a "long game" in 2016 on the assumption Trump would mature in office; but those voters have mostly seen the light now, and it is doubtful whether such long gamers will really make up a majority of Trump voters in November. 

As Bels pointed out, there are a great many who "prefer the GOP agenda" but understand that Trump is a menace to our government/nation. Most of those are traditional conservatives, people who represent themselves as standing for and guided by principles of decency and honesty in personal life and the Constitution in government. They are as disturbed as the Dems when Trump vindictively fires family members of whistleblowers and pardons criminals who shield him from prosecution.

These folks don't think anyone really gets the GOP agenda anymore when they vote for Trump--they get Trump, and with him the breakdown of norms which traditional conservatives have always made a point of upholding, including constitutional government. They are putting the nation over their party and hold out hope the party may be rebuilt someday.

Trump really doesn't have "policies." He just dictates in an ad hoc fashion and McConnell and company work around him to get their tax cuts and judges while they can.  A much more accurate predictor of how one will vote in this election will not be one's stance on free trade, but one's view of the Russia, Ukraine, and pandemic "hoaxes" and BLM.

So for both sides it is actually LESS about the policies and more about the Trump the embattled candidate, who is either producing a constitutional crisis or bravely withstanding a deep state coup, depending upon one's willingness and ability to vet news sources --or not.