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[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally Posted by ThurgreedMarshall

I do. I think that's mixed into the question of status. The perception is that all of these "others" (non-whites, foreigners, etc.) are making gains. With those gains come economic benefits that the Trump voters we're referring to believe are coming at their expense. But the shorthand for all of their problems is "America First" and if you don't think that's thinly-veiled hate speech, then we disagree on everything. It's a message that we need to get back to what we were when Whites dominated everything (as if they don't now). You get to turn your brain off and just support because it doesn't matter what he says, how offensive he gets, whether he understands the issues, if he's crooked, or whether he colluded with Russia, because he's for you. And if he's for you and will stick it to everyone in Washington who is okay with this trend of accommodating The Other, then he's your guy.

TM

The message sometimes get put in economic policy terms ('we're going to bring back coal jobs'), but the real message is not that Trump is about resurrecting that part of the economy -- it's an expression of who should have status and what should matter, aimed at people who care more about making a statement than about making sure those statements are implemented as a matter of policy. Bringing back coal jobs is a big FU to people who talk about new-economy service jobs as a replacement for the well-paid, manly work that Trump voters grew up thinking were their entitlement.