In America? It must be Donald Trump. Obviously the left distrusts Trump, if their frothing rants and warnings about him are any indication, but oddly on the right, even on the so-called ‘far right’, people who say they are supporting Trump almost always preface their remarks by saying ‘‘First of all, I don’t trust him. I’m voting for him but I don’t trust him.” Surely this is an odd situation.
Is there really such a widespread distrust of Donald Trump even among those who ”support” him and say they are voting for him? Or are people, having become so cynical in these times, covering themselves in case Trump proves to be a disappointment to them, or if he turns out to be a washout eventually (which looks somewhat unlikely as of now)? Most of us don’t like to admit we made a bad judgment or that we were taken in, so maybe people are signaling that they are not easily fooled by saying ”I don’t trust him”, right up front.
Any ideas on this?
Personally I haven’t followed Trump’s career. I may be one of the rare people who never saw the TV program in which he was featured. Could his persona on that TV series have anything to do with this cynicism about him, or the antipathy he inspires on the left and the ”respectable right”? Correct me if I am wrong, but I gather that his TV persona was that of an abrasive, tough boss. which he may well be in real life. But aren’t many TV reality shows anything but real? Most, reportedly, are scripted and played up for sensationalism or dramatic effect; reality shows are not reality.
I don’t have a real preconception of Trump as a human being. Maybe he is tough, ruthless, abrasive, or any other similar qualities which we usually associate with the successful businessman, especially one who becomes a billionaire.
The very fact that Trump is a very wealthy man and a celebrity turns off many Americans, even conservatives who supposedly don’t object to people attaining vast wealth. Leftists hate the very rich, except when they have the correct politics, like George Soros or the late Maurice Strong, or Al Gore, the slumlord, or Bill Gates, the champion of minorities.
When I lived in the New York City area Trump was in the news constantly, especially in the ‘gossip’ columns because of his domestic/marital troubles but even then I didn’t form a hard opinion one way or the other about him. Apparently most people did.
The fact that people are supporting Trump despite their statements of distrust surely says something. Maybe it only says that the other choices are so dismal and so beneath our consideration that we are willing to gamble on someone in whom we lack real faith. That’s my situation. The other candidates are non-starters. End of.
But still I find it puzzling, and quite honestly, a little tiresome to read ”I don’t trust him, but…” so often.
It’s always a leap of faith, isn’t it? I think in order to commit to a candidate, we have to make a choice to place our faith in him. “The double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.” I’d like to see people be somewhat more resolute and single-minded about their choice.
The undeniable fact is that there are certain subjects, immigration being first and foremost, that would not even be seriously discussed in this election cycle were it not for Trump. The other candidates, including Rafael Cruz, would not be taking a tough approach or going beyond the usual platitudes or doubletalk were it not for Trump setting the standard. So he deserves full credit for that.
Vanishing American II 
Well Hilary Clinton would certainly take the prize of the most untrustworthy woman
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Trump has made some very strong liberal comments in the past — e.g., universal health care and partial birth abortion. However, as John Derbyshire, I think, observed, it’s no longer left-right but nationalist-globalist. If we are going to end up with leftists, progressives, RINOs, and jellyfish anyway, why not go with the guy who’s right on the MOST important issue of our time. If he softens like butter and sells us out (no evidence that he will in my mind) it won’t be like this is our first rodeo. And then the games will begin. If Americans see a betrayal on THIS issue it will do irretrievable damage.
There are three types of people who weigh in on Trump. One, people like me who are focused on immigration and expect Trump to deliver. Period. Deport all illegals. Don’t insult me by deporting them all and then bringing them all back. Really?
Then there are the less stalwart types who preface their idea about Trump with “Say what you like about Trump, but . . . .” The damned-by-faint-praise ladies.
Then there are the haters like Jonah Goldberg. I’ve posted five compilations of anti-Trump vitriol. Most of it from “conservatives.”
He’s upsetting the very large apple cart of left and right making a comfortable living out of selling out America and the outrage over his effrontery is palpable.
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Trump scares the shit out of the system. He’s their worst nightmare, a candidate they can’t control. With all his Fuck You money the donors can’t twist his arm and all. If the media says he’s cheating on his hot wife, she’ll probably be younger and hotter. Since he’s actually a celebrity they will have to blow up all of Hollywood to explain why that’s bad.
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Not a voter myself, but I think there are several reasons. First, trump has no political record. He has been a registered Democrat (yes, so was Reagan) and contributed to Democratic politicians. As Col Bunny says, he has expressed some leftist opinions. He’s pretty much an unknown quantity.
He says, “I’ve got ten billion dollars, I can’t be bought”. My nightmare is that we will find he’s already been bought (where do you think those ten billion dollars came from?). His daughter married a Jew, and converted; that’s a red flag. (Don’t tell me it’s not. I’m South African, and I didn’t realise it until too late, but those bastards sold us out.)
But strangely, though you say ” I’d like to see people be somewhat more resolute and single-minded about their choice”, I can’t agree. His supporters are almost fanatical. They’re committed. Their position is: He may screw us over, but all the other candidates definitely will. Even if he delivers nothing of what he promised, the others aren’t even promising anything at all. We’re already ahead through his raising our issues, which before were ignored. Immigration is being discussed. PC is on the defensive. Anything he delivers now is a bonus. And if his election destroys the Republican Party, or even the (alleged) two-party system, why, that’s Christmas.
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That is a precise description of the reasons I support Trump.
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I think Analog’s concluding paragraph is as succinct and accurate a description of the Trump sentiment as one is likely to find.
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Thanks all. Lots of food for thought in these comments.
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“Obviously the left distrusts Trump”
Most of what we call the left isn’t left at all. There’s no left and right any more. There are globalists, and by any real measure of left and right they are difficult to define as left. They’re pro-Big Government but they’re even more pro-Big Business. They certainly don’t hold any traditional core leftist beliefs – they have no interest in addressing issues of economic inequality, or the dominance of banking interests, or crony capitalism.
Globalists are liberals but they don’t believe in liberalism – their liberalism is a means, not an end. They support identity politics as a way of making sure people don’t notice class interests.
They are fanatically anti-nationalist.
And the globalists entirely dominate both the Republican and Democratic Parties (just as they dominate every mainstream political party in the Anglosphere).
I suspect that the handful of remaining genuine leftists have no real problem with Trump. I suspect that Bernie Sanders hates Trump a lot less than the Republican establishment hates him.
That’s why Trump and Sanders are such threats – they are putting forbidden issues back onto the political agenda.
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