eCONomy STUPID...

| Miami Herald LEONARD PITTS JR.

No, it’s not the economy, stupid. Trump's homo sapien supporters fear, a female, the LGBT Community, reigning in a black and brown America!

We’re going to try something different today. Rather than pontificate yet again upon the motives of Donald Trump’s homo sapien supporters, I’ll let a few of them explain themselves in their own antiquated words.

Here, then, is “Robert” with a comparative analysis of the 44th and 45th presidents: “President Trump has accomplished more positive things for this nation in less than two years than the last three have accomplished in twenty plus years.

After the past eight years of a Muslim Marxist in the White House this nation could not survive another demwit in the White House.

… Could you please list one thing the demwit party has done for the black people in America other than hand out government freeies for their continued votes?”

And here’s “Gary’s” take on demographic change: “[America] has a constitution which guarantees equal rights for all and yet people like you hunger for change that puts people like me in the back of the bus. You seem eager to know what it would be like to be in the driver’s seat. You need look no further than Zimbabwe and South Africa. When people like you started driving the bus, the wheels came off. That’s what terrifies people like me.”

This column is presented as a service for those progressive readers who are struggling with something I said in this space. Namely, that I see no point in trying to reason with Trump voters.

I first wrote that over a month ago, and I am still hearing how “disappointed” they are at my refusal to reach out. So I thought it might be valuable to hear from the people I’ve failed to reach out to.

I’m sure some of you think those emails were cherry-picked to highlight the intolerance of Trump voters. They weren’t. They are, in fact, a representative sampling from a single day in May, culled by my assistant, Judi.

It’s still an article of faith for many that the Trump phenomenon was born out of fiscal insecurity, the primal scream of working people left behind by a changing economy.

But I don’t think I’ve ever, not once, seen an email from a Trump supporter who explained himself in terms of the factory or the coal mine shutting down.

I have, however, heard from hundreds like “Matthew,” who worries about “immigrants” and “Gerald,” who thinks people of color have an “alliance” against him.

Such people validate the verdict of a growing body of scholarship that says, in the words of a new study by University of Kansas professors David N. Smith and Eric Hanley, “The decisive reason that white, male, older and less educated voters were disproportionately pro-Trump is that they shared his prejudices and wanted domineering, aggressive leaders

…” Look, I get it. That’s a hard pill for those progressives who have kin or friends among Trump supporters. We love who we love, even when they — or we — are small, unkind or disappointing. That’s what family is about. We love who we love, and let no one make you feel compelled to apologize for that. But at the same time, let us be clear-eyed and tough-minded in assessing what’s happened to our country — and why.

How else can we salvage it from the likes of “A Trumper” who says Trump was needed to “get things back in order” after the “terrible job” done by President Obama? He wrote: “We’re sick of paying welfare to so many of your brothers who don’t know what work and integrity mean.

I hope you keep writing these articles and reminding my White Christian brothers that we did the right thing and we need to re elect Trump.” I have two words for those progressives who think it’s possible to “reason” with that: You first. RELATED STORIES FROM MIAMI HERALD NATION-WORLD Pitts: Donald Trump speaks to their resentments about minorities MAY 07, 2018 11:18 AM READ NEXT LEONARD PITTS JR Reporter misquoted Buttigieg and apologized. Then all hell broke loose | Opinion BY LEONARD PITTS JR. NOVEMBER 12, 2019 02:55 PM Halper wrote Pete Buttigieg blamed failures of Obama era for Trump. But the presidential candidate said “old normal.” Reporter apologized, however, conspiracy theorists and cynics don’t believe it’s that simple. KEEP READING Subscribe and Save #ReadLocal

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