I have attempted to write this article several times and taken wildly different approaches each time. In one attempt, I detailed each data point with clearly labeled charts and graphs showing how the vibes about the current administration are misled. Reviewing the economic data suggests the opposite of the claims made by most folks, but ultimately, this approach is a losing battle. The American public, with roughly half its population boasting a reading level of a sixth grader, my neat charts and stats would only fall on deaf ears.
In another attempt, I strung together lines of funny swears, curses, and insults in an unending train of denigration of anyone who thought our newly elected Dear Leader “had some good points” and “would be good for America.” But that method felt too heavy-handed and crude for what I wanted to accomplish. I will always be written off as a snowflake liberal who has third-stage Trump derangement syndrome, but I did not want to hit the stereotype on the nose too completely.
In the end, having sifted through a few other means of delivery and choosing neither to run with a torrent of data or insults, my argumentation here might be the most impactful.
Ultimately, to write anything about our dear leader, I had to acknowledge that the ones who I so desire to read my thoughts are the ones who will be turned off by even the most surgically and carefully planned criticism of Trump. I profess no special knowledge about the election, and I do not have any expert analysis of the electoral process, but I do boast a reading comprehension better than a sixth grader, and I think that basic skill, along with many conversations with Trump supporters has given me some insights into how our dear leader got elected.
Carry the Water
“To support a person, organization, or cause that one would not in reality endorse, as due to pressure, force, or pragmatic reasons.” (Source)
The most common character of the intellectual Trump voter hedged around who our dear leader is as a candidate and a person; when someone carries water for someone like Trump, even though under normal circumstances they wouldn’t, it speaks to a level of willful blindness that gives credibility to the baseless supporters.
Commonly, folks in this camp used language that betrayed an ignorance of the facts about our dear leader. This means that they did not even know what they were disavowing but had some vague notion that, in order to maintain respect for themselves, their position required some level of disavowal.
Some such examples are listed here.
Trump’s Character
“He is not a great guy, and I’ve never been a big Trump supporter, but I have to vote for him.”
Reality
“Ideals are nice, but I’m dealing with reality and only have two options. I’m going with the one who’ll get us where I want us to go.”
Divisive
“Yeah, he’s a little divisive. If I had a choice, I would not vote for him, but we’re down to two options, and I’ve got to go with the one aiming to fix our economy and border.”
Sad Scam System
“The legal cases? You might think they are valid, but our justice system isn’t fair.”
The examples could be endless, but these snapshots are generic enough to show the substance of their desire to both support and carry water for Trump while also having no understanding of the underlying facts about their disavowal.
The main issue I take with those who Carry the Water is not only that I believe they are misguided but that they open the door for the truly bad actors to get their way. In the end, the guy who votes because he has a vague notion that the courts were stacked against Trump, has the same impact as the guy who votes because he thinks Trump will stop the Democratic blood pacts used to stir up hurricanes in the south. The only difference is that one of these two voters is honest with their intentions.
Nothing but Vibes, Baby
Trump is the master of harnessing vibes. When he speaks, especially in a negative way, towards anything, even mild-mannered folks rally behind him. In one Wisconsin rally, Trump ranted for four minutes about microphone troubles. He slammed the staff, running the even so completely you would have thought they slept with Stormy Daniels, sorry, I mean his wife, right in front of him.
Trump's closing argument to Wisconsin: four straight minutes complaining about his microphone pic.twitter.com/SieYxQgFhY
— Ben Wikler (@benwikler) November 2, 2024
In all seriousness, vibes or how people feel about the nation is important. They are largely the reason so many have the opinion that the economy is terrible and the border is destroyed. In terms of the economy, I know this to be the case primarily after reviewing a few simple data points that can be globally verified and posted on publicly available sites. America is outperforming the entire developed world, and all markers are similar or better than when under Trump in his first term.
I know this to be the case with the border because no one I have spoken to can correctly identify the problem with the border. The problem with our immigration process is not illegals that our dear leader so wantingly attempts to scapegoat but the asylum-seeking process, a process that was the target of a bipartisan bill that Trump personally blocked so that he could run on an issue and run on an issue he did. In every single public appearance, Trump mentions the immigration problem.
Beyond the border and the economy, millions of Americans still believe the 2020 election was stolen. This is due to our dear leader’s masterful manipulation of misinformation and vibes. We could watch these tactics play out in real-time as Trump, prior to his victory, was hedging the campaign by pulling the election interference card this cycle in preparation for a loss.
I write all this to say that for all the conservative insistence on facts over feelings. The next president was not decided by a careful analysis of the facts. The American people did not pour over data points, read the January 6th files, or watch the hours of publicly available court hearings regarding Trump. They did not review any details about one of the largest defamation lawsuits against Fox News for knowingly spreading false information about the Dominion voting system. Which contained messages from the heroes of the conservative party like Tucker Carlson, showing that they knew everything they said was a lie. They did not think about the 2020 electorate plot Trump concocted to steal the election.
No, the American people did not think about Trump or his actions in any real sense. They imagined their dear leader standing up after dodging a bullet for democracy and raising his fist in defiance of all that they hate about the liberal status quo. Trump did not win because an informed electorate made the best choice for the American people. Trump won because he harnessed the resentment of the people. Our dear leader won on nothing but the vibes, baby.
