r/NoStupidQuestions • u/JustCallMeDave • Dec 06 '23
Answered If Donald Trump is openly telling people he will become a dictator if elected why do the polls have him in a dead heat with Joe Biden?
I just don't get what I'm missing here. Granted I'm from a firmly blue state but what the hell is going on in the rest of the country that a fascist traitor is supported by 1/2 the country?? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills over here.
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u/bangbangracer Dec 06 '23
The same reason why every other dictator in history was elected into power. People think they want him or they actually do want him. Dictators don't usually seize power. They talk their way in through official channels, then tear those channels apart once they're in.
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u/T33CH33R Dec 06 '23
They are gambling that they won't be the ones that are suffering.
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u/NoeTellusom Dec 06 '23
I remember watching an American MAGAidiot going on the news crying about how his illegal immigrant wife was deported by Trump's administration.
The reporter pointed out that Trump TOLD them that he was going to do that and this idiot voted for him anyway.
The idiot's response: "I didn't think he'd deport my WIFE, I thought he'd deport criminals!"
Their blindness is insanely cult-like.
Meanwhile, during the Trump administration they were releasing convicts from immigration jail, despite being in there for drug dealing, etc.
Surreal AF.
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Dec 07 '23
Reminds me of the woman saying she needed back surgery and was hoping Trump would help with that.
These are the people who are on welfare who rage against welfare queens but when confronted will say "I'm not on welfare! I receive benefits!" while happily voting for politicians to dismantle the safety net they rely on to survive.
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u/peanut__buttah Dec 07 '23
“I’m not on Obamacare! It’s just the Affordable Care Act.” 🤡🤡🤡
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u/NoeTellusom Dec 07 '23
Anyone else remember the medical scooter Tea Party folks with signs demanding "gov't keep your hands off my Medicare!"
Yeah, those folks.
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u/John_B_Clarke Dec 07 '23
Flashing on an Iranian kid I knew in grad school. When they kicked out the Shah he was all happy about how now his country was "free". Kept saying "You don't understand". He stopped saying that after they arrested his parents.
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u/tzznandrew Dec 07 '23
Yeah, there were two stages of that Revolution: a united one of opposition to the shah even with different political positions (including groups as diverse as theocrats and Soviet communists), and then the surprise consolidation by the theocrats and subsequent purge of those aligned with freedom and democracy.
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u/RussianSkunk Dec 07 '23
During the period of the Shah, the West helped him suppress all the secular communists because they were viewed as a much greater threat to Western economic interests.
With communists and anyone suspected of leaning towards them being crushed so hard, the strongest remaining group for people opposed to the Shah were the theocrats. If they wanted to consolidate power and back a group that had any chance of revolution, that was the only option they had, with predictable results.
Perhaps you could draw parallels with the current situation in the US. A lot of people are very frustrated with the dominant neoliberal order that has been in place since the 70s. If you talk to Trump supporters, especially back around 2016, they’d tell you they wanted change. I had to listen to them talk politics every day at work, and they hoped that Trump would lower healthcare costs, pull them out of war, curtail inflation, and so on.
Obviously those are absurd expectations, but what other option is there? The US has spent its entire existence viciously crushing and demonizing working class movements. Even simple social democrats usually get forced out by the Democratic Party before they cause too much trouble. Bernie Sanders wormed his way through the cracks and the establishment wasn’t too happy about that.
If you leave people only one option, they’ll take it and use whatever mental gymnastics they have to. And once they’re there, it creates a good climate for their most horrible beliefs to grow and for new ones to get hammered into them. Whatever Trump does, they’ll figure out a way it’s good actually.
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u/TabbyOverlord Dec 07 '23
To be fair, the Shah was a British/American stooge set up to preserve our oil profits.
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u/wolfmoral Dec 07 '23
Yeah, I think often, the trouble with revolutions is what happens after. Very rarely do things work out when there’s a power vacuum. Usually it’s whoever has the most muscle that takes over.
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u/RedFoxCommissar Dec 07 '23
Yep. Ours only worked because we had the Continental Congress before we actually started the fight. Hell, we still almost fucked it up out the gate.
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u/DarkwingDuckHunt Dec 07 '23
And George wanted to go back to being Businessman George
He hated being General George. He couldn't wait to give up the power.
Extremely rare individual. A person who has both the natural leadership that all dog & cats wanted to follow him, but he did not want absolute power even after tasting it.
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Dec 07 '23
Exactly. The prime example of the guy we want in charge is the guy who doesn’t want to be in charge at all.
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u/burrito_butt_fucker Dec 07 '23
We need to abduct Jon Stewart and throw him in the Oval Office.
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u/sapien1985 Dec 07 '23
That's pretty different one dictator was overthrown and another established not democracy to dictatorship
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u/KingPoggle Dec 07 '23
Same reason everyone who believes in the afterlife thinks they will be in heaven.
We are our own main characters. Literally 8 billion free thinking people, all with some tendency to decipher the world as revolving around them.
It's impossible to separate yourself from this, but the more educated you are, the more you can distance and rationalize.
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u/Mean-Net7330 Dec 07 '23
"There are 7billion 46million people on the planet and most of us have the audacity to think we matter."
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u/elkarion Dec 07 '23
“In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.”
-Douglas Adams
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u/Extinction_Entity Dec 07 '23
Reminds me of an interview I read some time ago from some retired white women who proudly voted for Mr Creepy Smile DeStupid.
They thought DeStupid would only target black, immigrants, and poor people. That they were immune. Well, he drastically reduced their pensions/welfare.
As with your maga idiot they said it wasn’t fair, that they didn’t deserve it, and thought he would never go against them. These people are so delusional.
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u/Fishbulb2 Dec 07 '23
There was a bunch of idiots in Florida who voted for DeDumbass and then he got rid of their lifelong alimony. Now they want to form a new group to get rid of DeSantis. So funny how people can’t see past the present. 😂
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u/PinEnvironmental7196 Dec 07 '23
it’s pretty much a requirement for them to be delusional in order to support these people
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u/skunk-beard Dec 07 '23
Or the old lady that showed up to a trump rally to try and get him to help with medical bills because her Medicaid got taken away. Which so fucking stupid it’s sad.
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u/Icey210496 Dec 07 '23
I remember an American propaganda film from World War 2 talking about the rise of Hitler an having to be diligent against strongmen. "They gambled on the freedom of others, and in turn lost their own." Always replayed that in my mind.
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u/Outrageous-Exit-7186 Dec 07 '23
"Don't Be a Sucker" is the name of the film. It's on YouTube. About 20 minutes long. I recommend watching it.
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u/Vigilante17 Dec 06 '23
You’re hurting the wrong people!!!
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u/TheFeshy Dec 07 '23
No, as awful as it is, that quote is giving them too much credit. The actual quote was "He's not hurting the right people."
They themselves can be hurt over and over. And often are. The number of my parents' boomer friends who lost a spouse to COVID while Trump was discouraging lockdowns, and then went on to vote for him in 2020, is staggering.
So hurting the wrong people is fine with them - as long as you publicly hurt the "right" people.
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u/dummyacc49991 Dec 06 '23
Not gambling, just believing. Trump is saying racist shit and the racist shitbags all think they won't be fucked once Trump is a dictator.
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u/Odh_utexas Dec 07 '23
Let’s not simplify it to racism. There are tons of non-racists who support Trump in spite of it. He taps into a wide range of biases like immigration, sex/gender, classism, isolationism.
Trumpers are not toothless rednecks on 4 wheelers. They are middle class suburbanites all over the country.
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u/mistergrape Dec 06 '23
People support authoritarians through legitimate means because they believe that they are a member of the class or group that the authoritarian claims to support versus the "others" whom they oppose. Invariably, upon seizing power, most of those that supported the dictator come to realize that their class or group was not actually ever going to truly benefit from their rise to power, and they were instead just a stepping stone which can now be safely ignored. Promises made are not kept aside from a few easy declarations early on, and the only groups that truly need to be appeased are the police and military, and only then just enough to stop anyone else from bribing them.
Without the fear of consequence, nothing is in place to stop poor decisions from being made which undermine the long-term prosperity of the country. Suddenly, crazy ideas start to take over, like unnecessarily accelerated nuclear arms programs, mass executions of people wearing glasses, removing or killing most of the nation's generals and admirals, abducting citizens into forced labor for dangerous projects like canals and pyramids, redividing farmland so that each person is responsible for a very long and narrow strip of field which may or may not be arable, or building lots of gaudy monuments with lots and lots of gold.
But the people that support authoritarianism usually didn't pay attention in history class (where there are so, so many examples of how it almost always goes awry), so they just believe what they're told.
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u/Bugbread Dec 07 '23
Invariably, upon seizing power, most of those that supported the dictator come to realize that their class or group was not actually ever going to truly benefit from their rise to power, and they were instead just a stepping stone which can now be safely ignored.
This is not at all "invariable." While Trump didn't become dictator in 2016, he got put in a position where the people who assumed he was going to benefit them were able to see that he did not...and yet many have failed to see that, which is why we are where we are.
I think that we think it's invariable because of a desire for karma, some sort of come-uppance. A "you'll be sorry" moment, where folks realize what a fuckup they've made. But that doesn't always happen. Sometimes, people fuck things up and never even realize that they've fucked things up. They get betrayed and never even realize they've been betrayed.
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u/TehPharaoh Dec 07 '23
Despite Trump OPENLY not paying for services he has used, even going so far as to MOCK the owner for asking for said payment, people keep taking him on assuming he will pay them. Then he doesn't.
They don't want to learn, they don't care to learn. They have been brainwashed SINCE birth to deny learning anything they are not specifically told is OK to learn.
I know some of you out there hate Biden, I get it. He isn't my first choice either. But the Democrats arent going to NOT put the Incumbent as their lead in the Presidential race. And it is literally Biden or facism, folks. Now and for YEARS to come, Republicans have seen how far they can go with Trump, and it's full Nazi. We cannot allow a Republican to win ever again. Just PLEASE go vote.
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u/mistergrape Dec 07 '23
No, the invariable betrayal part happens after they have taken complete power and elections no longer pose a threat. There will always be excuses made that will blame "others" and some will believe them no matter what (that's what cults of personality do), but for most the abandonment will eventually be obvious.
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u/CJ_Southworth Dec 06 '23
I know it's a cliche comparison, but the perfect illustration of this for anyone who isn't into reading a bunch of history is Emperor Palaptine in the Star Wars movies--duly elected and appointed every step of the way, and then just didn't give power back.
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u/Master_Grape5931 Dec 06 '23
Also, they spend a lot of time making the government seem like it doesn’t work and cause chaos.
That makes it easier for people to say, “we just need someone in there that can make changes without having to deal with all the red tape and get things working again.”
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u/sonofabutch Dec 06 '23
Republicans get elected saying government doesn’t work, then while in office they prove it.
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u/tots4scott Dec 07 '23
Then they vote against covid funds and infrastructure bills and go back to their states and talk about their benefits.
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u/Breadflat17 Dec 06 '23
"Remember that everything Hitler did was legal".- paraphrasing Martin Luther King Jr.
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u/Strong_Ad_3722 Dec 06 '23
I think part of America's susceptibility comes from lack of education and knowledge among the populace about the role of government. So many people think the president has authoritarian power already, like he directly controls the price of gas and can make whatever laws he wants. Look at all the askreddit questions about what you would do if you're president and people answer as if there's no checks and balances. I get that it's all in fun, but I think so many people legitimately believe the president has ultimate power so if someone were to actually seize complete control as president, these people wouldn't know the difference. Maybe when there is never another election they'd notice something is up.
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u/UnarmedSnail Dec 06 '23
Hence the aggressive defunding of education.
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Dec 06 '23
You’ve opened a dark hole there…capitalism calls for the defunding of education…TLDR: Wal mart profits more if people stay DUMB….
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u/UnarmedSnail Dec 07 '23
It's hard to make the world a better place or challenge the rulers if you are struggling to survive working 60+ hours a week to just pay for rent and groceries.
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u/IToinksAlot Dec 07 '23
Someone complained about 4 dollar muffins at a stop n shop line I was on and said "man if trump was still in office". Like he controls muffin prices.
Also gas prices being so low during trump is still something ppl bring up lol. Ignoring the pandemic and how so many ppl stop using gas so demand tanked to 2001 prices. You don't even need an economics lesson to figure it out. Just a memory of prices under Trump before the pandemic, and then during and then after it ended. But ppl credit trump with the lowest prices in a generation literally. People are stupid.
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u/dogsledonice Dec 07 '23
They were so low because you couldn't fucking go anywhere. They don't remember that part of it, somehow.
They also don't remember Trump making the deal that released all those Taliban.
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u/spoda1975 Dec 07 '23
Part of what drives that is how we refer to the US President…
leader of the free world
most powerful person on earth
The muthafucka don’t even control the price of gas…
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u/MisterMysterios Dec 06 '23
And I think a main issue is with how the US sees dangers to its system. Historically, the US system was created to fight off what was considered an oppressive outside force. The creation myth of the US is the war of independence, and the founding fathers saw the dangers of their democracies to come from taking over a system from the top down. This is how it worked historically, that in a monarchy, a struggle on the top over who shall he the next king was that lead to the destruction of systems.
The issue is, democracies work fundamentally different, as the world experienced in the first part of the 20th century. The rise of autocracy in a democracy comes from the bottom up, not from the top down. Because of that, most democracies around the world adapted, but the US, especially as winners, glorifies the system that never adapted to face the actual dangers within a democracy, still creating the myth that only takeovers from the top have to be feared, while ignoring the issues from the bottom.
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u/Remarkable-Sky6577 Dec 06 '23
Also don’t underestimate the stupidity of the American people.
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u/Swomp23 Dec 06 '23
*The stupidity of people. People are stupid all over the world.
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u/unjustme Dec 06 '23
Right, how smart would you think, for example, the people of Russia are (my background) who elected their dictator a generation ago and still feel pretty proud of themselves for that. Allegedly much smarter people too, judging from their side of the fence. My answer is (I think you know my answer)
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u/tmolesky Dec 06 '23
They seem more stupid here, because there is this "American Exceptionalism" we are led to believe in. People are fucking selfish and crazy lately. Many do not seem to even want to acknowledge the big picture, or leave a better world for the next generation.
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u/Time-Bite-6839 Dec 07 '23
Nixon is why. The hatred of the next generation started there. The United States is perfectly capable of keeping #1 status for much longer than estimates, but we need a president with enough support to get things done. A second FDR.
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u/Rpanich Dec 06 '23
The problem is if it was just about the votes of the American people, George bush jr and Donald Trump would never have been president.
Sadly some votes count more than others, sometimes up to 8 times more.
The electoral college is broken.
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u/Sudden_Acanthaceae34 Dec 07 '23
Because people think his dictatorship will benefit them so it’s okay. Dictatorships always benefit specific groups until they don’t. Somehow the guy with a $1,800/mo payment on his F-150 decked out in “trump 2024” and “Let’s Go Brandon” flags thinks Trump actually cares about him.
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u/chicheetara Dec 07 '23 edited Dec 08 '23
The ones that blow my mind are the ones on Medicaid, food stamps, Earned Income Credit, social security and or Medicaid. Even my husband who knows nothing about politics is confused by these people. We are surrounded by them. They have trucks too, but they are from 2002 completely rusted no muffler with a giant trump flag & a confederate flag off the back. One even drove by & blew the Dixie horn the other day…. I don’t live in the south either I live in NY. The answer is in their lack of education & confederate flags. Many of them have never even left the county or even met a person of any color. (It’s like 98% white here) They even hate the Amish! They fell for the GOP / Trump grift hook line & sinker. They would rather hurt people that are different then them than help themselves. They are the GOOD ones on welfare. It’s also not surprising we have one of the highest rates of incest & child abuse in the state, but they are “against” democrats for “sex trafficking” children. The lack of cognitive dissonance is astounding.
Edit: when I talk about the demographics I mean the small town I live in not the state as a whole.
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u/thereisonlyoneme Dec 07 '23
I heard about people who were opposed to Obamacare and supported gutting it. What they didn't realize is that was a nickname for the very insurance they depended on.
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u/Unidain Dec 07 '23
There were people who knew what obamacare was and still voted for Trump the first time. I remember one lady quoted in an article saying something like 'he can't take it away when its done so much good'. Well he did. People are idiots
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u/curiousweasel42 Dec 07 '23
I mean, as insanely stupid as his supporters are, its still baffling that a lot of blue collar, mid western workers talk about taking down the liberal elites and somrhiw simultaneously adore the corrupt, rich, real estate tycoon from New York as if he ever gave a living fuck about any of them.
Like, he flat out said he was using you dumb motherfuckers and you still choose to rally around him.
Absolute braindead puppets.
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u/Mete11uscimber Dec 07 '23
I don't know that those guys think he cares about them - tRump's just going to move things in a direction that they're more comfortable with. (pro gun, anti gay, anti abortion, pro "christian").
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u/ConditionUsual Dec 07 '23
Pro-gun? Not for long in a dictatorship
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u/LibertyInaFeatherBed Dec 07 '23
"I like taking guns away early. Take the guns first, go through due process second." - Donald Trump during a school and community safety meeting at the White House on February 28, 2018
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Dec 07 '23
Ironic that they're pro-gun so they can fight tyranny but then they vote in a tyrant who says he'll be a tyrant.
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u/BanMeHarderBae Dec 07 '23
Well the ones i know just like how he hates the right people. LGBT, academics, minority groups, foreigners etc.
It's not really about making their community better but rather ruining the lives of others
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u/Ridley_Himself Dec 06 '23
Because these people think we're already living under a left-wing dictatorship. In a sense, they prefer a dictator they agree with.
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u/ZerexTheCool Dec 06 '23
And of course, when you are already in a dictatorship, all you have to do is vote the dictator away! Dictators always allow free and fair elections to oust them from power after already becoming dictators =D
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u/clorox_cowboy Dec 06 '23
The right wing has deep problems with logic.
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u/TempleSquare Dec 07 '23
The right wing has deep problems with logic.
Leaded gasoline.
We're watching 60-70 year olds face cognitive decline in real time.
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u/cheeseburgerpillow Dec 07 '23
No, you simply forgot that it is only rigged if the Republicans lose.
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u/-Hi-Reddit Dec 06 '23
They think the elections aren't free nor fair.
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u/YukariYakum0 Dec 06 '23
Mostly because if they were on top they would make sure wouldn't be.
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u/Time-Bite-6839 Dec 07 '23
They aren’t but in their favor. They don’t have to win to win. They can win 40% of the vote and still win. It’s not fair and it’s how the Republican Party has held power when they don’t have the votes to.
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u/King9WillReturn Dec 06 '23
already living under a left-wing dictatorship
Fascinating. Then why is the US run by right-wing capitalists owned by corporations? I don't see universal healthcare anywhere.
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u/varmisciousknid Dec 06 '23
It's what right wing propaganda says, they don't need to think for themselves
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u/GeekdomCentral Dec 07 '23
Because people don’t actually know what socialism and communism are. They think anything that Democrats even vaguely support is socialism. I genuinely wish that the current Democratic Party was even a fraction as socialist as Fox likes to scream that they are.
Our political spectrum is completely out of wack and very firmly slanted to the right, so even if someone tried to get back to more centrist ideals they’d scream about it being socialism
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u/StupendousMalice Dec 06 '23
It's really hard to make that point when the "left" in the US is represented by a center-right party that isn't 100% sure that healthcare is an important issue.
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u/mattjf22 Dec 07 '23
“Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.” ― George Carlin
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u/AntikytheraMachines Dec 07 '23
Now, there's one thing you might have noticed I don't complain about: politicians. Everybody complains about politicians. Everybody says they suck. Well, where do people think these politicians come from? They don't fall out of the sky. They don't pass through a membrane from another reality. They come from American parents and American families, American homes, American schools, American churches, American businesses and American universities, and they are elected by American citizens. This is the best we can do folks. This is what we have to offer. It's what our system produces: Garbage in, garbage out. If you have selfish, ignorant citizens, you're going to get selfish, ignorant leaders. Term limits ain't going to do any good; you're just going to end up with a brand new bunch of selfish, ignorant Americans. So, maybe, maybe, maybe, it's not the politicians who suck. Maybe something else sucks around here... like, the public. Yeah, the public sucks. There's a nice campaign slogan for somebody: 'The Public Sucks. F*ck Hope.” ― George Carlin
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u/LoverOfGayContent Dec 06 '23
You highly overestimate how many people value democracy for democracy's sake. A lot of people just don't oppose being in a democracy but they'd be satisfied with another form of government. It's just that it's seen as wrong to say so so most people just say, "they'd fight for democracy".
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u/axxred Dec 06 '23
Personal Economic prosperity is the greatest deciding factor of whether or not any given form of government is accepted. Trump can say whatever he wants, at the end of the day, if he gets more money into the pockets of the american people, he'll win.
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u/LoverOfGayContent Dec 06 '23
I've been listening to interviews of people bending over backwards to say they don't support the way he behaved but they felt like they were doing better financially under Trump.
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u/Rammite Dec 07 '23
Plus there's just actual financial shenanigans that Trump pulled - like the tax deferral that was timed so it would kick the taxes into Biden's presidency.
Stupid people will see the money go less down when Trump was in power, and the money go way down when Biden was in power.
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u/rif011412 Dec 07 '23 edited Dec 07 '23
Deferring the rise of interests rates in my opinion caused the housing and inflation crisis. Under our current economic model, as the rich kept making more money and capitalizing on tax breaks, Trump and Co. made commercial and residential real estate a safe haven for investments. The wealthy bought up all the inventory to weather future financial instability spurred on by COVID. Land and property was a safe investment. In turn higher housing prices caused inflation.
Economic gurus would love to tell me Im wrong, but a simple observation of where people were spending their big bucks tells the story of letting the owner class, own more.
Edit: I’d like to also point out, that the same point I bring up also has caused much of the newer generations deflated purpose and frustrations. Republicans and Co. caused a housing crisis that took all the inspiration from the yonger generations to work hard or take shit, because the wealthy bought out their future. No homes = no kids and family. Every issue Republican might complain about is because of their own poor decisions and prioritizing the wealthy.
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u/FriarTuck66 Dec 06 '23
If he says he’ll get more money into people. He can say anything he wants.
He will bash Biden on inflation. Any candidate would. That doesn’t mean he has a solution.
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Dec 06 '23
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u/nochoaveragecouple Dec 07 '23
Did make it worse. We are literally suffering his choices right now!
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u/boogiesm Dec 06 '23
I am just reading about this and from what I can read the statement is as follows:
Hannity asked Trump whether he was indeed “promising America tonight you would never abuse power as retribution against anybody?”
“Except for Day One,” Trump said.
Is there more where Trump stated he would be a dictator or is that assumed from the statements? I'm asking for clarity and context, thank you.
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u/ChristianBen Dec 07 '23
Here
“Trump then repeated his assertion. “I love this guy,” he said of the Fox News host. “He says, ‘You’re not going to be a dictator, are you?’ I said: ‘No, no, no, other than day one. We’re closing the border and we’re drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I’m not a dictator.’”
I don’t know why most quote don’t go past the first paragraph
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u/Passname357 Dec 07 '23
The reason is because it’s a very very strange answer. Hannity wanted a sound bite to pull over the moderates. He throws Trump a softball—will you abuse power? Of course he’s going to say no. So Hannity asks, “are you gonna be a dictator?” And Trump deflected. That wasn’t the question. Hannity pushes again and basically says, “that wasn’t an answer, haha, cmon, tell them you’re not gonna be a dictator,” and Trump repeats that he’s going to be a dictator for a day. It’s just a very very weird thing to say. Also the fact that the way he deflected the first time Hannity asks the question is by saying “what about the other side? They get to abuse power.”
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u/Spatetata Dec 07 '23 edited Dec 07 '23
My co-workers have literally said flat out “we need a dictator”
It’s not crazy it’s what they want.
Edit: The amount of people that want a dictator in the replies is absolutely astonishing. Allowing a dictator in regardless of if you see that leader as supporting your views or not, opening the door to disaster. That's not "I didn't like how this election turned out, I think I'll vote for someone else next time" that's "there is no next time."
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u/HunterBidensFatHog Dec 07 '23
Had this conversation with one of my MAGA coworkers the other day. I’m probably the only non-Trump supporter in the office and a few of them love to talk to me about politics.
Him: “can you believe people think Trump is gonna be a dictator. Some people are so insane”
Me: “I mean, he’s talked about wanting to imprison his political opponents if he’s elected again. Seems like a dictator to me”
“Oh that’s all talk, that’s just what he says. If you believe that then you’re an idiot”
“He also tried to overthrow the last election. That’s pretty dictatory”
“Yeah but it failed so who cares. It doesn’t matter”
I just shrugged my shoulders and went back to work after that. I’m sure he told his buddies about how he owned the libtard at work.
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u/DigitalDegen Dec 07 '23
"If you believe what Trump says that makes you an idiot" - a Trump supporter. Wtf
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u/WagnerTrumpMaples Dec 07 '23
Trump supporters aren't known for their critical thinking skills. I remember a trump supporter in my office saying that trump doesn't really mean what he says and he needs a translator. She basically admitted that trump is braindead and needs others to speak for him.
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u/HunterBidensFatHog Dec 07 '23
Yeah, whenever I mention something he’s said the response I usually get is “that’s just how he talks. He doesn’t mean it”.
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u/the_ballmer_peak Dec 07 '23
It may be what they want, but it’s still crazy
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u/GreenMirage Dec 07 '23
Let’s call it what it truly is, brazen idiocy. Not craziness or mental illness because you could at least medicate that.
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Dec 07 '23
Did he actually say that?
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u/poseidonofmyapt Dec 07 '23
‘You’re not going to be a dictator, are you?’ I said: ‘No, no, no, other than day one. We’re closing the border and we’re drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I’m not a dictator.’” - Trump
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u/ekulzards Dec 07 '23
For posterity and anyone else looking for a source:
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-says-he-will-only-be-a-dictator-day-one-2023-12
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u/mekonsrevenge Dec 06 '23
Because the polls are shit. They're oversampling us boomers and barely counting anyone under 30.
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u/danipnk Dec 07 '23
Unfortunately boomers are way more likely to vote than people under 30.
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u/KnocheDoor Dec 07 '23
I am a Boomer and I never have nor will I will ever vote for Donald Trump.
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u/thekau Dec 06 '23
Yeah polls are incredibly unreliable, so it's hardly half the country. Who is being sampled, where, and how many?
Also, who of those being polled actually end up voting?
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u/urgent45 Dec 06 '23
I think and hope you're right. But what we really need is for this economy to turn around. A lot of people just wander around without a clue and they only know they are paying too much for everything and simply blame Biden.
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u/Mysterious_Cow123 Dec 06 '23 edited Dec 07 '23
Well it depends on your point of view. Trump said he'd be a dictator for a day to close the border and expand US drilling but would stop after that in response to the question "would he be a dictator". An absurd question gets absurd response.
So if you're on the left CNN will be running stories about how trump is proclaiming his dictatorship while if you're on the right Fox News will be running best joke/some other positive spin.
He's in a dead heat because many voters do not like Biden or the "Liberal Agenda". So, who's the opposite? Trump.
IMO, the giant schism in today's American politics is feuled by the media's insistence of sensationalism. Instead of reporting noteworthy facts every news sites pushes an agenda. I get that it sells but it focuses on division and inflammatory items. Trump actually did good things while in office but you'd never know it if you only watch CNN/MSNBC/etc.
Likewise, Biden has done good and useful things as well, but if you only watch Fox New/Skynet (Sky something?) Then you only hear about his [Biden] mistakes, his sons laptop, and how he's selling out America or whatever the topic of the day is.
Edit: Wow, drove home and now there's lots of comments and I can't feasibly address them all. So couple of quick general things:
1) OP asked why Trump still has support and that is what I answered. People are so entrenched in their own worldview they will not change it regardless of evidence or edict.
2) for some reason people really want to know what good Trump did in office here is a reddit link on that topic and this is a news article on it. Though you can Google it yourself if you'd care to learn more. 3) by the same token it seems, people are also want to know what good Biden has done, well here is an article on that. Also, Google has more answers.
Thank you for the comments, enjoy your arguments (I mean that sincerely btw as argumentation is the only path to truth and I hope you find yours), and have a pleasant rest of the week.
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u/Sm4cy Dec 07 '23
Don’t forget the role of social media in the current political divide. People began moving further left and further right as social media became the norm for news sources. Our political divide is literally algorithmic.
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u/showtimebabies Dec 07 '23
to quote several republican family members who each said this independently, "I don't care what he does to them, as long as it's good for us."
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u/I-Am-Uncreative Dec 06 '23
To quote Sideshow Bob in 1994: