The list is growing. So far, the count includes women, immigrants, veterans and more recently, hedge fund managers. He hasn’t insulted ALL of Wall Street yet, but I won’t be surprised if he does. And he’s gaining support. I’m not surprised about that. There is a segment of American society who DOES feel that way. This demographic is NOT that different from Rob Ford supporters in Toronto, save for Ford supporters being a bit more culturally and ethnically diverse (yes, Rob Ford may have insulted more than half of Toronto’s population ethnic-wise (and not to mention women), but these same individuals somehow like his “down home”/”I’m one of you” attitude. Even though he’s NOT, since he grew up wealthy).
Donald Trump speaking at a political event back in April of this year
Obviously, Trump supporters don’t like the so-called elite. It’s been the Republican mantra for a few years now (think Sarah Palin and “Joe the Plumber”). And to tell you the truth, I think there are people on the left who do not either. However, the left’s definition of “elite” is not exactly the same. It’s not the anti-education philosophy which some in the right espouse but rather how they handle money and its “exclusion” of others (which I think depends. If you don’t want to open your minds (and some people, like my closer family members, did – and without losing their own culture OR having to truly live dual cultures. And their new community/communities learn from them), DON’T and STAY IGNORANT). This goes for the left, right AND centre). Anyway, back to Donald Trump and his insults.
It seems that the list is nearly complete. After all, he’s hit nearly every demographic group his supporters tend not to belong to, right? I think he has yet to tackle students head on – will likely say something about them not working hard enough while going to school to pay off debt (and I’m just being nice. He’ll probably be quite a bit meaner). But as a student, one can only work so many hours. After all, there are grades to worry about. If one works more hours, then it’ll take longer to finish a degree, which means more money. He has already attacked women, but another check on the list would be parents (both moms and dads) in general and the lack of paid parental leave in the United States (will probably say something along the lines of “if you don’t want to work, don’t have kids” (and again, this is the “nice” version)).
In many ways, I think what he is doing is trying his best to appeal to a group of people he has nothing to do with from a social perspective. Many are living in more depressed areas of the country and are not well-trained enough to look at other career paths (or are too old) now that their jobs have been exported elsewhere. They haven’t invested enough for a nest egg because their wealth is primarily on property and for the most part, it is the only large amounts of wealth they own. In addition, homes in these areas aren’t typically, on average, in the mid-six digits or higher, but lower (hey, after the Great Recession, you can buy a house in some parts of Detroit in the five figures!). At the same time, his supporters look up to him. They’re thinking that this is a guy who might not be “like them,” but “understands” them (again, just like Rob Ford). These are often people who, as a collective, like loud, tacky individuals. Probably because in their minds, wealthy people are showy and loud (in my experience, this stereotype holds true mostly with “new, extreme money” primarily in Eastern Europe and Asia as seen in books like Crazy Rich Asians). However, that doesn’t stop others, both in the left and the right, to think that he’s not “proper”. Of course, you can’t say that to him, because he’ll just think you’re an elitist. And it’s not like his supporters even KNOW what “proper” really should be! But then again, many in the left don’t either (and also believe that “proper” is too elitist. This, of course, is a whole other story). Whether the supporters are themselves, loud and tacky, of course, depends.
Personally, I find it sad that there ARE people like that out there. However, we must not forget that ignorant individuals exist not just on the right, but on the left and everywhere in between. That is, of course, for a very different post.
Who do YOU think Donald Trump will insult next? Why do you think he’s scoring so high in the polls and do you think it’ll last?
Image credit: Andrew Cline / Shutterstock.com
