yeah people act like it's 100% the cult but there are soft trump supporters who actually don't like that he's a criminal scumbag and because our system is stupid it doesn't take all that many of those to stay home to swing it
i live in a rural area with a lot of white retirees (aka prime bad people demographic). zero trump signs this time around. there were a LOT in 2020. and a lot of those stayed up a while.
There's some fresh Trump flags in my area... and a greater number of faded and tattered once. I expect that to change in a few months. Folks get tired of listening to Heat Miser Billionaire Drunk Uncle beg for money to pay his legal bills.
embarrassment has a lot to do with it. loud strident maga are not that densely populated. In TX 2004 same thing, no W signs, didn't matter. not comparing at all to 2004 since many voters, esp women, have explicit hard reasons to not hold their nose and vote R .
2020 showed a lot of softness for R's in the burbs. most don't see past the bluster but they are afraid of women esp coming out against them. devil's deal was made and they can't turn back
one could assume a not insignificant percent fell prey to maga media, and made poor decisions regarding covid and aren't there anymore or came through the gauntlet somewhat wizened.
now that you mention it.... I've noticed a lot less Trump signs this cycle, and I live in a very Trump-Loving part of Tennessee, as the Vet's office I go to is across the street from the Patriot Church
I don't see a lot of signs around in my area either compared to 2020. But also it's possible that the campaign hasn't sent them out yet. I remember in 2020 the signs appeared a bit later in the year (sadly).
We'll see though. I really hope for all our sakes that some people have come around.
I have a relative who briefly lived in a southern retirement community and their HOA banned political signs — she suspects it was bad for home resale rates as the area is attracting more folks from the north.
I live in a rural area and I lot of new Trump signs which troubles me. Also one of our democratic state reps spontaneously decided to switch parties and start supporting him. So the cult is also growing but it is definitely a cult, not a rational movement
an old lady down the street from us took down her trump sign the day he was convicted. there are still plenty of diehards and i've seen flags go up elsewhere but there are some folks who seem to be rethinking their support.
I've personally persuaded multiple people who have voted for Trump not to after 2016. It absolutely can be done and is worth the effort, particularly if those people are close to you.
I get that there was a category of 2016 voter who was just REALLY naive and disengaged and thought "why not the guy from TV?" But I just find those kinds of people so contemptible that it's difficult for me to get in their head.
I know some people who voted Trump in 2016 because they felt like their communities were being ignored by Dems. Most of those never became die-hard cultists and may be redeemable.
But people who voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020 **because** they liked that he’s an asshole? Nah, no redemption.
It's going to be different for everyone, but I typically focus on the allegations that most can see are wrong (i.e. the various sexual assault / rape allegations which have now turned into a conviction). For one, it was timing. They could tell something was off w/ how Trump handled Covid.
The Covid thing would not have occurred to me, but I guess that makes sense. It happened to everybody, after all. And maybe some folks paid more attention to the president at that time than they normally would because it was a crisis! And were, uh, kinda put off.
It's why I get so mad at guys like Tom Nichols. If he put 1/10th the effort he puts into scolding the left into outreach instead he could make a real difference!
I mentioned some examples elsewhere but the big thing is finding ways to relate to them. To be clear, if you don't have any relationship going in this will be much harder to impossible. But if you do, focus on that relational end. You'll know better than me what might make sense in that case.
There are multiple well-funded orgs working this angle! The key concept apparently is building a narrative of betrayal, eg, it's okay to have voted for him in 2016, you didn't *know*, now you know better after he betrayed everyone.
Like sure it's bullshit but if it works it works.
I spent my teen years in Fort Wayne and I am rather amused that you specified that part.
But yeah my FIL went from center right "maybe he has a point about immigrants " to never voting for a republican again
Oh absolutely, I gave birth to one of them. He expected a shrewd businessman and was extremely disappointed.
Then you have my mom, who voted for him twice, but after J6 was "he lost, why isn't he accepting it" hope she dislikes him enough now (as she says she does) to not vote for him yet again.
Having to drive across town after a full day of work to take the envelope with her mail-in vote in it to the county BOE mailbox was... something. She didn't say who the vote was for but I knew. The thought that I was spending my entire evening on that made me want to take up hard drugs right then.
My mom voted for him in 2016 and was so horrified by the time that I visited in 2018 that I thought she was going to throw up talking about it. She won't vote for anyone who supports abortion rights, so now she doesn't vote. And you know what, that works.
Still think we should hook your mom up with the 'consistent life ethic' folks, if she's going to throw away her vote it should be for a micro-party she can believe in.
Just before the 2020 election, I found out that my band's guitar player had voted for Trump because he, AND I FUCKING QUOTE, "thought it would be funny," end quote. I managed not to punch his lights out, but by GOD it was a struggle.
