In the heart of Trump Country, his bases faith is unshaken

[Joe941]

The regulars amble in before dawn and claim their usual table, the one next to an old box television playing the news on mute.

Steven Whitt fires up the coffee pot and flips on the fluorescent sign in the window of the Frosty Freeze, his diner that looks and sounds and smells about the same as it did when it opened a half-century ago. Coffee is 50 cents a cup, refills 25 cents. The pot sits on the counter, and payment is based on the honor system.

People like it that way, he thinks. It reminds them of a time before the world seemed to stray away from them, when coal was king and the values of the nation seemed the same as the values here, in God’s Country, in this small county isolated in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.

Everyone in town comes to his diner for nostalgia and homestyle cooking. And, recently, news reporters come from all over the world to puzzle over politics — because Elliott County, a blue-collar union stronghold, voted for the Democrat in each and every presidential election for its 147-year existence.

Until Donald Trump came along and promised to wind back the clock.

https://apnews.com/ee19ceb7cf0d4af4ab73c393708148bf/In-the-heart-of-Trump-Country,-his-base's-faith-is-unshaken

Can someone explain this? I just don't get it.

[dalton99a]

1. "a belief that his president is pulling for people like him"

It's a goddamn cult.

Fuck them

[WhiskeyGrinder]

2. Jesus Christ, I'm tired of these stories.

People on all parts of the spectrum tell themselves all sorts of lies to get through the day. It's not news.

[Cosmocat]

9. YEP

more arse kissing of the sainted, salf of the earth white male ...

I am one, maybe not salted, and I have LONG had my fill.

Next time we read some home spun piece like this about minorities in an urban area will be the first.

[mreilly]

25. Same exact sentiments...

... I don't give a fuck about these stupid fuckers, their "way of life", their "values" or anything else. They proudly raced out to vote for a dishonest, immature, lying, sexual-assaulting racist con man piece of shit. They can die in a dumpster for all I care, and I mean that very literally.

Instead of this shit we need articles about the youths coming up who are standing against racism, bigotry, hatred and dishonesty. About the undecideds who do have actual values - unlike the selfish pieces of shit depicted in this article - and how Democrats can appeal to them. About the independents who do actually have an admirable way of life and how progressive policies can correspond to that.

In short, content about valuable people with valid and worthwhile insights, not delusional useless assholes who fucked themselves - and us - by lapping up the bullshit handed to them by lying motherfucker just as worthless as them.

[Laurian]

3. Ive had enough of this bullshit.

I don’t give a flying fuck what Trump supporters think or feel. They’re ignorant assholes whose opinions are worthless.

[riversedge]

4. The type articles seem to come almost daily lately. damn.

[FiveGoodMen]

40. They're ignorant assholes who can sway almost any election and whose numbers could grow

We are in serious trouble unless we find a way to eliminate Nazi sentiments in the US.

[dembotoz]

5. Can't fix stupid

[Ohiogal]

6. You can't explain it

They are all so heavily steeped in delusion, belief in false equivalences, and plain old ignorance, you just can't explain any of it. How sad that they could have been on Medicaid to help their son but weren't. I just want to rip my hair out over such stupidity.

[Girard442]

7. Look, I'm sorry their little community has fallen on hard times.

The only way these tiny towns could be sustainable in the wake of the collapse of the local industry (coal) is for a massive and continuous infusion of government funds -- something even I as an almost-socialist think is not a particularly hot idea. The best thing we could do for these places is provide enough support for people to have practical alternatives in reach, but that only happens with a government driven by the principle that all people matter.

That, of course, is exactly the opposite of what they voted for.

[uponit7771]

8. How about a more neutral location? Why deep into red counties?

[Cosmocat]

13. Cause that is the "liberal media" directive

negatively cast liberals/kiss conservatives asses.

[uponit7771]

14. +1, if the story was about suburban Tarrant county Texas then I'd pay more attention to it

[Squinch]

10. All these articles fail to mention that "Trump Country," is an island that's quickly eroding.

Yes. There are still people who believe his shit. But their number is dropping every day. He has less support than any other president EVER.

These articles are meaningless, and I wonder why people seem to want to convince us that Trump's support is not waning when it obviously is, and it's waning fast.

[Saboburns]

11. Racism, sexism, ignorance

Trumpers love to play the victims. They have their scapegoats all lined up already. Its not their fault that their life is bleak, and their future even bleaker.

How fucked are you when your best prospect is minimum wage forever, and you are convinced Donald Trump cares about you and will work to make your life better?

[Joe941]

17. I disagree. We need a living wage...

Where minnimum wage can actually support a family. I vote for higher wages.

[MFM008]

24. Who thinks the maggot

Cares about them LIVING let alone a "living wage".
If you need it, republicans say piss off and give a raise to billionaires.

[spanone]

12. deplorables.

[kentuck]

15. As John Prine once said:

"They voted for Eisenhower 'cause Lincoln won the war"...

[LBM20]

16. Don't waste energy on this. Just help organize to win elections in 2018.

[Orsino]

18. Why should they admit to knowing they screwed up...

...when there are no means available to fix it?

No, without greater stakes for these voters, they'll go on pretending for a while longer.

[GulfCoast66]

19. Same old shit. Where are the articles in those who have left places like Elliot County?

Because not all the people being raised there are trump humpers. I went to university in Kentucky. And I actually know someone who was from Elliot County that now lives in the Northeast US. Now, he is a dick, but votes Democratic.

They should go to Lexington, an hour and change away and interview refugees from Elliot County. Both liberals with an education and all the lgbt for who remaining in places like Elliot County is a very real risk. Lexington is a progressive and very prosperous city surrounded by places like Elliot County. They prosper because the have all the open minded people from a 200 mile diameter around the city.

And while they are at it focus on how many of these angry, bitter, racist voters have kids on meth and Opioids. They are the kids who got their parents values. Not universal of course as anyone can fall into addiction. But being raised without hope makes it more likely.

My family is from a place like this. Many of us left and opened our minds as did a few who stayed. But most are just deplorable and are not subject to my sympathy.

[Bradical79]

20. It's no mystery why these Democrats voted Trump

They were Democrats primarily due to their union memberships, but when their particular industry (coal) is on its death bed, they've chosen delusion over change. Can't do much about that except refining messaging, and relaying better plans to revive their communities if possible. Right now though, so many just want to be lied to.

[hatrack]

21. Oh, look! Another article about ignorant, fearful people and wishful thinking!

[stopbush]

22. Fuck those morons.

[kentuck]

23. Donh't blame it all on a few thousand voters...

when Trump received over 62 million votes.

There is a lot of blame to go around.

[democratisphere]

26. Idiots like to live in the past.

They're too stupid to know when the have been Hoodwinked and Bamboozled by drumpf!

[guillaumeb]

27. Recommended.

An interesting story, but it rests on an imagined US that never really existed. Similar to country music videos which generally portray the US as a country of small towns and small farms while 80% of the population actually lives in cities.

edited to change 90% to 80%

[Joe941]

28. It is actually closer to...

50% rural and 50% urban. I think a few years back the balanced swayed to urban population but its not nearly 90% urban.

[guillaumeb]

30. Some numbers:

America has grown even more urban. According to new numbers just released from the U.S. Census Bureau, 80.7 percent of the U.S. population lived in urban areas as of the 2010 Census, a boost from the 79 percent counted in 2000.

https://www.citylab.com/equity/2012/03/us-urban-population-what-does-urban-really-mean/1589/

I was a bit closer.

[Joe941]

37. I guess its changing fast... but

I looked at that data. I guess it all depends on what you consider urban. For example I'm very familiar with north dakota and I'd say besides a few cities its all little rural towns. Yet that data says many little towns are urban.

[NewJeffCT]

32. according to the 2010 census

it's over 80% urban per the 2010 census, up from 79% in 2000.

https://www.citylab.com/equity/2012/03/us-urban-population-what-does-urban-really-mean/1589/

https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2016/cb16-210.html

[NewJeffCT]

29. Polling says otherwise

Trump's support among whites without college degrees has dropped quite a bit since January, even white males.

https://www.npr.org/2017/08/03/541209730/trump-hits-new-low-with-white-non-college-voters

http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/08/politics/donald-trump-base-pew-poll/index.html

[Hugin]

31. After they've taken their last breath of toxic Trump Air and the final shovel of foul Trump dirt is

scooped onto their foreign made knock-off Trump coffin they'll still continue to blame Democrats, Hillary, and Obama for everything bad that has ever happened to them.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

33. Can sombody explain to me how this is a story?

Story after story about Trump's "base" voters seems pretty much the same I can practically tell somebody what they are about without even reading it: Trump voters' problems haven't been solved yet and, despite Trump's obvious gross incompetence and lack of actual substantive policy prescription for their particular issue(s), they still support him and maintain their unwavering/blind faith that he will come through for them in the end.

Have I got that about right?


Trump voters realizing that they've been duped and planning to support Democrats and/or non-Trump loyalist Republicans (are there actually any left in Congress) in the next elections, now THAT would be a story.

[dalton99a]

35. And if he lies, so what?

“Here’s the big thing,” he says, shuffling the deck of cards, “if Trump lies to us, it won’t be anything different than what the rest of them always did.”

[Proud Liberal Dem]

36. Idiotic thinking

I get some level of disillusionment in politics, but the answer isn't to just give up and accept Trump's depravity and dishonesty.

[bluestarone]

34. can only be explained by totally fucking stupidity end of story

[DBoon]

38. A social class in the ascendency works for progressive change

a social class in decline fights all change and holds tightly to its past

This is not the working class of Eugene Debs National Railway Union

This is not Harry Bridge's ILWU or the coal miners of Harlan County

[TEB]

39. To stupid to know he is screwing them

Or unwilling to accept the idea that their fucked

[Gothmog]

41. Trump voters are idiots and are easily confused

[Fred Sanders]

42. What happened? Fox, Sinclair and corporate media psych-ops. Aided by the new KGB Cyberforce.

[ismnotwasm]

43. What is this, article 200,000 about Trump people?

Not here at DU, necessarily but they sure pop up regularly just about everywhere. I don’t care about those people.