The four basic reasons that explain why Donald Trump actually is so popular By Jeff Guo WaPo
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/12/12/the-four-basic-reasons-that-explain-why-donald-trump-actually-is-so-popular/
It has taken a long time, but even Democrats are starting to realize that Donald Trump is not a sideshow but the main event in the GOP presidential race. Explanations for his enduring appeal fall into two rough categories: his personality and his politics. Some people not only love his ideas, but they also love the way that he delivers it. Charisma plus a powerful message has always been the formula for political success. Those who doubted Trump for so long perhaps didn't recognize that he had a special brand of both.
Here are four basic reasons that explain Trump remains so popular among some Republicans.
1. Trump has simple answers for everything
Trump is often wrong, but what matters is that he always sounds right. In politics, force of character can be as important as facts (which nobody can agree on anyway)...
"People like the idea that deep down, the world is simple; that they can grasp it and that politicians can't," John Hibbing, a psychologist at the University of Nebraska, told Wonkblog. "That's certainly a message that I think Trump is radiating."
2. A lot of people dislike immigrants
Trump supporters are particularly attracted to his views on immigration. He’s hugely popular among people without college degrees, who have been left behind by economic progress in recent years. Many of these people blame immigrants for their own poor prospects, since they compete for some of the same kinds of jobs...And it’s not just an economically-frustrated slice of America that is attracted to Trump’s ideas. Nearly half of registered GOP voters agree with him that undocumented immigrants should be deported, and that America should turn away refugees. This is a passionate base. They believe Trump is electable and will make a difference.
3. People are sick of the political establishment
The more Trump is criticized, the more popular he seems to get...Trump has positioned himself as the anti-elite candidate, which to some voters has made him more or less immune to criticism from the mainstream parties or the mainstream media. When the press slams him for saying shocking (and often untrue) things, that only heightens the us vs. them dynamic.
4. He says things that people have been afraid to say
A lot has been made of Trump’s ability to shrug off gaffes. He often makes insensitive or factually wrong statements that in the past would have torpedoed any other candidate’s prospects. Instead, his comments — about some Mexicans being rapists and blood coming out of Megyn Kelly’s “wherever,” or his incorrect claim that "thousands’"of Muslims in New Jersey celebrated 9/11 — have had virtually no impact on his popularity in the polls..."I think the big problem this country has is being politically correct," Trump said at the Cleveland GOP debate in August. "I’ve been challenged by so many people and I don’t, frankly, have time for total political correctness."
As one supporter explained during another focus group session: “When Trump talks, it may not be presented in a pristine, PC way, but we’ve been having that crap pushed to us for the past 40 years! He’s saying what needs to be said.”
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