DICTATOR WATCH
(www.dictatorwatch.org)

Contact: Roland Watson, roland@dictatorwatch.org

THE TRUMP BASE

October 8, 2018
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During the 2016 election campaign, Hillary Clinton famously called Trump supporters "deplorables." At the time I thought this didn't go anywhere near far enough. My initial attitude has now been confirmed by the reactions of the supporters to his absolutely revolting behavior in office. So, how can they more accurately be characterized?

Different groups and factions back Trump, and each warrants its own description. A lot of his supporters, quite possibly the majority, are known to be poorly educated. Politically, they are ignorant - astonishingly ignorant. They show no capability whatsoever to reject conspiracy theories and to understand truth, including just the concept of truth - that such a thing, and the facts behind it, even exists. Giving them the vote has turned out to be akin to handing a five year old a loaded gun.

Another group of Trump backers (there are overlaps between the different factions) are criminals, but here I do not mean convicted felons. Nor am I talking about people who drive over the speed limit or commit other minor transgressions. Many people, though, do perpetrate - and get away with - serious offenses. To them, Trump is their guy. Foremost of these offenses is cheating, including sexually on one's partner and financially - in countless different ways. Trump of course is a world-class cheater. He has figured out more ways to cheat than possibly any person alive.

The most fanatical Trump supporters are the cultists, and which is largely composed of lifelong racists and misogynists. They slavishly applaud anything he says or does, no different from the hysterical crowds in North Korea and the goose-stepping Germans who revered Hitler. This is not an overstatement. If Trump asked these followers to start killing journalists, or Hispanics, or Democrats, they would do it. They are more than ready to carry out orders, and of any kind.

Within the cult there is a further subgroup, which deserves the greatest denunciation of all: Evangelical Christians. They are personified by the women who cheer when Trump attacks sexual assault victims. As with all true believers, they are the worst of the worst. These people are nothing less than evil. They are more accurately worshipping the Antichrist.

I generally avoid using the word "evil." It carries a religious connotation that I do not accept. I believe in right and wrong and good and bad, in other words, conscience, morality and ethics. We don't need gods or prophets to tell us what to do. We are able - if you haven't been brainwashed - to figure this out on our own. We can then say that some people are good and others are bad, sometimes very, very bad. But here I will make an exception. A significant portion of Trump's supporters are EVIL. This is the only word that still retains an ability to convey just how despicable they are.

Next are the Wall Street Republicans, who while they say they care about "conservative" values are really - like Trump - only furthering their own greed. Many if not all of them no doubt hate him personally. They are, of course, evil as well. They are already so rich they have more money than anyone but a pathological narcissist could use. But they are happy to destroy America and the world to get even more.

Finally, there are the Republican officials, across the country but starting with in Congress. Like the Wall Streeters they are also almost all wealthy white men. They too are slavishly dedicated to greed, but even more to power. They will do anything to get it, and to keep it. Sell out America to Vladimir Putin or to China? Fine. Put a credibly alleged rapist on the Supreme Court, and in the process tell abused American women that their suffering means nothing? Done. Arrest people of color and social activists for imaginary offenses? Of course. Every dictatorship should have some political prisoners.

Thanks to Trump and the Republicans, and also the ultimate Republican Godfather of all, Rupert Murdoch of Fox News, the United States Democracy has been destroyed. How long it will take to resurrect is anyone's guess. It may be only until the Midterms and Mueller's Report. It could be decades.

The above more accurately describes Trump's "base of support." That the total approaches 40% of the electorate is devastating, virtually a death knell for our immediate future. We are very close to the conditions that triggered the Civil War. The North Koreans have the world's worst dictatorship, and the Germans were destroyed in World War II. Where will the Trump extremists lead our country, if we do not defeat them at the ballot box?

PS. If you are angry with this, what type of Trump/Republican fanatic are you? Look in the mirror. Give it some thought. Try to have some intellectual honesty. No cheating, please!