POV of a Quiet Trump Supporter

I'm a moderate who agrees with perspectives from both the left and the right. I have friends who are Liberal and friends who are Republican. If someone has a different perspective than me, I never get upset with them. I listen to their point of view and always respect their individual opinion. I've always enjoyed politics and listening to different podcasts and shows. When I was 18-19, I voted for Trump. I was open about it and got a lot of hate in the blue state I'm in. When the next election came around, I was exhausted from hearing everyone's opinion on Trump. I didn't like Biden as an option, and I was focused on surviving in my own life. So, I decided not to vote.

I'm 26 years old now. I understand Trump is far from perfect. I've heard all the same cons about him millions of times from people who spew the same brainwashed monologue. Most of these people aren't really in tune with politics or world events. I just agree with them to keep the peace since I never bring up the conversation of politics around them 99% of the time.

My real point of view: I like Trump. Most politicians and celebrities have narcissism. Guess what? I don't care. He is very patriotic and I genuinely believe he wants to see this country succeed. People who compare him to Hitler are sick in the head and have no concept of history. My grandfather was a German-Jewish Holocaust survivor, and my family still remarks that he would have loved Trump. I believe in liberty or death. I agree with people disagreeing with me. I love respectful debates. I love the First Amendment and the right to bear arms. I love seeing legal immigrants come here and change their lives for their families and themselves. I love seeing a mix of nationalities in my beautiful city. Seeing the assassination attempt on Trump and his response to stand up and address the crowd made me realize he is a real American, like the leaders I read about in history books. I love America. Yes, I support Trump even if he is far from perfect. He represents the grittiness and unwavering strength of this country. If you disagree, guess what? That's your right.

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CorvusBlackthorne · 100+, M

I am sure there were those Germans who said the same of Adolf Hitler.

Burnley123 · 41-45, M

@CorvusBlackthorne There were!

Trump is not Hitler but...

Most NAZI Party voters in 1933 were not full-on NAZIs and we would understand them. They were mostly ex-conservatives and liberals who hated the left, believed some anti-Jewish conspiracy theories and thought the country needed something else to deal with the political crisis.

At that time, they would not have supported say: The extermination of all Jews or an invasion of Russia.

Elessar · 26-30, M

@CorvusBlackthorne Not only Germans, you may be surprised but there's been also this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_German_National_Jews

samueltyler2 · 80-89, M

@Burnley123 Nazism was not just for the elimination of Jews, etc. The wanted the world to accept their philosophies and they wanted to rule the entire Europe first, then the world. There are many theories as to why they were able to achieve power at the time. I suggest anyone really interested, should read Volker Ullrich's treatise on the rise of Hitler.

Burnley123 · 41-45, M

@samueltyler2 I might take a look. I've read a bit about this already, including a book on the orientation of the NAZI war economy.

My point here is that fascism should be look at as a process, rather than just an end state. People didn't get radicalised overnight. It took time and certain conditions.

samueltyler2 · 80-89, M

@Burnley123 Ullrich's book is a major undertaking. It is over 800 well-referenced pages. My wife called it a doorstop.

I don't disagree that fascism takes years to develop, but, if history proves anything, it is usually the end state, which then gets overthrown.

Elessar · 26-30, M

@Burnley123

Most NAZI Party voters in 1933 were not full-on NAZIs and we would understand them. They were mostly ex-conservatives and liberals who hated the left, believed some anti-Jewish conspiracy theories and thought the country needed something else to deal with the political crisis.

That's the key point; for some reason the average person believes that all of a sudden Germany decided to elect literal movie villains, but there's been a boiling frog situation at first.

samueltyler2 · 80-89, M

@Elessar and doesn't it feel as if we are that frog?

Burnley123 · 41-45, M

@Elessar Yes, you get my point!

It wasn't overnight that Germans decided to wear jack-boots and swastikas! Also, Fascism and Nazism were not taboo words at the time. They were certainly less taboo as words in 'polite circles' than being a Communist.

Fascism happened for a reason. A blunt way of putting it is to say that mainstream liberal (in the widest sense of the word) politics was unable to deal with a crisis of capitalism. To protect the interest of the elite and small business people: it needed a different and more authoritarian system. Yes, they were very interventionist in the state but so were all capitalist governments at the time. Corporate profits went up with the NAZIs and the regime was heavily aligned with Germany's biggest industrialists.

Now we have a new crisis with capitalism and some of the same conditions. It doesn't need to cosplay the Third Reich and it doesn't even need to call itself fascist. It won't for obvious reasons but, if it quacks like a duck...

Elessar · 26-30, M

@Burnley123 Mussolini on the other hand rose to power in 1922, long before the 1929 crisis. The fear of communism rising, alone, was probably sufficient to push many conservatives to fascism, even without the economic turmoil.

They were certainly less taboo as words in 'polite circles' than being a Communist.

Which maybe could've excused back then, but now that there's such a recent (relatively speaking) precedent, it's appalling to see many willingly to repeat the same mistake. Especially because ultimately they didn't get spared either: their parties eventually got shut down too, just like the left ones.

It doesn't need to cosplay the Third Reich and it doesn't even need to call itself fascist. It won't for obvious reasons but, if it quacks like a duck...

And that's another key point: the very term "fascism" is so loosely defined that you can arbitrarily make everything or nothing at all be or not be "fascist".

Example: hundreds of black wearing people giving the Roman salute, exposing fascist memorabilia and symbology, espousing 100% of Mussolini's ideology are still technically "not fascist" because for obvious reasons they choose not to call themselves "Fascists".

CorvusBlackthorne · 100+, M

@Burnley123

Precisely. They were looking for a strong leader type who could help them navigate frightening times, and assure them that the economy would recover and the alleged "border crisis" could be solved.

Trump is not Hitler but...

But he does claim the problem is immigration, villainize a particular religious group, and claim that white people are in danger of being replaced in order to gain support for the construction of massive detention camps to concentrate certain populations...

samueltyler2 · 80-89, M

@CorvusBlackthorne there are some stark parallels!

Diotrephes · 70-79, M

@CorvusBlackthorne

Those concentration camps seem to be big job creators in construction and and in staffing for guard positions. They might have to hire illegal aliens to be the guards. They are having problems getting citizens to be members of the Slave Patrol so they are hiring illegal aliens to be cops in America.