Trump’s Fan Base

Well folks, it is that time again! It is time to make your voice heard on Voting Day tomorrow, November 6th. Yes, the Political Great Whine thinks that voting day should be a holiday but unfortunately it is not, so that means most of us will have to make the time to vote. Your vote is especially important as Democrats hope to gain seats and Republicans hope to maintain their majority in both the House and Senate. There are also historical gubernatorial races in Georgia and Florida where both states may elect their first black governor.  This is a voting day that you definitely do not want to sit out. The Political Great Whine has been very busy and so much has been going on that it is impossible to keep up with everything, but greater effort will be put into writing more regularly even if the posts are very short.   Today’s post is about Trump’s base of voters that we keep hearing about and it is the opinion of the Political Great Whine that they are really his fan base, not a voting base. Below are three reasons for that opinion.

Trump can do NOTHING wrong
Imagine if your favorite actor/actress or singer had a political opinion and decided to run for office. You would be probably be excited and absolutely no one could convince you that they were not qualified for the political office they are seeking. You would overlook their flaws and view all critics as “haters”. For example, yours truly absolutely loved Prince and still love all of his music. If Prince had run for President under ANY political party, I would have voted for him. Policies be damned, it is PRINCE… and I KNOW he wants the absolutely best for me. I would have thought to myself…”he is a self-made millionaire/businessman due to his own hard work and talent and has NEVER filed bankruptcy…so apparently he knows how to budget money or at least hire people that do.” That thought would have been part of his rhetoric too, so I would have been convinced that due to all of that he is the most qualified to run the country. There would not have been anything you could tell me that would have convinced me otherwise. No matter what inappropriate things he would have said, I would have blindly supported him and sworn that the media was just twisting things because they didn’t like him.  Once elected, I would have believed that he was keeping every promise made on the campaign trail despite facts that prove otherwise. Someone could have said, “Well he promised that you would have better and cheaper healthcare, but you don’t.” and my response would have been “Well, he has tried but the opposing party refuses to work with him because it is THEY who don’t care about people like me!” Then when someone would have pointed out that members of the same party actually control both houses, my response would have been “They do not like him and don’t care about me!” There would not have been anything that my favorite artist could have said or done wrong. So it is with Trump’s so called “base” that republicans are afraid of losing. They are fans who love Trump — tabloid darling and star of “The Apprentice”. They are not voters who are going to hold Trump accountable and actually judge him based on what he is doing or not doing as President.  

Fan are not “transferrable”
Republican politicians keep trying to reach Trump’s base and saying things like “we know that he has a strong base” but those are fans and they are HIS fans. They are not transferrable and Trump cannot simply endorse a candidate so that they can get the support of his followers. As with all fans, just because you like a particular artist does not mean you will like who they like. Unlike voters, fans base their opinion on more surface things, so if the republican candidate was ever mean or said anything unkind about Trump, then his fans are not likely to be supportive of that candidate despite Trump’s endorsement. We can test this theory by watching what happens in the Congressional race in Texas between Ted Cruz (R) and Beto O’Rourke (D).  As most may remember, Cruz has not always spoken so kindly of Trump yet he was strongly endorsed by him recently. If the theory is strong, then the chance of Cruz winning over Trump’s fans is close to zero and if there are a lot of them in the district he’s running in, then the odds are that he will lose—despite Trump’s endorsement. Again, that is if the theory of non-transferrable fans holds true. 

Trump’s Rallies are Actually Concerts
Every time I see a Trump rally, it is like watching someone perform at a concert. Trump delivers his lines like a comedian (not a really good one) making faces and using hand gestures just as if he was doing improv. Next time you see a Trump rally, notice the “call and response” between him and the audience as they cheer, laugh, boo, or chant in response to what he says. To quote from Lady GaGa’s song “Applause”, Trump lives for the applause and really feels loved by it.  For his fans, they get to see him perform for free! They do not attend the rallies a.k.a concerts to hear a well thought words about what has done and will do while in office and how he needs Republicans in the office to obtain legislative victories on important issues health care, education, and well-paying jobs.  Trump’s fans attend rallies so that they can see HIM live and in-person delivering a great performance. Like the example cited earlier, if I could have seen Prince at a “rally” where I would have heard him talk maybe even sing for FREE, I would have tried to attend every one of them with bells on! I would have cheered, booed, cried, chanted, etc., in response to his words and would have as happy as a lark! Forget about ol’ what’s his face who’s running for something in my district, Prince is giving a free concert…er… rally!

Of course, I know that Prince is no longer with us but his music always will be. He was the only person I could think of as a good analogy to illustrate how fans behave in the political process compared to how voters and constituents. Thanks for “listening” to me whine.

Hopefully my whining has made you think. If so, tell your friends/family/colleagues that you heard it through the Political Great Whine! Also, feel free to whine yourself on the Facebook page!