Krista Kafer is a communications professor at Colorado Christian University, and the co-host of a talk radio show on 710 KNUS. She wrote a piece this month in the Federalist identifying the kinds of communication she has received from Trump supporters:
Angered by Politicians’ Betrayal
Trump supporters are angry, but not because they are pathological or xenophobic. They work hard and play by the rules, but for their efforts face wage stagnation and loss of work.
...Anger and fear are powerful motivators. Fear of losing something, be it security, employment, or even national prestige, induces psychological reactance, that fierce drive to keep what is ours. Those who know how to harness this fear of loss wield a powerful weapon of influence, according to PhD Robert B. Cialdini.
Pride is another powerful motivator in persuasion. Trump is unambiguously and unapologetically pro-America.
...Trump champions the American values of success, boldness, optimism, and pragmatism. After seven years of snide remarks from the Left about America’s intolerance and greed, Trump’s rhetoric is fresh air.
We Love Straight Talk — Unless It Criticizes Us
Our listeners who support Trump do not differentiate between politically incorrect and egregiously rude. I’ve asked them more than once, “Does a grown man caught mocking another man’s disability for cheap laughs have the maturity to handle the nuclear codes?” They shrug it off: “He’s just a little rough around the edges like George Patton. Lighten up.” They often call him the “alpha dog.” Apparently that entitles him to hump everyone else.
A Bully Who Fights for Us
Neither words, nor actions shake Trump followers’ support—not marital infidelity, bankruptcies, eminent domain abuse, donations to Democrats, support for special interest subsidies, liberal policy preferences, nothing. One Trump supporter answered every objection I raised with, “I don’t care; he’ll make America great again.”
Some Trump supporters actually consider his unethical and opportunistic behavior as desirable.
Finally, I asked, “If I vote for Trump knowing he lacks the character to be president, how am I any different than a Democrat who supports Hillary Clinton for her positions but knows she’s lacks the character for the job?” His answer was, not kidding, “Because Trump will make America great again.”
In fact, some Trump supporters actually consider his unethical and opportunistic behavior as desirable. In their minds, Trump isn’t just a bully; he’s their bully.
Media Exposure Feeds Trump’s Power
The obnoxious behavior has also advantaged Trump because it puts him in the news nearly every day. Repeated exposure to a person increases his influence, according to Cialdini.
Conservatism Is Less a Concern than Effectiveness
Trump supporters are not particularly conservative. I have yet to hear a Trump follower or Trump himself say anything about limited government, constitutional constraints, rule of law, free markets, federalism, or separation of powers. In fact, several of his proposals, vague as they are, appear to violate the very tenets of conservativism.
Krista concludes,
Without principle, there is only power, and politics is merely an effort to get as much as you can for you and yours. Trump is an offensive demagogue whose deft use of communication tactics put him in the lead, yet he and his followers aren’t all that different than some of their more genteel peers.
Read more
here.
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