Michael Abrahams | A closer look at Trump supporters

Donald Trump is pathologically dishonest, narcissistic, misogynistic, petty, and vindictive. He fearmongers, and on several occasions, made comments laced with racist and xenophobic rhetoric.

He appears to lack the ability to respond to his critics and detractors without resorting to slurs, insults, and disrespectful diatribes. He has public meltdowns and will rant on social media, posting statements with words in all caps and randomly capitalising other words.

He recently posted “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!” on his platform after the singer announced that she would be voting for Kamala Harris in the upcoming US presidential election. So why would anybody in their right mind vote for him?

I have heard many people say that those who vote for Donald Trump are stupid, crazy, or bigoted. It is easy to buy into that narrative and endorse those generalised statements. But I beg to differ. There are many intelligent and rational people who will be voting for Trump this November.

Voting for Trump does not necessarily mean that you like him. Many will be voting for Trump simply because he heads the Republican Party, and they prefer some of the policies of that party and the ways it handles specific issues over the ways the Democrats do. As a woman commented on an Instagram post: “I’m not voting for Trump. I’m voting for the coalition he formed with RFK, Tulsi, Elon, etc. And for the majority of his policies,” adding, “Wishing he wasn’t at the top of the ticket and really wish he had more common sense. But here we are.” I get her.

My fascination and concern revolve around the people who fully support Donald Trump. Those who praise, admire, and enable him, and defend him and make excuses for his mendacious and outlandish behaviour and nonsensical ramblings. As humans, we are all flawed, and politicians have developed a reputation for lying, exaggerating, misleading, and deflecting. But the degree of Trump’s dysfunction is so astounding that in 2017, a book titled The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump, containing essays from 27 psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental-health professionals, was published. In the book, its writers described the “clear and present danger” that Trump’s mental health posed to the “nation and individual well-being”.

NOT A MATTER OF OPINION

Reports of Trump’s dysfunction and chaotic behaviour are not just a matter of opinion. There is data to support these claims. He has been impeached twice and has racked up four indictments and 34 felony convictions, all unprecedented for a former or sitting US president. A database set up by the Washington Post counted a record-setting 30,573 false or misleading claims made by him during the four years of his presidency, averaging about 21 per day. And these are just the statements he made in public.

His excessively high staff turnover rates, indicators of instability in an organisation, have also attracted attention. According to Brookings Institution, the turnover among senior-ranking “A Team” advisers in Trump’s executive office (which does not include Cabinet secretaries) during his term as president was also record-breaking at 92 per cent.

This is significantly higher than the five presidents before him, the closest being Reagan at 78 per cent. Biden, who followed him, is at 71 per cent. Trump’s cabinet turnover of 14 members during his term exceeds his predecessors over at least the past four decades. The closest is George H. W. Bush with eight. Biden’s cabinet turnover stands at two.

Consider also the character of those Trump welcomes into his space. Recently, he has been seen travelling and appearing at events with far-right political activist, Laura Loomer, who, in referring to Kamala Harris, said she is a “drug-using prostitute”, remarked that she is “willing to bet she’s had so many abortions that she damaged her uterus”, and mused that “The White House will smell like curry” if she wins the election. Even Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is no stranger to making offensive comments, expressed her disapproval of Loomer’s incendiary utterances.

WHAT WOULD ATTRACT SOMEONE?

So what would attract someone to such an extraordinarily flawed individual? Like Trump, those who are loyal fans of his have also been studied. As one would expect, Trump’s hard-core followers tend to be GOP supporters and conservatives. Some studies have also found a positive correlation between conscientiousness and self-discipline and the likelihood of being a Trump supporter. Other studies have found higher levels of neuroticism and a decreased likelihood of progress to college education among those who support him. If you are a white nationalist or racist, you are also more likely to be a Trump supporter.

However, the main engine driving Trumpism is Trump’s cult of personality. In personality cults, the leader is in a position of elevation, resilience, and even infallibility. Distortions of the truth are par for the course in these groups as well as the banishing of critical and rational thinking. And to further amplify the cult effect, religious parallels abound to bolster the strength of the bond between leader and follower. Some of Trump’s most ardent supporters are white evangelicals, many of whom are convinced that Trump is on a divine mission to save their religion from the clutches of the “demonic” Democrats.

Remarks and arguments made during conversations about Donald Trump have been a Rorschach (ink blot) test of sorts for me. People’s perceptions of Trump reveal their mindsets. If someone is an ardent Trump supporter, it implies that they tolerate his multiplicity of shortcomings. In tolerating his flaws, they are tolerant of pathological mendacity; criminality; narcissism; demagoguery; fearmongering; misogyny; racism; xenophobia; bullying; and petty, vindictive, vile, and disrespectful behaviour. Among the lot are those who identify with Trump and wish to emulate him and are not only tolerant of but also passionately support his behaviour no matter how abominable it becomes.

Tolerating or embracing such an astounding constellation of negative personality traits and errant behaviours says a lot about a person. I am unable to define exactly what it says. But whatever it is, it causes me great discomfort.

Michael Abrahams is an obstetrician and gynaecologist, social commentator, and human-rights advocate. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and michabe_1999@hotmail.com, or follow him on X , formerly Twitter, @mikeyabrahams.