What is Donald Trump's Appeal to Voters?

Without a doubt Donald Trump has been the most disruptive and controversial figure in American politics in my lifetime. He has turned the Republican Party on its head and now is its de facto leader. Trump can say and do almost anything with impunity, and his base of support only grows. With his overwhelming victory in the Iowa caucuses this week, his nomination as the 2024 Republican Presidential candidate is all but certain. As someone who has never voted for Trump, it is difficult for me to understand his appeal. But rather than bury my head in the sand, I think the better approach is to try and understand what is behind his popularity among the Republican faithful.

I’ve read dozens of news reports, watched hours of cable and network news programs, and listened to countless podcasts in order to make some sense of Trump’s appeal. It will probably take years of research and reflection by historians, psychologists, and scholars to get the full read on Trump’s appeal to voters, but I will weigh in with my own views.
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The reasons that Trump’s supporters give for backing him can be categorized into three broad categories. They are policy issues, personality, and politics. Let’s take a closer look at each one of these:

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• Southern Border with Mexico: Forty percent of caucus-goers in Iowa identified illegal immigration across the border with Mexico as a top concern. Under Trump the border was seen as secure, and the border wall would have made it more so. Today we have an “open border” policy, according to many Republicans, with illegals entering the country by the tens of thousands. Trump is seen as having secured the border once, and therefore can do it again.

 

• Foreign Conflicts: Many of Trump’s supporters are anxious about foreign conflicts, and are resistant to sending more aid to Ukraine. To them, Trump is the candidate who would project strength abroad during a time of two major wars and a growing threat from China. They believe Trump when he tells them, “For four straight years I kept America safe, I kept Israel safe, I kept Ukraine safe, and I kept the entire world safe.” 

 

• Economy: A common refrain among his supporters is that the economy was much better under Trump. They often site the high food and gas prices brought about by President Biden’s policies. 

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• Social/Cultural Issues: As the Democrat Party has moved left on cultural issues, conservatives in the Republican Party, particularly evangelical Christians, have pushed back.  The promotion of abortion rights and LGBTQ+ rights goes against the religious views of many conservatives, and they see it as an affront to their religious liberty. Donald Trump is seen as a flawed man in the eyes of many of his conservative supporters. But he has a proven track record of placing three conservative judges on the Supreme Court, which overturned Roe v. Wade. That was the Holy Grail of accomplishments for conservatives, one that no other Republican candidate can match. According to Bob Vander Plaats of the Christian group The Family Leader, “Can God use Donald Trump to accomplish good things? Yes, he’s always used flawed people to accomplish good things for him.”

Trump’s Personality: Donald Trump is a force of nature and a natural showman. He is entertaining and charismatic; not bad traits to have for a politician.

The thing that surprised me, and this came up over and over in interviews with his supporters, was that Trump, unlike any of his opponents, has the strength to get things done.  Trump often portrays himself as a strongman, being the only one strong enough to keep America peaceful and prosperous in a dangerous world. To many, this is his most important quality that ties it all together for them. According to his supporters, Trump’s strength will garner both fear and respect in foreign affairs and allow him to get things done in this country.  

Many of Trump’s utterances are often vulgar, petty, or just not well thought out. But his supporters view this is as a sign of his authenticity. They like the fact that he speaks without a filter, which shows that he is not afraid to speak his mind. His belittling and often juvenile remarks are thought to be a sign of his honesty and his courage, and feed into his image as a strongman.
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Trump’s supporters view the country as broken, needing an upheaval or major disruption to fix it. Trump is seen as the disruptor- in- chief, with the strength to overcome any challenge.   

Politics:  Unlike any other politician in America today, Trump has the ability to connect with his supporters. No other politician comes close to garnering the level of enthusiasm among his/her supporters. His supporters believe that they have been overlooked by establishment politicians, but Trump hears them and speaks for them.  

Trump’s mountain of legal troubles is seen as a political prosecution in an attempt to silence him, and by extension his supporters.  In a typical refrain to supporters recently, Trump said, “You and I have been in this battle side-by-side, together, and we have been taking on the entire corrupt system in Washington like no one has ever done before. The political establishment and global elites are at war with us-we have to fight.”

Rather than hurting him, the civil suits in New York and the four criminal indictments brought against Trump have only increased his support among the Republican base. These cases have become part of his campaign and he has raised millions of dollars with each new charge. Trump’s poll numbers started to increase after his first indictment in New York for paying hush money to Stormy Daniels. Days after the indictment his support among likely Republican voters surpassed 50% in national polls, and they have risen with each new indictment. 

The ruling in Colorado to block Trump from its primary ballot increased Republican fury to a fever pitch over what they viewed as a further attempt to weaponize the courts and justice system against Trump. His supporters take it personally. An attack against Trump is an attack against them.
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Did Trump’s adversaries overplay their hand? Whether they did or didn’t, it certainly had the opposite effect of silencing him. As one Trump supporter put it, “I prefer Trump because Democrats are trying to find any way they can to jail him. What are they afraid of?”  Trump’s supporters have circled the wagons around him and his candidacy, virtually blocking out any other candidates. 

​Say what you will about Donald Trump, he is a master politician, even though he claims to be a businessman, not a politician. Attacks against Trump from both within and without the Republican Party are seen as proof of a corrupt and broken system, by his supporters.

Trump’s qualities that I view as weaknesses are viewed by his supporters as part of his allure and strength. His supporters truly believe that the problems facing the country, both home and abroad, would never have happened if Trump were still president. Trump has convinced them that his policies made America great in the past, and he can do it again.  If Donald Trump is truly perceived to be the only Republican with the strength to lead the country through tough times, it should be no surprise that so many caucus and primary voters seem reluctant to waste their votes on a lesser candidate.

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Thanks,
Armchair American