There are only three weeks left until the U.S. Presidential election. Polls show that the race is still close, and that millions of people continue to express support for Republican candidate Donald Trump.
To some of us, that support seems completely incomprehensible. I want to know how to respond when I hear that someone I know is voting for Trump.
So I’ve been researching to find the most common reasons why people say they will vote for Trump. I’m fact checking those reasons, too, because I’m not sure they hold up to a reality test.
1. His Business Success
Trump supporters often say that he is a success at business, and that the country should be run as a business.
The truth? Nobody knows how much money Trump is worth, and nobody knows how much he owes. He won’t release his taxes. What we do know for sure is that he has filed for a business bankruptcy six times. That does not make him a business genius.
2. He ‘Tells It Like It Is’
We keep hearing that the Republican candidate is “not politically correct” and tells the truth about the world.
Except that he lies almost constantly. He won Politifacts “Lie of the Year Award.” He denies making statements that we see and hear on tape and on Twitter. He exaggerates his own capabilities constantly.
He doesn’t tell it like it is, he tells it like he wants it to be.
3. He Will Protect Our Borders
Here’s the truth. The number of illegal immigrants peaked in 2007 and has been declining since. We are not actually experiencing a “flood” of illegal immigration.
Donald Trump started his campaign by telling us that Mexico is sending us its rapists and criminals. The reality is that approximately one thousandth of one percent of undocumented immigrants were charged with murder between 2010 and 2014.
It’s also true that about 1.6 percent of immigrant young males are in federal prisons, compared to 3.3 percent of the general population of young males.
We won’t even bother discussing the ridiculousness of the wall.
4. He Believes In America
I keep hearing this one! He believes in American exceptionalism. He will put America first. He will make America great again.
None of that has any factual basis. Trump constantly berates this country. He refers to the corrupt government, the crumbling inner cities.
He has criticized and complained about all of our trading partners and promised to renege on treaties and trade deals.
Worst of all, Trump has countless financial and personal ties to Russia.
None of these positions equal a “love for America.”
5. He Is Not A Career Politician
Several of my friends and family have said this one to me. They are tired of having professional politicians making decisions about their lives.
I understand that! I understand the desire to elect someone who isn’t a part of what increasingly feels like a corrupt system that ignores the will of the people.
Choosing someone specifically because he has no political experience, however, is plain out stupid. Donald Trump has no experience in any kind of government work. He has no obvious leadership skills, if we look at the huge number of lawsuits against him and personal feuds in which he is engaged.
Or as I put it to my brother when he used this as his reason for supporting Trump,
“So if Kim Kardashian ran against John McCain, you’d have to vote for her?”
The next time you find yourself talking with a Trump supporter, ask them why they support him. Then come back with some of these facts.
Featured image via YouTube screengrab.
