Explain to me why Trump supporters directly hurt by his policies still support him - WVA edition

[Anonymous]

I cannot understand this mindset.

Biden was going to pour billions into WVA for new infrastructure projects, reviving dead communities. People in WVA were excited about the prospect of turning WVA around.

Then came Trump and DOGE, and axed the funding. SNAP, medicaid.. all cut.

Yet, folks in WVA blame "both parties" but not Trump directly.

I do not understand their thinking. The only thing I can think of is that they are under the influence of a cult leader who can do no wrong.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/29/trump-coal-country

Rural communities in Appalachia were on the verge of breaking ground on projects when the grants were paused or terminated by the so-called “department of government efficiency”, or Doge, led by the billionaire Trump donor Elon Musk. The wholesale cull included the $3bn Environmental and Climate Justice Program created in the IRA to tackle the climate crisis and environmental harms at a local level.

The cuts have deepened existing mistrust in government, known colloquially as Appalachian fatalism, yet many of those interviewed by the Guardian blame Washington politics generally rather than Trump.

“This party [Rs] has taken away that funding from Appalachia illegally: that’s the stone-cold fact. But by the time those facts reach communities on the ground, it’s just so muddy. I think some are asking questions about why training is being shut down and why they didn’t get their Snap [food assistance] benefits, but where they’ll find the answers is the big issue,” said Hannah.

Trump has won big in West Virginia in the past three general elections, securing every county in 2024 with an average of 70% of the vote – the highest percentage any party has won in the state’s history. His vote share was even larger in rural counties including Clay and Wayne, which Huntington straddles.

I guess they don't understand that it was Trump, not the R party, who cut the funding, and that it's better to stick it to the libs than want your state leaders to support policies that will actually help your state rather than hurt it. That's quite a "cut off my entire face to spite my entire being" attitude.

This is why people call MAGA a cult.

[Anonymous]

It's a cult. That's the only way any of this makes sense.

Are cults logical? No.

They are inherently illogical.

Stop expecting logic.

BUT...election results will deliver the comeuppance that MAGA politicians so richly deserve. Because not everyone who voted for Trump is in that cult. And MAGA politicians will, within a decade, be a thing of the past because Trump won't live to see 90 (will die of natural causes before then.)

[Anonymous]

Another possibility is that voters value a lot more than just economics. that might be inconvenient for you, but it's reality.

[Anonymous]

It's a cult but it's also a result of the media they receive. When every talk radio station and every tv channel they listen to tells them that the "DemoRats" are the evil enemy, that's what they are conditioned to believe. So, even if it is Trump's fault, they are conditioned to believe that the Dems are even worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another possibility is that voters value a lot more than just economics. that might be inconvenient for you, but it's reality.

Like what specifically? What does Trump offer them?

[Anonymous]

"I really don't care, do you?"

[Anonymous]

Because their news sources are telling them it was someone else's fault. Also, it is very hard to admit that you did something (vote for a loon) that caused harm to yourself and family. It is easier to blame someone else.

[Anonymous]

Because there are a lot of people willing to take a hit so long as they believe others lower in the hierarchy are going to get it worse. That's what MAGA is about. They are trying to put society back the way it was when things were good for them, ie. a return to strict racial, gender, and class hierarchies.

The fundamental difference between conservatives and liberals/progressives is their view on the purpose of government. Conservatives believe government exists to enforce "the rule of law" and social hierarchy (although this is usually the quiet part). Liberals and progressives believe government is supposed to serve the public and provide services. Conservatives see that and taxation as theft and counter to what government is supposed to do.

So MAGA fundamentally does not believe they will be affected by these policies because THEY are the good ones, the ones deserving of government services, and all these women/POC/Jews/Immigrants/your scapegoat of choice are taking from them. And when MAGA finds themselves on the wrong end of policies, well it's an isolated incident. That was just a bad cop. That ICE agent made a mistake. It's never the broader policy that is the issue.

You will not reach these people using logic. The entire ideology is based in their feelings and fears. The only way they will be reached is when they can no longer deny what is plainly true, and when they and people like them are suffering en masse. Higher grocery prices is starting to work, but I think the pain will have to become far more acute before they start using their brains.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I cannot understand this mindset.

Biden was going to pour billions into WVA for new infrastructure projects, reviving dead communities. People in WVA were excited about the prospect of turning WVA around.

Then came Trump and DOGE, and axed the funding. SNAP, medicaid.. all cut.

Yet, folks in WVA blame "both parties" but not Trump directly.

I do not understand their thinking.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/29/trump-coal-country

Rural communities in Appalachia were on the verge of breaking ground on projects when the grants were paused or terminated by the so-called “department of government efficiency”, or Doge, led by the billionaire Trump donor Elon Musk. The wholesale cull included the $3bn Environmental and Climate Justice Program created in the IRA to tackle the climate crisis and environmental harms at a local level.

The cuts have deepened existing mistrust in government, known colloquially as Appalachian fatalism, yet many of those interviewed by the Guardian blame Washington politics generally rather than Trump.

“This party [Rs] has taken away that funding from Appalachia illegally: that’s the stone-cold fact. But by the time those facts reach communities on the ground, it’s just so muddy. I think some are asking questions about why training is being shut down and why they didn’t get their Snap [food assistance] benefits, but where they’ll find the answers is the big issue,” said Hannah.

Trump has won big in West Virginia in the past three general elections, securing every county in 2024 with an average of 70% of the vote – the highest percentage any party has won in the state’s history. His vote share was even larger in rural counties including Clay and Wayne, which Huntington straddles.

Y'all cain't take away mah freedom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another possibility is that voters value a lot more than just economics. that might be inconvenient for you, but it's reality.

This is the "cut off my entire face to spite my entire body" mentality that I was referring to.

What is more important than your health, a secure job, putting food on the table?

Is sticking it to the libs that much more important? Are there a lot of illegal immigrants in WVA taking their non existent coal mining jobs?

The #1 issue on people's minds today is the economy, jobs, inflation. What is more important to these WVA MAGA than being able to afford putting food on their table, considering Trump gutted SNAP?

Please explain your thinking. I'm genuinely baffled.

[Anonymous]

Associating with liberals is so unbearable, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I cannot understand this mindset.

Biden was going to pour billions into WVA for new infrastructure projects, reviving dead communities. People in WVA were excited about the prospect of turning WVA around.

Then came Trump and DOGE, and axed the funding. SNAP, medicaid.. all cut.

Yet, folks in WVA blame "both parties" but not Trump directly.

I do not understand their thinking. The only thing I can think of is that they are under the influence of a cult leader who can do no wrong.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/29/trump-coal-country

Rural communities in Appalachia were on the verge of breaking ground on projects when the grants were paused or terminated by the so-called “department of government efficiency”, or Doge, led by the billionaire Trump donor Elon Musk. The wholesale cull included the $3bn Environmental and Climate Justice Program created in the IRA to tackle the climate crisis and environmental harms at a local level.

The cuts have deepened existing mistrust in government, known colloquially as Appalachian fatalism, yet many of those interviewed by the Guardian blame Washington politics generally rather than Trump.

“This party [Rs] has taken away that funding from Appalachia illegally: that’s the stone-cold fact. But by the time those facts reach communities on the ground, it’s just so muddy. I think some are asking questions about why training is being shut down and why they didn’t get their Snap [food assistance] benefits, but where they’ll find the answers is the big issue,” said Hannah.

Trump has won big in West Virginia in the past three general elections, securing every county in 2024 with an average of 70% of the vote – the highest percentage any party has won in the state’s history. His vote share was even larger in rural counties including Clay and Wayne, which Huntington straddles.

I guess they don't understand that it was Trump, not the R party, who cut the funding, and that it's better to stick it to the libs than want your state leaders to support policies that will actually help your state rather than hurt it. That's quite a "cut off my entire face to spite my entire being" attitude.

This is why people call MAGA a cult.

They drank the Kool aid!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another possibility is that voters value a lot more than just economics. that might be inconvenient for you, but it's reality.

Then why do they whine so much about high prices and lack of jobs?

[Anonymous]

Because they hate brown and black people and "foreigners." This is why it's worth it to vote Republican. At least it is for my extended family, sadly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another possibility is that voters value a lot more than just economics. that might be inconvenient for you, but it's reality.

Like what specifically? What does Trump offer them?

An enemy. An excuse for their failures.

If he told them that wiping was woke we’d be surrounded by people with dirty underpants.