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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

This is the best explanation I’ve seen.

The pain will become worse - will see how MAGA reacts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i agree that idiocy, culture, and ignorance play into this a lot.

But I've always thought there was more nuance to the question of why do poor states vote so GOP when GOP policies are so bad for the poor.

The US (and WVA) have pretty low voter turnout. Only 63% in WVA. Voting correlates with income and education; the more income and educaiton you have, the more likely you are to vote. The poor have pretty low voter turnout.

So imagine in WVA you are the guy who finished 2 years community college and has gone to your shitty job at Walmart every day for 5 years and now you're manager and making $22 an hour. Your income still sucks but.... you're likely above the line of getting any government social programs (no medicaid, SNAP, housing support etc). You probably have enough money to live in an area not completely ravaged by environmental ruin. You also probably vote. Now you look around your shitty state, and you're surrounded by drop outs, drug users, people having babies with multiple kids, people who are perpetually unemployed, don't even bother getting jobs, people in and out of jail. Like, run of the mill red state poverty. Of course, dcum readers know that there are a lot of institutional and other factors that result in that kind of poverty; but there's also obviously an element of free choice as relates to poverty (and whomever cracks the nut on where outside vs inside factors come into play on poverty should be a billionaire, but i digress....). So you're the guy getting up every to your crappy walmart job for $22 an hour for years surrounded by a lot of poor people who are not doing the same. And your experience and exposure to those poor people makes you more inclined to vote for policies that will hurt those poor people. And the poor people, as mentioned above, aren't actually voting at all. Like, the person who is making $8 an hour at walmart and not moving up the wage chain -- they've probably got some issues going on if after a few years they're not moving up the employment chain -- so i'm guessing that person is not a voter at all. And when i'm a rich person in NOVA who has almost no exposure to poor people, my support of govt policies that help them is entirely theoretical (based on what i read in the news and my knowledge that poor people exist and need help). But when you're a middle class worker in UVA, your knowledge of the poor is very tangible. And that direct exposure may in fact make you far less sympathetic to poor people and the govt policies that help them.

In other words, instead of asking "Why do poor people in poor states vote for policies that hurt them?", I'd assume that poor people in poor states who benefit from the main govt programs (medicaid, SNAP, housing) mostly don't vote at all, but the higher number of poor people in poor states makes the working middle class and above (ie the people who do vote, and who do not benefit from medicaid, SNAP, housing) less sympathetic to poor people and the policies that help them. Hence, you end up with MORE people in red poor states voting against govt programs that help the poor non-voters in their states.

Obviously, working people benefit from other govt programs that may be impacted by Trump or not, but those are buried deep in the details -- and the average american (rich, poor, educated or not) doesn't really understand nor vote on those issues.

But main point: If i'm working class in WVA and surrounded by a bunch of (to me) unemployed lazy bums who use drugs and don't bother showing up to work half the time and then coast on unemployment for 6 months, I might be inclined to vote for Trump too. Exposure to poverty probably makes the non-poor less sympathetic to poverty.

The is research the shows that the upper classes are much less likely to support redistribution policies after coming in contact with poor people.

Yes, especially if you've worked your way up and saw family members sink lower due to their life choices. It takes effort to get out, and tenacity since it's a long process, and the ability to use birth control responsibly.
Not that I'd vote for Trump, as I like my BC and the ability to choose, but can see your point.

[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.

Currency of being in white majority (for now). The poor whites rather suffer economically and retain the racial hierarchy the U.S. established over centuries.

[Anonymous]

Did anyone ever answer what, specifically, the Trump voters value so very much more about Trump than their own well-being?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

This sums it up rather nicely. Not that anyone would ever admit they feel this way, though.