I took a trip to Trump country. It was more bleak than I could have imagined

https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/soleilho/article/dispatches-from-trump-country-19654127.php

40 comments

  2. Trumpism is, as the article states, more about white Christian grievances than anything else. Fear of a changing world and a misplaced hope that Trump could somhow turn back the clock where everybody around them was white, cis and straight.

  3. I don’t know if I live in Trump country, but there are plenty of MAGA people around. The common denominators are anger and a lack of empathy. Many truly think that anyone who isn’t MAGA is the enemy.

  4. >Walk around a place like that Illinois county fair and you’ll see that MAGA comes off like an addiction — an obsession that seems much more emotional than rational. It’s the mean-spirited aspect of America, one that looks upon people like my refugee family as a lesser-than group, even if we might be tolerated individually. It’s heartbreaking to be around, knowing that there’s little logic or data that can dislodge a thorn that’s been absorbed so thoroughly.

    Data and logic are useless with MAGAs, and like the author of this article, I have mostly given up even trying. I think this explains it best: *You cannot reason a person out of a position he did not reason himself into in the first place.*

  5. > Walk around a place like that Illinois county fair and you’ll see that MAGA comes off like an addiction — an obsession that seems much more emotional than rational.

    TBF a county fair in 2024 isn’t a typical day; like the author alluded to, it’s an opportunity for some huckster to sell marked up Chinese t-shirts. I’ve lived in Trump country after the election 2020 election. The Trump signs, flags, and hats mostly disappeared.

  6. Prolly the most articulate political analysis in a long time.

    “One of my cousins saw clusters of young men walking the grounds in floral Hawaiian shirts, which have recently become an unfortunate sartorial symbol of the far-right “boogaloo” movement, a militant group that aims to incite a second Civil War.”

  8. I just want them to lose so bad that they get a small reality check and pick someone more right center next time. Not that im voting right, just seriously get the crazy out of here

  9. I was visiting friends in Montana a couple summers ago and went to a rodeo. It started off with a prayer for Trump followed by “lets go brandon” chants. It was so bizarre.

    Edit: it was Big Fork Rodeo[www.bigforkrodeo.com](https://www.bigforkrodeo.com) – their website is really “something”…

    Edit#2: Yes, the website looks “normal” but I think the warning about “fraudulent tickets” and God Bless America is weird. Its just rodeo y’all lol.

  10. Try living in “Trump country”. It sucks. Also I’m white and don’t look like a complete “liberal cuck” (as they’d probably put it) so they often assume I’m just as Trumpy and racist as they are. It leads to some VERY awkward conversations. I often worry about word getting out and my house getting vandalized, dogs poisoned, etc.

  11. Im in one of the reddest counties in Wisconsin. People outside these rural areas think Trumpism is on its deathbed. I hope they’re right because I still see LOTS of signs, flags, hats. The cult is still very much alive here.

  13. Their only motivation is hatred. Hatred of the educated, hatred of education, hatred of Others, and most importantly but always denied, Hatred of themselves.

  14. The national political discourse has ruined everything. It’s just gotten a million times worse under Trump. The local lake where I’d go as a kid is now just flooded with boats waving Trump flags. American ISIS

  15. I grew up in a small town in Ohio. Was back there last September to visit family. While driving around, I saw five houses with Confederate flags and Trump flags in their yards. Always makes me wonder…. how can you claim to be the party that ended slavery, and then also fly the Confederate flag in your yard???

  16. I hope Latinos for trump visit the same place to see how much the locals love them 🙂

  17. I grew up in a small town i ln the NW back in the 70s and 80s. Just about every car and truck in the high school parking lot had a rifle or fishing pole in it so kids could go hunting after school. Everyone knew each other. People took pride in being blue-collar.

    Not for a second could a coastal elite grifter like Trump lure those people into his gobblygook of whine, self-loathing, and entitlement.

    40 years later and so many if them are running around in red MAGA hats, bitching about brown people they never see, whining about the economy while living off the 700K dollar homes their parents bought for 60K and gifted them.

    Literally everything they hated, they have now become.

  18. I live and work in a MAGA area (semi-rural), and the people here just repeat whatever they hear on Fox News, almost word for word.

    You cannot underestimate the impact 24/7 propaganda has on people.  

  19. I live in Ontario an have taken a few trips through Eastern Michigan over the years. I am noticing far fewer Trump signs this year than in the past, even in non election years.

  20. Even here in Oregon you’ll see plenty of MAGA outside Portland. Take a trip to the beautiful Oregon coast and you see dump flags, bumper stickers etc. Just up the coast from the Bay Area where the author is from in northern CA is MAGA country, too. It completely baffles me the belief these people possess that he ACTUALLY cares about them.

  21. Residents in red states are unhappy with their lives. They blame it on Democrats, continue to put republicans in charge of their states and towns, are shocked when their lives aren’t getting better, continue to put republicans in charge of their states and towns, blame Democrats, are shocked when their lives aren’t getting better….

  22. I have no idea how strong Trumpism still is, but I know one thing for sure: the merch makers/sellers are in it for the money, not ideology.

    Case in point: I was in Key West last week for a family vacation. Just about every souvenir shop had Trump crap. But they all also had very openly pro-LGBTQ stuff. I saw a shirt that said “I’m voting for the felon” with a pic of TFG, and right next to it was a shirt with huge rainbow letters that said “I’M NOT GAY, I’M SUPER GAY”

    As long as their are people buying, there will be cult signs and shirts and stickers.

  23. I’m in Texas, which might sound red by default, but among my peers and within the urban areas, we’re strongly blue. The problem I see happens at the voting center. There are 5 senior citizens for every 1 younger person.

    The hate from the 1950s and 1960s isn’t dead yet, and I feel like my vote is a drop in the bucket. If you want to see change, we need more voters.

  24. I went home to the Midwest for the fair a couple years ago and they made everyone stand and do the pledge of allegiance before the demolition derby started. Had a German buddy with me who was like oof be careful with that guys.

  25. On the flip side, I live in Chicago and went to a 4th of July parade and firework celebration in rural Indiana where I grew up. I visit my parents periodically, but generally that involves a direct visit with them and not really interacting with the community. This time, my wife was working that weekend and I had the kids, so we spent a few days visiting. I was fully expecting the same thing described in this above story, but I was pleasantly surprised to not see a single piece of Trump gear for sale or worn by any individual. This is a poor farming community which you would think is very susceptible to the Maga propaganda, but at least outwardly, that was not the case. Anyway, gave me some hope.

  27. Trumpers are always angry because they see the country changing steadily – becoming more racially diverse, more accepting of gays, less religious – and despite their best efforts, they can’t stop it. We’ll be dealing with their anger for a few more elections before they lose their political potency. We’ve seen the same thing happen before at various times in our country.

  28. I agree with all the comments that the common trait is anger. They seem to get such glee out of being mean.

  29. Dropping this in. From an other Redditor with some insight.

    “xenophonsXiphos 2.4k points – 21 hours ago @2 3 ©6 & & 14 More

    “You all don’t get it. I live in Trump country, in the Ozarks in southern Missouri, one of the last
    places where the KKK still has a relatively strong established presence. They don’t give a shit what
    he does. He’s just something to rally around and hate liberals, that’s it, period. He absolutely
    realizes that and plays it up, they love it, he knows they love it, and the fact that people act like it’s
    anything other than that just proves that liberals are idiots, all the more reason for high fives all
    around.
    If you keep getting caught up in why do they not realize blah blah blah and how can they still
    back him after blah blah blah, you are not understanding what is the underlying motivating
    factor of his support.

    It’s fuck liberals, that’s pretty much it.

    Have you noticed he can do pretty much anything imaginable and they’ll explain some way that
    rationalizes it that makes zero logical sense? Because they’re not even keeping track of any logical
    narrative, it’s irrelevant, fuck liberals is the only relevant thing, trust me, I know first hand what
    I’m talking about. That’s why they just laugh at it all, because you all don’t even realize they really
    truly don’t give a fuck about whatever the conversation is about, it’s just a side mission story that
    doesn’t really matter anyways. That’s all just trivial details – the economy, health care, whatever.
    Fuck liberals.

    Look at the thing with not wearing the masks. I can tell you what that’s about. It’s about exposing
    fear. They’re playing chicken with nature and whoever flinches just moved down their internal
    pecking order, one step closer to being a liberal.
    You gotta understand the one core value that they hold above all others is hatred for what they
    consider weakness, because that’s what they believe strength is, hatred for weakness. And I
    mean passionate, sadistic hatred. And I’m not exaggerating. Believe me. Sadistic, passionate
    hatred, and that’s what proves they’re strong, their passionate hatred for weakness. Sometimes
    they lump in vulnerability, a compromised circumstance, or an overwhelming circumstance in
    their with weakness, too, because people tend to start humbling themselves when they’re in
    those circumstances and that’s an obvious sign of weakness.

    Kindness=weakness. Honesty=weakness. Compromise=weakness.

    They consider their very
    existence to be superior in every way to anyone who doesn’t hate weakness as much as they do.
    They consider liberals to be weak people that are inferior, almost a different species, and the fact
    that liberals are so weak is why they have to unite in large numbers, which they find disgusting,
    but it’s that disgust that is a true expression of their natural superiority.

    Go ahead and try to have a logical, rational conversation with them though. Just keep in mind
    what I said here and think about it.”

  30. This is progress. The national media is now portraying Trumpers like the freaks they are instead of some mythical salt of the earth economically anxious blue collar workers in small town diners.

  31. I’ve been thinking about this for a while and the devotion to MAGA as an ideal is no different than what any other cult or gang promises: being included. The world around them changed. The small-town Americana lifestyle that these people embraced vanished in a wave of outsourcing and oxy. This isn’t to excuse their behavior, it’s to rationalize it. They feel betrayed and alone and aimless. Then, this celebrity comes along and tells them “I’ll make you special again.” So they buy in. All the way in. Because the slogan hits home. America used to be apple pies and Little League baseball. It used to be Dad at the factory coming home to a family of four and a watch at retirement. They don’t know a lot of minorities or LGBTQ+ people. The news says they invade over the border or groom children.

    They think they are the heroes. The ones fighting for the true America. But that America is gone and it isn’t coming back. They just can’t accept it.

  32. I live in KCMO currently but grew up a farm kid in rural NW Iowa and went back home for my 20th reunion this summer. I go back at least once a year so have seen the decline but this year it seems like the bottom has completely fallen out.

    I asked my dad, “where the fuck IS everyone?” and he said ‘died or moved away’ and this includes people retirement age who normally stick around til the end. Everyone left is overweight. Social interactions are strained. The isolation is evident and is clearly taking a toll on people that is wholly unexamined.

    I feel a bit of anger, resentment, and some self-righteousness. But mainly, I feel sad. There’s no good places to eat. There’s no entertainment other than being an alcoholic. It smells like hog shit and the bugs are insane because of all the CAFOs around. It’s a beautiful land, really, but I am grateful for leaving. That is no place to raise a family any longer, despite the fact that I had a childhood that was free and full of adventure.

    So I grieve the loss of home. I’ll never sell my family’s land. I am a farmer – I know it. It’s a part of me. Every single day I think about what it would’ve been like to be the 6th generation to farm and I feel so sad that I was the generation that broke the chain. 😢

  33. I can recommend the book/audio book [White Rural Rage ](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/734507/white-rural-rage-by-tom-schaller-and-paul-waldman/)which explains this phenomenon. It’s also self-perpetuating and spiraling as these people routinely vote against their own self interest which in turn leads to them being even more deprived and raging even harder. It’s ironic that a major plank in the Project 2025 is to cut off even more support for small farms in favor of adding more grift for the big agribusinesses.

    “I love the poorly educated.” Even Trump is smart enough to figure out his base.

  34. Went to northern Wisconsin last month. Aside from the Trump signs, which were everywhere, what really shocked me was the outright hatred for the Democratic Party.

  35. I was showing houses today and the house next door had a trump flag. They said not interested without even going in. I live in TN and these Trumpers are the biggest assholes

  36. I live in a DT small town. As a queer woman, I often fear for my life. They are being told to hate us over and over in their media choices. It’s hard to believe I’ll ever feel safe, even when Kamala wins. The bigger question will be, now what? I pray nothing but this isn’t my father’s Republican Party anymore. They hate us bc they believe the rapture will never happen while freedom-loving liberals are in power. That kind of delusional thinking doesn’t go away after elections. They instead focus on local politics. We have our very own Moms for Liberty on the school board! But I don’t want to move back to a liberal enclave because I actually like living in a small town!

    And I am an asset to the community as someone who has advocated for a cooling shelter this summer, as an animal rescue volunteer and as a disaster preparedness committee member. It feels like I’m in upside-down- world where my actions and behaviors are far more Christ-like than my so-called xtian neighbors. Until they start acting like Christ, they don’t get to be named as such!

    Lastly, this sentence stood out to me above all else as the truth and the problem, all in one: “it was unnerving all the same to be among so many people so in thrall to the politics of white resentment”. Sigh, it seems to always boil down to racism, white fragility and white supremacy. It’s exhausting and I’m white! My heart goes out to my brothers and sisters of color, who have been exhausted and felt unsafe for generations.

  37. It’s the Brain Drain.

    Rural America is stuck in a slow moving death spiral that’s been happening for over 150 years. As the country became industrialized and technically oriented, rural communities have been falling behind because that’s not where the money is, and it’s not where advancement is. The smart kids leave when they graduate high school. They go to college, get careers and have families elsewhere. Most only come back to visit.

    There’s no nice way to say it.

    Every year, more smart kids leave. More dumb ones stay. That leads to communities of the dumb, and a culture of dumbness itself, which just gives the next smart kids in high school even more of a reason to get out when they graduate.

    My grandmother’s town had around 1500 people a century ago, 750 people 50 years ago, and maybe 450 now. It’s gorgeous, but there’s nothing there for anyone under age 60. And they’d better be healthy because there’s no healthcare within an hour’s drive (even that is limited).

    As rural communities fall further and further behind, there’s a simmering resentment of places that are thriving, and they don’t know who to blame, so they get sucked into anger and hatred in general. That’s why stuff like MAGA thrives there. And it’s why they’ll fall for every carnival barker who feeds their need to blame someone else.

    Since rural life itself is to blame, they blame big city people, and they hate them.

  38. Something is wrong with our republic. Yes we can shrug this off as a cult or whatever. But these are people who feel left behind and all that was needed is a demagogue to light the tinder box. It’s something we’ve seen throughout history. The frustrating thing is people who are feeling left behind would benefit from liberal policies such as universal healthcare. How to fix it I don’t know but the political world just feels unhinged here in America and globally

  39. I was born in a deep red Pennsylvania county, and lived there for most of my life. This article hits the nail on the head.

    Zero neighborliness, rampant discrimination (I was one of the only black people in the area, and the stares, backhanded comments, and disrespect was very transparent), and what I can only describe as aggressive negativity. Getting out of there was one of the wisest decisions I ever made.

  40. The thing that gets me is MAGA people who think they’re “patriots”

    I’m a vet and it rubs me so absurdly deeply that they think being patriotic is to abolish parts of the constitution, roll back education to the dark ages and screw over almost every soul under the flag except for the billionaire class.

    I know people are going to say this country wasn’t always great either and no, everyone has a checkered past but holy shit this flag was supposed to be the symbol of progress and hope whenever someone saw it.

    Trumpism is rapidly changing our country to a hate filled racist pile of shit

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