Alright, let’s get real here. Voting for Donald Trump feels, to many of us, like watching someone voluntarily order the hottest dish at the Curry Garden and then acting surprised when it burns their mouth to bits. So what’s the logic that makes some people genuinely want to dive back into a plate of “Make America Great Again” vindaloo. There has to be a reason, doesn’t there? Voting for Trump is insane but why is insanity laughing in the face of reason?

Shaking Things Up!

It would appear that a lot of Americans see Trump as the ultimate button-pusher. Tired of centrist politicians who behave well on stage and have a world view rather than an insular one? Why not vote for the maniac who storms into every room like it’s a WWF bout? The idea, I guess, is that the disaffected think that shaking things up might actually change things for the better…even if, in his first term, it turned out to be standard Trump bullshit and bluster, and will be again. A more gauche version of our very own blustering bullshitter, Boris, Bojo, the bullshitter, Johnson, if you will.

He’s Not “Politically Correct”

We all know that one (or more) cretin who thinks “telling it like it is” is a sign of knowing their stuff. For some reason, that same person is always saying things that make everyone sane want to avoid that next pint and fuck off home. Trump is that man for a lot of his voters: he’s unfiltered, unapologetic, and while it’s always more bullshit than action, there’s a certain appeal to the no-holds-barred bravado, particularly to men with high testosterone coupled with low self-esteem. To them, Trump is like watching someone try to perform heart surgery with a chainsaw—it’s a right old mess, but you can’t look away.

Promises of Jobs and Prosperity

“I alone can fix it” sounded pretty bold the first time around and most people could see through it despite having a morbid fascination for watching it pan out. His supporters bought it. The second round of Trump promises is like being sold the same shit used car, this time with an even louder, more aggressive sales pitch. Trump can talk a big game about bringing jobs back, but when you look at the results, it’s mostly just smoke, mirrors, and a big ol’ “Make this country great again”. It seems ridiculous but he’s pulled it off. They are prepared to believe him again. That’s bonkers but you can’t deny his talent for making use of angry idiots.

He’s Not One of the Elite (Don’t Laugh)

Now here’s an ironic twist—his voters think of Trump as the ultimate outsider. Forget that he’s a billionaire plonking his hideous large arse on a gold-plated toilet; he’s not part of the elite and don’t you forget it buddy. Maybe the appeal is that he’s unpredictable enough to scare the other politicians, but at this point, you’d think the “outsider” brand might be fading, yet it’s not. Somehow by repeating the same old bullshit, he’s in office again and the margin is wider than in 2016.

The Anger Factor

For a lot of people, perhaps voting for Trump feels like sending an angry letter to the government that they know full well will be ignored. It’s a vent, a release, a way of saying “I’m done with this.” They know he’s not going to solve all the problems, but he makes a lot of noise about them, and sometimes noise feels like progress. It’s not of course, but hey, it’s cathartic and it’s one in the eye for the lefty snowflakes.

At the end of the day, Trump’s appeal might just be that he’s the misogynistic, testosterone fuelled, loudest guy in the room, saying things no one else will—even if it’s mostly a load of guff flying out of a stunted prefrontal cortex. Is he actually going to deliver on those big promises? Nope! But to his fans, that doesn’t seem to matter as much as the performance. So here we are, watching Act Two of “This Time, It’ll Be Different”, knowing it will be worse and far more dangerous.

A Final Thing

And here’s a final thing. If Trump’s election has taught me anything, it’s this. For well over 50% of Americans (and perhaps in every country) politics and in particular geopolitics, is of no interest. All what matters is the dollar in their pocket. It is every man for himself. It wouldn’t matter if Ukraine was burnt to the ground, every Palestinian child was murdered, Mexico was nuked, and Trump was filmed raping women in a room full of burning kittens. As long as petrol and the price of gun and a burger stay below inflation, nothing else matters.

That’s quite terrifying and it is what US progressives are up against; the rest of the world that will pay the price but they don’t care. If you have even a minor dabble into geopolitics you’ll see where I am coming from. Trump is the orator, the cult leader, if you like. Yet he’d be a nobody if people had self-respect and cared about things that make the world a safer and healthier place. They have made their choice to look at only themselves and in turn, make the world a more dangerous place, so fuck ‘em.

God bless Trump’s America? Do me a favour.