Most of my friends voted for Donald Trump, including several who didn’t last time. One might think that because Trump was constantly in the public eye over the last nine years, little room existed to change people's minds about the former president—especially in the aftermath of the January 6 Capitol Hill riot. Yet, Trump won the election with new supporters.
A close friend of mine lost his job last month. When he posted about having a hard time finding well-paying employment that can support him and his child in this economy, his liberal acquaintances assured him that he was wrong and that America has a robust economy; it's similar to when the Biden administration changed the definition of a recession, rather than acknowledging the reality and doing everything in its power to stop it.
This friend's occupation indirectly relates to American manufacturing. He's socially moderate; he generally doesn't care what other people do in their personal lives but doesn't want to pay for it. He votes for people in both parties but always blanked the presidential race. He voted for Trump this time—the first time he ever voted for a presidential candidate.
Another friend, a first responder in a lower-income bracket, voted for the first time, and supported Trump. I’ve no clue who he supported down-ballot. This guy, a big Joe Rogan and UFC fan, told me that while he dislikes politics, things are so bad now that he can no longer ignore it. Groceries cost a lot, as does his son's daycare, and he lives in an area far less economically-vibrant than I do in Massachusetts. The Biden administration made him poorer as inflation rose faster than his paycheck.
A woman I know, a registered Democrat until last month, went for Trump for a different reason. She voted for Joe Biden in 2020 but thinks the party went insane. She works in a field with high instances of workplace violence and has suffered it herself. Inaction and soft-on-crime policies from liberal politicians make her dread going to work. The transgender ideology is another problem for her because she feels safer working with female patients. Unfortunately, she also ends up having males who identify as women as patients because of liberal laws; these males are bigger, stronger and typically have more mental health issues—worsening workplace violence. Given that situation, it makes sense that you may support law enforcement, oppose parts of the transgender movement, and oppose taxpayer-funded sex changes for illegal immigrant prisoners.
One friend told me he voted for Trump because the Libertarian Party candidate, Chase Oliver, sucked, in his opinion. He typically votes LP because Republicans have no chance in Massachusetts, but he thought a left-leaning no-name did little to advance the liberty cause and that the party should run somebody like Bill Weld at the top of the ticket. Others likely agreed since Oliver got fewer votes than Green Party candidate Jill Stein, even though the LP got three times as many votes as the Greens in 2016.
These Trump-voting friends have differing views, but I found some commonalities. They all dislike that America gives free handouts to illegal immigrants and migrants, whether long-term hotel stays, free college tuition or health insurance. It especially irks those struggling with student loan debt, given the Biden administration failed to deliver promised relief.
On other issues, they all support abortion rights, same-sex marriage, and legal recreational marijuana but think the Democrats go too far with the transgender movement, identity politics, and hostility toward police. Examples include males participating in girls' sports, Democrats claiming more than two genders exist, schools hiding children's transgender identities from their parents, race-based affirmative action in college admissions, and defunding the cops.
I hope these voters back the Republican presidential nominee in future elections, but that's no guarantee. If Trump creates and maintains a decent economy and pushes back against the Democratic Party's worst impulses, maybe that’ll happen.