Want to Heal America? Understand the Trump Voter First

Because some of them were simply desperate

Fascists, Neo-Nazis and Racists.

Say the word “MAGA” and those three words are bound to pop into your head.

And whilst it’s true that there is a sizable portion of Trump’s base that is like that, it’s also true that a sizable portion isn't.

Resorting to generalising and labelling in order to explain the ever-widening gap in American politics is only going to create stereotypes and further divide a country that’s already at breaking point.

So when it comes to the 73 million votes Trump got, I think it pays to try and decipher why that was the case. Again, yes, a lot of them would have been from people who believed that what he did was right. And I don't have an answer for how you get through to them. But many others voted for him with heavy hearts. They voted for him because they felt like they didn't have a choice.

And if America is going to have any chance at “healing its soul,” the last thing it can afford to do is alienate them.

I’m going to take the economy first.

This election happened during a pandemic. Between April and June, the U.S. economy had shrunk by 32.9% — the biggest drop since WWII.

The result? In April, 18.1 million Americans were temporarily laid off. By October, 3.6 million had been without a job for 27 weeks or more and the number who had permanently lost their jobs stood at 3.7 million. One in six adults had to borrow money or use food banks in order to survive.

And although Trump had signed off on a $2 trillion relief package, the most Americans received from it was $1200.

With these figures in mind, it’s not an exaggeration to say that millions of Americans were really struggling — some even finding it difficult to put food on their table. That is not a low point — that is when people begin to get desperate. That is when all people care about is voting for the man who had managed to get the economy booming the year before. They need their jobs back, they need to be able to pay rent and they need to be able to feed their children.

These are people who likely would never have voted for Trump and his politics of fear in any other circumstance. These are people who would have probably joined others on the streets to protest and voice their disgust of a president who ridicules those with special needs, imposes Muslim bans and tells white supremacists to “stand back and stand by.”

They simply found themselves in circumstances where their livelihoods, the education of their children, and the security of their families were under threat. And unfortunately for them, they felt they had to go for the man who was already guiding the economy towards recovery.

And whilst we’re on the subject of threatened livelihoods, let’s talk about oil.

It’s no secret that Trump, during his campaign, kept reinforcing the message of how Biden “axing” the oil industry would cost millions of jobs.

And before you say it, yes, I know climate change is real. I know we have to let go of fossil fuels. But look at this in the context of a pandemic and suddenly things become clearer.

With respect to this year, over 100,000 jobs had already been lost in the oil and natural gas industries between March and August. And if you look at the bigger picture, a 2016 report found that banning fracking would cost 14.8 million jobs by 2022. Combine these figures in the midst of a viral outbreak and you find Trump’s message getting the statistical support it needed.

And that’s why it comes as no surprise that he got the votes he did. Because the millions of people working in the oil industry couldn't afford to lose their jobs — not with everything that’s happened this year. Again, we need to tackle climate change. But we also need to realise that we’re all human. Many of those people would be facing desperation had they lost their jobs. And like I said earlier, many of them may never have voted for Trump had coronavirus never been a thing.

Knowing that, you can’t hold it against them for voting the way they did — they were just trying to survive.

And let’s not forget the elephant in the room

Right off the bat, how much importance this carries will vary from individual to individual and how they view the world and America’s place in it.

But here it is — “Sleepy Joe Biden.”

And I’m not going to lie — watching some of his slip-ups was cringy.

From him running against George Bush to calling himself Kamala’s running mate and everything in between, Biden seemed like a man who was way out of his comfort zone. I don't agree with Trump’s name-calling, but I do think that the concerns voters will have had about Biden’s age are legitimate.

Take a look at some of his older public speeches for example. You see two completely different men. Biden was charismatic, strong and spoke with purpose. Now, you see him trying to hang onto the words in his head for dear life.

Nevertheless, as someone who grew up in the developing world, I thought that the evils of Trump’s authoritarianism and the dark road they were taking America down weighed heavier on the scales. I thought that having a president who may not remember every word he wanted to say was better than institutionalised corruption, police death-squads and political dynasties.

And I still do.

But I don't believe it’s inconceivable to think that there were people who looked at all Trump was doing and still said:

“I don’t want a man with Biden’s mental acuity being my commander-in-chief.”

“I don’t trust him to run my country.”

“I don’t think he’s going to be able to stand up to China, Russia and North Korea.”

Granted, these concerns may be overstated —chiefly because Trump hasn't done such a good job himself — but I don’t think we’d be overstating by saying that these concerns would have been legitimate for the people who held them.

Why? Because they saw a candidate who forgot who his opponent was on one side and their president’s “strong man” politics on the other.

It’s no secret that Trump is a bully of the highest order. I mean, do you remember how he followed Hillary around during the presidential debate just so he could intimidate her? He stands tall, talks tough and recovers from coronavirus in record time.

If anything, what that does is create an illusion — an illusion of invincibility. For the people who wanted America to remain “strong” on the world stage, all they had to do was compare Biden and Trump in public and their choice would become crystal clear.

Again, I’m not trying to justify this one. What I am doing is explaining that not everyone who voted for Trump was a racist, violence-loving fascist. Some had legitimate concerns, some were desperate and some only cared about whether their president was “tough” — but they weren’t the white-supremacist loving, gun-firing zealots that they’ve been made out to be.

And that’s where it pays to remember this number — 73 million.

73 million Americans voted for Trump.

I cannot put my hand on my heart and say they were all ambassadors of evil. I cannot unequivocally say they wholeheartedly chose to look the other way as systemic racism and authoritarianism began to grip the nation.

And I know that you feel the same way.

These people — they are all probably ashamed as to what the man they voted for is doing to their democracy. If anything, despite their woes, there’s a part of them dancing with joy knowing that Trump lost.

And now, more than ever, they need their fellow Americans to stand with them and not against them. The last thing those who voted out of desperation need is to be labelled.

They need to be shown that America understands.

Because with the fear and violence that Americans have seen this year, that’s exactly what they need if the country is to rebuild — if it is to heal.

More of the same will just lead to just that — more of the same.