Anecdotal, but my grandma who is very racist and conservative was confused why he was running because only natural born citizens can be president. Needless to say she was disappointed when I told her that he was born in Cincinnati.
Its as old as fascism. In the current populist phase he gives them plausible deniability against being racist. In the power consolidation phase he will be first against the wall.
Louisiana rednecks loved themselves some Bobby Jindal (former Republican governor of LA of subcontinental extraction). It doesn’t really surprise me when racists are illogical about their racism - since racism is a fundamentally illogical thing in the first place.
K but all pithyness aside, how do they actually feel about him? It must be super weird to agree with someone who’s parroting your nonsense but also that person’s very existence and social worth is an object of your hatred
I have two cousins who are half-Thai (their mother was a Thai woman brought to America by my uncle) who are virulent anti-immigrant white supremacists. It’s especially weird because not only have they been the frequent victims of anti-asian discrimination, they also happen to look central american and have been the frequent victims of discrimination against that as well. I think the only thing that explains it is that they are absolutely dirt stupid.
I suspect that while most conservatives would prefer someone more ‘close to home’, there’s two things that may appeal:
They may reference him to stave off claims of racism. “See? I woulda voted for him if Trump weren’t running, you can’t call me racist!”
He says the right things, and he’s independently wealthy, which gives him that ‘outsider’ status that they also bestow upon Trump. With those two things, he might be deemed ‘one of the good ones’.
Ultimately, few will opt for him over Trump, and their allegiance to him would likely be far more fickle, as they cannot identify with him as much.
What I found most plausible was the notion that he was running to soften Trump’s image or something. Like he seemed even more over the top than even Trump and I don’t know how any serious person pulls that off unless there’s another orthogonal angle
I think people saw promise, he is clearly personally smart, but he has proven himself not up to the job at the debates. I think he’ll get the Buttigieg treatment if Trump wins, set him up with some resume fodder and hope he runs in 12 years or something.
He comes across as beyond desperate. All of them do because they have very few facts on their side on most issues, I find. It would be torture to me to have to argue such absurd cases, they are basically paid actors.
Genuine question: what do righty folks actually think of him? Like its painful to watch him act like he’s part of the gang…
Anecdotal, but my grandma who is very racist and conservative was confused why he was running because only natural born citizens can be president. Needless to say she was disappointed when I told her that he was born in Cincinnati.
Its as old as fascism. In the current populist phase he gives them plausible deniability against being racist. In the power consolidation phase he will be first against the wall.
After Herman Cain died from COVID he caught at a Trump rally, the GOP never mentioned him again.
He ceased to be a useful black man, so he ceased to exist at all.
Louisiana rednecks loved themselves some Bobby Jindal (former Republican governor of LA of subcontinental extraction). It doesn’t really surprise me when racists are illogical about their racism - since racism is a fundamentally illogical thing in the first place.
They don’t think, that’s the problem isn’t it?
K but all pithyness aside, how do they actually feel about him? It must be super weird to agree with someone who’s parroting your nonsense but also that person’s very existence and social worth is an object of your hatred
I have two cousins who are half-Thai (their mother was a Thai woman brought to America by my uncle) who are virulent anti-immigrant white supremacists. It’s especially weird because not only have they been the frequent victims of anti-asian discrimination, they also happen to look central american and have been the frequent victims of discrimination against that as well. I think the only thing that explains it is that they are absolutely dirt stupid.
I suspect that while most conservatives would prefer someone more ‘close to home’, there’s two things that may appeal:
Ultimately, few will opt for him over Trump, and their allegiance to him would likely be far more fickle, as they cannot identify with him as much.
What I found most plausible was the notion that he was running to soften Trump’s image or something. Like he seemed even more over the top than even Trump and I don’t know how any serious person pulls that off unless there’s another orthogonal angle
I think people saw promise, he is clearly personally smart, but he has proven himself not up to the job at the debates. I think he’ll get the Buttigieg treatment if Trump wins, set him up with some resume fodder and hope he runs in 12 years or something.
He comes across as beyond desperate. All of them do because they have very few facts on their side on most issues, I find. It would be torture to me to have to argue such absurd cases, they are basically paid actors.