There have been countless articles about trying to understand what motivates Trump supporters. Let me give you a new data point.
I was kinda watching MSNBC tonight (listening for new material) when there was a story about a family in Florida, Trump supporters, being hurt by the shutdown. There wasn’t anything on camera, just a report of what was said. Here’s the money line from one of the family members:
I though he’d [meaning Trump] would be hurting other people. Instead he’s hurting us.
Not “he’s hurting us” or “I thought he’d be helping us, instead he’s hurting us.” The only conclusion that can be drawn from this statement is that, for some Trump supporters, hurting other people is a desirable trait in a public official.
How do you deal with that? I can understand voting for a candidate because you conclude that candidate will help you more than others. But to vote for a candidate with the explicit hope your candidate will hurt other members of his or her constituency? Wow.