I do not live where there is overt racism, and I do not know, nor would I associate with, overt racists. However, I do know people at work, and people who are close to people that my family members are close to, who are enthusiastic Donald Trump supporters. Being civil myself, I avoid getting into any screaming arguments with them or anything that would sour our otherwise working relationships or social relationships. But I don’t avoid the topic, either. The main argument I hear from them regarding their support, other than the inflexive claim that Hillary Clinton is somehow too corrupt to serve in office, is that, ‘Trump is a businessman,’ and hence is the best qualified individual currently on the political landscape to protect and grow America’s economy. My main argument, that he is a ‘con man,’ usually inspires a knowing grin—he may well be a con man, but he’s our con man. He’s going to con China and Russian and Germany and so on, and America will benefit. They don’t care about him hiding his money from taxes, because that’s what smart con men do, and so on and so on.
But now, thank you New York Times, I have a new argument that hits every glassy eyed Trump supporter right where it hurts. If he’s such a ‘smart businessman,’ how did he lose a billion dollars of his own money?
I doubt it will win over all of them, but it’s gotta gnaw at at least a few.