Trump’s approval rating has remained steady throughout his entire presidency. Incredibly steady. Insanely steady.
Since the inception of presidential approval ratings in the 1930’s, every president’s numbers have swung significantly, and often wildly, throughout their term (see chart below). This is entirely expected — conditions in the country change, popular and unpopular presidential decisions are made, and major unforeseen events occur, so it’s only natural that the country’s opinion of how good a job the president is doing will ebb and flow with these changes.
Trump is the lone exception. Despite dramatically fluctuating circumstances and radical presidential actions during his term, Trump’s approval rating has been locked in at roughly 40-45% the entire time. How can this phenomenon be explained?
The fact that Trump’s approval has never come even close to cracking 50% is very understandable. The one thing Trump has been consistent at is saying and doing reprehensible things on a nearly daily basis, giving any self-respecting American ample cause for ongoing disapproval. The 22,000+ lies he’s told as president are sufficient in themselves to explain his disqualification from gaining majority approval.
So the pivotal question is, why do ~40% of Americans support Trump no matter what he says or does, regardless of how repugnant and/or contrary to their own self interest? We all know many of the drivers for his support — fear of change that may result in loss of standing, racism/xenophobia, hypermasculinity (i.e. big truck, small penis syndrome), and a feeling of kinship with the rich powerful guy that they aren’t, but think they should be. These justifications are all less than noble — but do they rise to the level of indicating a potential nationwide mental health issue?
The following are symptoms of Antisocial Personality Disorder, transcribed essentially verbatim:
- Lack of empathy, conscience, and remorse
- Avoids forging connections with the people, preferring to exploit them through deceit, coercion, and intimidation
- Dishonesty/deceitfulness — very comfortable lying to get their way, or to get out of trouble
- Aggressive, and prone to verbal disparagement and cruel disregard of people's feelings
- Frequently interprets others' behavior as hostile, driving them to seek revenge
- Disregard for financial/social obligations, incurring debt and regularly taking time off work
- Impulsive decision making, with no thought for the consequences
- A need for instant gratification
- Little concern for the safety of others or themselves
While the above list would fit seamlessly on Trump’s resume under the heading “Qualifications: Certified Sociopath”, I’m not so sure it wouldn’t be equally at home on a MAGA “Reasons to vote for Trump” flyer. It neatly aligns with with the sentiments exposed at a typical Trump rally, including disdain, suspicion, and scapegoating of “the others”, a “give me mine, screw the other guy” attitude, casual threats of insurrection and violence, exulting in Trump’s mockery of opponents, reckless treatment of COVID worn like a badge of honor, and, of course, blatant or barely disguised racism.
In addition, we know that avid Trump supporters are prone to delusional thinking (the lifeblood of cults), as evidenced by their obsession with QAnon and the “election was stolen from Trump” meme.
Am I saying that many diehard Trump supporters have a delusional disorder that leads them to elevate him to cult-leader status because of their shared sociopathic beliefs, resulting in a “Trump Uber Alles” mindset that compels their unwavering support for him, notwithstanding the reality of the outside world? Not necessarily. And I’m not necessarily saying it’s not the case. Let the reader decide.