I thought he could win
My dad laughed his ass off at Trump when he first announced then ended up voting for him
How did people like yourself go from laughing at him to voting for him? Honest curiosity.
I'm in that same situation. If you told me in 2014 that I'd vote for Trump, I'd have told you to get back on your meds. I came around to Trump because of several factors:
(A) The Trump of 2015-16 advocated my views on Foreign Policy, and represented a shift away from the Neocons. (This has come to pass somewhat, but Neocon Relapse is an issue for Trump these days.)
(B) Trump acknowledged the need for the Government to address healthcare. I came to believe that Trump would, ultimately, "fix" Obamacare, a system that was collapsing due to its structure and the fact that the GOP blocked any sort of "fix" that would be needed. (This is sort of where we're at now; a "fix" of Obamacare vs. Single Payer is going to be the choice in the mind of Americans.)
(C) Trump represented a challenge to the GOP's Movement Conservatives that were turning the GOP into a lockstep party where we were debating as to whether or not a Republican who dissented from orthodoxy on 1 or 2 issues was a RINO. This thinking led to needless Government shutdowns, and made it difficult for the Federal Government to act in the wake of things like Hurricane Sandy. The "Who's the Purest Conservative?" paradigm that came to govern the GOP Presidential race had become stifling, and had to go. (Here, Trump runs the risk of backsliding because he has NO Democratic support and he needs the Freedom Caucus to bail him out.)
I did NOT think that Trump would become viewed as a "fascist" or as this generation's George Wallace. These, of course, are silly perceptions, and are maintained by folks who have their own selfish reasons to maintain them, but I am amazed that Trump has been unable to shake this hyperbole. This part amazes me the most. Part of Trump's appeal for me was his loathing of political correctness, but I find it strange that a guy who has been as sharp as it gets in overcoming the odds to win his unlikely election can't do what needs to be done to shake the negative label.
But this the same guy who said borderline fascist stuff (so the apprehension was justifiable)-
(A) Ban all Muslims
(B) Kill the families of terrorists
(C) Steal oil from Iraq
(D) Asked supporters to beat up peaceful protesters
Fascist rhetoric aside, his handling of Syria & North Korea has been on that hawkish line. He is cutting programs for ordinary people & pouring massive money in Defense which will line the pocket of big defense contractors (like the Betsy Devos type). He is not Bush level in war mongering, but that is a low bar.
Other than, if you look at his campaign promises which appealed to historically Democratic or left leaning voters, you will see he has used fake campaign rhetoric to get votes & is now hard right wing conservative President (atleast very different to the campaigner) -
(A) No Cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, SS - Proposed huge cuts to SS (Disability Insurance) & Medicaid
(B) - Infrastructure - No plan as of now (apart from rumored privatization & tax breaks)
(C) Taking on Wall Street/Hedge Fund - U-turn on Glass Steagal (His presidential platform), Carried interest loophole U-turn (not a part of his tax plan)
(D) Pharma/Drug Prices - Drugs Imports/Medicare negotiating drug prices - U-turn on both
He has turned his back on every single plan for left wing/moderate voters (add no action on NAFTA) who helped him win.
As Mitch McConnell said Trump is now governing like Jeb Bush. Massive tax breaks for billionaires, Right wing extremist SC judges, Ban Trans people from military, spend more on defense, cut domestic programs, pursue a hawkish foreign policy.
Trump hasn't really done anything ideologically to change the GOP ideologically like Bernie has done to the Democrats. I know for people who felt like they were part of a movement, it is difficult to admit after 6 months that you made a big error. But somewhere down the line, left & centrist Trump voters have to be honest about what Trump is !
