Who Are Trump’s Supporters?

Contrary to the hopes of many conservatives, myself included, Donald Trump has yet to fade away.   On a superficial level, it’s hard to understand the failure of that event to have come to pass by now.  Trump, to me, is obnoxious, rude and loud.  Showing my regional bias, he comes across as a caricature of a boorish New Yorker. 

But that appraisal is not shared by the twenty percent or so Republicans, certainly not all Manhattanites, who report that they support his presidential bid.  However, perhaps those characteristics are precisely the reason why they back him.

Of course, the prospect of the New York real estate magnate becoming president is laughable.  He gives little cause to believe that he thinks before he speaks.  The phrase “shooting from the hip” applies.  “Thoughtful” does not. 

Yet he gives voice to the outrage that far more than twenty percent of the GOP electorate feel on the failure of Washington to control illegal immigration or reverse the decline of America’s authority in the world. 

Donald Trump – on these subjects – says what many people believe (myself included).  They are greatly frustrated that their voices are ignored.  Due to his notoriety – his TV-garnered fame – Trump’s is not.

No, he’s not a serious candidate.  What are his qualifications -  his education and his experience - that qualify him to lead America? 

[To be sure, Barack Obama lacked the attributes of a qualified candidate.  His dismal performance proves the point.] 

Nonetheless, Trump’s broad support is ominous.  It means that a substantial portion of the conservative base of the Republican Party is so disgusted and disillusioned with “serious” candidates that they may tempted to be absent at the polling booth when a more conventional Republican is on the ballot.  

That is the real challenge after Donald Trump has ceased to amuse.