Democrats had a good week last week. Defying the expectations of some, Kamala Harris emerged as a credible presidential candidate. The now-presumed Democratic nominee is raising millions of dollars in funds, signing up thousands of volunteers, and rising in the polls. All that is great. But the prospect of a second Trump presidency remains. Democrats have not broken the code to reach voters skeptical about the direction of the Democratic party. That is a problem.
Democrats often assume, with justification, that they are the party of empathy and common sense. Democrats reject racism and oppose income inequality. Unions embrace the party. So why do so many working Americans still show up at Trump rallies, sporting MAGA baseball caps and telling reporters that the 2020 election was stolen and that Democrats are cheating again by replacing Biden on their 2024 ticket with Harris?
Over the weekend, I gained new insights into the minds of voters who appear immune to the buzz that Harris has generated. These voters are not “haters” but fashion themselves as “independents.” If you push them, they will explain that, unlike you, they listen to both sides. One such “independent” voter last week told me that the criminal prosecutions of Trump were “bogus” and politically motivated. Unintentionally quoting Trump, I was told “Trump did nothing wrong.” When I asked about the rape in a department store dressing room, I was told, “It never happened. He did not know her.”
Some “independent” voters are also buying into Trump’s characterization of Harris as a “crazy ultra-left-wing radical” who would open the border, defund the police, and federalize elementary and secondary education. Harris, of course, has not endorsed any of that agenda, but it doesn’t matter. Harris was a senator from California. Isn’t that proof enough of how leftist she is?
The skepticism relating to Harris extends to her qualifications. She is a lawyer and experienced prosecutor who served as Attorney General of California before being elected to the Senate. That experience, I was told over the weekend, “is irrelevant.” In response, I suggested that Trump is a failed businessman who has been found guilty of business fraud in New York, got his start with a large gift from his father, and has been bailed out of financial trouble several times by bankruptcy. My skeptical friend told me, “Those things never happened.”
Failing to recognize a dead end in the conversation, I returned to the subject of Harris and noted that the speeches she has made since Biden’s withdrawal from the race were coherent and intelligent. My friend did not dispute that characterization but simply repeated the claim that Harris is “not ready.” This prompted another woman in the room to ask, “What about Hillary Clinton?” The response was, “She also wasn’t ready.” Service as Secretary of State and in the U.S. Senate proves nothing, apparently.
The conversation continued on a sharp downward trajectory towards a shouting match or name calling. I ended the conversation by excusing myself to watch the Olympic opening ceremony. My TV was showing the controversial reenactment of Da Vinci’s “Last Supper.” One word describes it, “weird.” I would use the same word to describe political discussions where my facts are rejected as “fake” by others.
How do you discuss issues with people who appear to believe many of Trump’s documented lies? I am still seeking an answer.
How do you get someone to listen to a Trump rally, hear the nonsense the ex-president spouts off about Hannibal Lecter, his golf game (“I knock the crap out of the ball”) and dozens of other subjects? I don’t know.
When I press supposedly “open-minded independents” to focus on Trump’s own words, I am told that I don’t get that Trump is only joking. If this claim is correct, I also don’t get what a joke is.
Trump’s rhetoric since the Republican convention has been, in a word, disgusting. His selection of the self-destructing J.D. Vance may be more responsible for Harris’ rise in the polls than the speeches that Harris has given, but I hope not. I like to think that Harris is not only “ready,” but also willing and able. Two of these three qualities don’t apply to Republican Supreme Leader Trump.
J.E. Dean is a retired attorney and public affairs consultant. He writes on politics, government, and, too infrequently, other subjects.
Deirdre LaMotte says
From The New Yorker regarding “undecided or independent voters”:
To put them in perspective, I think of being on an airplane. The flight attendant comes down the aisle with her food cart and, eventually, parks it beside my seat. “Can I interest you in the chicken?” she asks. “Or would you prefer the platter of s…t bits of broken glass in it?”
To be undecided in this election is to pause for a moment and then ask how the chicken is cooked.
David Sedaris.
John Dean says
Thank you for the quote from Sedaris. I had not seen it.
And thanks, as always, for reading my piece.
William Keppen says
“Those things never happened.” Far to many Americans have been persuaded by Trumps incessant lies, that are propounded by right-wing media. Far too many people fail to take the time, or do not have the time to seek the truth, or they simply cave into any line politicians spew, as it aliens with their biases. The truth be damned.
Art Cecil says
Dean’s hate for Trump can only be matched by his dislike for the country he was so fortunate to be raised in. Democrat’s are the party of “common sense”? That is all the reader needs to know about Dean’s blindness to reality.
Michael Davis says
Mr. Cecil, you left an unanswered question in your quick note. Namely, “Democrat’s [sic} are the party of “common sense?” The answer is “Yes.”
John Dean says
“Dislike for the country he was so fortunate to be raised in?” I hope you are not equating dislike for Trump with dislike for America. I dislike Trump for what he tried to do to America (steal an election) and what he says he wants to do (end democracy, create huge detention camps for undocumented migrants, etc.), and for some of the things he says, such as his comment earlier week asking whether Kamala Harris is Black.
“Blindness to reality?” Really?
Wilson Dean says
Your article underscores a fundamental flaw in our electorate. One of the people commenting on one of your recent pieces hit the nail on the head—we as a society cannot have a reasonable and constructive discussion of the issues facing us if one side refuses to acknowledge the facts in a situation.
Time and time again I hear from Trump supporters that he “really” won the 2020 election, that he had the best economy ever (mediocre at best), that climate change is a hoax, that it was better to take Ivermectin than to get a COVID vaccine, that in spite of his convictions in court he really did anything wrong…the list is endless. None of these assertions are based in fact and all are simply lies stated again and again by Trump for his supporters to mindlessly repeat.
I don’t believe the people who echo Trump’s falsehoods are “stupid,” that would only imply they did not have the mental capacity to understand they were repeating lies. Instead, and perhaps worse, they are intellectually immature—not mentally grown up enough to search for the degree of truthfulness of each statement but rather preferring to hear only what they want to hear, even if it is a blatant lie.
This willful ignorance does not bode well for the future of our beloved country, much less for our democracy.
John Dean says
Thank you for your comment. As you might imagine, I am in complete agreement.
Art Murr says
I’m an Independent. What does that mean? It means I refuse to blindly follow the dogma of either party and will cast my vote based on actual information and issues, not innuendo, rantings and spin from the parties and their candidates. It is not difficult to be an informed voter. It just takes some work to decide what matters to me, sift through the noise, and decide who will best serve, or as has been the case for far too many elections, the lesser of two poor candidates. This election? I know how the chicken should be cooked to avoid the associated bacteria.
John Dean says
Thanks for your comment, but what does “I know the chicken should be cooked to avoid the associated bacteria?” “Trump” comes to mind when I hear the word “bacteria,” but I may be missing something.
Regardless of any of my comment, thanks for reading the piece.
Deidra A. Lyngard says
Dean: I read many years ago an article, by a psychologist I think, that said you cannot convince people to change their minds through presenting them with facts that conflict with their world view. Their opinions are deeply rooted and often emotional in nature and no amount of objective reasoning will change them. You have to approach them at an emotional level where their truest and deepest beliefs lie. Good luck with that.
Deidra
Mickey Terrone says
Ms. Lyngard, you make some excellent points regarding the deepest held beliefs of Trump supporters. OK, then, how about this appeal to the emotions of Trumpites? How can Trump supporters claim to be patriots when Trump tried to overthrow the 2020 election that he lost by 7 million votes with “evidence” that was thrown out of 63 courts in various parts of the country, often by Trump-appointed judges? How could many other Republicans have won their races while Trump lost on those same ballots? How is that patriotic? How is that American? How can Trump wrap himself in the American flag when he has called American veterans “suckers” for defending the country?
How can any American patriot support a thug who idolizes unamerican dictators who perpetrate masssive murders of their own people (like Putin) and gansters like Viktor Orban who murders political opponents? Why would you trust Trump with absolutist power, or any power for that matter?
What if E. Jean Carroll was your wife or sister or daughter or mother? Would assaulting your close relative make any difference to voting for this type of Christian evangelical sexual predator? What kind of evangelical Christian could support a man who behaves more like Satan claiming he grabs women by their genitalia? Do you think Jesus would say it was OK to do that so long as YOUR wife or daughter isn’t victimized? Where is that in the Bible?
Does it make sense to put the nation’s business in the hands of a slug who went bankrupt running a casino? Or was that a money laundering operation? Did you pay tuition to Trump University or invest in Trump Steaks or Trump Airlines? It isn’t easy, but Trump cannot run any business in New York State for at least 5 years? Why would you trust him with America’s corporate future?
Do you think your wife or daughter has no right to decide how to deal with an unwanted or forced pregnancy and not able to handle her own future, with or without your involvement? Do you think the government should decide for them or any other American women? Do you think women should be punished or imprisoned for that? Any idea how many women would be in jail today if that was the law for the past 50 years? Is that your view of personal freedom in America?
Do you agree with Trump that American veterans are suckers for joining the military? Do you respect his “heel spurs” claim and think he’s a patriot anyway? Do you think all his advisors who have warned Americans (in no uncertain terms) that he is a danger to American security and the US Constitution are all wrong?
If you think Trump had a right to overthrow the election of 2020, wouldn’t Biden have the right to overthrow the election of 2024 as an “official act” as president? Does it make you feel like a good American to deport millions of immigrants? Do you feel Trump did the right thing to block passage of a bi-partisan Immigration Bill in Congress and then criticize Biden for not controlling immigrants? Is that even sane? Does Trump represent your idea of morality, honesty or patriotism? Lord, I hope not.
Al DiCenso says
Trump is like the line of one of the characters in the Marx Brothers’ movie “Duck Soup”; “who ya’ gonna believe, your eyes or me?”