A horse named False Hope

I’m trying to understand it, but I just don’t get the Donald Trump phenomenon.

It seems that reality gets turned on its head when it comes to Trump. What have long been considered the basics of successful campaigns – release your tax returns; don’t insult potential voters or your opponents based on their sex, race or religion; don’t threaten violence if you lose – just don’t seem to apply.

If he were any other candidate in any other year, we wouldn’t be talking about him less than two months from the election and contemplating the chance that he might win.

I get the frustration of some of his supporters. While local and state governments generally speaking seem to work just fine, the national government appears to be at a standstill.  A Supreme Court nominee hasn’t received the courtesy of a vote rejecting him. Legislators can’t agree on how to address gun violence, reflecting the divided view of their constituents.  Opinion in Washington is also split about immigration and those who have been living here illegally, which also reflects the mood of the country.

But, when you take your eyes off Congress and focus on what our national government does on a day-to-day basis, it’s still working.

Social Security checks are being mailed; emergency aid is going to communities hit by natural disasters, and taxes continue to be collected. The “gridlock” that dominates the headlines has everything to do with the politicians and not the actual functioning of government. 

There are many theories about why Trump has garnered so much support. They range from economics to an unrealistic fear of terrorism.

The New Yorker ran an interesting piece in August that suggested that Trump voters “feel that their privileged place in America is threatened by forces they don’t really understand.”  They live in culturally isolated areas and have little contact with people who are not like themselves.

Given that we can live, work, shop and find entertainment without venturing into a metropolitan area, it’s not surprising that many of our fellow Americans could have a somewhat limited view of the world and be concerned about what they see.

Their perspective on life in the big city; immigrants, and living in ethnically and culturally diverse communities is probably based more on cable news or "Law and Order" than actual experience. I’m going to guess that many believe that we’ve become a little too politically correct (We could lighten up a bit). They probably have little, if any, contact with people who are gay or transgendered and want to use the bathroom associated with their chosen sexual identity.  

And then along comes Donald Trump who talks about the good old days when you could punch somebody in the mouth and get away with it; who makes fun of people with disabilities, and promises to build a wall to keep out foreigners.

I guess I can see the attraction, but it seems like putting all your money on a horse named False Hope.

Mexico isn’t going to pay to build the wall. You’re not going to be able to deport the number of people Trump has talked about without massive police action that I suspect would make the majority of people shudder, even ardent immigration foes.  We can’t turn back the clock and make it acceptable to tell ethnic jokes again.  Folks who are LGBT aren’t going to return to the fringes of society.

If Trump backers are frustrated because people they have supported in the past haven't delivered on their promises, what will happen if he gets elected and inevitably lets them down, too?

I keep waiting for those who I put in the “they should know better” category to decide that enough is enough with Trump. Maybe his recent musings about what would happen if Hillary’s Secret Service protection was disarmed or his calling a press conference to make a major announcement only to attempt to use it to promote his new hotel will make them realize that the reasons they’re supporting him aren’t enough to trump the fact that he’s just not the kind of person we need as President.

I just hope enough of them come to their senses by November 8.