It appears to be a combination of racism, “crabs in the pot” mentality, tribalism and in group motivations, and people looking for another group to look down on because they have no opportunity ahead of them between now and death. Happiness is reality minus expectations.
His supporters still say “It’s not great but I’d vote for him again.” Well, the unfortunate news is he’s near end of life and they footgunned their own economic opportunity light cone. The global economy is going to route around the US accordingly, because it cannot be trusted to trade as an adult vs a bully. They will continue to have their vote and mental model regardless of rationality and logical reasoning. All you can do as a nation state counterparty is defend against military action and disconnect economically.
Same vibes as "If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you." —- LBJ
Some voted for him for that reason, some for other reasons d. For example, I’ve heard several women voted for him because he said he’d make ivf more available/affordable.
The bigger question is why would anyone believe anything he says, especially if it was going to benefit regular people.
