I am 48 and Trump has been a public figure since i was a child. He was, however, mostly regarded as a punchline! We already used to joke about his incompetence in the 90s. I remember seeing a political cartoon as a child involving Trump and a panhandler - the punch line was that the panhandler had significantly more money (it was during one of his bankruptcies). When I heard Trump was running for president I thought it was a joke candidacy. Who could be his running mate - wily coyote?

When he won, I thought, "what the ever-loving fuck is wrong with Americans?"

Not once - not once - did I associate Trump with acumen, luxury, or quality.

I never understood why people cared so much.

Bigotry.

That's it.

He literally rode a wave of bigotry into the White House. Twice.

It shouldn't be some shocking surprise. The U.S. is a super bigoted nation. Most candidates just aren't willing to stoop that low. Donald Trump definitely is.

..I never understood why people cared so much...

Because he was on TV and portrayed an absolute leader who gave decisive answers. He was the strong man lots of people want to be, on a scripted show designed to look like "reality".

He was in people's homes, in their living rooms, having dinner with them in their kitchens, relaxing in their dens and while they were making love in their bedrooms.

It's a form of intimacy to have a celebrity in one's home. A complete lie absolutely.. but there nonetheless.

The actor Tom Baker (Dr. Who "Doctor" #4) pointed this sense of false intimacy out in an interview he did decades ago, when talking about how some of his fans created an entire mythic life with him, where he was their best friend and confidante and expected a similar reaction from him, when they'd approach him at conventions which of course, he could not reciprocate.

Worst thing to happen for America was Mark Burnett getting Trump a TV show. It put a con-man into the most powerful office in the world.

"Trump" should mean "shit" in American English

Most of the people in my field are white men over the age of 60. I listen to them talk about Trump and the GOP all day long. They like him. He's not the only billionaire they like either. There have been plenty of offhand comments about the success of billionaires like Zuckerberg, Besos, and Musk and if I'm honest, they really do believe these are selfmade billionaires who earned their money. They're upset at tax rates (especially on their homes) and the cost of living, but don't understand how we got here or that billionaires contribute heavily to that. There is a mindset that was pretty normalized during their formative years about billionaires and earned wealth that just doesn't pass the sniff test for newer gens.

I'm not saying they haven't done their part to indoctrinate their families and younger generations where they can. I'm not saying that younger tech billionaire supporters don't exist. I'm arguing against it "not being an age thing" in the first comment because I have seen it be exactly that.

Nothing exists in a vacuum. My comment wasn't saying that it's only old people.

Understandable but hear me out. The same people who think Trump earned what he has and still believe he's a billionaire are the same people who believe and trust billionaires in general. Lots of younger people used to support Musk, back before they knew anything about him other than he was buying Tesla. Now those people have mostly come to their senses. Their grandparents? Not so much.