They Asked Me, How Did Trump Get Elected President?

When my wife and I did our Scandinavian Cruise this past May, we did excursions every day, sometimes two. Each tour we did have an excellent guide, very knowledgeable about both the present and history of that specific area. On every tour, I asked our guide what they thought about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Every guide in every city in every country said the same thing. If Putin wins in the Ukraine, that is just the beginning and we will be next. One of our guides in Copenhagen listed all the steps they were taking to resist an invasion by Russia.

After this conversation almost every guide then asked me the same question. This was question was also asked of me by others I met on the trip including a banker from Norway who was traveling with his family to Spain for a “holiday”. The question was pretty much worded the same each time. “How did the US, the home of democracy, elect Trump once and now is willing to do so again?”

My answer was always the same. Trump has total support from two groups in American and funded by a third. The first two groups are white nationalists and Christian Nationalists. There is an overlap between the two groups.

Let’s start with Christian nationalism. In 2023 PRRI-Brookings Institute survey found that three in ten Americans qualify as Christian nationalism Adherents (10%) or Sympathizers (20%). [Note: This survey was exhaustive interviewing Americans throughout all fifty states.].

Those interviewed were asked whether they completely agree, mostly agree, mostly disagree, or completely disagree with each of the following statements:
– The U.S. government should declare America a Christian nation.
– U.S. laws should be based on Christian values.
– If the U.S. moves away from our Christian foundations, we will not have a country anymore .
– Being Christian is an important part of being truly American.
– God has called Christians to exercise dominion over all areas of American society.

Adherents totally agree with the above while Sympathizers mostly agree. Again, this represents three in ten Americans and most if not all will vote for Trump.

The survey also measured Christian Nationalists by state. All but one “red” state has a higher than the national average of Christian Adherent/Sympathizers than the National average. A few states clocked in at about 50%. This when the the electoral college becomes important. There is no doubt in my mind that Harris will win the popular vote but there is a very good chance Trump will win the electoral college and if does, the primary reason will be Christian Nationalism.

The survey also found that over 50% of Republicans identify as either being Christian nationalists adherents or sympathizers. Among other things, this means the Republican is becoming a religious party driven by their narrow and often incorrect view of Christianity.

Add white nationalisms to he group of Trump supporters. Granted, there is an overlap between Christian and white nationalists. However, it stands to reason there is a large group of white nationalists who are not Christian nationalists. In 2023, there were more than 50 different white supremacist groups and networks which distributed propaganda and organizing supremacist events. The ADL [Anti-Defamation League] recorded its highest ever number of white supremacist propaganda incidents, with a total of 7,567 cases. There were also 282 documented white supremacist events in 2023. Most if not all white suprematists are going to vote for Trump.

Remember back to August, 2017 in Charlottesville, VA when white nationalists demonstrated for white nationalism. A few days after the protest, then President Trump when describing the white nationalists said they included “some very fine people”. No, absolutely not!! Anyone in walking for the white nationalists may have been a very fine person before or possibly after, but at that time, anyone in the demonstration was absolutely not a very fine person.

Earlier in the day before the protest, Earlier in the day, former Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan David Duke said “This represents a turning point for the people of this country. We are determined to take our country back. We are going to fulfill the promises of Donald Trump…That’s what we believed in, that’s why we voted for Donald Trump because he said he’s going to take our country back and that’s what we’re going to do.”

In at 2020 debate with Joe Biden, the debate moderate, Chris Wallace, specifically asked President Trump if he would condemn white supremacists and he would not.

So we have established there is a very large voting block who will vote for Trump irregardless. They do not care that he lies. They do not care about climate change, the federal deficit, gun violence, or education to name a few. They probably do care about women’s rights in that they believe women should not have any. All they care about is they believe Trump will support their Nationalistic agenda.

The third group brings what the first do not have, money. Obscene amounts of money. The third group is the very wealthy, the top 1% of Americans. An August 14th article in Forbes listed 26 billionaires with a combined total net worth of over $143 billion and at that time of the article had contributed over $162 million to Trump’s campaign. Some may be Christian nationalists, some may be white nationalists, some may be both. But the primary reason they are supporting and essentially trying to buy the election for Trump is because they believe he will cut their taxes. The rich do not want an increase in marginal tax rates, the rich do not want an increase in their capital gains tax rate and for sure they do not want an increase in the estate tax. Keep in mind, the top 1% went from owning 25% of the National total wealth in 2003 to 30% of the total today. Note the last time Trump was President he cut taxes and the Federal Deficit increased by almost $8 Trillion. All this group cares about is protecting their wealth forgetting or maybe not even understand their wealth is built on a functioning democracy and an economy built on diversity.

Final thoughts.
Christian nationalists are not a spiritual or even a religious group. They do not accept the teachings of Jesus such as “love your neighbor as yourself…look in the log in your eye before the speck in someone else’s..the teachings of the beatitudes…the parable of the Good Samaritan…to the least of us you do unto me” to name a few. If Christian nationalists were sitting on a park bench and Jesus sat down next them and started telling them his teachings, minimally the Christian nationalists would leave but more likely would call the police and have him arrested. Christian nationalists reject the US constitution and Bill Rights, especially the First Amendment.

White nationalists also reject the constitution and Bill of Rights. The US has always been diverse and it is becoming increasingly so. The objective of white nationalists is to turn the US into an apartheid country like existed in South Africa for years which have severe economic and human consequences for the country.

If tax rates increase, be it income, capital gains or estate, the top 1% will still be the top 1%. But the tax laws have benefited the very wealthy for years and it is time to change this.

This election will be about if the US will become a Christian/white nationalist country. Any vote for Trump is a vote for Christian/white nationalism. Hopefully, enough Republican and moderate voters will understand this and vote for Harris. The best thing that could happen to the Republican party would be a resounding defeat in November. if this happen, then the Republican party can return to its roots and find candidates such as Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, not supporters of a Christian/white nationalism who are working to end our democracy.