I will always remember the very first time I met a Trump voter. It scared the hell out of me.

[fightforfreedom]

It was lunch break and I stopped at Subway. I had been there many times before and I had gotten to know the young girls who worked there. I used to joke with them, make fun of them all the time. They were good girls. We had lots of laughs.

On this day, it was during the 2016 Republican primary and Trump had just broken through in the polls, I could not believe it. When I got to Subway I started joking with the girls about how stupid it was that Trump, a reality TV host, was now leading in the polls. I thought it was the most ridiculous, stupid thing I had ever seen in my life and thought other people would think the same.

Standing behind me was a guy who was in his sixties. He wore a veteran hat. He heard me joking with the girls and he said to me, Are you calling me stupid? I could not believe it. Who would say something like that? I processed it for a few seconds and said this.

I can't say you are stupid, but I can say voting for Trump is stupid. That was the moment i knew something very strange was taking place.

[louis-t]

1. Within days of him being 'elected' I had a similar

experience with an old guy in a black American Legion hat. He came out of a condo and without provocation he immediately started on me. "It's the best thing that ever happened to us. Know why? Everyone will be afraid of him." I wish I could find that guy (if he's still alive) and enlighten him about the only people in the world who are actually afraid of him. That would be any Republican politician that has to go through reelection soon.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

2. "everybody will be afraid of him", meaning everybody not white evangelical male

It has always been about who tRump was against: Obama (an African-American) and Hillary (a woman).

[calimary]

3. So leadership should be based on fear?

So bravery, brilliance, wisdom, and compassion don’t count for much, ‘eh?

[Ray Bruns]

4. It's all about these jackasses and their "great replacement" BS.

They are terrified of becoming a minority because they are scared shitless of being treated like they have treated minorities for centuries.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

9. They deserve to be a minority

Thier backward beliefs no longer apply in the real world if they ever applied at all. Things change,get over yourselves ya insecure knuckle dragging idiots.

As more of these right wing,magat white cis het men and women degenerate fossils die off the better,may thier beliefs and ideology die with them. Cant happen soon enough imho.

[allegorical oracle]

5. LoL. Had a similar reaction around that same time. Attended a local photography show and it was

like every male who was there was wearing a red MAGA cap. The gravity of where we were at hit me. Left feeling a bit frightened and definitely depressed.

[yardwork]

6. I had a momentary experience in 2016.

I was in NYC on business, around the time Trump won the nomination, walking on 5th Avenue near Trump Tower. A young white man passed me, dressed in a formal suit, every hair in place, wearing a large button that simply said Trump.

It hadn't occurred to me that young people would support Trump. I had thought of him as a buffoon, an obvious fool. The young man reminded me of the College Republicans I knew in the 80s, and I suddenly had a bad feeling that Trump would win.

[Hope22]

7. Surreal.

I have a couple of trumpets in my family. Over the years I have managed a get together on neutral territory. I don’t think I can do it for Christmas. The crazy has clean jumped the shark! Just thinking about it….well, it’s clearly not good for my health.
Stay safe out there!

[patphil]

8. I don't remember the first trumper I met, but...

My brother-in-law was/is a trumper. When Trump first ran for President, I told him that Trump had no love in his heart. He looked at me strangely, and went quiet.
Then he voted for Trump anyhow...both times.
The fact was that we both lived in the NYC area and both had many occasions to see what Trump was all about. He should have known what I said was true.
He was both a devout Lutheran, and a devout Republican. I guess he put party over God.