How many Democrats support Donald Trump?

[kentuck]

Working people have been the base of the Democratic Party since its founding. Is that support starting to erode?

There are reports that many Democrats changed their Party affiliation during the Republican primaries so they could vote for Donald Trump. In places like Ohio, these voters are still supporting Trump. In the latest polls, Trump has a slight lead in Ohio.

But why would workers leave the Democratic Party to vote for someone like Trump?

In my opinion, it goes back to NAFTA and the trade treaties. For more than twenty years, these workers have seen their jobs leave America for the cheap labor overseas. At the same time, they have seen their standard of living drop and good jobs have become more and more scarce. The TPP is the latest incarnation of this trend. Democrats have led the way on many of these trade treaties.

Should we be surprised that working people are leaving the Party?

We should not be surprised that this election is so close if this is the case. The Democratic Party cannot win without the workers of America. It's as simple as that. Ignore the workers at your own peril.

How big a role is this playing in this election? When Donald Trump says that he is going to bring the jobs back to America, that is a very appealing message to a lot of working people, whether it is true or not.

Are Democrats over-looking this issue in this election? Is this an issue that has been unexplored and is Trump reaping the rewards of this discontent? Perhaps this is something Democrats should look at more closely?

[FBaggins]

1. None?

Not exactly true... but it's worth asking to what extent a voter actually IS a Democrat if they're voting for Trump.

A progressive 3rd party candidate might be a different discussion.

[markpkessinger]

11. We can't win this election with only the votes of "true" Democrats (how ever defined) n/t

[saltpoint]

2. Resentment in some demographics is an

under-reported factor in Trump's support. Your thoughtful post prompts memory of the so-called "Reagan Democrats," whose support for blue candidates has been less than consistent over several election cycles.

This piece in The New Republic covers some of this ground:

https://newrepublic.com/article/136328/red-state-blues

What motivates people to support Donald Trump is maybe the single most difficult thing to measure or analyze in this election, IMO.

[tonyt53]

3. There will be several registered Democrats voting for Trump.

Mostly white men, and sometimes their wives, that are 45 and up, poorly educated and feeling entitled to be first in line because of their skin color. They lost their jobs when their factories moved to China during the Bush years, and with their poor education and work ethic, they are now floundering. Those are the registered Democrats voting for Trump. Those people aren't working.

[Chiyo-chichi]

10. Lost jobs to factories moved overseas...

so they're voting for the guy who profits from ties made in China, suits made in Mexico, furniture made in Turkey, etc., etc. etc.

[haele]

20. But he tells them what they want to hear.

They're left behind by technology and the larger society, with no opportunities either in or outside of their small worlds, and most likely no chance to get another job. They've been at least the medium-sized fish in a small pond, as it were, just doing well enough to be paycheck-to-paycheck comfortable while they were working, but they have nothing saved and nothing to show for their had work.
They're are now heading for a life of standing in line for the dole like all those people who live on assistance, thanks to a mix of Reagan's voodoo economics, technological advances, and globalization. While depression era babies Mom and Dad might have done pretty well between the lack of too easy credit, GI bill, various social programs, and the boom times during the 50's - 70's, they're not doing well, and haven't for a long time. They resent that fact, and try to deny it's happening to them.

Trump is telling them "We can go back to the good old days, and you can be respected like your fathers were." They don't care that he's lying, and the good old days are a myth spun by TV and movies.
They're so very desperate for someone, anyone, to save them from things as they are in reality, they'd sell their kids for their fantasies. Why not Trump? He's not a realist, and he's "rich", projects confidence - and he works them with all the tricks of a 1920's snake-oil salesman.

Haele

[world wide wally]

4. Hillary needs to start pushing the small business owners and contractors that Trump has ripped off

[davidn3600]

5. Because they don't think the focus of the party is the working people anymore

The party, especially lately, seems far more concerned about social justice issues than corporate corruption, jobs or economic inequality. That is sort of what caused such a passionate divide during the Democratic primary. Democrats are not talking about jobs or putting corrupt bankers in jail. They are talking about gender pay gaps, immigration, and police brutality. It's not that those issues aren't important. But that stuff doesn't mean much for a white male in the middle of Ohio trying desperately to hold on to his middle class job and cares far more about issues like trade and the economy. Donald Trump is talking directly to that guy promising to protect his job and income. The Democrats are calling that voter "privileged" because he's a white man and thus ignoring him. Which way do you think he's going to be swayed?

[geek tragedy]

14. "Democrats are not talking about jobs."

That's a Trump-level lie right there.

P.S. Most Trump supporters are not suffering economically, they're just thin-skinned racists who hate that they don't get special treatment for being a white guy.

[davidn3600]

17. Yeah....Democrats are really putting those bankers in jail

Watching the Obama justice department not give a crap what our corporations and banks do is pretty telling.

[geek tragedy]

22. How many jobs would prosecutions create? nt

[GummyBearz]

6. Didn't you get the memo?

NAFTA is great for America. All those manufacturing jobs already made us the only super power. Now we can send them to Mexico to exploit cheap labor and make things less expensive. Those workers can find jobs at Chipotle (5,000 positions opening up - all sure to be management roles with benefits and retirement no doubt). Wal-Mart also is a good option. Workers can still buy everything they need since it is now made by cheap Mexican labor. At the same time corporate profits will go way up so CEOs and shareholders will be super happy and whoever is president can say "look how high the DOW is! Economy has recovered!".

That is the basic summary... I'm sure others will fill in the missing details

[pampango]

7. Both parties have pursued trade treaties. Both parties now oppose them.

Trump is a better salesman than most Democrats but he, like most republicans, has been a classic exploiter of 'free trade'. Now he 'reborn' as a xenophobic, 'blame our problems on Mexico' 'populist'. His schtick is quite effective.

Of course, he is also a major proponent of expanding 'right-to-work', cutting taxes for the rich ("job creators&quot , deregulation and ignoring climate change. (Those are all policies that the 1% sees very profitable for them.)

It is unfortunately true that too many people, including some Democrats, buy his "blame it on Mexico" excuse for our economic problems (which will solve nothing) rather than the actual 'blame it on the 1%' explanation which offers real solutions but which Donald ignores. Donald may not know (that is a large category of information) or may know and choose to ignore the fact that manufacturing jobs have declined by similar percentages all over the industrialized world. Logic (of which he has little) would tell you that it would have happened here to NAFTA or no NAFTA. We are not 'exceptional'.

[Kilgore]

8. Very good observation

In my world all the Dems I know tend to be either retired or working union members in the heavy industries living the rural lifestyle. To put a point on it, the nearest Starbucks is a 42 mile drive from our town, the nearest Trader Joes, 120 miles.

Trump is popular with many of these folks, Hillary not so much. It comes down to these issues that really matter to them.

1. Fear of their jobs going to Mexico or China
2. Fear that their jobs are going away due to new regulations
3. Fear that their firearms will be taken away (almost everyone hunts here)

If you look at the list, its essentially Trumps talking points. Is it any wonder that they are listening to him? When he flew into Everett WA about a month ago, i know many who made the 125 mile drive to go see him......and these are Democrat union members!

If the party wants their votes, then address the issues they actually care about.

[kwolf68]

9. People don't get it

I know excuses abound...the media hates Clinton , the rubes, a good heavy propaganda campaign, etc....but the fact she is not destroying a reality star, hypocritical assclown illuminates her own candidacy as much as it does the legitimacy of the American public.

[Bradical79]

12. Coal and factory workers probably

Those are two groups that come to mind. There really aren't many real answers for them that they're going to listen to. Some factory jobs will come back, but we will never see the numbers like when manufacturing was at its strongest.

Coal can't compete and is extremely destructive to the enviroment. When coal is going away, there's not much good news for people whose communities existed primarily to mine coal.

They're going to believe Trump's lies more easily out of denial and desperation.

[geek tragedy]

13. working class white voters haven't been the base of the Democratic party for over 4 decades

they left over culture war issues--race, religion, abortion, LGBT rights, guns

[davidn3600]

18. They are still leaving the party

Since 2008 the Democrats have been bleeding whites.

[geek tragedy]

21. Since 1968.

Obama did better with white voters than Kerry.

But he wasn't running against a white nationalist explicitly appealing to white identity.

[Rocknrule]

15. Some of the hardcore Bernie holdouts

who think Hillary is literally the devil because of something they heard on Fox or Brietbart and are willing to throw their black, gay, female, Muslim, Hispanic, etc. friends and family under the bus just to "send a message".

[a kennedy]

16. Ya, labor voting for tRump is like chickens voting for Colonel Sanders.

[MerryBlooms]

19. Complete bullshit and pushing the trump RW meme.

NO true Democrats are voting for that piece of shit trump. He's the goddamn king of shipping American jobs out of America.